There are two types of references, one of general nature and one of a particular nature, that is, a positive prediction is made about somebody who is going to come. Now, as far as the general nature is concerned, in at least three places I remember, the prophets are described as Imam Mahdi. And I am surprised why people have not taken notice of that. And the verses which I remember, one of the verses, for instance, I am going to quote. Before this verse, many prophets are counted. Such and such prophet came, and then after him, and then there were some who were named and some who were not named.
And in the end the Holy Quran says, These are the prophets whom we made, which is the plural of Imam. They used to guide not from themselves but after taking orders from us, which is the guided one. So Mahdi is the equivalent of one who Somebody who receives his orders from Allah, who is not a hadi directly from himself, but speaks what he hears from his master. So that is exactly what is described in this verse. They were all Imam, plus they had the quality of not speaking from themselves, but they were Mahdi and not hadi. At three places this verse is mentioned, and all the prophets are counted among the sphere of influence of this verse. Not a single non-prophet is mentioned.
So that shows that each prophet is Imam Mahdi according to the Holy Quran. This verse and the other similar verses also solve the debate between Shias and non-Shias about prophets being Imams or not. They say that Imam is different and Prophet is different. And they also claim that Imam is the higher status than Prophethood. Yet they believe that Imamat continues in the Ummah and the Nabuwat is finished. To deceive others, they take refuge that yes, Nabuwat is finished but not Imamat. And when you further investigate as to what they believe about Imamat, they will positively tell you that Imamat is a status higher than Nabuwat. And to prove this point, they say that Hazrat Ibrahim A.S. was given Prophethood before the Imam. And after he was made a Prophet, then Allah promised him that I am going to make you an Imam.
So that shows that he was not demoted but promoted to a higher order. Now this is all fallacious. Number one, there is no proof that this promise was made to Hazrat Ibrahim A.S. There is no proof of that. Before his Prophethood. Now after his Prophethood. That promise could have been made in a dream or directly in a revelation before the Prophethood. And that might have been meant. Secondly, to be Imam of the Prophets is something quite different. And that might have been meant there. Otherwise, according to this verse which I have quoted, each Holy Prophet has to be an Imam. And they belong to the same category. You can call them Imam or Prophet, they are one and the same thing. So when you say Imam as applied to the person who is already Imam. So he is Imamullah Imam. That means Imam of the Prophets.
And that is what is known of Hazrat Ibrahim A.S. He holds a very special position among the Prophets. And he is described to be Abu’l-Anbiya. And that is the same thing as calling him Imam-ul-Anbiya. So their point is not proved either way. But I was just referring to your first question. That is about reference in the Holy Quran of there being any Imam Mahdi. So Imam Mahdi, this should be understood very clearly. Imam Mahdi is a Prophet and none other. When is it positively mentioned that somebody would come positively holding a status higher than other stately people of Islam whose prediction is positively made. That is one aspect of the question.
But before coming to that I will explain that as far as the Prophets go this has been positively mentioned in the Holy Quran that Prophets would come. Though the word Imam Mahdi is not mentioned when the Holy Quran speaks of the future. In past all Prophets are described as Imam Mahdi. So that is why I laid this foundation for the second part of it. The second part belongs to the future. There again in generalization we find a prediction very clear and positive about the possibility of Prophets coming in future but not free Prophets, not independent Prophets. With one condition that they will have to be subordinate to Hazrat Muhammad Mustafa and no free independent Prophet can ever come. But not only that, the same verse also mentions that no reward holder can ever come in any form. Not only the Prophets are stopped who are independent also independent Siddiqs will never come, independent Shahada would never come and independent Salihin would never come.
So all the four rewards are treated equally by that verse. And the one important condition laid down is that no reward would ever be given to anybody in future unless he enters through the door of submission to Hazrat Muhammad Mustafa and that is the only condition. Once you fulfill that condition then nothing is barred. That is what is said in so many words in the Holy Quran. So referred to Surah Nisa in which Allah says It means whoever obeys Allah and this deep Prophet that is Hazrat Muhammad Mustafa Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam Now only these would be among those who have been rewarded before. refers to the past people who were rewarded variously in different ways.
So this is a general description as to what is going to happen to those who obey Allah and the Holy Prophet of Islam peace be upon him. How are they going to be treated? It generally says of course they will be counted among those who have been rewarded before them. Now how were they rewarded before them? This is the question still remains to be solved. And the answer is Those were the people who have been mentioned in this. Among whom were Prophets, Siddiqeen, Shuhada and Saliheen. So all the four types of rewards which were granted to the earlier people for their goodness would be open for anybody to achieve provided he becomes subordinate to Hazrat Musa A.S.
This verse is of fundamental importance and is a very revolutionary verse. Particularly Ahmadis should understand it very clearly. Not just for the debate purpose but for the purpose of understanding the very exceptional and highly lofty station of Ahmadus Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. This verse in fact is an explanation of what is meant by Khataman Nabi. Because one verse of the Holy Quran is explained by another. This is an accepted principle by all. There is no debate about it. So where is the couple of Khataman Nabi? Try as best as you can. Except for this verse, you can’t find another verse which would throw light on the word Khataman Nabi. I will tell you that later how I connect this. But the point is, the things to be understood about this verse by Ahmadis in particular are these. Before this verse was revealed, any prophet anywhere in the world could be followed with the same result that people who followed him could get rewards.
But when this verse says, mayute illaha war rasoola, it eliminates all the prophets. Before that, that was a general rule that you follow any prophet and you get your rewards according to your obedience to him. But this is not only a door opener for the Muslims but a door closer for everybody else. Because here the prophets is not used in plural. Whoever obeys Allah and the prophets. It says mayute illaha war rasoola. Whoever obeys Allah and this, the prophet, Muhammad peace be upon him. So it eliminates all other prophets. This is what Ayat Khataman Nabi does. That has come who has finished all other prophets in beneficence.
No flow of beneficence would ever be observed after the appearance of Muhammad peace be upon him from the direction of any other prophet in the direction of other people. That is exactly what has been explained in this verse. The second question was, alright, if rest of the prophets have finished and one is bound to obey him, will such a people who obey him be treated at par with the earlier ones or less than those? Now here, it becomes very clear who inserts Allah and who pays his due homage to him. As you look at the translation of this verse. The non-Ahmadis believe that according to this verse, even if you obey Allah and Muhammad peace be upon him, completely in entirety, you would not be treated at par with those who believed and followed Allah and the earlier prophets because one of the reward will be held from you.
This is the meaning which they take from this verse. But if that is the meaning, then it is highly insulting to our Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him. On the one hand, this verse declares that no door is being left open for mankind but this door, Al-Ghazali and Musa. At the same time, it also declares, but that door has been reduced to a smaller size. Previously, as you pass the door of obedience to other prophets, you could get all the four rewards, but this time, we are sorry, following him, you can’t get all the four rewards. Only three. Now, that is highly insulting.
In fact, what should one expect is that they should be treated higher than the previous ones because they are following a much loftier, much nobler, much greater prophet. So, that translation, in essence, is found in Hazrat Masih Maud’s verse, We became the best of the people because you are the best of the prophets. You went forward to lead the path and then we followed. So, we obtained whatever we did by following you. That is obedience mentioned in this verse. So, this is the status of the real import of this verse. We should be very clearly understood by all Ahmadis because this tells them the real position of our group, vis-à-vis the rest of the prophets, and your position vis-à-vis Huzoor-e-Akram.
All the rewards that you can get now will be given from this door. This door steps. And you have not to look elsewhere with yearning. I wish I had been born there and got that role. For the non-Ahmadis, there is a yearning. They can look back. Oh, for the good old times, when Moses was there, if we had lived in that time and followed him, we could have got the status of a prophet as well. But not now. No more. Because this prophet has restricted that. Is it what they understand by the word, Ramatul Miragami? It is exactly the opposite which they believe in and blame us for, Maulvillah bin Zalif, insulting Allah and Huzoor-e-Akram. Now, there is one little word which causes some debate, on the part of the opponents of Ahmadiyya. They say the word Ma is mentioned, and not Min. And Ma means somebody who would be counted along with them, not among them. According to them.
According to Ahmadis, Ma here means Min. Because the next word, Min, explains it itself. Ma means with, not Min. So they say, look here, where does this verse claim? Or declares? That whoever obeys Allah, would be among those who will be rewarded. It only says that they will be with those who will be rewarded. That is, they will not be rewarded themselves. So not only the prophethood, all the four rewards go overboard with this translation. That Min is not mentioned to avoid profits. They forego the right to all the rewards, and are left empty handed. Because to defeat Ahmadis, they must do something, and this is the sacrifice they offer. Because if you mean by Ma, somebody who is not to be rewarded, but who is allowed to sit with those who are rewarded, then the explanation of Ma, which follows, will be equally treated. Mal Latina Annamallah Rahim would mean, with prophets, not among them, with Siddiqini, not among them, with Shohada, not among them, and with Swalimeen, and not among them. So the entire Islam is finished. That is the high price they have to pay for opposition of truth.
But the fact is, that the word Min explains what Ma means. This they cannot deny. Whatever they try, that Ma also means Min. Ma also means from among, not only with, but among. Now where does Ma mean from among them, and where does it mean outside of them? That has to be determined, and the thing will become very clear. Now, if you read the Arabic grammar, in the grammarians which you find on this subject, they will make it very clear to you, that when somebody inferior is along, walking along with some superior people, things, and the word Ma is used, then Ma does not mean among. It always means something else.
For instance, they say, Jaal om illal himar, or Kaanil himaro maal om. This one is the same thing. And as a donkey was walking with the people, now here the word Ma is used, and no grammarian would permit you to translate it as Min, because it’s an insult to the people. That is one place, where Ma must be translated as with and not Min, among. So how would you look at this situation? With including our Hazrat Muhammad Mustafa sallallahu alaihi wa sallam’s ummah, to those earlier, treating them at par, would be an insult to them? Should they be treated like animals outside the ranks of human beings? That is the most degrading translation that you could think of. Similarly, when you say Ma La, you cannot translate it as Min, for two reasons. Because when Ma refers to a plural, only then Min can be translated, that is to say, you can say among them.
But when the plural are referred to singular, then you can’t translate it as Min. Similarly, Allah is a harmony. Here it is an insult to Allah. If we translate Ma La means Min Allah, they are of Allah or from Allah. That is quite obvious. But in all other places, where these two objections cannot be raised, Ma means Min. And the usage of the Holy Quran, switches this point once and forever, decides this. The Holy Quran tells us, Kunu Ma Swadikin Be Ma, I am not yet trying. Be Ma Swadikin, Ma those who tell the truth, who are truthful people. So according to the non-English translation, it should read, Be in the company of those who are truthful, but don’t be truthful yourself. That is not what is required of you. And then a verse of the Holy Quran, tells us to pray in these words, Vatavafana Ma Lada According to non-English translation of Ma, it should read as this, that oh God, when you cause some pious people to be killed, then tell Israel to come to us as well.
And make him kill us as well. But not as pious people. Just coincidentally, while they die, we would like to die along with them. Would that be a respectable translation of the Holy Quran? Acceptable to you? So the truth speaks for itself. You can’t suppress it. This is the meaning of Ma. Whenever it is referred, it refers to a plural. And it refers to a good people. Then the people, whom it connects with those, who are mentioned earlier, they are counted among them always, without fail. Otherwise it’s an insult to those people. So they are not worthy of being counted. This is why they are treated as outsiders. Like a donkey is treated as an outsider to human beings. So in every place where you analyse the situation in detail, Ahmadiyya attitude to Allah’s status and the translation of the Holy Quran is far more respectable and worthier of acceptance than their translations. It’s always insulting.
So generally speaking, now we come to know that it is promised to all the Muslims if they rise to that status, that is, if they humble themselves to the extent that they obey Hazrat Muhammad Mustafa in perfection, then the maximum gift they could be given would be to the maximum reward which has been given to the early people. But that would be a better reward than the earlier ones. Because in this case, they will be prophets of Hazrat Muhammad Mustafa sallallahu alaihi wa sallam dumma and not of the earlier ones. So as I took the position, this is exactly the position which I maintain, that here they are a source of respect to the earlier ones, not in a position to insult them by counting among them. It is the privilege of the earlier ones to be counted with the Ummah of Hazrat Muhammad Mustafa sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, not the other way round. This is why I translate the last bit in exactly the opposite direction as it is translated by the other scholars. In the end, the Holy English verse says And by this, the other translators generally mean that it means that the followers of Hazrat Muhammad Mustafa sallallahu alaihi wa sallam were mentioned under mayyute illaha wa rasulallah.
They find the earlier companions to be very good companions. Excellent companions. That’s what all I mean. I translate it the other way round because for the earlier people to be counted with Huzur-e-Akbar sallallahu alaihi wa sallam’s followers, that is what should be, one should apply this. They are excellent companions. Their status is, not the status of the followers among Huzur-e-Akbar sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, to be counted among them. So the whole verse, right from the start, treats the followers of Huzur-e-Akbar sallallahu alaihi wa sallam not at par with the earlier people, but above them. This is our outlook and our translation. So all those who really love Huzur-e-Akbar sallallahu alaihi wa sallam and they are not, you know, in any way narrow-minded or bigoted, they begin to see light and they accept this translation ultimately.
But here everything is still in generalization. What I have proved, or I have attempted to prove is this, that Imam Mahdi and Nabuwal are one and the same thing according to the Holy Quran. The term Imam and Mahdi has not been used together describing any other person than a prophet in the Holy Quran. And as far as the followers of prophets, that is to say the subordinate prophets are concerned, they have been mentioned in this verse that they may come, but it can all depend on how much subordinate they are. And to be completely subordinate to Allah sallallahu alaihi wa sallam is not an easy job. It is much more difficult than to be a complete subordinate to Hazrat Musa or Isa or any other prophet. Because here, he has lifted the standards of everything, every quality to the highest degree. In fact, where other prophets end, there he begins. So, this is the difficulty. Why so many true prophets can’t come?
The standard has been raised so high and made it so difficult to achieve that it’s not a child’s game anymore. But, that is what I have already discussed and I leave it like that now. Where has a prophet been positively mentioned to come in the Holy Quran? Though not as a prophet, as Imam Mahdi, but positively, exactly as this verse has foretold. May you say it another way. Under the description of this verse, there is a definite prophecy about somebody to come. And that prophecy is in Surah Imam Mahdi. The Holy Quran tells us that He glorifies Allah, the Lord of the heavens and the earth. The King, the Holy, the Exalted, the Wise. He is the One who sent the believers as messengers among them. He recites to them His verses and purifies them. And He teaches them the Book and the Wisdom. And they were from before you, those who had clear knowledge. And others among them, when He inspired them, they were from before you. In this verse of Surah Jumu’ah, the coming of Hazrat Abbas Muhammad Mustafa sallallahu alaihi wa sallam is described in glorious words.
Four attributes of Allah are mentioned first. And four corresponding attributes of Hazrat Muhammad Mustafa sallallahu alaihi wa sallam are mentioned. And it is said that Allah has raised from among the unlettered people of Arabia a Prophet who was among them, from among them, like unto them. Yet, what it has punished. Having sprung from the illiterate and unlettered, He becomes the teacher of the entire world. He listens, receives revelations from His Lord and tells them, relates to them, narrates what He receives. And secondly, purifies them immediately. He does not stand in wait of conviction. To be with Him is to be purified. To listen to Him is to be purified. That is the quality of His purification. You begin to believe Him, that is important. And the moment you begin to believe Him, the process of purification begins. Because it says, And after He has purified, then He teaches. While the earlier Prophets taught first and purified later. This is an intentional v
