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Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani, the founder of Ahmadiyya Movement claimed to be a Prophet, Messiah and Mahdi among many other things. In an attempt to justify and prove his claims he misused many Islamic epithets, altered meanings and interpretations of Quran and Hadith and distorted many doctrines. His false claims have been exposed in other articles, such as:
Is Mirza Qadiani really the Promised Mahdi or Promised Messiah?
This article will deal with a topic which is closely related to the coming of Hazrat Eisa ibne Maryam AS. Since Mirza Ghulam A Qadiani claimed to be that person, we must examine this issue in the light of his writings.
In this article we will examine following things in that order:
Traditions of Holy Prophet SAAW regarding the coming of Dajjal
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani (MGAQ) sayings about Dajjal
MGAQ boastful claims about himself and his 'revelations'
MGAQ ridicules Hadith
MGAQ discards Hadith like a waste paper
MGAQ accuses Holy Prophet SAAW of misunderstanding his revelation.
MGAQ justifies his own description of Dajjal
Cat is out of the Bag
Conclusion
Islamic eschatology1 (beliefs concerned with end of the time or Qiyamah) is an essential part of the faith of every Muslim. There is a long list of things mentioned as signs of the last hour, some of them are minor and some are major signs2; some are mentioned in Holy Quran whereas others are mentioned in Hadith of Holy Prophet Muhammad SAAW. Among many of such beliefs is the coming of Ad-Dajjal.
Dajjal is an arabic word, the root word being 'DJL - Daal Jeem Laam' which literally means to deceive. Dajjal is therefore used commonly to mean a deceiver or an imposter. Ad-dajjal in Islamic eschatology however refers to a specific person, 'The Imposter', who will appear before Qiyamah. Al-Maseeh Ad-Dajjal also refers to the same person, meaning The Great Imposter Messiah. Holy Quran is silent on this subject but several authentic collections of traditions of Holy Prophet Muhammad SAAW have mentioned in detail about the coming of Ad-Dajjal and his characteristics3. In Sehah Sittah several authentic Ahadith are narrated. Qadi Shawkani, in his At-Tawdih bi-ma tawatara fil-Muntazar wad-Dajjal wal-Masih has quoted 100 traditions at the end of which he wrote:
"Hadith about the appearance of Dajjal are mutawaatir (narrated by several sources in each successive generation) and though tawaatur is proven by lesser number, nevertheless, I have quoted 100 traditions and left out many traditions and innumerable narrations of Companions (of Holy Prophet SAAW)."
Mian Mohammad Ali, Amir Jamaat Ahmadiyya (Lahori faction) says in his 'Tehreek-e-Ahmadiyyat':
"Traditions regarding Dajjal are so numerous and are narrated by so many Companions that their combined testimony cannot be doubted at all. These traditions have been quoted in most authentic works of Hadith, these traditions are present in Bukhari and Muslim as well and only in Musnad Ahmed there are nearly 100 such traditions." (Tehreek Ahmadiyyat p.119)
Only some examples are given here:
Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 4305 Narrated by Imran ibn Husayn
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Let him who hears of the Dajjal
(Antichrist) go far from him for I swear by Allah that a man will come to him
thinking he is a believer and follow him because of confused ideas roused in him
by him.
Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 9.505 Narrated by Anas
The Prophet said, "Allah did not send any prophet but that he warned his nation
of the one-eyed liar (Ad-Dajjal). He is one-eyed while your Lord is not
one-eyed. The word 'Kafir' (unbeliever) is written between his two eyes."
Based on these traditions Dajjal will have following attributes4:
The details of these traditions can be found in books of Hadith. Also many references are available on Google Search for Dajjal. The purpose here is to just give a picture of what description Holy Prophet SAAW has given of Dajjal.
Mirza claimed that he is prophet and that he does not speak of his own volition, rather he speaks at God's will. Now let us see what 'God' of MGAQ has to say about Dajjal. Please note the contradictions. It seems that MGAQ's god could not make up his mind.
Haq Posh, Dunya Parast People are Dajjal
"Zaahir Prast (worldly-minded) people of this era, who have united to follow the foot steps of Jews, they all will be cut into two pieces by the Sword of Allah and Jewish nature will be abolished and every Obscurer of Truth Dajjal, Worldly-minded (Dunya Parast), Single-eyed who do not have a religious vision, will be killed by the sword of irrefutable argument and truth will win." (Fateh Islam published in 1891, Roohani Khazain vol.3 p.10)
Developed Nations are Dajjal
"Perhaps developed nations are Dajjal and their donkey is this Railway train which you see going from thousands of kilometers in the countries of East and West." (Izala-e-Auham, Roohani Khazain vol.3 p.174)
Christian Priests (Missionaries) are Dajjal
"My religion is this that like the Padres (Christian Priests/Missionaries) of this era no Dajjal has been born nor will be born till Qiyamah." (Izala-e-Auham, Roohani Khazain vol.3 p.362)
"English Padres (Christian Priests) .... are actually Promised Dajjal and if one sees closely then all the signs are fitting on them." (Izala-e-Auham, Roohani Khazain vol.3 p.470)
"Actually Dajjal is not the name of a person. According to Arabic grammar Dajjal is that group who poses as trustworthy and religious but in reality they are neither trustworthy nor religious, rather in their every word there is deception and fraud. This quality is present in that group of Christians which are called Padre (Priests)." (Kitab al Bariyah, Roohani Khazain vol. 13 p. 244. footnote)
"Christian Priests are Promised Dajjal who misguide the poor and lazy and useless people by tempting them with money and women and using all kind of deception." (Sirrul Khalafa, Roohani Khazain vol.8 p. 367-368)
"Many Dajjal have passed away and may be more will come but that Big Dajjal, whose deception is so abhorrent to God that skies will be shattered, is this band (Christian Priests) who makes a handful of dust (human) God ..... thus that band which God has named Big Dajjal in his sacred book, we should not name anyone else Big Dajjal. .... this thing is not right from any angle that there is another Dajjal apart from Christian Priests of this day who is bigger than them because God has described this Dajjal in His sacred book, then it will be great infidelity to oppose the word of God and name someone else Dajjal. Had there been any other such Dajjal at any time then God, whose knowledge encompasses past, present and future, would have named him Big Dajjal not them." (Anjam-e-Atham, Roohani Khazain vol. 11 p. 47)
Denying that Christian Priests are Big Dajjal is rejecting Quran
"There is no Dajjal-e-Akbar (Big Dajjal) than Christian Priests and he who awaits for another one after the appearance of this turmoil is denying the Quran." (Anjam-e-Atham, Roohani Khazain vol. 11 p. 47)
Liars are Dajjal
"Dajjaliyat (Qualities of Dajjal) was actually a Jewish inheritance and from them it reached the Christians. That group is called Dajjal who are liars and make the earth filthy and mix the truth with falsehood. So this quality was at its peak among the Jews during the time of Jesus, then Christians inherited from them. So Messiah has descended with a heavenly weapon to abolish this Dajjal quality. This weapon is not made by earthly craftsmen, rather it is heavenly weapon as is proven by Sahih Ahadith." (Izala-e-Auham, Roohani Khazain vol.3 p.449)
Killing of Dajjal
"The death of Dajjal does not mean destruction of Christianity, rather the destruction of their arguments and proofs." (Izala-e-Auham, Roohani Khazain vol.3 p.470)
Dajjal will appear in India
"All this irreligiousness and ungodliness and apathy will appear first in Eastern countries and Dajjal and Gog and Magog will appear in these countries, that is they will be visible with their power and might. By Eastern Countries, Persia and Najd (Saudi Arabia) and India are meant, because all these countries are to the East of Land of Hijaz. And it was necessary that according to the prophecy of Holy Prophet SAAW disbelief and disbelievers exhibit themselves with force, Dajjal appear in these countries and Messiah descend among these very people." (Izala-e-Auham, Roohani Khazain vol.3 p.419)
Scientists are Dajjal
"The second part of Dajjal's actions which resembles claiming Divinity, as I have mentioned earlier Philosophers of Europe and groups of people who invent machinery (Scientists) who have taken their efforts to an extreme to create various items. And because of many successes ultimately they have reached this belief that there is no such thing as God's might or have faith on it. and followers of such people are mostly the high class Christians." (Kitab al Bariyah, Roohani Khazain vol. 13 p. 245-246. footnote)
Christians are Dajjal
"It transpired in my heart that Hazrat Maseeh (Jesus) named the Christians of the end of time as Dajjal." (Nur-ul-Haq, Roohani Khazain vol.8 p.79)
Dajjal is the name of Satan, not Jews, not Christian Padres
"This is our faith that actually Dajjal is the 'Ism-e-Azam' of Satan, which is opposed to the 'Ism-e-Azam' of God which is 'Allah alHayee al-Qayoom'. This research proves that in reality neither Jews can be called Dajjal, nor Christian Priests nor any other nation." (Tohfa-e-Golrawiya, Roohani Khazain vol.17 p.269)
Gold is Dajjal
"In English 'sona' is gold, in which English alphabets 'G D L' which is an anagram of Arabic word Dajjal. In Arabic Gold is Dajjal." (Malfoozaat vol.7 p.366)
Donkey of Dajjal
"Another proof (of being Promised Messiah) is that the band of Dajjal has appeared and it is emerging with great force and its donkey, which is actually created by him, as is desired by Sahih Hadith is roaming in the East and West, and the creation of that donkey by Dajjal which is according to the Hadith, is also proven by this evidence that if such a donkey had been born as usual from the belly of female donkey then such type of other donkeys should have still been here since young ones necessarily resembles their parents in their size and journey and power. Thus Sahih Hadith are pointing towards this that the donkey will be created by Dajjal himself, thus if it is not Railway Train then what else is it? (Izala-e-Auham, Roohani Khazain vol.3 p.469-470)
An interesting observation:
Despite considering Railway Train as creation of Dajjal and his donkey, MGAQ never hesitated in riding it whenever he was traveling long distances. When he was asked about it, he said:
"If the donkey of Maseeh Dajjal is this railway train .. then he who claims to be Promised Messiah also rides it, then how can it be Dajjal's donkey? Answer is that because of its ownership, possession and total custody and creation of Band of Dajjal, it is called donkey of Dajjal ..... then if God wants believers to benefit from the possessions and products of Dajjal then what is the harm? ...... apart from that Promised Messiah is the killer of Dajjal, that is spiritually, then according to the Hadith 'mun qatala qateelun' whatever belongs to Dajjal, it belongs to Messiah." (Izala-e-Auham, Roohani Khazain vol.3 p.555)
"Dajjal is also taken to mean Gold." (Tafseer of Surah Juma by Hakeem Nuruddin p.57)
"Trading companies are also known as Dajjal." (Tafseer of Surah Juma by Hakeem Nuruddin p.57)
"Nehru Report is Dajjal". (AlFazl Qadian. 30 Oct 1927)
"Domination is Christianity is Dajjal" (Statement of Mian Mohammed Ali, Ameer of Lahori Jamaat, Tehreek-e-Ahmadiyyat p.116-117)
"Dajjal is Christian Nations." (Statement of Mian Mohammed Ali, Ameer of Lahori Jamaat, Tehreek-e-Ahmadiyyat p.116-117)
"Other name of Dajjal is Gog and Magog." (Statement of Mian Mohammed Ali, Ameer of Lahori Jamaat, Tehreek-e-Ahmadiyyat p.116-117)
Following are some of the boastful claims of MGAQ:
Mirza's revelation praised him: "howa al-lazee arsalaa rasoolahoo bil hudaa wa deen alhaqq wa tehzeeb al-ikhlaaq." Translation: 'He is the one who has sent His messenger with guidance and true religion and best mannerism'. (Arbaeen No 2 Roohani Khazain vol.17, p.380; Arbaeen No 3, Roohani Khazain vol.17 p.425-426)
At another place God sends the following revelation: "inna inzalnaaho qareebun min al-Qadian .... {translation: Verily we have sent him close to Qadian}" (Arbaeen No 2 Roohani Khazain vol.17, p.354)
Mirza's revelation praise him: "wa maa yanteqo unil hawaa; in howaa illa wahyun yoohaa".... Translation by Mirza: 'And he does not speak of his own desire, but he follows the revelation.' (Mirza's revelation mention in Tadhkirah 2nd Edition, printed in Rabwa October 1956; Arbaeen No 2 Roohani Khazain vol.17, p.385)
So according to these revelations, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad is:
- Messenger of God
- Has been sent with guidance, truth and excellent mannerism
- God sent him in Qadian.
- Whatever he says, it is from God, meaning that it is an absolute truth.
This means that whatever MGAQ has described about Dajjal, it is from God.
On the one hand MGAQ claims that he believes in Holy Prophet Muhammad SAAW, he is the most ardent follower and a great lover, and that is how he was chosen for Prophethood, but in reality time and again he committed blasphemy of the worst kind. Read the traditions of Holy Prophet SAAW on Dajjal and then read the descriptions of Mirza. They are poles apart. MGAQ fertile imagination found several ways to reconcile these differences. Ridicule the Hadith, discard them or accuse Holy Prophet SAAW of making a mistake. He tried all three methods.
Ibne Sayyad is Dajjal
"Sahih Ahadith Muslim and Bukhari are unanimously showing that actually Ibne Sayyad was Promised Dajjal........and Holy Prophet SAAW is also testifying that in fact Ibne Sayyad is Promised Dajjal who ultimately became Muslim and died as Muslim in Madina and was buried in Muslim graveyard, but our Muslim brothers insist on their point of view" (Izala-e-Auham, Roohani Khazain vol.3 p.222)
(For readers information Holy Prophet SAAW never testified that Ibne Sayyad was Dajjal. In this quotation Mirza is trying to have everyone believe that Holy Prophet SAAW was Ma'azAllah wrong.)
Believing in One-Eyed Dajjal is Shirk
"why should we utter such words full of shirk from our mouth that like God Al-Mighty One-eyed Dajjal will give life to dead in his reign and will exhibit clearly observable Godly-signs and no one will tell him 'O one-eyed god! Firstly cure your own eye'. Does Oneness of God that Islam has taught us, permits such attributes in any creation?...... it is strange that according to Muslims, Donkey of Dajjal also has some godly attributes and they say that the creator of this donkey is Dajjal himself. Then if such a Dajjal give life and takes away the life and is a creator as well, then what is left in him being a God? And they describe this donkey's capability that it will travel between East and West in a day...." (Izala-e-Auham, Roohani Khazain vol.3 p.174)
Many Dajjals in Hadith
"One more thing is worth considering by our scholars that AHadith do not mention just one Dajjal, rather many Dajjals are mentioned.." (Izala-e-Auham, Roohani Khazain vol.3 p.175)
This attitude is quite evident from his following quotation:
"The basis for our claims is not Hadith but Quran and that Wahi which comes to me. Yes, in support we also present those Hadith which are according to Quran and DO NOT CONTRADICT MY WAHI. Rest of the Hadith, I THROW THEM AWAY LIKE A WASTE PAPER." (Roohani Khazain vol.19 p.140)
Mirza Ghulam AQ have used this basis in all his claims. Eisa Ibne Maryam, Promised Messiah, Imam Mahdi, Prophethood - you name it and the same twisted logic is working behind them. Dajjal was no exception.
Traditions of Holy Prophet Muhammad SAAW are very clear on the identity of Dajjal and even a dumb follower, let alone a Muslim, can identify him. Since no such person fitting the description could or would be found fitting this description, Mirza had to find a way to prove that Dajjal has really appeared (so that his claim of being the Promised Messiah is proven). If one read his book Izala-e-Auham (Roohani Khazain vol. 3) one would discover that he has written pages after pages giving lengthy convoluted arguments to prove that the description of Dajjal as mentioned in scores of authentic Hadith of Holy Prophet SAAW was incorrect. And then adding insult to the injury he wrote:
"It should not be surprising if the complete truth regarding Ibne Maryam (Jesus) and Dajjal was not revealed on Holy Prophet Muhammad SAAW because of lack of any exact prototype. Neither did the true meanings of the 70 Ba'a (1 Ba'a = 4 arm length = about 280 yards) and nor did Allah's revelation guide Him (SAAW) towards the deep mystery of Gog and Magog and nor the exact composition of Da'abatul Ardh was revealed." (Izala-e-Auham, Roohani Khazain vol. 3 p.473)
In a nut shell, Holy Prophet SAAW did not understand what Mirza understood. Allah and His Wahi did not guide Holy Prophet SAAW in understanding the mysteries of the events preceding Qiyamah but MGAQ was given that knowledge.
He pretended that he is the most ardent follower of Holy Prophet SAAW, yet he has written pages after pages in books like Izala-e-Auham, Kitab-ul-Bariyah and Anjam-e-Atham trying to show that Hadith's description is wrong, that Ma'azAllah Holy Prophet SAAW made a mistake in understanding the revelation, thus revealing his inner darkness. Mirza GAQ tried to make a strong case against what was being said about Dajjal in Holy Prophet SAAW. He gives many examples from the life of Holy Prophet SAAW and then concludes:
"There is a possibility of making mistake by Prophets at the time of interpretation (of revelation). For instance because of that dream which is mentioned in Holy Quran which became a source of tribulation for some believers, Holy Prophet SAAW traveled from Madina to Makkah .... no doubt that Holy Prophet SAAW's dream is part of Wahi, but He was not informed about the mistake that He made in understanding the real meaning of this revelation .......similarly regarding Ibne Sayyad revelation was not clearly obvious and Holy Prophet SAAW initially thought that Ibne Sayyad is Dajjal but later He changed his opinion (and then he gives another another example)..... whatever Holy Prophet SAAW understood to be the interpretation of his prophecy it turned out to be wrong. And the situation of prophecies of Hazrat Maseeh was even stranger. Many a times he understood the meaning of his prophecy to be something and ultimately it turned out to be something else .... similarly it is evident from Bible that Hazrat Maseeh's revelation was also not very clear and many prophecies were not fulfilled because of his misunderstanding ..... in any case one principle is surely laid by these examples that in understanding and interpreting the meanings of prophecies, Prophets AS sometimes make mistakes." (Izala-e-Auham, Roohani Khazain vol. 3 p. 471-472)
Readers will notice that all Hadith regarding Dajjal are related to end of the time and are closely related to the coming of Messiah Hazrat Eisa Ibne Maryam AS. Since Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani claimed to be the so-called Promised Messiah and Eisa Ibne Maryam, he had to create a Dajjal also to legitimize his claim.
"Among these (signs) the proof of this humble self being Promised Messiah is this sign that specially this is the mark for the appearance of Promised Messiah that he will descend after the coming forth of Promised Dajjal, since this is an established fact he who comes after the promised Dajjal will be the true Messiah, who will be given the name of Promised Messiah ...... thus this humble self have come after the appearance of promised Dajjal. (Izala-e-Auham, Roohani Khazain vol. 3 p. 488-489)
"If this is proven that the promised Dajjal is this group of Padres and Christian Missionaries which has created mayhem on earth due to its magical works and which is exactly at this time appearing forcefully .... then it will simultaneously prove this humble self to be the Promised Messiah. (It seems Mirza is still unsure about his claim that he is Promised Messiah!!!) (Izala-e-Auham, Roohani Khazain vol. 3 p. 488-489)
Promised Messiah has come
"According to Holy Quran and Earlier books of God, it is very clear that when three types of creations appear in the world, then understand that Promised Messiah has come or is at the door.
1. Maseeh Al-Dajjal, whose translation is Khalifa-e-Iblis because Dajjal is a name among the names of Iblis (Satan) which is his Ism-e-Azam...... As oppose to him is the Messiah Allah al-Hayee al-Qayoom ...... God wanted to have wrestling between His Ism-e-Azam and Satan's Ism-e-Azam..............
Second type of Creature which is the sign of Promised Messiah is the appearance of Gog and Magog .........
Third type of Creature which is the sign of Promised Messiah is the appearance of Da'abatul Ardh..........."
(Tohfa-e-Golrawiya, Roohani Khazain vol.17 p.268-278)
"Another proof of (being a Messiah) is that the band of Dajjal has appeared and it is emerging with great force ....... likewise Gog and Magog are also emerging with great might. Da'abatul Ardh is also seen here and there. A dark cloud has also descended from heavens and enveloped the earth. Then if at such a time Messiah had not appeared then Prophecy (of Holy Prophet SAAW) would have necessarily become false, thus Promised Messiah who revealed himself is this humble self." (Izala-e-Auham, Roohani Khazain vol. 3 p. 469-470)
My my!! what a sacrifice MGAQ has given to fulfill the prophecy of Holy Prophet Muhammad SAAW!!!!
Those who are familiar with the claims and writings of Mirza GAQ know very well that he was an opportunist. He never hesitated in fabricating lies, distorting the meaning of Quran and Hadith to suit his purpose. He would take a concept from Quran and Hadith and then use his sick imagination to justify his claims. Where ever it was convenient for him he would accept even a weak Hadith, use convoluted logic, lengthy complicated mind boggling arguments to convince his readers of its authenticity and labeling it as Sahih, just to support his claim. However when it would not suit him, he would reject even an authentic Sahih Hadith.
He desperately wanted to prove that he is the Messiah which has been foretold by Holy Prophet Muhammad SAAW. He used twisted logic, metaphorical meanings, stretching the imagination to the point of breaking point till somehow in his own mind he could justify that he is Eisa ibne Maryam. However doubts still existed in his mind, actually he knew in his heart that he is a liar but could not control his sick mind. The purpose of this whole exercise of inventing a Dajjal was to support his claim of being Messiah. Since there was no such Dajjal which fitted the description given by Holy Prophet SAAW, he did not even hesitate to accuse Him of not understanding the revelation or mistakes in understanding the revelation (Ma'azAllah), thus justifying his own description of Dajjal. So that he can become Messiah.
Now read this quotation again:
"The basis for our claims is not Hadith but Quran and that Wahi which comes to me. Yes, in support we also present those Hadith which are according to Quran and DO NOT CONTRADICT MY WAHI. Rest of the Hadith, I THROW THEM AWAY LIKE A WASTE PAPER." (Roohani Khazain vol.19 p.140)
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani was a sick man with a sick imagination. He didn't have a teacher to guide, he didn't have a spiritual Shaikh to warn him of the pitfalls and Shaitaan became his guide. He claimed to be Messiah, but had great difficulty in proving his claim. MGAQ died in 1908 but Christian Missionaries are still here and more active than ever before. If writing a few books against Christianity is killing the Dajjal spiritually, then I am sure there are many others who have done a far better job.
Dear Readers! Becoming Messiah was not the end of the story. His sick mind with delusions of grandeur, that is why his sick mind could not let settle at one point, he had to keep climbing steps after steps till he became prophet. But satan would not leave him there, he made him write that he is son of god, wife of god and ultimately god. May Allah protect us all from Satan, the accursed one. Ameen.
I invite Ahmadi followers to read, verify and ponder over what has been written. May Allah show you what is right and what is wrong, give you the courage to follow the right path and denounce falsehood. Ameen
Wa maa alainaa ila-al-balaagh - our task is nothing more than to convey.
Wassalam
Dr. Syed Rashid Ali
Refrences:
PS: Scanned images of these references from the books of MGAQ are available on request.