This problem relates to the family life of Mirza Ghulam and normally
such problems should be of little interest to a historian. But the family
lives of such people who proclaim a divinely-ordained status, no longer
remains a private matter, for there are lessons to be learnt. There are
millions of people who strive for the hands of ladies of their choice.
Some succeed and some don't. If unsuccessful, they move on. But this claimant
of prophethood, made it an issue out of it. He propagated this Divine Marriage
as a sign of the truthfulness of his claims to prophethood. He even boasted:
This should be clear to people that there can be no better criterion of
testing our truth or falsehood than our prophecy. He failed miserably but
he could not accept the marriage of this poor girl to someone else. This
so-called claimant of prophethood over the years kept pursuing her with
his repeated prophecies of her ultimate marriage with him before his death.
But Alas! He passed away from this world with this desire unfulfilled.
Mirza Ghulam married only two ladies during his lifetime. First at the age of 12 - 14 years with his maternal uncle's daughter. Sultan Ahmad and Fazal Ahmad were born out of this wedlock. Second marriage was done at around 50 years of age in Delhi with Nusrat Jehan Begum who sons were Mahmud Ahmad (the 2nd Khalifa), Basheer Ahmad (the author of Seerat-ul-Mahdi) and Mubarak Ahmad.
For several years after the second marriage, Mirza kept having floods of inspirations and dreams informing him of further marriages. But since Allah AlMighty wanted to show to the world that the Messiah of Qadian was devoid of Eternal Blessing of Divine Gnosis and Communion with Allah and that his source of inspirations and dreams were not Rehmani but shaitani in origin, therefore all such inspirations and dreams proved false. After the 2nd marriage with Nusrat Jehan Begum, no other woman could enter into his wedlock. However it is worth reading an account of his attempts to get married 3rd time because it sheds light on the character of this man but more so because he had made this 3rd marriage a sign of his truthfulness.
Now just read ahead the grandiose prophecies of Mirza Ghulam.
"Ask Shaikh Mohammad Hussein Batalvi under oath that is this not true that before this marriage which took place in Delhi, once I was present in his house. He asked me to relate some inspiration, I related to him a fresh inspiration which I had received in those days and proving this marriage and its second part. And it was this: 'Bikrun wa Thayabun' which means that it is destined that one marriage will be with a virgin and then after that with a widow. I remember this inspiration and I hope not that Mohammad Hussein has forgotten it. I remember his house where sitting on the chair I described this inspiration and there was no trace of Ahmad Baig's (daughter's) story in those days and there was no mention of this second marriage either. Thus if he thinks then he should know that this was a sign of God, whose one part he had seen (marriage with Nusrat Jehan Begum) and the second part concerning the widow, he will see it some other time." (Zamima Anjam-e-Atham P.14, Roohani Khazain Vol. 11 P. 298)Mirza got married to Nusrat Jehan Begum, a virgin, in 1884. First part of the inspiration was fulfilled, now only the second part of marriage with a widow remained. But two years later, on 20th February 1886, Mirza Ghulam got an inspiration informing him that several ladies would be coming into his wedlock. He wrote:
"Then God the Merciful gave me the gladtiding, saying: Your house will be filled with Barakah and I will complete my bounties on you and from the Blessed ladies, who will come to you after this (Nusrat), your family will grow greatly." (Tabligh-e-Risalat vol.1 p.60, Collection of Advertisement vol.1 p.102)But after this inspiration, neither Mirza Ghulam got married again nor could he get hold of any blessed or un-blessed ladies. Had he somehow got married to Mohammadi Begum, probably he would have twisted and turned this inspiration to fulfill it, but the honorable Allah did not want to turn a fabrication into a fact. When Mirza published his inspiration regarding several ladies coming to him, someone by the name of Munshi Mohammad Ramzan ridiculed this inspiration in a local newspaper, Punjabi Akhbaar, dated 20th March 1886. Mirza Ghulam wrote:
"In the advertisement of 20th February 1886, this inspiration was published from God that He had given me the gladtiding that 'Several blessed women will come into your wedlock after this advertisement and they will bear children'. Regarding this inspiration Munshi Mohammad Ramzan Sahib says: Inspirations are of several kinds, for good people, good ones, and to adulterers, about women." (Tabligh-e-Risalat vol.1 p.90)On 8th June 1886, Mirza wrote to Hakeem Nuruddin:
"The favours of God that are upon this humble-one, I always want to relate some of them to my friends. Thus to you as well, who are among the sincere friend, I want to describe this prophecy of one day. Probably 4 months ago, it was revealed to this humble-one that 'A son, strong with two powers, perfect in outer aspect and inside, will be given to you, his name will be Emanuil and Basheer'. Until this moment I had thought that this son would be born to this wife (Nusrat). But now frequent inspirations are indicating that 'soon you would have to marry again and it has been decided by Allah that a pious-natured and good-mannered lady would be given to you and will bear children.' The surprising thing in this is that when I had this inspiration, then in the dream state 4 fruits were given to me, three of them were mangoes but one was very big green coloured, it did not resemble the fruits of this world. I think that that fruit which did not resemble the fruits of this world, is the same blessed son, because the meaning of fruits is sons. And when the gladtiding was given regarding this pious-natured wife and along with it four fruits were given in dream, in which one fruit was different, then its meaning is obvious. Now my opponents, who are blind, objects that why a son was not born this time. In my opinion before the birth of this son, it seems necessary that this 3rd marriage should take place, because in this 3rd marriage, there are indications of sons being born. Probably the time for this 3rd is near. Let us see where God intends this thing to take place. Numerous inspirations have been received in this regards and God's intention seems somewhat forceful." (Maktoobat-e-Ahmadiyya Vol.5 P.5-6)On 20th June 1886, Mirza wrote to Hakeem Nuruddin:
"What this humble wrote to you, it was in friendly way to inform you about the secrets of inspirations, because it is the habit of this humble-one that to increase to power of faith of friends, some hidden things are told. And the real condition of this humble-one is that ever since I had received this divine indication about the 3rd marriage, I am worried and i cannot refrain from the Will of God... Initially I had tried to get cancelled this divine order, but repeated inspirations and dreams are proving that this is the Destiny (Qadhaa-e-Mubrim)." (Maktoobaat-e-Ahmadiyya vol.5 No.2 P.8)It should be noted that destiny is of two types: Qadhaa-e-Mu'aliq (Hanging Destiny) and Qadhaa-e-Mubrim (Inevitable Destiny). Mu'aliq is something which can be altered by prayers, medicines, alms. Mubrim is something which is fixed and inevitable and will never be postponed. Thus the 3rd Marriage of Mirza was an Inevitable Destiny which could not be postponed under any circumstances. But despite admitting to the effect, Mirza did not marry 3rd time and that Inevitably Destined Marriage for which inspirations had been raining on him for a long time, never materialized, proving him to be a liar in his claims.
Now let us see how desperately Mirza Ghulam tried to fulfill these inspirations regarding 3rd marriage.
When her father came seeking help of Mirza to solve the problem of some disputed land, Mirza, who had been having an eye on his daughter, Mohammadi Begum, saw his chance. He agreed to help him but asked for her hand in marriage in return, although she was half his age. He therefore wrapped it in the form of a Divinely Inspired Act. The letter of Mirza Ghulam which was published in the 10th May 1888 edition of Nur Afshan Newspaper and later in his advertisement of July 1888 gives a detailed account of this story.
"The uncle of Mohammadi Begum who consider me liar and cunning in my claims, had been seeking a heavenly sign from me. Therefore several times prayers were made for them. thus that prayer was acknowledged and God made this arrangement that the father of this lady (Ahmad Baig) came to beg me for a necessary task. Its details are this that the one sister of Ahmad Baig was married to one of my cousin, Ghulam Hussein. Ghulam Hussein vanished some 25 years ago and there was no news about him. His land, whose ownership rights are mine, was endorsed in government papers in the name of sister of (Ahmad Baig) (who was the wife of Ghulam Hussein). Presently this man (Ahmad Baig), with the permission of his sister, wanted that that land, whose value is Rs 4000 - 5000, get transferred to his son, Mohammad Baig, as a gift. Therefore the gift deed was written by his sister and since this deed without my permission was useless, then this man (Ahmad Baig) came to us with great humility, so that we may sign it. Just when I was about to sign, ... I thought of doing a Istikharah ( a way to find Allah's willingness in any act). Then after repeated request from this man, Istikharah was done. That istikharah turned out to be the time of showing the Heavenly Sign, which God showed in this manner." (Roohani Khazain Vol. 5 P.285-286; Collection of Advertisements vol.1 p.156-157)In the advertisement of 10th July 1888, he wrote further:
"The Omnipotent and Omniscient God has asked me that I should seek the hand of the elder daughter of this man (Ahmad Baig); should tell him that good conduct and courtesy to be shown to him would depend on this; her marriage with me would be a source of blessing and a sign of mercy for her father; and that he would have his share in all those blessings and mercies which have been laid down in the leaflet dated February 20, 1886 (about the promised son), but if he declines to marry her, then the girl would meet an extremely tragic end. The other person to whom she would be married would die within two and a half years after the day of wedding, and so would die the father of the girl within three years, and her household would be afflicted with discord and poverty and adversity, and during the intervening period the girl would encounter several events of unpleasant and grievous nature." (Roohani Khazain Vol. 5 P.285-286; Collection of Advertisements vol.1 p.156-157)In his another book, he said regarding this prophecy:
"By way of prophecy the Exalted God revealed it to this humble one that ultimately the elder daughter of Mirza Ahmad Baig, son of Mirza Gaman Baig Hoshiarpuri, would be married to me. These people would resort to great hostility and would place obstacles in the way, but in the end, it surely would take place. The Exalted God would, by all possible means, bring her to me, whether as a virgin or a widow, and would remove all impediments, and would of necessity, fulfill this task and none would be able to prevent it." (Izala-e-Auham, Roohani Khazain vol.3 p.305)Heavenly Sign: The Divine Reason for this Marriage
"These people considered me LIAR and CUNNING in my claims of inspirations and used to make various kinds of objections on (Mirza's) Islam and (Mirza's interpretation of) Holy Quran and asked me for a Heavenly Sign. For this reason several times prayers were conducted for them. Thus that prayer was granted and to show the sign God created this opportunity that the father of this girl came to me for a necessary task....... (and Mirza grabbed the opportunity)" (Aina-e-Kamalaat-e-Islam, Roohani Khazain vol.5 p.285)
Divine Marriage - A Test of Mirza's
Truth and Lies
Thus after publicising this
prophecy, he declared:
"This should be clear to people that there can be no better criterion of testing our truth or lies than our prophecy." (Roohani Khazain Vol. 5 P.285-286; Collection of Advertisements vol.1 p.156-157)The prophecy however did not materialised. One might think that there might be a misunderstanding on the part of Mirza to interpret the Divine Inspirations. But there was no question of such a possibility. Mirza Ghulam was so full of confidence, so full of arrogance, and challenging the opponent with such dire consequences on the strength of his inspirations that any presumed mistake was out of question. In his own words:
"The prophecies which are presented before the opponents for the purpose of vindicating some claim, contain a peculiar kind of light and guidance, since the inspired ones who, by concentrating their attention on God, generally succeed in having a clear concept of their meanings and nature." (Izala-e-Auham p. 202, Roohani Khazain vol.3 p. )Mirza not only made this prophecy a yard stick of his truth and lies but also a criterion of victory or defeat of Islam:
"Then when I repeatedly meditated in order to seek clarification and elaboration of the prophecy, it was made known to me that God has decreed that the elder daughter of the addressee (Ahmad Baig) will ultimately be married to this humble one (after all impediments have been removed) and this event will make irreligious people Muslims, and provide guidance to the misguided." (Roohani Khazain Vol. 5 P. 285-286; Collection of Advertisements vol.1 p.156-157)The exact inspiration that was revealed in Arabic on this occasion was this:
"They have rejected Our signs and they were ridiculing them from before. So God will be your helper in dealing with those who are obstructing this task and ultimately We will bring this girl back to you. There is none who can put off the words of God. Your God is that Omnipotent, whatever He Wills that happens. You are with me and I am with you; and you shall shortly reach the stage whereat you shall be praised. This means that even though the stupid and ignorant people indulge in vilification and utter unbecoming words for you, out of their inner corruption and invidious understanding, but they will ultimately feel ashamed after they have witnessed the succour of God and as a result of the manifestation of the truth, there will be praised for you all round." (Roohani Khazain Vol. 5 P.285-286; Collection of Advertisements vol.1 p.156-157)Father of Mohammadi Begum rightly felt offended with such publicity about his daughter, which in Indian culture is considered to be extremely shameful. His only fault was that he went to Mirza Ghulam seeking a favour. And this so-called prophet/messiah behaved in a manner which even an ordinary man would be ashamed to act. He did not consider his relationship, his age nor even his self proclaimed religious status. He shamefully tried to take advantage of the situation. People might have still forgiven him and forgotten the matter, had Mirza left it alone. And worst was still to come.
He was so full of confidence, that he kept reiterating it in an increasingly forceful manner. He boasted:
"Wait for the (fulfillment) of prophecy mentioned in the announcement of 10th July 1888, along with which there is also appended this inspiration: And they ask thee if this is true. Say: Yes, by my Lord, it is true and you cannot prevent it from taking place. We have ourselves wed thee to her. There is none to change my words. And on seeing the sign, they will turn their faces and will say: This is thorough deception, and a thorough magic." (Asmani Faisla p.40, Roohani Khazain Vol.4 P.350)In his letter addressed to the ulema and spiritual leaders (Pirs) of India, Mirza wrote in Arabic:
“Predestination is bound to prevail and God has finally decreed it and so the time for it (i.e. marriage) will inevitably come. By the One who has sent to us Muhammad al Mustafa and made him the best of Messengers and the best of creatures, verily this is truth and you will see it and I shall make this news the criterion of my truth and falsehood. And I did not say this until I was informed about it from God.” (Anjam-e-Atham P.223)Emphasizing the significance of this prophecy and stressing it to be the sign of God, he said:
“In respect of this (Prophecy) some of the fair minded Arya authors have also borne witness that if this prophecy were fulfilled it would indeed be an act of God. And this prophecy is against harsh people who it seems have drawn the sword of enmity and spite, and whosoever knows the state they are in, will be well aware of the great significance of this prophecy. Everyone who will read the announcement, no matter how prejudiced he is, is bound to agree that the content of the prophecy is beyond the capacity of man.” (Izala-e-Auham p.199)
“ Soon after this prophecy was revealed and was yet to be fulfilled, just as it has not been fulfilled as yet, that is by April 16,1891, this humble one encountered a severe ailment bringing me so close to death that I got even my will drawn up. At that critical moment the prophecy almost came before my eyes and it appeared that the last moment had come and that the next day would be my day of funeral. At that time I thought of this prophecy that may be it had some other meaning which I had not understood. Then in that critical condition I received the inspiration:Once again he was reassured. Mirza's marriage with Muhammadi Begum was a settled matter, a matter which had been decided upon in the heavens and hence there was no possibility of any alteration. He announced that this was not only the criterion of his veracity but also of the veracity of the One who had communicated it to him. And since he considered himself to be the true representative and advocate of Islam and his own prestige to be synonymous with the prestige of Islam, he regarded the matter as one involving the victory of Islam itself.'This thing is truth from thy Lord. Why do you doubt?' " (Izala-e-Auham P.199)
Theoretically, however, Mirza believed that the inspired person should strive for the fulfillment of his own prophecies and that there was nothing incompatible between this effort and his position as the recipient of an inspired prophecy. It was because of this view that he himself had the eastern minaret constructed at Qadian for it had been mentioned in the Hadith concerning the return of Jesus.
"If divine revelation makes something known as prophecy, and if it is possible that a man should fulfill it without fanning up a fitnah and resorting to illegitimate means, then making efforts for the fulfillment of such a prophecy is not only permissible, but also commendable (masnoon)." (Haqeeqat-ul-Wahi p.191)Following the same principle, he set out to persuade, by all possible means, the father and other relatives of Muhammadi Begum to accept his proposal. He resorted to all the means of inducement and intimidation which he could possibly employ. In his request as well as the announcement of July 10 1888, both these aspects of inducement and intimidation are quite evident. In the event of the acceptance of the proposal of marriage he had promised Divine reward, whereas in the case of its rejection, he had threatened them with wrath of God.
Mirza Sher Ali Baig was the son of Mirza Ghulam's real maternal uncle. Mirza Ghulam's first wife who was the mother of his two sons, Sultan Ahmad and Fazal Ahmad, was the sister of Mirza Sher Ali. Mirza Ghulam had kept her 'mu'aliqa' for years. Mu'aliqa means hanging, Mirza Ghulam had literally kept her hanging for a number of years; neither would he keep her in his house nor he would divorce her with ther result that for years the poor lady was staying with her parents. Mirza Ghulam also refused to pay for her sustenance allowance. Mirza Sher Ali was also uncle of Mohammadi Begum, his wife was the sister of father of Mohammadi Begum. In addition he was also the father of Izzit Bibi, the wife of Fazal Ahmad son of Mirza Ghulam.
Because of the manner in which Mirza Ghulam had treated his 1st wife, all these relatives were quite angry with him. However when Mirza Ghulam came to know that Izzat Bibi, his daughter in law and wife of his son, Mirza Fazal Ahmad, and the mother of Izzat Bibi, the wife of Mirza Ali Sher Baig (who was also the aunt of Muhammadi Begum), were opposed to his proposal and favoured the marriage of the girl to Mirza Sultan Muhammad, he was infuriated and he wrote letters to them. Qazi Fazal Ahmad Ludhianvi had printed these letters in his book 'Kalima Fazl-e-Rehmani'. These letters were preserved with Mirza Sher Ali Baig, from whom Shaikh Nizauddin of Raahol obtained them and gave it to Qazi Sahib. These letters are reproduced here to shed light into the mentality of this man who claimed to be the Divinely appointed reformer of Islam/Messiah/Mahdi. (Raees-e-Qadian by Abul Qasim Dilawari p.142-147; Qadiani Mazhab by Prof Ilyas Burni)
“My Affectionate Mirza Sher Ali Sahib. Assalamo alaikum wa rehmatullah. God knows very well that I had never treated you as separate and I consider you a nice mannered, good natured person and steadfast on Islam. But now what I am going to tell you, it will hurt you a lot. For the sake of God I want to break my relations with them who consider me who think of me as small and do not care about religion. You know that regarding Mirza Ahmad Baig's daughter, how much my hostility is there with them. Now I have heard that on the 2nd or 3rd of Eid that girl is going to get married and people of your household are included in these discussions. You understand that the participants of this marriage are my stiff enemies, rather they are enemies of Islam. They want Christians to ridicule, and please the Hindus and do not care about the Religion of Allah and His Rasool. And they have firmly decided about me that I should be disgraced and blackened my face. They are about to use the sword from their side. NOW IT IS GOD's WORK TO SAVE ME. IF I AM FROM HIM, HE WILL DEFINITELY SAVE ME. If the people of your household had joined together and tried to persuade your brother, why should he not have given his consent? Do I belong to a low caste so that it would be a shame to marry the girl to me? On the other hand he kept on seconding my propsal, but quite recently I have been left at the mercy of his bother and now all have united on the question of the girl’s marriage. What do I have to do with a girl? She might be married to anyone. This was merely a test, those whom I considered to be my own and from whose daughter I wanted to have offsprings and my heirs are now thirsty of my blood. They are now after my honour and want me to be put to shame and to have a blackened face. It is up to God to dishonour whomsoever He wills. But so far as these people are concerned, they indeed want to hurl me into the fire. . . . . . Since I am such a low-caste then there is no reason to keep relation with my son. Therefore I have written to them that if you do not abstain from your intention (of marriage of Mohammadi with someone else) and will not stop your brother with this marriage, then as you want, my son Fazal Ahmad will also not be able keep your daughter in his wedlock. Instead as on the one end Mohammadi's marriage with someone else is taking place on the other end Fazal Ahmad will divorce your daughter. If he does not divorce her, then I will disinherit him. But if you fight with Ahmad Baig for me and stop him from his intention, then I am yours with my heart and soul, and Fazal Ahmad, who is now in my control, I will correct him in every respect and will try to organise everything for your daughter and my wealth will be their wealth. Thus I am writing to you as well that take advantage of this opportunity, and write a strongest letter to Ahmad Baig that he should stop and instruct your household that they should fight their brother to stop him, otherwise I SWEAR UPON GOD, I WILL BREAK ALL THESE RELATIONSHIPS FOREVER. If Fazal Ahmad wants to become my son and inheritor then he will keep your daughter in his house when your wife's happiness is proven; otherwise as soon as I go, all relations are broken...4th May 1891 Reply of Sher Ali Baig to Mirza Ghulam:
From: Khaksar Ghulam Ahmad, Ludhiana, Iqbal Gunj dated May 2, 1891.”
(Kalma-e-Fazl-e-Rehmani by Qazi Fazal Ahmad, collection of letters of Mirza Ghulam to the relatives of Mohammadi Begum. cited in Qadiani Madhhab and Raees-e-Qadian)
"My brother Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. Assalamo alaikum. I recieved your letter. It is your kindness that you consider me nice-natured and pious. But I do not accept your concocted prophethood and pray to Allah that may He keeps me on the way of pious ancestors and give death on it... What can I do about Ahmad Baig. He is a simple muslim. Whatever has happened, is because of you. Had you not spoiled your faith and started claiming to recieve inspirations, had you not threatened with death, nor would he have refrained from you. This is true that you proposed as a relative, but think yourself that if in your place is Ahmad Baig and you are in his place, then say by God, what things would you consider before accepting the proposal? If Ahmad Baig had asked for this marriage and he had been a collection of sickness, over 50 years of age and on top of that he had surpassed even Musailma Kazzab (Musailma Kazzab was a false claimant of prophethood) in his claims, then would you have given the hand of your daughter?4th May 1891 2nd Letter:You should not have gone out of control while writing the letter. There are girls in every house and the system of the world progresses in such manner. There is no harm if you get her a divorce, this will be a new tradition of prophethood and you will have to accept the blackness of ignomony on your face. As far as the bread is concerned, God will provide it from somewhere, if not fresh, dried will do, but that dried is better which is earned by ones efforts.
I am writing to Brother Ahmad Baig, and I am also sending your letter alongwith. But I cannot do anything in his presence and what right does my wife has to ask for her brother's daughter the proposal of an eternally sick man whose mental illness has progressed to divinity .... yes if he accepts himself, then me and my wife will not object. You write to him personally, but your pen has become used to writing harsh and strong words. As much as it is possible, refrain from such writings and try to beg and request.
Khaksaar, Ali Sher Baig, Qadian dated 4th May 1891"
(Nawishta-e-Ghaib by Khalid Wazirabadi pp.126-128, cited in Qadiani Mazhab by Prof Burni p.463)
"Mother of Izzat Bibi should know that I have received this news that within few days Mohammadi is getting married. I HAVE ALREADY SWORN UPON GOD THAT WITH THIS MARRIAGE I WILL BREAK ALL RELATIONS, NO RELATIONSHIP WILL REMAIN. Therefore I am telling in the way of advice that make your brother Ahmad Baig understand and cancel this intention and in whatever way you can make him understand do it. And if this does not happen then today I have written letters to Molvi Nuruddin and Fazal Ahmad that if you do not refrain from your intentions then Fazal Ahmad should send divorce paper for Izzat Bibi. And if Fazal Ahmad refuse to write divorce paper, he showed be disinherited and after me he should not be considered my heir and not a single paisa should he inherit. Thus I hope that a conditional divorce paper would come from him, whose text would be that if Mirza Ahmad Baig does not stops from marrying Mohammadi to someone else, then from the same day when Mohammadi marries someone else, Izzat Bibi gets three divorces. Thus writing like this, here as Mohammadi gets married to someone else, there Izzat Bibi will get divorce from Fazal Ahmad. Thus this is conditional divorce and I swear upon God, there is no other way except accepting it. And if Fazal Ahmad refuses, then I will immediately disinherit him and he will not get a single grain from my inheritence. And it would be better for you if you make your brother understand now. I am sorry that I wanted everything good of Izzat Bibi and with my efforts everything good would have turned out but destiny dominates a person. Remember I have not written anything in bluffing manner, I have sworn on God that I will do exactly as it is and God is with me. The day marriage takes place, marriage of Izzat Bibi will no longer remain valid.
From: Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, Iqbal Gunj, Ludhiana May 4, 1891"4th May 1891 3rd Letter:
"From Izzat Bibi to Mother. At the moment think of my destruction and ruin. Mirza Sahib treats me nicely. If you can talk to your brother, then you can convince him, otherwise, I will be divorced and I will be too much disgraced. If you do not agree then take me from this place soon, since it is not nice to stay here."Just in these three letters, one can discover so many un-Islamic statements - Fabrication in the name of God, Breaking the relations, Oppression, swearing for an oppresive act, making a false oath, taking revenge from an innocent person, ordering someone to divorce, to disinherit a legal heir, fabricating an inspiration etc. etc.On this letter Mirza ghulam wrote with his pen:
"As Izzat Bibi has stressed if the marriage cannot stop then without delay send someone from Qadian to take her away." (Mirza was staying in Ludhiana those days, and probably Izzat Bibi was also staying with him.)
“We swear upon God AlMighty Omnipotent, that I had recieved an inspiration that your daughter's marriage will take place with me. If it takes place somewhere else, then unpleasant things will descend from God and ultimately it will take place with me. Since you were dear and related to me, I stressed on you with good intentions that marrying her somewhere else would not be a blessed act. I would have been extremely cruel-natured if I had not told you this and I still make a request to your honour, with humility and respect, not to refrain from this (marriage) relationship. For this will be a means of great blessing for your daughter and the Exalted Allah will open the doors of Divine Grace which you cannot even conceive of; no worries and no sufferings would be there as THIS IS THE ORDER OF THAT WHO HAS THE KEYS TO HEAVENS AND EARTH then why should there be any ruin in it. And you may or may not that this prophecy of the humble one has become famous in thousands of people and I think there would be perhaps more than one million people who have information of this prophecy and a world is watching for it and thousands of Christian priests are waiting, not with mischief but with stupidity, that this prophecy turns out to be false and they gain strength BUT DEFINITELY GOD WILL DISGRACE THEM AND WILL HELP HIS RELIGION. I had been to Lahore and found out that thousands of Muslims fervently pray in the mosques after prayers for the fulfillment of this prophecy. Thus this is sympathy and is required by their love of the faith. And as this humble one believes in La ilaha illAllah Muhammadur Rasoolullah, similarly I believe on those inspirations which continuously descends on from God and I request you to share with your own hands in fulfilling this prophecy so that the blessinggs of Allah may descend on you. No one can fight God and something which has been decided in heaven, it can never change on earth. May God give you the blessings of the world and deen and now put that thing in your heart, for which he had send me the inspiration from heavens. May all your sufferings vanish, may God give you both religious and worldly (blessings).
From Mirza ghulam Ahmad. 17th July 1891"
"Then I wrote one letter on the instructions of God and on his signal, to Mirza Ahmad Baig, in which I wrote:My dear listen! Why do you consider my serious request a useless and do not trust what I say? By God, I do not want to give you any suffering. InshaAllah you will see how much I will oblige you. If, against the wishes of my family, you accept my proposal then I promise you on oath I will give you share from land and orchard and because of this marriage the differences between us will vanish. If you accept what I say it will be a matter of benevolence and gratification and kindness towards me and I would be grateful to you and I will pray to the Most Compassionate One for your long life; and I promise you to transfer one third of my property to your daughter and I say honestly that I will give you from it whatever you will ask of me. IN such circumstances you would not find another person in 'sila rehmee' (taking care of relations), and loving the relations and protecting the rights of relations. You will find me your helper and saviour in your difficulties, I will bear all your burdens. Thus do not waste time in refusal and do not give way to doubts. I AM NOT WRITING THIS LETTER OUT OF MY OWN WILL, INSTEAD IT IS WRITTEN WITH THE ORDER OF MY GOD. THIS LETTER IS FROM GREAT TRUTHFUL AND TRUSTWORTHY PERSON. Keep it safe in your trunk. God is witness that I am truthful in my statement and whatever I have promised you, is from God and I have not said anything in this from myself instead whatever is said, God had told me to say through inspiration. This was the instruction of my Lord which I have fulfilled, otherwise I did not need you or your girl. IF THE TIME OF THIS INSPIRATION PASSES AND THE TRUTH DOES NOT APPEAR, THEN PUT A ROPE IN MY NECK AND CHAIN MY FEET, AND GIVE ME SUCH A PUNISHMENT WHICH NO ONE HAS RECEIVED IN THE WORLD.” (Kalma-e-Fazl-e-Rehmani by Qazi Fazal Ahmad, collection of letters of Mirza Ghulam to the relatives of Mohammadi Begum. cited in Qadiani Madhhab, Aina-e-Kamaalaat-e-Islam, Roohani Khazain vol. 5 p. 573-574)
"The fault of the son-in-law is that he did not care even after seeing the advertised intimidation. Repeated letters were sent to him, he did not ge scared, message was sent to him to make him understand, no one took any notice and didn't bother to break with Ahmad Baig, instead they were all together in insulting and ridiculing. So this was the fault that after listening to the prophecy, they agreed for the marriage." (Tabligh-e-Risalat vol.3 p.166, Collection of Advertisement vol.2 p.95)Other Measures:
"Once Hazrat Maseeh Mowood (Mirza Ghulam) stayed in Jalundhur for nearly a month. In those days one of the real uncles of Mohammadi Begum tried to arrange the marriage of Mohammadi Begum with Hazrat Sahib but did not succeed. This is in those days when Mohammadi Begum had not yet been engaged with Mirza Sultan Mohammad. This uncle of Mohammadi Begum used to travel between Jalundhur and Hoshiarpur on a Tonga (horse-cart) and he also wanted some gift from Hazrat Sahib. And since the secret of marriage of Mohammadi Begum was mostly in his hands, therefore Hazrat (Mirza) Sahib had promised him some reward as well. But this man was ill-intentioned in this matter and only wanted to extract some money from Hazrat Sahib, because later same person along with his friends were responsible for fixing the marriage somewhere else. But Hazrat Sahib had also adopted certain clever policies regarding giving money to him." (Mirza Basheer Ahmad in Seerat-ul-Mahdi vol.1 p.174)
"Wait for (the fulfillment of) the prophecy mentioned in the advertisement of July 10, 1888, alongwith which there is also appended this Inspiration:
"14th August 1892, 20th Moharram 1309AH. Today I saw in my dream that Mohammadi Begum, about whom there is prophecy is sitting in outside room with some people and her body is naked and is very ugly looking." (Tazkirah p.198-199)
1893 After the marriage of Mohammadi Begum, Mirza wrote in his book, Aina-e-Kamalaat-e-Islam about this prophecy in 1893. It is worth noting that Mirza Ghulam claimed that during the writing of this book twice he saw the Holy Prophet SAAW in his dream and expressed his happiness about the writing of this book and once he saw an angel calling peoples' hearts towards this book and saying: 'This is the blessed book, stand up for its respect.' (Roohani Khazain Vol.5 P.7) (Another blatant lie of course as future events proved - author)
Thus in this book he re-iterated his claims:
"The prophecy regarding the daughter of Ahmad Baig, which is mentioned in the advertisement, it is a well known matter, she is the neice of Mirza Imamuddin, the letter to Mirza Ahmad Baig quoted in Kalima Fazl-e-Rehmani is mine, and this is true that that woman has not been married to me, but she will be definitely married to me, as mentioned in prophecy. She got married to Sultan Mohammad as mentioned in the prophecy. I am telling you the truth in this court, where I have been ridiculed about things which are not from me from God. A time is coming when all heads will hang in shame .... woman is still alive, she will assuredly come into my wedlock. What hope! I have firm belief. These are things of God, cannot be cancelled, it will happen." (Statement of Mirza in Gurdaspur Court in Manzoor-e-Ilahi p.244-245 by Manzoor Ilahi Sahib Qadiani Lahori cited in Qadiani Mazhab p.473)1894 Mirza Ghulam writes another inspiration:
"I prayed earnestly to God, then he sent me an inspiration that I will show these people a sign from them. God took the name of the girl (Mohammadi Begum) that she will be made a widow and then her husband and her father will die within three years from the day of marriage and then I will bring this lady back to you and no one will be able to stop this." (Inspiration of Mirza Ghulam, Karamat-us-Sadiqeen, Roohani Khazain vol.7 p.162)September 1894 Another Inspiration from God:
"The elder daughter of Ahmad Baig will be married else where, then God will bring her back to you, that is she will ultimately come into your wedlock and God will remove all obstacles from its way. Words of God cannot change." (Collection of Advertisement vol.2 p.41)1894 In his first announcement OF 1888 Mirza had prophesied that the person to whom Muhammadi Begum would be married would die within two and a half years after the marriage. This period elapsed and Mirza Sultan Muhammad remained alive, enjoying a happy married life. This forced Mirza to extend the lease of his life. In announcement of September 6 1894 he wrote:
"The Quran tells us that the duration indicated in such prophecies belongs to the category of conditional predestination. Hence, owing to the appearance of factors causing some change or alteration, postponement of the stipulated term and period does take place. This is Divine Law and the Quran is replete with this. Hence for every prophecy which is made through inspiration or revelation it is essential that its fulfillment should conform to the Divine Law as embodied in the Books of the Exalted God. And at the present time another benefit aimed at from this is that those aspects of Divine knowledge which have been lost sight of by the people should once again be manifested and thus insight into the Quran would be renovated......WAS THE MARRIAGE OF MOHAMMADI BEGUM WITH MIRZA GHULAM A DIVINE PUNISHMENT FOR HER WHICH WOULD HAVE BEEN IF SHE REPENTED ?????The time for divine punishment is conditionally predestined which can be put off by fear (of God) and repenting (towards God) as the whole of the Quran testifies. But so far as it relates to the prophecy, that is the marriage of that woman to this humble one that is assuredly predestined and cannot be waived off, for in the Divine revelation it is clearly stated that 'My words will never change'. For if they were to change the words of God would become false.” (Tabligh-e-Risalat vol.3 p.115, Collection of Advertisement vol.2 pp. 39-49)
1894 In the same announcement Mirza wrote:
"God will do it as he had said that I will bring that woman back after her marriage and give her to you and my Destiny will never change and nothing is impossible for me and I will remove all obstacles which are stopping in carrying out this order. Now it is evident from this Grand Prophecy that what He (God) will do and what kind of Vanquishing Might He would show. and which persons He would remove (kill) as obstacles. ..... many illiterate people would ridicule after the expiring of the time limit (of the death of Husband of Mohammadi Begum) and out of their bad luck name the truthful as liar. But those days are coming soon when these people would be embarassed and Truth will be menifested and the light of truism will shine and the UNCHANGABLE PROMISES OF GOD WILL BE FULFILLED. IS THERE ANYONE ON EARTH WHO CAN STOP THIS? BUDBAKHT (UNFORTUNATE) MAN HURRY TOWARDS MISTRUST....1894 Mirza prayed earnestly to godO ILL NATURED! SHOW YOUR NATURE, SEND THE CURSES, RIDICULE AND NAME THE TRUTHFULS AS LIARS AND FABRICATORS BUT SOON YOU WILL SEE WHAT WILL HAPPEN.
Remember the prophecy of that woman's marriage is from that Omnipotent whose words cannot be rejected. But Quran is telling that the time period of such prophecies are from a variety of the suspended destiny (Mu'aliq taqdeer), thus because of the creation of the reasons for change and alteration of the date of occurence, definitely those dates are delayed. ... this is the way of Allah......" (Tabligh-e-Risalat vol.3 p.115, Collection of Advertisement vol.2 pp. 39-49)
"If I am truthful than God will fulfill these prophecies. If these words are not from God, then my end will be very miserable and never ever these prophecies will be fulfilled. Our Lord! Judge between us and our people in truth, for you are the best of those who give judgement. And in the end I make this dua that:1896 Two years later Mirza insisted that his prophecy was true and he had no doubt about its ultimate fulfillment. He again insisted that:O Omnipotent and Knowledgeable God! If the prophecies of severe punishment to Atham and ultimate marriage of the daughter of Ahmad Baig with this humble one, if these prophecies are from you then menifest them in a manner which becomes a sign for your creations and the mouths of dark-spirited jealous people are shut.
AND O GOD! IF THESE PROPHECIES ARE NOT FROM YOU, THEN KILL ME IN DISGRACE AND DISAPPOINTED. IF I AM ACCURSED AND ABANDONED AND DAJJAL IN YOUR EYES, AS OPPONENTS THINK, THAT BLESSING OF YOURS IS NOT WITH ME WHICH WAS WITH YOUR SERVANT IBRAHIM (as) AND WITH ISHAQ (as) AND WITH ISHMAEL (as) AND WITH YAQOOB (as) AND WITH MOSES (as) AND WITH DAVID (as) AND WITH EISA IBNE MARYAM (as) AND WITH THE BEST OF PROPHETS MUHAMMAD SAAW AND WITH THE AWLIYA OF THIS UMMAT, THEN ANNIHILATE ME, KILL ME IN A DISGRACEFUL MANNER AND MAKE ME THE TARGET OF ETERNAL CURSES AND MAKE ALL ENEMIES HAPPY AND GRANT THEIR PRAYERS.
But if your blessing is with me and if you are the one who spoke to me and said: 'antaa wajeehee fi hadhratee, akhtertoka le nafsee' (you are respectable for me, I have chosen you for myself) and if you are the one who addressed me and said 'yahmadokAllaho min arshihee' (God praises you from His throne) and if you are the one who addressed me and said 'ya Eisa allazee laa yoda'a waqtehee' (O Eisa he does not waste his time) and if you are the one who addressed me and said 'a laisAllaho bek'aafin abdehee' (Is Allah not suffecient for his servant?) and if you are the one who addressed me and said'qul innee omirto wa ana awwalul mo'mineen' (Say I obey your command and I am the first Muslim) and if you are the one who is probably daily telling me 'antaa ma'ee wa anaa ma'ak' (you are with me and I am with you), then help me and stand up in my support. Wa innee maghloobun fantaser (and I am vanquished, thus help me).
I am Khaksaar Ghulam Ahmad from Qadian, District Gurdaspur
dated 27th October 1894"
(Collection of Advertisement vol.2 p.115-116)
“I say again and again that the essence of the prophecy, the death of the son-in-law of Ahmad Beg (i.e. Sultan Muhammad) is assuredly pre-destined, wait for it. IF I AM A LIAR, THIS PROPHECY WILL NOT BE FULFILLED AND MY DEATH WILL COME. If I am truthful then God will fulfill it just as he fulfilled the prophecies regarding Ahmad Baig and Atham .” (Anjam-e-Atham p.31. Roohani Khazain vol.11 p.31, footnote)1896 Mirza even brags about Holy Prophet Muhammad SAAW's prophecy about this marriage
"To confirm this prophecy, Holy Prophet Muhammad SAAW had already made a prophecy from before that 'the Promised Messiah will marry and will have children'. Now obviously this mentioning of marriage and having children is not mentioned in an ordinary way, since ordinarily everyone marries and gets children as well, there is nothing special in that. Instead this marriage is that special marriage which will be a sign and children are the special children about which this humble one's prophecy is already there. Thus here Rasoolullah SAAW is answering the doubts of these black-hearted disbelievers and saying that these things will definitely be fulfilled......" (Roohani Khazain vol.11 p. 337)1896 Mirza predicts the fate of his opponents
"It should be that our stupid opponents had waited for the outcome (of this prophecy) and had not exposed their bad-nature prematurely. When all these things will be fulfilled, then that day will these idiot opponents remain alive? And will that day all these disputants not be cut into pieces by the sword of truth? These idiots will not have any place to run and black spots of disgrace will turn their accursed faces into monkeys and swines." (Roohani Khazain vol.11 p. 337)1896 Great Expectations kept Mirza alive
"I am not just telling you that this affair (marriage of Mohammadi Begum) has ended here and whatever has happened is the culmination and the reality of the prophecy has ended here. Rather the main affair is still pending, none can cancel it with any excuse and this fate is predestined (taqdeer-e-mubrim) from God AlMighty. Soon its time will come. By God, who sent Hazrat Muhammad Rasoolullah and made Him Best of Messengers and Best of Persons, this is absolutely true. You will see soon and I declare this prophecy as a yardstick of my truth or lies and what I have said, I have said it after getting news from God." (Roohani Khazain vol.11 p. 223)
"Remember if the second part of this prophecy is not fulfilled, then I will become worst than any evil person. O Stupids! This is not a fabrication of some human, nor is this a business of KHABEES MUFTREE (evil fabricator). Believe it that this is the true promise of God, same God whose words are not changed." (Anjam-e-Atham p.54. Roohani Khazain vol.11 p.338)In 1901 he declared under oath:
“It is true that that woman has not been married to me But she will certainly be married to me as has been stated in the prophecy. She has been married to Sultan Muhammad, I say truly that in this court (i.e. the world) where people have laughed at things which were not from me but from God, a time will come when the events will take a strange turn and the heads of all will be downcast with remorse. The woman in still alive. She will inevitably come to my wedlock. I expect this to happen, rather, I have full faith in this. These are divinely ordained matters and are bound to occur.” (Al-Hakam Qadian, August 10, 1901)Sept 1902 Mohammadi Begum Finally gets reprieve from Mirza Ghulam
To propose for a girl's hand in marriage is a natural event in every household. But in the Muslim culture of even today, let alone of late 19th century, to keep an eye on a married woman is an extremely shameless act. To think about marrying a married woman, give death threats to her husband and to repeatedly publicise such things are highly immoral and scandalous. The display of such a behaviour from a man who claims to be divinely-ordained prophet of God, just shows his wicked and vulgar nature. Mirza proposed for Mohammadi Begum in 1888, she got married to another person in 1892, but for Mirza Ghulam this was not the end of the story. He kept issuing one statement after another, one inspiration after another, for the next 10 years. He was so consumed with his own satanic-inspired prophecies that he had no regard for the honour of the married woman or her family. She became the talk of the town, but he was least bothered.
Ultimately some decent Muslims got up and started thinking of ways and means of trying to free her from the vulgarity of Mirza Ghulam. In those days, a weekly newspaper was published from Lahore called 'Jafer Zitlee' whose owner and editor was Mulla Mohammad Bukhsh. He thought of a unique way of solving this propblem once and for all, which confounded Mirza Ghulam and all his obsession of divine marriage finally evaporated.
Mulla Mohammad Bukhsh announced in his paper that soon he is going to marry Nusrat Jehan Begum who is presently the wife of Mirza Ghulam Qadiani. In support of this announcement, he also published a lengthy dream, in which Mulla was married to Nusrat Jehan Begum (Asha'at-us-Sunnah). When this prophecy published in Jafer Zitlee Newspaper, Mirza Ghulam became furious and wrote in his book, Tohfa-e-Golraviya:
"Just as wicked opponents accused the mother of Hazrat Eisa AS, similarly about my wife, Shaikh Mohammad Hussein and his close friend Jafer Zitlee, purely as wickedness, concocted dirty dreams, have published them in a shameless manner. And in my enemosity, they did not observe that respect and manners which one should observe with the pious ladies of the Family of Holy Prophet SAAW. To call himself Molvi and such shameless activities!! Alas, thousand times Alas!" (Tohfa-e-Golraviyah, Roohani Khazain Vol.17 P.199, dated Sept. 1902)
By 1907 Mirza
had lost all hopes of ever seeing the face of Mohammadi Begum. But people
kept reminding him of his prophecy. He retaliated:
"It was also mentioned in the inspiration that the marriage of that woman with me has been performed in the heavens. It is true, but as I had mentioned, for the materialisation of the marriage which had taken place in heavens, there was a condition as well from God which was published then 'ayatohal marat toobi toobi fa innal bala 'ala uqbika' (O woman, repent repent for the calamity is after you'. When those people fulfilled the condition, the marriage was annulled or postponed." (Tatumma Haqeeqat-ul-Wahi, Roohani Khazain Vol.22 p.570)Mirza Ghulam Ahmad died in 1908, a disgraced and disappointed man.
Mirza Sultan Muhammad had a long life. He took part in the 1st World War. He was wounded during the war but survived and both husband and wife lived happily together for nearly 40 years after the death of Mirza Ghulam.
Qadiani Attitude
In the opinion of his more
staunch followers however nothing can as yet be said unequivocally; for,
so long as human life is in existence there is still a possibility of the
realization of this prophecy. Hakim Nuruddin the 1st successor of Mirza
gave a queer explanation of the matter but very much in tune with Qadian
casuistry. In the 'Review of Religions', he wrote the following in connection
with the death of the Promised Messiah:
"O GOD! IF THESE PROPHECIES ARE NOT FROM YOU, THEN KILL ME IN DISGRACE AND DISAPPOINTED. IF I AM ACCURSED AND ABANDONED AND DAJJAL IN YOUR EYES, AS OPPONENTS THINK, THAT BLESSING OF YOURS IS NOT WITH ME WHICH WAS WITH YOUR SERVANT IBRAHIM (as) AND WITH ISHAQ (as) AND WITH ISHMAEL (as) AND WITH YAQOOB (as) AND WITH MOSES (as) AND WITH DAVID (as) AND WITH EISA IBNE MARYAM (as) AND WITH THE BEST OF PROPHETS MUHAMMAD SAAW AND WITH THE AWLIYA OF THIS UMMAT, THEN ANNIHILATE ME, KILL ME IN A DISGRACEFUL MANNER AND MAKE ME THE TARGET OF ETERNAL CURSES AND MAKE ALL ENEMIES HAPPY AND GRANT THEIR PRAYERS." (Collection of Advertisement vol.2 p.115-116)Thus heed the message O people if you have some common sense!
Wassalam on those who seek and follow hidayah
Dr. Syed Rashid Ali
P O Box 11560
Dibba, Fujairah,
United Arab Emirates.
rasyed@emirates..net.ae
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