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Moral
Miracles:
by Imam
Kalamazad Mohammed
Whilst it is true that as ordinary
Muslims without any pretensions to sainthood we are unable
to perform sublime miracles like the Prophets of God or like
those of inspired mujaddids [reformers or
renovators] and saints of Islam, yet Hazrat Mirza Ghulam
Ahmad, Mujaddid of the 14th Century
Hijrah has expounded to us an area in which we, too,
can perform miracles in our own conduct that can perhaps be
of more import collectively to mankind than the signs that
were shown to the peoples of the past by their
Messengers.
But, first of all, as the farmer
clears his land of weeds and pebbles, before ploughing and
cultivating with healthy seeds that will bring forth
beautiful fruits for all to relish, so, too, we must prepare
our "soil". And the first step given to us in the Holy Quran
is:
O you who believe, turn to
Allah with taubatan nasuha (sincere repentance)
(66:8).
Tauba means he returned
to a place to which he had come before or he returned from
disobedience to obedience to God; he repented.
Nasaha signifies to advise and counsel
sincerely, honestly, sedulously or faithfully for the good
of the person advised; and taubatan nasuha
means true or sincere repentance; repentance that mends
life; such repentance that one never returns to such sin
after one repents of it (Lane).
So merciful and loving is our God to
us that He has promised that if we effect this kind of
repentance He will change our evil deeds into good
deeds:
Except him who repents and
believes and does good deeds; for such Allah changes
their evil deeds to good ones. And Allah is ever
Forgiving, Merciful (25:70).
However, this repentance has to be
sincere and it is also conditional, and in the following
excerpt, Mirza Sahib has given us three conditions that are
to be fulfilled if this taubatan nasaha is to be a
genuine, lasting and beneficial one.
Three
Conditions:
"Indeed, in order to acquire
fine morals, taubah (repentance) motivates and
assists man and helps to make him perfect; that is,
whoever wishes to change his evil behaviour, then it is
an indispensable prerequisite for him to make
taubah with a pure heart and with sincere
intentions. One must also remember that there are
three conditions to taubah without which
perfect taubah or taubatan nasaha cannot be
obtained.
The first
of these three conditions is that which is called
aqla in the Arabic language (from qala’a,
verbal noun aqla’un – to root out,
eradicate, pull out); that is, the banishing or
eradication of all those evil thoughts which instigated
those base habits. It is a fact that the influence of our
imagination is very great, for, before any action comes
into being, it must be preceded by thinking. So, as
regards taubah, the first condition is to
remove those
evil thoughts or ideas. For
example, if a man has contracted an unlawful relationship
with a woman, then in making taubah it is
incumbent upon him first to form an ugly picture of her
in his mind and keep fresh in his heart the vile nature
of this conduct, for, as I have just said, the influence
of our imagination is indeed very powerful.
I have read in the memoirs of Sufis
that so strong is their mental perception that they have
seen people in the shape of monkeys and swine. In short,
what happens is that a person tends to assume gradually
the characteristics of whatever he meditates strongly on.
Therefore, whatever ideas are understood to give rise to
low pleasures should be rooted out. This is the first
condition.
The second
condition is to experience remorse and deep
regret. Every man’s
conscience within him has this power which warns him
concerning every evil he commits, but unfortunate is the
man who neglects this faculty and leaves it in abeyance.
Therefore, we must feel sorrow and show penitence for
having committed sins and should keep in mind that this
low pleasure is temporary and only lasts for a few days
and more so, the intensity of this false pleasure and joy
is constantly decreasing to the extent that in old age,
when one’s strength will have waned, all these
worldly indulgences will have to be abandoned. So when
all these pleasures have to be relinquished right here in
this very life, what benefit is there in committing sins
to taste them?
The third
condition is that of iron
determination; that is, to
make a firm resolution never to return to those evils in
the future. When this resolution is adhered to, then
Allah will confer His divine assistance for achieving
true taubah, so much so that when vile
habits are completely extirpated, they will be replaced
by beautiful morals and praiseworthy actions. It is the
work of Allah to bestow on a person the power and
strength to achieve this, for He is indeed the Master of
all power and might, as is mentioned – all power
belongs to Allah alone; and man’s existence is built
on a shaky foundation, as the Holy Quran testifies:
Man is created weak (4:28).
So, in order to obtain strength
from Allah, one should fulfil the above three conditions
to perfection and must abandon sloth and laziness and
make constant du’a (supplication) to Him.
Then Allah will surely effect a transformation in
one’s morals" (Malfuzat, vol. 1, pp.
138-140).
Of course, before the above conditions
can be fulfilled or even undertaken, they demand of us that
we search for and recognise our shortcomings and entertain a
genuine desire to mend our ways as we aim for moral and
spiritual advancement. This calls for honesty and sincerity
in self-examination and excludes all varieties of
anxiety-evading techniques like denial, projection,
rationalisation, etc.
Moral
Miracles:
Mirza Sahib then puts forth
three types of miracles and explains, with examples from the
life of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), why the third kind
is so much more efficacious in making a deep impression on
the hearts of people and in bringing about a change in their
lives, too. He says:
"I now desire to say a few
more words and then conclude this topic. I return to the
question of the different kinds of miracles and I affirm
that miracles like the splitting of the moon, etc.,
belong to the category that requires deep knowledge for
them to be understood, whilst other miracles hinge upon
profound spiritual knowledge and insight. But in the
third category fall moral miracles which cast a very deep
and pervasive influence. Philosophers cannot find comfort
in profound spiritual truths and insights. But
outstanding and meritorious virtues exert a deep and
penetrating effect on them.
From among the many moral miracles
of His
Excellency, the Chief of the Prophets
(pbuh), is this one:
Once he had fallen asleep under a tree when he was
unexpectedly aroused by a loud shout. And what did he
see? Standing right over him with a drawn sword was a
wild, fierce-looking desert Arab who addressed him thus:
‘O Muhammad! Who can save you from me now?’
With perfect calmness and full composure, the Holy
Prophet replied: ‘Allah.’
This declaration was not like that
of ordinary men. Allah, which is the
personal name of God and which is a compendium of all
perfect attributes, was uttered by the lips of the Holy
Prophet in such a way that it really came from deep
within his heart and struck the heart of the desert Arab
also.
It is said that this is the mighty
name of God and there are great and innumerable blessings
in it. But what benefit can a person obtain if he does
not remember Allah? In short, with such majesty did the
word Allah come forth from the lips of the Holy
Prophet that this wild Arab was struck with fear and his
hand even began to tremble and so the sword fell out of
his hand. The Holy Prophet (pbuh) took up the sword and
spoke to him thus: ‘Now, tell me, who can save you
from me now?’ And that by-now-weak-hearted barbarian
could find not a single name to mention. Then, the Holy
Prophet (pbuh), displaying that superb example of
virtuous conduct, said to him: ‘So, you are free!
But learn kindness and bravery from me.’ This moral
miracle had such an effect on the desert Arab that he
became a Muslim.
It is written that a person came to
Abul Hasan Khuraqani and related this story: ‘During
his journey he met a lion and he said to it: "For the
sake of God, leave me alone!" The lion still attacked
him, but when he exclaimed: "For the sake of Abul Hasan,
desist!" the lion moved away. This event created such a
deep doubt in the faith of the traveller that he
abandoned his journey. He returned and presented this
enigma to Abul Hasan who told him that it was really a
simple matter. He explained: "You were not truly
conscious of the name of Allah, so genuine fear of Him
and knowledge of His power were absent from your heart.
However, you know my name quite well and so you had a
high estimation of it in your heart."’
Thus you can see that there are
many great blessings and virtues in the word
Allah, but one must accord it a place in
one’s heart and pay heed to His
greatness.
Yet another of the Holy
Prophet’s many moral miracles is the following:
‘Once he had a lot of goats and on seeing this a
certain person remarked: "I have never seen this amount
of wealth in anybody’s possession before." Whereupon
our Master gave him all the goats. At this, the person
immediately expostulated: "You are indeed a true Prophet!
This type of generosity is difficult to be performed by
any other than a Prophet.’’’
In short, such was the
distinguished conduct of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) that the
Holy Quran makes mention of it in the words: And
surely thou hast sublime morals (68:4)"
(Malfuzat, vol. 1, pp. 101-102).
Mirza Sahib also makes the point that
people may make all kinds of excuses, learned or otherwise,
to evade having to accept the first two kinds of miracles.
For example, they may explain away the splitting of the moon
or the eclipses of the sun and the moon in the month of
Ramadhan (as signs of the appearance of the Mahdi) as
acts of nature with no special spiritual significance.
Likewise, miracles relating to deep spiritual knowledge and
insight may be regarded as contrary to the demonstrable laws
of physical science or may be considered as borrowed
knowledge or even as the outpourings of a disturbed mind.
However, moral miracles that bring about a distinct and
astounding change in behaviour cannot be gainsaid and, in
fact, their influence is not limited to time and space nor
to race and social class. He then gives a few specific
examples of the kind of change he invites us to institute in
our lives.
"Every person who
gives up evil morals and blameworthy habits and replaces
them with beautiful and virtuous habits is a
miracle-worker. For example, if he possesses a very
harsh disposition and his temper is easily aroused and he
forsakes them for forbearance and forgiveness or he
exchanges miserliness for generosity or adopts compassion
in place of envy, then, indeed he has wrought a miracle.
And so, too, if he relinquishes egoism and self-conceit
for humility and meekness, then, that, too, is a
miraculous act. So, who is there among you who does not
cherish the ambition to become a miracle-worker? I am
sure that everybody will like to do this in his life. So,
without doubt, it will go down as a perpetual and
ever-living miracle if a man should change his moral
condition, for this is such a miracle that is never
destroyed, but instead its influence is spread far and
wide.
A believer should become a miracle
worker in the eyes of God and of people, too. There have
been many drunkards and rakes who were unimpressed by any
extraordinary sign but who were forced to bow their heads
in acquiescence before a change in the moral conduct of
another person (who was like them). If you examine the
lives of many people, you will find that they accepted
the religion of truth only after having witnessed a
miraculous transformation in the moral conduct of someone
else" (Malfuzat, vol. 1, pp. 141-142).
Advice to
His Jama’at:
Mirza Sahib then directly
addresses his Jama’at, which has been specially
chosen to initiate the final triumph of truth over
irreligion, on how to respond to the rabid attacks from even
Muslim objectors who reject his explanations of the Holy
Quran and are hostile to him and to his
followers.
"It is absolutely necessary,
therefore, for my Jama’at members to make
progress in their moral conduct for the maxim
‘steadfastness is greater than a miracle’ is a
well-known one. So, they should always remember that if
someone should treat them harshly, they should, as far as
possible, respond gently and kindly. They should not
allow themselves to fall into the trap of meeting
violence and harshness with the same.
Man possesses a soul too and it has
three different stages – the nafs-ul ammarah
(soul that commands evil), the nafs-ul-lawwamah
(self-accusing soul) and the
nafs-ul-mutma’innah (soul at
rest).
In the ammarah
stage, man finds himself
unable to control his passions and unlawful emotions and
loses his sense of equilibrium and falls from a high
standard of morality.
But in the
lawwamah
stage, he has control
over his passions. An interesting anecdote comes to mind
here. Sa’adi wrote in his Bustan that a
venerable old gentleman was bitten by a dog. When he came
home his family observed that a dog had bitten him. Among
them was a pretty little girl who asked him: ‘Why
didn’t you bite back the dog?’ He replied:
‘Daughter, it is not mete for a human to behave like
a dog.’
Similarly, if an evil person should
abuse a believer, the latter should turn away, otherwise
the example of the dog will be fulfilled in him. Those
closest to Allah were severely cursed, abused and
persecuted but they observed the command of he Holy
Quran: Turn away from the ignorant
(7:199).
Many evil kinds of punishment were
perpetrated against the very person of the perfect man,
the Holy Prophet (pbuh), not to mention curses, rudeness
and impertinence. But what did this most virtuous of all
personalities do in return? He made du’a
(supplication) for them. And as Allah had given him a
promise that if he withdrew from the ignorant, He would
preserve his life and honour and uncouth people would not
be able to attack him, so it came to pass – that the
Prophet’s opponents could not besmirch his honour in
the least bit. On the contrary, they themselves suffered
disgrace and humiliation and either fell at his feet in
submission or were destroyed before his very eyes. In
short, in this lawwamah stage, man struggles to
reform himself and this is not a one-shot affair but a
daily task. If an ignorant person or a vagabond should
revile or do evil to you, then your honour will be
preserved in the measure you turn away from him. On the
other hand, if you clash with him in an angry
confrontation, then you will be destroyed for you will
have bought dishonour for yourself.
In the mutma’innah
stage, man becomes the
embodiment of beauty and goodness. He severs all
connection with the world and from whatever is not of
Allah. He goes about his business in this world and even
cordially treats with worldly-minded people. But, in
reality, he is not of this world. Wherever he is, the
world is transformed – there the heaven and the
earth become something else" (Malfuzat, vol. 1,
pp. 102-103).
Allah’s
Promise to True Ahmadis:
"Allah, the Most High, says
in the Holy Quran: And We shall make those who follow
thee above those who disbelieve, to the Day of
Resurrection. This heart-consoling promise was given
as assistance to the son of Mary, the past Messiah. But I
give you the good news that Allah has also used the name
of the Christian Messiah in speaking to the present
Messiah, son of Mary, and has given him the same good
news in the same words, too.
Now, let those ponder, those who
are associated with me and wish to be included in this
mighty promise and good news, and let them ask themselves
this question – Can they be like those who are still
stuck in the ammarah stage and are still bound to
the path of vice and immorality? Certainly and decidedly
not! Those who truly value this promise of Allah, and do
not treat my words like a fairy-tale, should remember and
listen to me with sincerity of heart. Again, I say to
those who are joined to me, that this is not an ordinary
relationship. In fact, it is a most powerful one, the
influence of which extends not only to me personally, but
reaches that Being Who also joined me to that chosen and
perfect man who came to the world with truth and purity
of soul.
I affirm that if the effect of
these words had concerned only me, then I would not have
had any fear or anxiety, nor would I have paid any
concern to them. But that is not the case. In fact, this
impression extends to our Holy Prophet (pbuh) and even to
the Supreme Being, Allah, Most High.
So reflect deeply and listen in the
proper state of mind to this – if you wish to be
part of the good news and you desire to prove its
truthfulness and there is indeed a great thirst in you
for that promised success (that you will triumph over the
disbelievers until the Day of Judgement), then I say
again to you that that success will never come unless you
transcend the lawwamah stage and arrive at the
minaret of the mutma’innah stage.
I say nothing more than this –
that you people have grafted yourselves onto a person who
is commissioned by Allah, Most High. Therefore, listen to
his words with the ears of your heart and be totally
prepared to act upon his words, and do not be like those
who first accepted the truth then fell into the dirty pit
of rejection and have thus bought for themselves eternal
punishment" (Malfuzat, vol. 1, pp.
103-105).
Finally, we put forward from the Holy
Quran another reference to the Messiah of the
14th Century Hijrah and his
disciples:
O you who believe, be
helpers (in the cause) of Allah, as Jesus, son of
Mary, said to the disciples: Who are my helpers (in
the cause) of Allah. So a party of the Children of
Israel believed and another party disbelieved; then We
aided those who believed against their enemy, and they
became predominant (61:14).
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