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Chapter
3:
Some Comments by the Muslim Press about the Holy Imam’s
Services to Islam:
Reproduced below are a few quotations
from the Muslim press indicating their sense of bereavement
on the death of the Holy Imam and their appreciation of the
theological dialectics that the Holy Imam developed for the
defence and preservation of Islam. "The excellence that is
testified to even by opponents is the real excellence," goes
the Arabic adage.
Maulana Abul Kalam
Azad:
He was a very famous Islamic
scholar, author and journalist in India of this century. He
was also President of the Indian National Congress before
Independence, and after the Independence of India he held
high posts in the Federal cabinet of the Indian Republic. At
the time of the death of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, he was
acting as the editor of a well-known Muslim newspaper, the
Wakeel of Amritsar. We give below extracts from the
lengthy obituary of Hazrat Mirza that Maulana Abul Kalam
Azad wrote in it:
"That man, that very great
man, whose pen was a magic wand and whose tongue
spell-binding; that man whose brain was a complex of
wonders, whose eye could revive the dying and whose call
aroused those in the graves, whose fingers held the wires
of revolution and whose fists were electrical batteries;
that man who for thirty years was an earthquake and
typhoon for the religious world, who, like the trumpet of
Doomsday, awakened those lost in the slumber of life, he
has left the world empty-handed. This bitter death, this
cup of poison, which entrusted the deceased to dust, will
remain on thousands, nay millions of tongues, as words of
bitter disappointment and regret. The stroke of death
which slaughtered, along with one who was very much
alive, the hope and longings of many, and the wails it
raises of lament, will remain in memories for a long time
to come.
"The demise of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad
Sahib of Qadian is not such an event that a lesson should
not be learnt from it, nor should it be consigned to the
passage of time to efface. Such people who produce a
religious or intellectual revolution are not born often.
These sons of history, in whom it rightly takes pride,
appear but barely on the world scene, and when they do
they bring about a revolution for all to see.
"In spite of our strong differences
with Mirza Sahib in respect of some of his claims and
beliefs, his separation for ever has convinced the
educated and enlightened Muslims that one of their very
great personages has left them. And with him the mighty
defence of Islam against its opponents, which was linked
with his person, has come to an end. His special
characteristic, that he acted against the enemies of
Islam as a victorious general, compels us to express
openly our feelings that the grand Movement which for so
long defeated and trod over our opponents should be
continued in the future also.
"Mirza Sahib appeared in the front
line of devotees who, for the cause of Islam, accepted
the dedication to sacrifice their time from the cradle,
through the springs and autumns, to their graves in
fulfilling the pledge of loyalty to their beautiful
beloved Islam.
"The literature produced by Mirza
Sahib in his confrontation with the Christians and the
Aryas has received the seal of general approval, and for
this distinction he needs no introduction. We have to
acknowledge the value and greatness of this literature
from the bottom of our hearts, now that it has done its
work. This is because that time cannot be forgotten nor
effaced from the mind when Islam was besieged by attacks
on all sides, and the Muslims, who had been entrusted
with the defence of Islam by the Real Defender, as the
means of defence in this world of means and causes, were
lying flat sobbing in the aftermath of their
shortcomings, doing nothing for Islam or not being able
to do anything for it.
"On the one hand, the extent of
attacks was such that the entire Christian world,
considering the lamp of Islamic spirituality to be a
great hurdle in the way of their progress, wanted to
extinguish it completely, and the great forces of
intellect and wealth were eager to give them all out
support in this onslaught. On the other hand, the state
of weakness of the defence was such that there were no
arrows even to fend off the artillery. In fact, there did
not exist any sign of defence or counter-offensive
whatsoever."
"Then began that counter-attack
from the side of the Muslims in which Mirza Sahib had a
part. That defence not only shattered to pieces the
initial influence of Christianity, which it really had
due to support from the government, and saved thousands,
nay millions of Muslims from this dangerous attack which
would have succeeded, but the talisman of Christianity
itself was blown away like smoke.
"By turning the defence into an
offensive mode he has made the vanquished the victor.
Today, if we overlook our new and old differences and
consider only the service to Islam as the ultimate
purpose - than even in the very life of that over-zealous
Bishop who, being oblivious of the intrinsic power of
Islam, and who, while speaking on the fiftieth
anniversary of a Christian Mission, had evinced an
unworthy desire to make the Grand Mosque of Delhi the
venue of the next Jubilee celebrations - a time has come
when the spiritual conquests of Islam may turn the
Cathedral of Saint Paul into a house of worship of God
instead of a place for worshipping Jesus and his mother;
and in lieu of the tolling of church bells, the divine
chant of the Kalimah-i Shahadat (I bear witness
that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and I
bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and His
messenger) may reverberate in the air."
"So, this service rendered by Mirza
Sahib will place the coming generations under a debt of
gratitude, in that he fulfilled his duty to the defence
of Islam by joining the front rank of those engaged in
the jihad by the pen, and he left behind him as a
memorial such literature as will last so long as Muslims
have blood flowing in their veins and the urge to support
Islam remains their prominent national characteristic.
Besides this, Mirza Sahib performed a very special
service for Islam by crushing the poisonous fangs of the
Arya Samaj.... His writings against the Arya Samaj shed
clear light on the claim that, however much the scope of
our defence will be widened in the future, it is
impossible that these writings could ever be
overlooked."
"Natural intelligence, application
and dexterity, and continuous debates, had lent Mirza
Sahib a special splendour. He had vast knowledge, not
only of his own religion, but also of other religions.
And he was able to use his vast knowledge with great
finesse. In the art of preaching and teaching, he had
acquired such accomplishment that the person whom he
addressed, of whatever understanding or religion, was
thrown into deep thought by his spontaneous reply. India,
today, is an exhibition house of religions, and the
number of great and small faiths found here, along with
their mutual struggles which announce their existence,
cannot be matched anywhere else in the world. Mirza
Sahib's claim was that he was the arbiter and judge for
them all, but there is no doubt that he possessed a
special talent to make Islam pre-eminent among all these
religions. This was due to his natural ability, taste for
study, and hard work. It is not likely that a man of this
grandeur will be born again in the Indian sub-continent,
a man who will devote his highest desires in this way to
the study of religions."
(Wakeel,
Amritsar)
Maulana 'Abdullah
Al-'Imadi:
He was the permanent editor of
Wakeel, and he added his own tribute a few days later
as follows:
"Although Mirza Sahib had not
received formal education in current knowledge and
theology, yet an assessment of his life shows that he had
a unique nature not granted to everyone: by the aid of
his own study and his upright nature, he had attained
sufficient mastery over religious literature. In about
1877, when he was 35 or 36 years old, we find him charged
with unusual religious fervour. He is leading the life of
a true and pious Muslim. His heart is unimpressed by
worldly attractions. He is as happy in solitude as if he
were in congenial company, and when in company he is
enjoying the bliss of solitude. We find him restless, and
it appears as if he is in search of a lost thing, no
trace of which can be found in the mortal world. Islam
has so overwhelmed him that he holds debates with the
Aryas, and writes voluminous books in support of Islam.
His debates in Hoshiarpur in 1886 were so delightful that
the feeling of enjoyment has still not been
forgotten....
" The state of ecstasy created by
reading his invaluable books which were written to
counter other religions and to uphold Islam, still has
not faded. His Barahin-i Ahmadiyyah overawed the
non-Muslims and raised the spirits of the Muslims. He
presented to the world a captivating picture of the
religion (of Islam), cleansed of the blots and dust that
had collected upon it as a result of the superstition and
natural weaknesses of the ignorant. In short, this book
raised a loud echo in the world, at least within India,
which is still reverberating in our ears. Though some
Muslim religious leaders may now pass an adverse verdict
on Barahin-i Ahmadiyyah... the best time to pass
judgement was 1880 when it was published. At that time,
however, Muslims unanimously decided in favour of Mirza
Sahib.
"As to his character, there is not
the slightest trace of a blot on it. He lived a virtuous
life, the life of a righteous, God-fearing person. To
conclude, the first fifty years of his life, in terms of
high morals and commendable habits, and in terms of
services to the religion, raised him to an enviable
position of distinction and honour among the Muslims of
India" (Wakeel, Amritsar, 30th May
1908).
Editor of Sadiq
al-Akhbar, Rewari:
"Since Mirza Sahib, by means
of his forceful speeches and magnificent writings, has
forever silenced the critics of Islam through giving
befitting replies to their absurd objections and has
proved that truth, after all, is truth, and since he has
left no stone unturned in discharging his obligation of
service to Islam, fairness demands that we should
express our sorrow at the sudden and untimely death of
such a resolute supporter of Islam, of such a ready
helper of the Muslim cause, of such an excellent and
unique scholar and savant."
Editor of the
Aligarh Institute Gazette:
"No doubt the deceased was a
great champion of Islam."
Editor of the
Curzon Gazette:
In its issue of 1 June, 1908,
the Editor of the Curzon Gazette, Mirza Hairat
Dehlavi, writes:
"Those precious services of
the deceased that he rendered to Islam while debating
with opponents like the Arya Samajists and the
Christians, are deserving of the greatest praise. He
changed the whole complexion of the debate and laid the
foundation for a new literature in India. Not only
because he was a Muslim, but because he was a researcher,
we concede the fact that not even the most prominent Arya
Samajists or the most exalted Christian priest had the
courage to open his mouth in front of the deceased.
Except for the most uncivilised abuse heaped on him, we
have not seen even till this day any reasonable reply by
the Arya Samajists to the silencing rejoinders that he
offered to the opponents of Islam, and to the unique
books written by him in refutation of the Arya Samaj and
the Christian religions, or on the leaders, or the
principles of Islam.
Though the deceased was a Punjabi,
yet his pen was so powerful that there is none today in
the Punjab, or for that matter, in the whole of India,
who can match him in such forceful writing. His brain was
full of spiritual and powerful expressions and when he
sat down to write, the rapid flow of suitable and apt
words was such as to defy description.
Those unacquainted with Maulawi Nur
al-Din mistakenly believe that Mirza Sahib had
taken a lot of help from him, but we say through personal
knowledge that Hakim Nur al-Din cannot write even a few
lines in comparison with the deceased Mirza. Although in
some places in his spirited Urdu literature his Punjabi
background shows up, still, his grand literature is
unique in its magnificence and no doubt one goes into
ecstasy on reading some of his passages. Although he had
received no formal education in Arabic literature, or
grammar, or syntax, yet, by dint of his God-given
intelligence and his natural capability, he had developed
enough mastery over Arabic to write the language
freely."
President,
Jami‘at-i Ahrar:
On page forty-six of his book,
Fitna-i Irtidad aur Political Qalabazian, the
President of the Jami‘at-i Ahrar,
says:
"Before the emergence of the
Arya Samaj, Islam was like a lifeless body from which the
proselytising spirit had completely disappeared. For a
while, Muslims were aroused by the aspersion cast on
Islam by Swami Dayanand, but they fell back into slumber
as usual. Though no proselytising group could emerge from
among the various sects of Muslims, however, one heart
became restless over the heedlessness of Muslims and
after gathering a small band of followers around him,
came forward for the propagation and spread of Islam.
Although he cannot be absolved from the charge of
sectarianism, yet he infused a spirit of proselytisation
in his community, a spirit which is not only a role model
for the various sects of Muslims, but is also a pattern
for all the communities in the world."
The charge of
sectarianism is wrong:
How valuable the admission of
an adversary that even when the whip of the Arya Samaj
onslaught could not shake the Muslims out of their heedless
slumber, there was just one heart which was agitated for the
propagation of Islam and that heart was Mirza Ghulam
Ahmad’s. He was the first to found a community in those
days, when Islam was in such danger, for the defence and
propagation of Islam, a community which is a standing
example for the entire world’s communities.
As for the charge that he could not be
absolved of the blemish of sectarianism, it is totally
wrong. In fact, it was he who set up such a principle for
the eradication of sectarianism in Islam that if the Muslims
were to follow it, no trace of sectarianism would be left in
them today. Just as there is a difference in various human
beings in their physical appearance, in spite of belonging
to the same line of descent, similarly there is a difference
in temperaments, and hence a difference of opinion and
thinking is unavoidable. Hence, in order to promote unity
and solidarity among Muslims, the basic principle of a
natural faith like Islam should be to develop unanimity and
consensus over the fundamental principles, overlooking the
details and minor issues. By overlooking it does not mean
that these things should not be discussed, or the mistaken
group should not be told of their mistakes, but it means
that we should not brand any Muslim as a kafir
(unbeliever) over some minor difference of opinion, nor
drive him out of the pale of Islam. Point out the mistake,
but do not call him a kafir because of it.
The Holy Imam drew the attention of
Muslims to this very principle and he also enjoined on his
community this policy that no one who declares his belief in
the Kalimah of Islam should be called a kafir
and if someone does engage in takfir (branding others
as unbelievers), we should stop him. If he persists, we
should boycott him. He laid down this punishment simply for
the purpose of eradicating the disease of sectarianism and
takfir from Muslims. He strongly emphasised, like
Imam Abu Hanifah, that if someone exhibits ninety-nine
elements of kufr (heresy) and only one reason in
favour of his being a Muslim, even then he is not to be
declared a kafir.
Hence, the only community that can be
considered free of sectarianism is the one that considers
all believers in the Islamic Kalimah to be Muslims
and considers those who dub anyone a kafir so vile as
to be ever ready to boycott them. The only community that
strictly adheres to this principle is the Ahmadiyya
Jama'at based at Lahore, and till such time as this
policy is adopted by all Muslim groups, the curse of
sectarianism cannot be eradicated from the Muslim
ummah.
The magnificent defence of Islam by
the Holy Imam, as shown by the above quotations, has been
accepted by friend and foe alike. There are many more such
plaudits but they are omitted for lack of space. Anyone
interested in confirming this should refer to the Holy
Imam’s original works like Barahin-i Ahmadiyyah,
Surma Chashm-i Arya, A‘ina-i Kamalat-i
Islam, Anjam-i Atham and the supplement thereof,
Arya Dharam and The Teachings of
Islam.
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