Intro
In 2026 (Aug), Maulvi Iftekhar Ahmad began a series of tweets wherein he quoted 3-4 books of MGA, from entirely different era’s and presented them as MGA’s opinion on the powers of Allah (See the tweets of Maulvi Iftekhar Ahmad).
In 1882-1884, per Maulvi Iftekhar Ahmad (See his tweets), MGA and his team of writers argued that to confine God’s perfect power within bounded laws would therefore make the unlimited limited (See BA, RK-1, pages 480-481-Urdu)(page 230, online English edition). On page 487 of the same book, MGA allegedly argued that after saying that God’s wisdoms and powers are boundless, MGA writes: “We cannot make any law for His boundless wisdoms and powers.”
This goes further than saying merely that our knowledge is incomplete (See the tweets of Maulvi Iftekhar Ahmad).
In 1886, he even says God “changes His law for His special servants”, while the change itself “is included in His law”. Elsewhere he says: “God’s law of power is not one.” His qānūn-e qudrat, then, cannot mean one fixed and immutable set of laws of nature governing every divine act (See the tweets of Maulvi Iftekhar Ahmad)(See Surmah Chashm-e-Aryah, RK-2, page 136). What does he call qānūn-e qudrat himself? The “effects of the divine attributes” are called the sunnah of Allah or law of divine power. Elsewhere he says the “series of manifestations of God’s powers” is given this name. This is already much wider than laws of nature alone (See the tweets of Maulvi Iftekhar Ahmad)(See Surmah Chashm-e-Aryah, RK-2, page 91).
In 1902, via “Kishtee-e-Nuh”, He criticizes those who “have made up a law of divine power out of their own imagination” and then “present their self-fashioned law before God”, setting limits to His infinite powers. In fact, what they present as God’s law has first been fashioned by man himself (See RK-19, pages 20-21, Kishtee-e-Nuh, online English edition, page 34).
In 1908 (April-May), MGA and his team of writers argued that “Man’s law of power is a scroll of sand that is displaced by a strong wind.” Even laws we regard as known, he says, may not in fact be fully known. What we call qānūn-e qudrat can therefore never be a complete and final list which cannot be revised (See the tweets of Maulvi Iftekhar Ahmad)(See Chashma-e-Ma‘rifat, RK-23, page 110). MGA also argued that “Only someone greater than God can set bounds to God’s law of power.” His powers, he says, are as boundless as His being. So the claim is not merely that we have yet to discover some laws. No one can ever draw a final boundary around all of them (See the tweets of Maulvi Iftekhar Ahmad)(See Chashma Marifat, RK-23, page 220).
Continue reading “Mirza Ghulam Ahmad’s opinion on the powers of Allah vs. natural laws”
