Intro
Dr. Sayyad Mir Muhammad Isma’il or spelled Syed Meer Muhammad Ismail and Dr. Mir Muhammad Ismail, he was the younger brother of MGA’s second wife Nusrat Jehan, and the elder son of Mir Nasir Nawab. He had a younger brother named Muhammad Ishaq. Per MGA, Dr. Mir Muhammad Isma’il was roughly 10 years old in 1887. Thus he was born in 1877 and only 7-years old when his elder sister got married to MGA, Ahmadiyya sources are conflicted on his date of birth, some sources give 18 July 1881 as his DOB (see the Al-hakam archives, online via twitter). He also narrated some famous traditions about MGA which were recorded into Seeratul Mahdi (1923). He claims that he was a ruthless and vicious vagabong from 1887 to 1892. He seems to have converted to Ahmadiyya in 1892 with his father, Mir Nasir Nawab. He quit Ahmadiyya in 1893, as MGA lost his written debate with Athim. However, 3 years later, he seems to have become an Ahmadi again, he is thus listed as an official companion of MGA and in-fact on the list of the first 313 (see Dard, page 846).

He died on July 18th, 1943, just a year before his younger brother, he was aged 61, which is relatively young, there are conflicting reports on this, some sources claim that he died in July of 1947. He had 2 wives, his first wife of Syed Shaukhat Sultana, who was a close relative, most likely a cousin, however, there were no children from this marriage. He married again to the daughter of Mirza Muhammad Shafi (a member of the Sadr Anjuman in Qadian), his daughter’s name was Amtul Latif. They had 10 children together, 7 girls and 3 boys. She was born in 1902 and died on 16 September 1964. On the instigation/arrangement of Hazrat Amaan Jan (nusrat Jehan) Mir M Ismaeel married her in 1917 at the time when he was assistant surgeon in Civil Hospital of Paniput.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________1877–1881

He is born.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________1887

He writes a letter to MGA that is full of embarrassing lies, for example, he claims that his mother has died and his younger brother has died, he is thus all alone and only 10 years old. This story is archived in an early biography on the life of MGA, entitled, Al-Bushra.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________1893

After MGA’s famous debate with Abdullah Athim, ahmadiyya sources report that Mir Muhammad Ismail left Ahmadiyya. However, this is strange since he lived at Qadian and inside MGA’s house and was barely 11 years old.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________1895

He claims that MGA used to lead prayers inside of their house (they all lived together, he claims that MGA would lead prayers for the ladies of the house and the small kids. He travelled with MGA to Dera Baba Nanak and saw the chola sahib (see Dard, page 452).
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
1896

He is listed as ahmadi #70 on the famous list of 313 Ahmadi’s (see Dard, page 846). His name is written as Sayyid Muhammad Ismael, Dehlvi, Student, now at Qadian.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________He was sent to study medicine in 1900

Ahmadiyya sources tell us that his sister (the wife of MGA) bore the full expenses of his education. However, its likely that chanda money was used to pay for his education, since his father was unemployed and received no pension. His sister had no money either, in those days, women weren’t given money to spend at their own whims.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________1900–Khutbah Ilhamiya

Ahmadiyya sources tell us that he was present in Qadian during Khutbah Ilhamiya and even memorized the material, which seems to be a lie.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________Oct 2 1902–Oct 5th, 1902

He traveled from Qadian to District Saharanpur (UP) with Mirza Basheer ud Din Mahmud Ahmad, his father (Mir Nasir Nawab) and Noorudin to perform the marriage ceremony of Mirza Basheer ud Din Mahmud’s Ahmad’s only sister-law from his first marriage. Dr. Rasheed ud Din  received them at the train station (See Fazl-e-Omar, online english edition). He had only 2 daughters, no sons, the elder daughter had married off to Mirza Basheer ud Din Mahmud Ahmad earlier in the year.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________1906

He was appointed as 1 of only 14 senior ranking Ahmadi’s to the newly formed Sadr Anjuman.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________1907

He began working as an assistant surgeon.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________May 25, 1908

MGA died and Dr. Mir Muhammad Ismail was not able to make it to Qadian. He must have been in an area that was experiencing flooding and plague and was thus unable to leave. Instead, he wrote a letter to his sister (MGA’s wife).
_____________________________________________________________________________________________1917

He gets married a second time.
Daughter–Syeda Maryam Siddiqua–married to the Khalifa in 1935
Daughter–Amtul Sahiba—married to Pir Salaud deen marhoum
Daughter—Tayyabba Sahiba—married to Nawab Mansoor Ahmad Khan Marhoum
Daughter–Amtul Qadooos—married to Mirza Wasim Ahmad (her first cousin, a son of the Khalifa)
Daughter–Amtul Rafiq Sahiba–married to Hazratullah Pasha Sahib
Daughter–Amtul Sami Sahiba—married to Mirza Rafi Ahmad
Daughter–Amtul Hadi Sahiba—-married to Pir Zia ud Din
Son—Syed Muhammad Ahmad—married Amtul Latif Bagum sahiba (at the 3:02 mark)(she was the daughter of Mirza Bashir Ahmad.
Son—Syed Tahir Ahmad Nasir—
Son—Syed Amin Ahmad—-
_____________________________________________________________________________________________1918–1920

His eldest child, Syeda Maryam Siddiqua is born.

https://www.alhakam.org/100-years-ago-a-beloved-remembered/

 

100 Years Ago… – A Beloved Remembered

1

Last Updated on 13th November 2021

In Al Hakam (Urdu), 21-28 May 1918, we found an historic article written by the brother-in-law of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas, Hazrat Mir Muhammad Ismailra on the blessed memory of the Promised Messiahas. This was written for those individuals who were not able to physically meet the Promised Messiahas and was written as an alternative to the photographs of the Promised Messiahas.

Al Hakam (Urdu), 21-28 May 1918

Hazrat Mir Muhammad IsmailraBrother-in-law of Hazrat Ahmadas

By the grace of God, Ahmadis are spread throughout India. In fact they are present throughout the world. But among them, there is a difference between those who have seen Ahmadas and those who have not.

Those who were blessed to benefit from his noble presence possess a sense of serene pleasure in their heart which resonates with them to this day. Whereas those who were unable to see him are often found to lament this and regret their delay and the fact that they were not able to see the face of their beloved in his lifetime.

There always remains a stark difference between a picture and the reality, something only those can relate to who saw the face of the Promised Messiahas with their own eyes.

It is my earnest desire to describe the appearance and practices of Hazrat Ahmadas so that those who were not able to see this blessed individual might benefit from it.

Form and Features 

Instead of going into detail about the Promised Messiah’sas appearance, I deem it better to write more generally so that readers are able to draw their own conclusion.

The appearance of the Promised Messiahas can be summarised in a single sentence: He was a perfect example of masculine beauty. But this statement is incomplete if another is not added to it: His humanly charm and beauty carried a spiritual glow and aura with it.

As he was raised for the Ummah to manifest the beautiful and peaceful aspects of Islamic teachings, similarly his physical beauty was a manifestation of God’s omnipotence and would draw the heart of the observer towards him.

His face, illumined with spirituality, never exhibited arrogance, haughtiness or the slightest pride, rather it always manifested love, humility and modesty.

Once, the Promised Messiahas went to Dera Baba Nanak to see the cloak of Guru Baba Nanak. Upon his arrival a cloth was spread under a tree where they all sat. His arrival had brought people in from outlying villages, eager to see him and greet him.

Unaware of whom the Promised Messiahas was, people started approaching Maulvi Syed Muhammad Ahsan Sahib and after shaking hands with him they would take a seat. After a while the reality was disclosed by Maulvi Syed Muhammad Ahsan Sahib who signaled towards the Promised Messiahas and revealed the reality upon everyone.

A similar incident occurred when the Holy Prophetsa migrated to Medina. Even on that occasion people mistook Hazrat Abu Bakrra for the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa. To remove their misconception Hazrat Abu Bakrra took his cloth and shaded the Holy Prophetsa and hence corrected the mistake.

Physique and Height

The Promised Messiahas was neither thin nor stout. He was of stocky build and of average height. Although his height was not measured, it was around five feet, eight inches. His shoulder blades were spaced apart and to his last age he did not lose posture. All parts of his body were perfectly proportioned. Neither his hands nor legs nor stomach were out of proportion. Hence no unpleasant features were to be witnessed in his body parts. His skin was neither soft as of women nor rough. His body was strong-jointed and possessed the toughness of the youth. In his last years his skin neither wrinkled nor withered.

Complexion

He had a striking ruddy complexion. It possessed the aura and grandeur of spirituality. This was a permanent spectacle. His colour never faded in times of hardships and trials rather it would shine like bright gold. No hardship or difficulty was able to wither it away.

Apart from this aura his countenance was always brimming with a delight and a permanent smile on his face. An observer would remark: If he is false in his claim and aware of his lies then why does his face always manifest the signs of triumph, happiness, delight and serenity? Such faithful manifestations can never be attributed to a wicked person and the light of faith can never shine on the face of a wrongdoer.

When the sun set on the final day of Atham’s respite – set by Divine prophecy vouchsafed to the Promised Messiahas – faces of some members of the Jamaat seemed dejected with dismay and their hearts had sunk. Some naively made bets that Atham would surely die before the prophecy’s set period. They wept in their prayers before their Lord to fulfil the prophecy by putting an end to Atham and deliver them from imminent shame and the bitter jeers and jibes of their opponents that would ensue. There was great commotion which turned the faces of the beholders pale out of fear. But this fearless lion of God marched out of his house with a victorious smile on his face, called his followers to the mosque and announced that the prophecy had been fulfilled, drawing their attention to the qualifying words of the prophecy:

اطلع الله علي همّه و غمّه

“God has informed me that Atham has turned to the truth, so the All-knowing God has allowed him a respite.” Those who were listening saw his contended face and believed him to be true. They contemplated upon the fact that they were being devoured by hopelessness and here he was standing in front of them, jubilant with satisfaction on his face and talking without any signs of dismay, rather with utmost delight.

It seemed as if God had appointed him to judge the matter of Atham. And upon witnessing Atham’s renouncement from his denunciation of Islam and observing his restlessness, Hazrat Ahmadas allowed Atham respite from death. And now he was delighted as if a victorious wrestler out of his beneficence and mercy had forgiven his opponent, considering it an insult to kill someone who was already moribund.

The prophecy about Lekhram was later fulfilled according to its terms and conditions. The foulmouthed started to raise false accusations. A police report was filed to investigate Ahmadas. The Police Superintendent arrived with a force of constables to search his house. The movement of everyone in the house was restricted. The acrimonious opposition was eager to find a single doubtful word that could be found in his correspondence or documents to prove him a culprit. But there he was, standing with full contentment and serenity. He himself would provide all documents, books, bags and letters in the house to the police to assist them in their inquiry and showed them all around the storerooms. Some of the letters that required a second look were taken into custody but nothing changed for Ahmadas. His face still shone like the full moon and manifested utter contentment and jubilancy. It was as if the investigation had further cemented the proof of a manifest victory and established his sheer innocence in this regard.

And then there were those outside the house, terrified and silent as they witnessed constables coming in and out of his house. Their faces had grown pale, unaware of the fact that the person for whom they were worried was himself calling upon constables to search his documents and letters.

Ahmad’sas face conveyed a delightful cheer revealing that now the time had ripened and the truthfulness of his prophecy would be revealed in its complete terms and he would be proven innocent from all false claims made against him.

Hence in all trials and tribulations his courage was singular, calm and imperturbable. Not for a single moment did he act out of spite and this caused many pure souls to accept the truth.

Hair

His hair was straight, shiny and silky and were kept dyed with henna. It was not thick or abundant. He would never have his head shaved nor would he have his hair cut too short. His hair would reach up to his neck. He would oil his hair with jasmine oil and henna and this was a constant practice.

Beard

He had a full, dense, striking beard on all sides with thick, straight and shiny hair, dyed with henna. The length of his beard would always be the size of a fist and he would have a regular cut to keep it straight and equally spread downwards. It was neither sparse nor dense. It was always oiled. Once due to the appearance of a small pustule on the cheek he had his hairs completely removed from that particular spot. Those hairs are still in the custody of his companions. The hairs of his beard were neither scarce nor so dense as to continue up to his eyes.

Hair Dye

Earlier he would dye his hair with hair dye and henna. But later due to constant severe headaches he would dye his hair with henna only. For some days he also tried manufactured hair dye but later ceased its use.

In his last days one of his companions Mir Hamid Shah prepared a hair dye for him that he also used. It blackened the beard but as for his lifetime routine he would dye his hair with henna. He would have this applied by a hairdresser every Friday.

As was his beard, so were the hair of his moustache also thick, strong and shiny. He was in practice of trimming his moustache close to the upper lip but not like the Ahl-e-Hadith custom of completely shaving off the moustache.

He was not hirsute. His back was hairless. Sometimes he would trim the hair on his chest and stomach. A thin and soft lining of hair covered his shin and the back of his hands.

Face

He had a narrow, straight face. Even in his seventies there were no wrinkles, nor were there any frown lines as are visible on the forehead of short tempered people. Observers would always witness contentment, serenity and a hidden smile on his face. THe colour of his eyes was black. He would always keep his gaze lowered in accordance with the Quranic injunction. During discourses he would keep his gaze lowered even when addressing a gathering. Even at home, his looks would be restrained and he would not immediately notice all in attendance. It is also important to mention that he never used eyeglasses. His eyes would never get tired due to the overload of work. God promised to safeguard his sight and hence it remained unaffected until his death. Yet he was not able to witness the new moon with the naked eye. His nose possessed the traits of nobility; slim, straight, high and perfectly proportioned.

Forehead

The Promised Messiahas had light, leveled cheeks and his eyebrows were parted. His forehead showed all three qualities that, according to physiognomy, signify high standards of positive traits, attributes and manifest signs of intellect and a prolific mind: flat, broad and high, neither protruding nor sunken. Moreover, no frown lines were to be seen. His head was proportionate and was perfectly shaped as would see the physiognomists. His broad temple signified his high intellect.

Lips

Huzoor’sas lips were neither thin nor thick. The size of his mouth was moderate. He would keep his mouth closed when silent unlike those who always keep it open.

In a gathering he would cover his mouth with the loose end of his turban. In the final years of his life some of his molar teeth decayed which occasionally caused serious pain. Later, one such tooth decomposed and sharpened, which wounded his tongue and so, was coarsened with a file. He never had any of his teeth extracted. He habitually used miswak to brush his teeth.

In the summer, his heels would sometime become coarse. He used to wear warm clothes in the cold as well as in hot seasons. In summer he would perspire but his clothes never gave out any odour, whatever the weather.

Neck

Huzoor’sas neck was moderate in length and width. Following in the footsteps of the Holy Prophetsa he would take care of his physical appearance. He would regularly bathe, have his hair and beard trimmed, comb his hair, dye his hair, clean his teeth with miswak, use perfume and use a mirror. But to always keep himself fashionably dressed was against his disposition.

Clothing

It should be noted that he was not selective with respect to clothes. In his last years he would receive simple sewn clothes as gifts especially from Sheikh Rehmatullah Sahib who would bring along gifts such as overcoats, waistcoats, trousers and long shirts along with him on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Adha. These would be used aside from those that Huzooras would have prepared for his own use. He also used to wear a turban that he would, most of the times, purchase himself. As the clothes would come as gifts for his use, the used clothes were taken by his followers as blessed relics. Sometimes it would so happen that he would give out his clothes as a token of blessings to find no spare clothes for himself and new garments would have to be sewn. Some found wisdom in gifting him new clothes and then asking for old ones to be gifted to them.

This was an extra piece of information that I have provided for the sake of record.

Now I will mention the type of clothes Huzooras would wear. It was his custom to wear overcoats, waistcoats, trousers, long shirts and a turban. Moreover, he had a habit of keeping a handkerchief with him at all times. He would use socks in winter. His clothing had one unique factor that they were all sewn loose. Though the coats brought by Sheikh Rehmatullah Sahib were Western-styled, they would be long enough to cover his knees and a part of his shin. The typical Asian gowns and robes that he would wear would sometimes reach his ankles. Similarly his shirts and waistcoats were loosely stitched.

He was not in the habit of wearing vests as its fitting caused unease. He would keep the uppermost button of his shirts, overcoats and waistcoats unbuttoned. Similarly he always kept his cuffs unbuttoned. His custom was in accordance to the Quranic injunction:

مَا اَنَا مِنَ الْمُتَكَلِّفِیْن

[I am not of the pretenders.]

He kept himself distant from the formalities of this world. It was against his nature to bind himself in unnecessary limitations which were also rendered useless by the Sharia – Islamic teachings.

[His clothing and appearance was never his primary interest.] His focus was completely directed towards the mission he was entrusted with.

In his final years he would wear warm clothes in summer as well, which was due to his frail health. Winter season suited him not. In summer he would wear a muslin shirt underneath his coat. His trousers were designed in accordance with the principle prescribed by the Sharia. He also used to wear flared trousers as was the custom in those days but later he gave up this practice. In summer while at home, during the daytime and at night he would wear a dhoti [a long piece of cloth tied around the waist by men in South Asia].

He would commonly wear a waistcoat while at home and would wear an overcoat when going out. And during severe winter conditions he would wear two coats at a time, while sometimes adding a fur coat as well.

In the pocket of his waistcoat he would place his handkerchief. He would always keep a large sized handkerchief. Within that handkerchief he would keep his essential medicines such as musk and would tie within it important letters along with the cash he would receive as gifts from visitors in the mosque.

He had the habit of keeping a watch with him at all times. But as it needed winding periodically, therefore most of the time it would usually display the incorrect time. And as it would easily fall off from his pocket, therefore it was kept in the handkerchief. He kept the watch with him as a necessity and not for showing off. An observer could never find any form of artificiality in his life or clothes. Rather, it was in accordance with the Quranic injunction:

وَالرُّجْزَ  فَاهْجُرْ

 [And shun uncleanliness.]

He always preferred cleanliness in every matter and abhorred uncleanliness. He was so cautious that he would himself pour bleach in the toilet if there was no one else to do so.

Headdress

He would wear a turban made from ten yards of muslin.  He would keep the loose end of the turban to the length of his back. Sometimes he would set it to the front of his chest and sometimes would cover his mouth with that end while sitting quietly in a gathering.

He would tie his turban in a special manner. At home he would loosely tie his turban shaping it on the front side.

Under his turban he would wear a Rumi [Turkish] cap and while at home he would only keep the Rumi cap on his head made from soft material.

He would wear socks during winter and would wipe over them with his hands [Masah] while performing ablution. In severe weather conditions he would wear two pairs of socks, one over the other…

He would wear any kind of slippers available to him if they were loose. He did not have the habit of wearing English-style boots. I never saw him wearing moccasins. (He did wear moccasins – Editor Al Hakam Urdu.) Hazrat Hakim Maulvi Nuruddin Sahib, Khalifatul Masih Ira used to wear them. If the Promised Messiah’sas shoes were tight then he would press them down from the heels.

Here I would also like to mention that he used to keep a staff. At home or while going to Masjid Mubarak he would not use it. But when he went to Masjid Aqsa or took a walk he would hold a staff in his hand. For this he preferred thick and strong wood. He would never walk by supporting his body with the staff as is done by the elderly.

During the summer season he would keep a flannel on his shoulder and while sitting, would use it to cover his feet.

As regards the care of his clothes, at night while going to sleep he would spread his coat, cap, waistcoat and turban on his bed or under his pillow and would sleep over them. All night these clothes which some would hang on hangers to save them from being creased would be under his body; if a fashion enthusiast ever saw the consequences, they would certainly be left perplexed.

During the summer season, both day and night (mostly at night) while at home he would take off his clothes and would only wear a dhoti. He would also take off his shirt when prickly heat would appear on his body. His dhoti would mount up to the middle of his shin and I never saw his knees uncovered.

He also used to have a bunch of keys with him that would be tied to his handkerchief or robe belt. He was not in habit of wearing woolen coats. Nor would he appear in public, covering his body with a woolen quilt. He would keep a flannel but would never cover his head with it. Rather he would always cover his shoulders with it. He was not accustomed to gloves or neckties.

His bed would be a long and wide quilt made of at least approximately twelve pounds of wool. He would use this bedding in both winter and summer seasons due to his discomfort in the cold. A cotton sheet would be spread over his bedding with a pillow.

He would perform most of his literary work on his bed. All the necessary stationery items including an inkpot, paper and pen were always kept on his bed as that place served him as his desk, chair and library. And one could witness in his routine the practical example of:

وَمَا اَنَا مِنَ الْمُتَكَلِّفِيْن

[“I am not of those who are given to affectation.” (Ch.38: V.87)]

There is one point I forgot to mention: Against the practice of the affluent of that time, he would not change his clothes daily, rather he would change them when he felt a difference in its neatness.

Food intake

With regards to the unbelievers it says in the Holy Quran:

يَاْكُلُوْنَ كَمَاتَاْكُلُ الْاَنْعَام

[“They eat even as the cattle eat.” (Ch.47: V.13)]

It is narrated in a Hadith that a believer eats in one intestine and a non-believer eats in seven intestines. It means that a faithful believer eats clean food and, in contrast with a worldly individual, he is satisfied with little food. Such is the standard of a believer and surely prophets are the bearers of far exalted standards.

The ascetic lifestyle of the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa did not allow for more than one kind of food to be served at each meal. His table would not be rich with several dishes, rather it would only have a single dish. He would at times suffice on sattu [a drink of parched grains and cereal powder or flour], a cup of milk or a single date.

Following on the precepts of the Holy Prophetsa, the Promised Messiahas had a very modest appetite. The enormity of work and mental activity in which he was involved was no comparison with his intake of food. An observer would indeed question how he subsisted on such a diet. He would never overindulge in food, no matter how appetising the food seemed. He would usually eat twice a day but when ill, he would eat only once a day.

Apart from this, he would have a cup of tea in the morning as breakfast but to my observation he never yearned for appetising food.

Schedule

As a routine he would eat his lunch between the time-frame of ten o’clock and the Azan for Zuhr prayer, and in the evening, he would eat a meal between Maghrib prayers and before going to bed. Very rarely would he eat lunch after Zuhr. Similarly, he was not in the habit of eating dinner before Maghrib prayer, however sometimes he would. As for dinner, he had two different routines; when he would sit outside along with his companions from Maghrib to Isha, he would dine after Isha at home, otherwise he would have dinner between Maghrib and Isha prayers.

For a long period, he had his meals with his guests. A table would be set in the Gol Kamra [the room allocated for guests in Qadian] or in Masjid Mubarak. Special guests enjoyed the honour to sit with him at the table. These would usually be shortlisted by the Promised Messiahas himself. The number of guests at the table would reach 10 or even 25 at times. (At times, the number would exceed this and would usually not be a specified number – Editor.)

At home, he would sometimes eat alone but mostly would be accompanied by his wife Ummul Momineen [Hazrat Nusrat Jehan Begum Sahibara] and one of his children, if not all of them.  When I would visit Qadian, I also enjoyed the humbling honour to eat at the same table as Huzooras.

Huzooras would eat sehri at home. At home, he would sometimes eat in the same plate along with one or two other individuals or sometimes he would alone. Outside he would eat separately. This was not something he had instructed, rather his companions would serve him in a separate dish out of respect. Some guests at different times were also served in separate dishes.

Manners at the dining table

When a meal was served or the table was set, he would ask the gathering, “Kiyun ji, shuru kareyn?” [Shall we start?] This was asked to confirm the presence of every guest present at his house or to confirm if the meal was readily available to every individual present. Upon confirmation, the meal would initiate.

He would eat slowly, chewing each morsel well. He was not voracious during meals. He would also discourse on various subjects while eating, unlike the non-Ahmadi Maulvis of today who become so engrossed in their meals that they are unaware of their surroundings and find little opportunity to converse in secular or religious discussions.

Huzooras would consume a negligible amount of curry. On special occasions, when tables would be filled with different dishes, he would confine himself to a single dish placed in front of him, yet at the end of the feast, that very dish would seem untouched.

He forsook gluttony and possessed a moderate taste for meat and vegetables. He would taste the curry with the tip of his finger and would bite a piece of roti [South Asian flatbread cooked on a griddle]. He would make several pieces of the roti, making small morsels of each piece. This was his practice.

After the meal, there would be small pieces of roti and his companions would eat those leftover pieces. He ate so little that, though everyone was served in the same quantity, the most food could be found from his side of the table. With the excuse of obtaining blessings, those who were still hungry would pick up Huzoor’sas leftovers as soon as he would depart.

Most of the times, as has been mentioned earlier, he would place a morsel in his mouth and taste the curry with the tip of his finger to create a salty taste. Previously when he would eat at his home, in the morning he would eat makai ki roti [roti made from cornflour] along with saaglassi [a drink made of yoghurt] and butter. Sometimes he would use pickle. He did not live to eat; he ate to live.

He is recorded to have stated on several occasions after he had eaten a meal that he had not known what was cooked and what he had eaten. It was not his conduct to chew on hidden meat from bones or to belch or to eat chunks of roti voraciously or to make noises while eating. Neither would he lick his plate nor would he criticise the cooked food, so much so that it was against his custom to sing praises about the cooked food. Rather he would eat what was served to him. Sometimes he would hold a glass of water or a cup of tea in his left hand. He would narrate that in childhood, his right hand had received a severe injury and hence was still unable to carry even a small weight. He would never sit down in a squat posture to eat, rather he would be seated cross legged or with his right knee upright while resting upon his left leg.

Type of diet

As mentioned earlier, he ate to gather strength and not to satiate his taste buds or to derive pleasure. Therefore, he ate nutritious foods that provided him mental and physical strength and which would be in accordance to his disposition to avoid negligence in his tasks. Moreover, due to some ailments he had to refrain from certain types of food. Normally he ate whatever he was provided, keeping within the boundaries of permissible foods. Though he would be regularly asked what should be cooked for him, to my utmost knowledge he would never insist on having a specific kind of food. He never criticised the food if it wasn’t cooked to a decent standard, nor did he ever express disgust, unlike many who angrily hurl dishes across the room if the food is not to their liking. If ever he did criticise, it was done considering his guests who may have disliked the food.

He used to eat roti baked on a griddle or in a clay oven. He also used to eat slices of baked bread [of loaves] with tea or biscuits and bakarkhani [puff-pastries]. He would also permit consuming Western-manufactured biscuits. He would assert that the manufacturers of biscuits claimed that they would cook them in butter, and so he would say that there was no need, then, to hold suspicion or to give in to uncertainty and assume that they might have cooked the biscuits in lard. In his last seven to eight years he suffered from diarrhoea, therefore he would use cornflour bread.

He also used to eat shirmal [saffron-flavoured roti from Lucknow and Hyderabad], and as mentioned earlier he would eat bakarkhanikulcha [nan bread with sesame seeds] or any other type of roti that was presented to him.

He would eat a very small amount of curry. Meat was cooked twice a day at his house but he preferred lentils to meat. He would prefer dal mash and urad dal [types of lentil soup] commonly found in the Indian province of Gurdaspur. Every type of curry and vegetable was seen at his table. He also used to eat every form of Halal meat and that which suited his disposition.

He preferred the meat of the birds, hence when he would feel ill, he would ask Sheikh Abdur Rahim Sahib, a recent convert to Islam, to provide him with the meat of grey francolins or doves. He also preferred chicken and quail. However, after the plague struck Punjab, he never ate quail and would discourage others as well saying that it harboured the ability to promote the plague. The Bani Israil were, similarly, stricken with the plague, transmitted to them from the infected quails.

When the meat of a monitor lizard was presented to Huzooras, he did not eat it following the dislike once shown to it by Holy Prophetsa, but he never forbade others to eat it. Some of his guests, family members and companions ate its meat but he did not allow it to be brought near him.

He would eat chicken, cooked in any form, whether in curry, roast or used in kebabs or pilau [South Asian rice]. A chicken’s leg piece would usually suffice in his diet, although sometimes even that would not be consumed entirely. He would also eat well-cooked and mellowed pilau. He was fond of eating sweet rice and would sometimes express his desire to have it. His favourite style was gurh valey chaval [sugarcane rice] alongside yoghurt. He would ask for special dishes like chicken, pilau, kebab, omelette, gurh valey chaval and firni [ground rice pudding] when he felt frail and weak.

On days when he was less involved in excessive literary work or enjoyed good health, he used to reduce his intake and would eat once a day and as a second meal, a glass of milk would suffice. He would use milk, cream, butter and almond oil as a source of strength to counter weakness, but he would take these in minute quantities.

Some individuals have contended with regards to his diet. But such naïve people are unaware of the fact that this man, with several ailments, was alone competing the whole world in forming a new community, whose every individual was nourishing under his observation and guidance. He was diligently engaged in efforts to reform the Umma, fighting on the forefront with each and every religion and engaged with the government on a different level. Day and night he was busy in literary work, not only in Urdu but in Persian and Arabic also. He was himself the scribe, the proof-reader and even the publisher. Then, he alone catered for the needs of hundreds of his guests; welcomed them and bade them farewell. He alone dispatched parties for debates. He alone looked after the attendance at prayers and regularly delivered speeches and addresses to gatherings. He alone met several visitors on a daily basis, discoursed with them on various subjects, answered hundreds of letters in the daily mail, then gave time to his children and wife at home, oversaw the tabligh from his home, giving advice to his community and praying throughout the day.

Amidst all such preoccupations, hectic mental activities, advancing years, topped with the ailments he suffered, if ever he used to drink almond oil to gain strength to fight such a magnificent war against the forces of evil then only a folly naïve can object to such a diet. Are such people not aware that almond oil is not any delicious diet and is never used as a delicacy? Even if he ever did enjoy a delicacy, for a person with such pure intentions and hectic routine it ought to be a compulsory part of his diet. Though for indolent individuals like us, all such diets are delicacies.

Moreover, considering the fact that Huzooras always used such tonics in minute quantities to gain strength, only one bereft of reason can connote such a diet as a delicacy and means of satisfying oneself. (God save every believer from thinking ill of others.)

He would consume milk on a regular basis and habitually drank a glass of milk before going to sleep. In his final days he would drink milk during the day. This was so because whenever he drank milk, it worked as a laxative, causing severe physical weakness. Therefore to keep his strength intact he would drink in small quantities two to three times a day as well. Alongside meals during the summer days, he would drink lassi [drink made from yoghurt] as an alternative to water and would also use ice when available.

He would also drink Shira Badam made of cardamom, misri [sugar candy] and almonds. Occasionally he would also consume the yakhni [broth] of meat or paya [goat trotters] in severe weakness. The yakhni would not be appetising at all; it would be leftover broth from the meat.

He enjoyed eating fruit. His companions would usually bring fruit for him as gifts. He himself would also send someone to buy fruits frequently. Fruits that he liked included grapes, bananas of Mumbai, oranges of Nagpur, apple, Galia melon and mangoes of Sarwali village (Gurdaspur). Other fruits were also used by him. He also enjoyed sugarcane.

He had also acquired a taste for mulberries. On his morning walks, he would go to his orchard and ask his companions to pluck mulberries, which he would then eat along with his companions from the same basket. As for dry fruits, Huzooras preferred almonds.

I have already touched the subject of tea. During winter, he would have tea prepared for his guests and would also drink a cup or two, although he was not addicted to it. Huzooras liked green tea and disliked black tea. Huzooras liked his tea with milk and sugar.

Modern food items such as ice, soda drinks and lemonade and ginger drinks were also consumed by Huzooras in the summer. In severe weather conditions Huzooras would also use ice brought for him from Amritsar or Lahore. Due to kidney pains, he would have carbonated water and partridge meat. He also did not hesitate in enjoying sweets. He could care less if it was from a Hindu or a Muslim shop-owner. He would eat some of the sweets brought to him as gifts and would also buy sweets for his children who would come and surround him, asking for sweets and money. Sweet samosas or bedana [sweet treats] were the preferred sweets that he would order for the children as these were the only two quality sweets produced in Qadian in those days.

One thing should always be kept in mind that Huzooras was more mindful of the needs of his guests than his own. He would enquire about the guests’ likes and dislikes and the type of diet they were accustomed to. He took particular interest in the diet of Maulvi Muhammad Ali Sahib until he got engaged. Every day, for many years, Huzooras would send items like milk, tea, sweets, biscuits and boiled eggs for him in the morning for breakfast. He would then ask the person who would serve Maulvi Muhammad Ali Sahib whether he had completed his breakfast properly or not and only then would Huzooras be satisfied.

Similarly, Huzooras would be very much cautious for Khawaja [Kamaluddin] Sahib too, taking care of his diet, which included tea, rice and other such items. Huzooras would ask time and again if any of his guests had been left unattended or if the staff of the Langar Khana [central kitchen] had been negligent in serving them. At times, when a guest was neglected or not served on time, Huzooras would serve the guest his own meal or entire meals from his home.

Often he would receive various food items as gifts or would occasionally himself purchase necessary items. However, there would be times when he would become so immersed in his literary work that he would find his food items after many days rotting in food boxes. These would then be discarded. Such a loss cannot be afforded by an individual with a materialistic approach.

By reading the aforementioned list of items he enjoyed, one should not be misled into thinking that he ate all these fruits and sweets regularly. The memories I have noted down span a period of 20-25 years. Yes, these items were consumed by Huzooras at some stage, but it does not mean that his dining table was flooded with such items regularly. Most of the aforementioned items were gifts that he had received and marked the fulfilment of Divine promises that were made as regards his materialistic aid. Many a time did he make a wish and would instantly find its fulfilment in the form of a gift presented to him by a guest or any of his followers arriving at Qadian.

Huzooras was not addicted to anything. He would eat pan [betel leaf with fennel, lime and rose petals] to strengthen his heart, cleanse his mouth or if someone from his family had offered it to him. If he had a cold or a cough, he would use pan.

He disliked the use of hookah [a long pipe used for smoking] and tobacco, so much so that once, he directed some of the hookah smokers to leave his house. However, he would permit those aged people who were addicted to smoking hookah, considering their addiction to it, to do so. Some of his followers who were addicted to hookah were forced to attend the company of Mirza Nizamuddin [relative and neighbour of Huzooras] or to smoke it in nearby shrines as they were the only places for them. And to leave the company of Huzooras to smoke hookah in the company of Mirza Nizamuddin was akin to leaving heaven and entering hell. Hence, those who really had regard for Huzooras bade farewell to the hookah once and for all.

Washing hands

Huzooras would generally wash his hands before a meal and would most definitely wash his hands after. In winter, he would use hot water. He would use very little soap and would wipe his hands with a cloth or a towel. He would never clean his hands using his beard, as is the custom of some unlettered mullahs [Muslim clerics]. He would rinse his mouth after meals.

During the month of Ramadan, in sehri [breakfast] he would be served with the leg piece of a chicken and firni [ground rice pudding] along with a paratha [South Asian fried bread] instead of a plain roti. However, he would eat very little of it.

Limited food intake

It would be appropriate to mention here that in his youth, Huzooras would practice spiritual exercises and once, he fasted incessantly for six long months in accordance to Divine will. His diet was limited to a half piece of bread or even less which he would take upon breaking his fast. He would eat nothing for sehri. The meal that would come from his home would be discreetly passed to the needy, lest his family got to know. But for members of his Jamaat, he disliked such exercises.

He declared preaching the true teachings of Islam and defending Islam by answering allegations raised against its teachings and its founder, the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa as the true need and jihad of the time. What more of an injustice could there be to consider such an individual to be desirous of materialistic delicacies?

When Huzooras was alive, mostly dal [lentil soup] was cooked in the Langar Khana, while meat was cooked for guests only. On special occasions such as Jalsa Salana, Eid and Aqiqa [sacrifice of an animal upon a child’s birth] of his children, he would instruct to cook meat, pilau [rice] or zarda [sweet rice], so that the poor might also benefit from it.

Revelation

As regards the arrangement of food for others, Huzooras was Divinely ordained:

یَا اَیُّہَا النَّبِیُّ اطْعِمُوْا الْجَائِعَ وَالْمُعْتَرّ

[O prophet, feed the hungry and the needy.]

Medicines

He practiced medicine as it was his family profession. His father was a renowned doctor in the area. Huzooras also studied medicine but never practiced it as a profession. He would keep at his house various English medicines along with Greek medicines, partly because he suffered from poor health and partly because people frequently sought medical advice from Huzooras. In his final years, his medicine cabinet mostly consisted of English medicines. He would use various tonics such as soft drinks, compound tonic made of fish oil, Estyn syrup, quinine and Iron. He was in the habit of using every kind of medicine despite its tatse.

To treat severe headaches and colds, he would use musk and ambergris of the best quality. Hakim Muhammad Hussein Sahib would cater the supply of musk and ambergris in Huzoor’sas later life. For a long time Seith Abdur Rehman Sahib of Madras catered its supply. Musk was used by the Promised Messiahas. He would keep it tied to his handkerchief and would use it when necessary.

(Translated by Haseeb Ahmad, Pakistan)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________1923

Seeratul Mahdi is published and claims that MGA did lead prayers a few times (which is a lie).
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________1933 29 January, page 9–Dr. Sayyed Muhammad Isma’il’s comments on his life before Ahmadiyya

Title: My Condition before becoming Ahmadi

“”””At the time, that I was not ahmadi, I do not want to reveal all the details, but my NATURE was:

I was displeased from Salat, mutinous from Holy Quran, disgusted with Fasting, foul mouth, (bud zabaan), shameless (bud Lagaam), corrupt with immoral behavior, (bud chalan), sinful (bud kaar). I did not refrain from alcohol, or stayed away from bad (gandi) gatherings, was miser without boundaries. Never gave a penny in the name of Allah apart from spending money on self, wife and children, and on personal entertainments and enjoyments (khail tamasha). Apart from frightening and pointless dreams, never saw a good dream.

Never sat in the company of pious person and always joined in with bad, immoral and faithless people. I was very hard hearted, selfish, cruel natured, bad tempered, rude, bitter, rebellious and arrogant person. Never sat in the company of pious people. The talk in our meetings used to be, of the beauty of “Non Mehram women”, backbiting, making mischief, and creating conflicts.

Purpose of our life was to eat, sleep and sexual acts. Never remembered God. Discussions about deen, was reduced to making jokes and laughed about. Respect for my elders and parents set aside, they all were afraid and trembled from me. Concerning the employment and the earnings, squeezed very last penny earned by unfair means (he would grab every single penny). Never slept peacefully at night, until I received bribes. Stealing, I would acquire/confiscate any expensive, precious and of top quality, available from the government property. If those were already noted in a register, I would replace those with my old, broken and tattered things of the same name. I would mingle and keep friends, with cruel natured, influential and powerful people, and arranged and inflicted huge cruelties on innocent people.

Forced poor people to sell their houses to pay for bribes. Got the innocent girls/women raped.  Inflicted injuries on physically weak people and innocent children with poles (danda)and cain.  Conspired, instigate and arranged with greedy, vagabonds and scoundrels of the local area, and incited them to inflict the thefts in the local town (mahala).

The scan

______________________________________________________________________________________________
1935–His daughter

She was married off to the Khalifa on September 30th, 1935 (see Fazle Omar, online english edition, see pages 221–223). Her age at the time of marriage is unknown, the Khalifa was 46 years old, and this was a replacement wife, the Khalifa already had 4 wives, however, one of them had died in 1934, so there was an opening. Again in 1944, another wife of the Khalifa died, the Khalifa married again in just a few months. Ahmadiyya sources tell us that she was the main scribe for the Khalifa as he dictated his famous Urdu-only commentaries of the Quran.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
1937
Al Fazl July 10, 1937. Page 6
https://www.alislam.org/alfazl/rabwah/A19370710.pdf

Fakhr-ud Din Multani and Bashir Ahmad Misri were also mentioned in this speech. 

He says about the Khalifa as follows:

“””One major allegation is that Khalifa [MMA] is promiscuous. About this I would say that I am a physician, and I know that those people who are promiscuous and indulge in promiscuity even for few days, their condition becomes what is called in English language ‘wreck’. Such person’s brain does not work. His intelligence is messed up. His movements are not normal. In short his all powers are destroyed. By observing him from his head to toe, immediately makes it clear that this man has destroyed himself by indulging himself in to promiscuity. Therefore it is said, “Adultery uproots the person from his foundation (Quote from Holy Quran)”””” “.

Transliteration
delivered in presence of Ahmadi Ashab from Halqa Musjid Mubarik.

“Bara Ilzaam yea lagaia jaata hai kay khalifa Aayash hai. Is kay mutaliq main kehta hoon – main doctor hoon (mir ismael was a doctor who is delivering the speech) aour main jantaa hoon kay wo loag jo chand din bhi Aayashi main per jaain – wo wo ho jatay hain ginhain angraize main WRECK kehtay hain. Aisay insaan kaa na dimagh kaam kaa rehta hai na aqal darust rehti hai- na harkaat sahee toar per kertaa hai – gharaz sub qawaa uskay berbaad ho jatay hain – aour ser (head) say lay ker pair (foot) tuk us per nazar daalnay say foarun (straightaway) maaloom ho jata hai kay wo ayashee main per ker apnay aap ko berbaad ker chukaa hai – isee (that is why) leyaa kahtay hain – alzina yakhrujul binaa.””

Scan work

Scan about his marriage
Tarikh e Ahmadiyyat Vol 22 655 (1)
_____________________________________________________________________________________________1943

He dies and is buried in Qadian (See this video, at the 48:16 mark specifically—https://www.alislam.org/v/2395.html.) However, Tarikh-e-Ahmadiyya claims that he died on July 18th, 1947. Nevertheless, he is buried in Qadian and was forced to do Wasiyyat before he died just so that he could be buried in Bahishti Maqbara, he wasn’t exempt, since only the children of MGA were exempt.

The scan about his death from Tarikh-e-Ahmadiyya
Tarikh e Ahmadiyyat Vol 22 655
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
1944
https://www.alhakam.org/scenes-of-gods-forgiveness/

Written in Urdu by Hazrat Mir Muhammad Ismailra – brother-in-law of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas – and published in Al Fazl on 13 June 1944

Hazrat Mir Muhammad Ismailra (right) – Ahmadiyya History

Once, I was pondering over the topic of forgiveness of Allah and was enjoying thinking about the different aspects of this topic that a feeling of sluggishness overtook my mind and certain scenes flashed in front of my eyes pertaining to this topic.

Now, it does not matter much whether one considers these matters to be the imagination of the mind or stream of consciousness or a semi-vision. The only difference is that an academic exercise morphed from thoughts into images, otherwise the meaning and the reality is the same.

I saw that just at a little distance from me, there was an enormous door in a vast, open ground, similar to that which one may see erected at wedding occasions etc. When I went close to it, I saw that there was a beautiful inscription on it, which read:

کُلَّ یَوۡمٍ ہُوَ فِیۡ شَاۡنٍ

“Every day He reveals Himself in a different state.” (Surah al-Rahman, Ch.55: V.30)

And on the other two sides of this big door were also various inscriptions, one of which read:

نَبِّیٴۡ عِبَادِیۡۤ اَنِّیۡۤ اَنَا الۡغَفُوۡرُ الرَّحِیۡمُ

“Tell My servants that I am surely the One Most Forgiving, the Merciful.” (Surah al-Hijr, Ch.15: V.50)

Another one read:

اِنَّ رَبَّکَ وَاسِعُ الۡمَغۡفِرَۃِ

“Verily, thy Lord is very liberal in forgiving.” (Surah al-Najm, Ch.53: V.33)

At another place, it said:

یَغۡفِرُ لِمَنۡ یَّشَآءُ

“He forgives whomsoever he pleases.” (Surah Al-e-Imran, Ch.3: V.130)

One of the places said:

اِنَّ اللّٰہَ یَغۡفِرُ الذُّنُوۡبَ جَمِیۡعًا ؕ اِنَّہٗ ہُوَ الۡغَفُوۡرُ الرَّحِیۡمُ

“Surely, Allah forgives all sins. Verily He is Most Forgiving, Merciful. (Surah al-Zumar, Ch.39: V.54)

Another said:

یَدۡعُوۡکُمۡ لِیَغۡفِرَ لَکُمۡ مِّنۡ ذُنُوۡبِکُمۡ

“He calls you that He may forgive you your sins.” (Surah Ibrahim, Ch.14: V.11)

وَ مَنۡ یَّغۡفِرُ الذُّنُوۡبَ اِلَّا اللّٰہُ

“Who can forgive sins except Allah?” (Surah Al-e-Imran, Ch.3: V.136)

In short, there were dozens of beautiful inscriptions on either side of the door regarding the forgiveness of Allah.

Field of reckoning

I saw certain people who were hovering over the doors like guards and I thought that maybe they were angels and so, I asked them if I could go inside. They replied, “Yes, there are great examples of God’s forgiveness on display today. You can go and look at them, but you will be accompanied by an official guard.”

With this, they asked one of their colleagues to accompany me and told me that his name was Ghufran (meaning forgiveness) and that he would show me around the vast expanse of the field where judgment was taking place. They also told me to continue to recite istighfar and not to criticise anything I may see.

After listening [to the instructions], as soon as I turned myself towards the enormous desert where reckoning was taking place, Ghufran held me by my arm and it was as if we were flying. It seemed as though we were able to reach wherever we wanted to go in a matter of seconds. I noticed, while traveling, that there were humans for as far as the eye could see and that all of them were naked, except for a selected few who were clothed.

There was a group here and a group there. There were various gatherings in different places and in the middle of every gathering or horde was a scale or balance. Hence, as far as the eye could see, there were only humans, scales or angels. But there was absolutely no ruckus. It seemed as if the dead were made to stand and only those could speak who were given permission. There was a silent murmur of “O Ghafoor, O Sattar, O Ghaffar” [O Forgiving One, O Coverer of shortcomings, O Most Forgiving] and sometimes, when someone’s voice would get inappropriately loud, a trumpet would be blown saying:

وَ خَشَعَتِ الۡاَصۡوَاتُ لِلرَّحۡمٰنِ فَلَا تَسۡمَعُ اِلَّا ہَمۡسًا

“And [all] voices shall be hushed before the Gracious God and thou shalt not hear but a subdued sound of footsteps. (Surah Ta Ha, Ch.20: V.109)

Upon this, an eerie silence would take over the place like the one that can be observed in graveyards at night.

Throne of Allah

Hence, we kept on traveling and wherever we went, we saw the same scenes until we got tired. At this point, Ghufran told me that the throne of Allah was in front of us. When I looked up, I could see nothing but light and nur [spiritual light]. But suddenly, I was struck with such fear and awe that I started trembling and my throat tightened. I also realised that the throne seemed equidistant from every location in this infinitely vast ground and the orders which were being issued from this throne were heard clearly everywhere as if they were being pronounced from somewhere right next to us. Countless angels were circumambulating the throne. Some of them were saying:

اَللّٰھُمَّ اِنَّا نَسْتَغْفِرُکَ لِلَّذِیْنَ اٰمَنُوْا

“O Allah, we see forgiveness for the believers.”

while others were saying:

رَبَّنَا اغْفِرْ مَنْ فِی الْاَرْضِ

“O Allah forgive everyone on the earth.”

Some prayed:

رَّبِّ اغۡفِرۡ وَ ارۡحَمۡ

“O Allah forgive and have mercy.” (Surah al-Mominoon, Ch.23: V.119)

Some were chanting the attributes of “Ya Ghafoor; Ya Raheem” (O Most Forgiving, Most Merciful) and some were chanting the names of Allah “Ya Affuwun, Ya Ghafoor, Ya Sattar, Ya Ghaffar” i.e. “O Effacer of Sins, O Most Forgiving, O Coverer of faults, O Most Forgiving”.

Hence, these angels were reciting various chants and would come from one side and disappear around the other.

Atmosphere of happiness and jubilation

At the same time, there was an atmosphere of happiness and jubilation due to it being the day of forgiveness. Every sinner had a smile of hope and optimism on their face. People’s actions were being measured and their shortcomings and weaknesses were being compensated with the blessings of forgiveness. There was an ease in reckoning today, for today was the day of the manifestation of the attributes of Most Effacing and the Most Forgiving. Even though “Kiraaman Katibeen” [angels tasked with recording the actions of humans] were doing their job (of presenting the full record of deeds) and Rizwan [angel of heaven] and Malik [angel of hell] would argue every once in a while … but above all, today was the day of the Final Judgment and all matters were adjudged in the end by the Most Forgiving and Most Merciful God.

I was busy wandering, when Ghufran said to me, “Let’s go; let me show you some people you may recognise and show you some specific incidents of the forgiveness of Allah, which ordinary people may not be familiar with. Otherwise this judgment and reckoning will continue according to the verse:

کُلَّ یَوۡمٍ ہُوَ فِیۡ شَاۡنٍ

‘Every day He reveals Himself in a different state.’ (Surah al-Rahman, Ch.55: V.30)

“Today is the day of the manifestation of forgiveness. There are other days of God’s reckoning and awe-inspiring wrath and absolute dominion. But all these days are according to the conditions and actions of the people who are deserving of those specific attributes of Allah. There is no limit to the mercy of Allah. Yes, there is [punishment according to] justice, but never injustice.

“Let me show you some detailed signs of the mercy of your Lord so that you may increase in faith and love for your Master and Creator. So that you, who are always in a condition of despair and hopelessness due to the conditions of your actions, may also learn about the noble mercy and forgiveness of your Lord, which is the hope of every sinner and the support of every offender and upon which depends the covering of faults and forgiveness of the worlds.”

The group of the Prophets

After this, we went forth and stood next to a group. All of these people were wearing high quality clothes and were busy in seeking forgiveness. Ghufran informed me, “This is the group of the prophets who have come here pure and forgiven from their earthly life.”

Scenes of forgiveness

1. I went a little further and saw that a person’s scale of sins was very heavy and had very few good deeds. The angels of hell were about to pull him to their side when a voice came from the throne of Allah, “Bring (so and so) person with the register of their deeds.” The person was brought forward. Allah said, “He is the son of this sinful person. Look at his record of deeds as well.” When his record was looked at, it showed that he prayed regularly for the forgiveness of his parents’ sins. It was ordered [by Allah] to put his prayers in the scale of his father’s good deeds. When this was done, his scale of good deeds became heavier than his sins and the angels of heaven lift ed him on their shoulders and took him with them.

2. When we went further, another such sinful person was crying over his fate. It was asked, “How many believers prayed over his grave for his forgiveness?” When these prayers were measured, even those prayers that were made by strangers just walking by the grave enabled this sinner to hop his way into the lap of the angels of forgiveness and departed from the scene.

3. When we went further, another sinner was standing there, looking sad, because of his lack of good deeds. It was ordered that if anyone had wronged him or had backbitten against him, then all the good deeds of such people should be put in his scale. I saw that thousands of good deeds of other people were put in his scale and he was forgiven.

4. I went a little further and saw that another person was under the custody of Malik [angel of hell]. It was said that this person was the author of a specific book and many generations learned about Islam and virtue through his book. Hence, all such people who did good because of his book would not only be rewarded for their good actions themselves, but the author would also be rewarded for them. Hence, when such actions were looked at, an infinite treasure of good deeds came under the account of the author. Malik loosened his grip and the assistant of Rizwan (angel of heaven) took him to heaven.

5. I went further still and saw that a woman stood crying. Her register of deeds was full of vices. A sense of despair and hopelessness had taken over her, when a voice was heard, “Has this sinful and transgressing woman ever done a good deed as well?” One of the Kiraaman Katibeen [angels tasked with recording the actions] said, “My Lord, once, she was traveling in a wilderness and a dog was panting out of thirst. This lady went down into the well, drank some water and brought some water in her shoes for the dog as well.” Allah the Almighty replied, “We are very appreciative and reward the smallest actions manifold. We liked this action of hers so much that We have decided to forgive her at this very moment. Cover her in the mantle of Our forgiveness and let her go wherever she wishes.”

6. I went further and noticed that there was a lot of commotion at a certain place. There was a humble sinner standing next to a decorated virtuous person. The seemingly virtuous person said to the sinner, “I swear to God, Allah will never forgive you.” On this, people started whispering to each other and some said that the “Holy man” was correct and that his sins were too enormous to be forgiven. A voice came from the throne of the Almighty, “O person, who are you to swear by our forgiveness? O sinner, you are forgiven. As for you, we will decide about you later.” On this, the sinner laughed and hopped his way to heaven in joy.

7. Similarly, there was a group of people whose judgment was taking place. They were believers, but their record of deeds was empty of any goodness. Even though they believed in the prophet of their time, however they did not live long enough to do many good deeds. Some of them had literally no good actions in their books. Such people were judged according to the verse of the Holy Quran:

اِنَّا نَطۡمَعُ اَنۡ یَّغۡفِرَ لَنَا رَبُّنَا خَطٰیٰنَاۤ اَنۡ کُنَّاۤ اَوَّلَ الۡمُؤۡمِنِیۡنَ

“We do hope that our Lord will forgive us our sins, since we are the first among the believers.” (Surah al-Shu‘ara, Ch.26: V.52)

This means that since they were the first ones to believe in the Prophet, this very fact was good enough for their forgiveness, even if they had not performed a single good deed after becoming a Muslim.

8. We went ahead from there and saw that the children of Prophet Jacobas were being judged and they were forgiven due to the prayers of their forefathers i.e. the prayers of their father that were made according to their request that “O our father, ask forgiveness of our sins for us; we have indeed been sinners” (Surah Yusuf, Ch.12: V.98)

And the reply that was given by their father was, “I will certainly ask forgiveness for you of my Lord. Surely, He is the Most Forgiving, the Merciful.’ (V.99).

9. I noticed at another place that several people are afflicted by their sins and could not find a way of salvation. Allah asked, “Who offered the funeral prayer of the person on the right?” It was found that his funeral prayer was offered by 40 believers. Allah ordered, “Malik, let him go. We have forgiven him due to the intercession of those 40 believing men.” Then came the turn for the person on the left. It was found that the majority of pious people in his town said at his death that he was a good person who had lived his life like a good Muslim. Allah ordered that he should be forgiven on account of the praise of those people. Then, Allah asked, “What is the condition of the third person?” The angels replied that only two believers considered him virtuous and good at his death. It was ordered that he should be forgiven as well. The fourth sinner was forgiven because there were three rows of Muslims at his funeral.

10. Another sinful Muslim was forgiven because three of his children died in his life. Another believing woman was forgiven because she had to bear the pain of the death of one of her children. Judgment was being done on a husband and wife, when a two-year-old came running by and said that those two were his parents and he would not go to heaven without them. The eyes of those who were watching this scene were filled with tears.

In the meanwhile, another case of a husband and wife was being adjudged and a small child, whose umbilical cord was still stuck to his belly-button, came and started crying, “O my Lord, I am a miscarriage-baby. Due to your mercy, I am being allowed to live in heaven. But I will never go back there if my parents are in hell.” Allah decreed, “We have forgiven your parents for you as well. Take them to Paradise with you.” The baby took his parents into heaven with his umbilical cord and the eyes of all the witnesses were filled with tears.

11. Then, we proceeded further. There was a person who had some weaknesses in his register of deeds. But because he used to visit his parents’ grave every Friday, he was let go. On the right there was a huge group of people, none of whom had enough good deeds in their register to be forgiven, but all of them were forgiven because one night, the Holy Prophetsa spent the whole night praying in Tahajjud the following verse of the Holy Quran:

اِنۡ تُعَذِّبۡہُمۡ فَاِنَّہُمۡ عِبَادُکَ ۚ وَ اِنۡ تَغۡفِرۡ لَہُمۡ فَاِنَّکَ اَنۡتَ الۡعَزِیۡزُ الۡحَکِیۡمُ

“If Thou punish them, they are Thy servants; and if Thou forgive them, Thou surely art the Mighty, the Wise.” (Surah al-Maidah, Ch.5: V.119)

12. From there, we came to a place where a murderer was being adjudged. I heard that he had killed 99 people in cold blood. After that, he had remorse in his heart and wanted to repent. So, he went to a hermit and asked him if his repentance would be accepted. The hermit replied that his sins were too grave to be forgiven. On this, he got angry and killed the hermit as well. People informed him of a scholar who may be able to help him with his repentance. This killer went in search of the scholar’s town, but died on his way.

This resulted in an argument between the angels of forgiveness and the angels of punishment. The angels of punishment were of the opinion that he was a coldblooded murderer and dacoit, while the others opined that he was on his way to perform true repentance. Hence, this caused a great commotion. I heard that the decision had been passed from the throne of Allah to measure the distance between his home and the place of his death and to compare it with the distance between his place of death and the town of the scholar. A report was submitted from the department of Mikail that his dead body was closer to the town of the scholar by only a few inches. It was ordained, “We have accepted his repentance and have forgiven him. Cover him in the mantle of Our forgiveness.”

13. Then we went further. The case of a sinner was being presented. Kiraaman Katibeen [angels assigned to recording the deeds of the people] said to Allah the Almighty that this person used to sin during the day and cry at night, lamenting that he had sinned and asked for forgiveness. Allah would forgive his sins and say that this servant of Mine knew that he had a Lord Who forgives sins and has the power to punish His servants. So, Allah would ordain, “Bear witness, O angels, I have forgiven him.”

Then, after a few days, he would sin again and then again pray in the same manner and Allah would reply, “This servant of Mine knows that he has a Lord who can punish him for his sins and has the power to forgive as well.” So, Allah would ordain, “Bear witness, O angels, I have forgiven him.”

And then he would sin again after a short while and the entire episode would be repeated again in that he would then again pray for his forgiveness in the same manner and Allah would reply that this servant of His believed that God could punish him for his sins and has the power to forgive him as well.

Hence, the angels reported, this person continued to sin and seek forgiveness throughout his life. The angels requested Allah the Almighty for guidance and decision in his matter. Allah the Almighty said, “I had ordained only after three times:

غَفَرْتُ لِعَبْدِی فَلْيَفْعَلْ مَا شَاءَ

‘I have forgiven my servant; let him do what he wishes.’

Has this commandment not been recorded?” The records were searched and a copy of this order was found in Bukhari and Muslim [Books of Hadith] and the culprit was forgiven.

14. We went further and saw the case of a sinner being presented by the Kiraaman Katibeen. Along with various other sins, there was also a complaint that in his will, he asked his children to burn his body and throw half of the ashes in the wind and throw the rest into the ocean. He was afraid that if God was to punish him, he would be given such a punishment by Allah, the like of which had never been given to anyone else. After a while, he died and his children acted upon his will. Now he was brought back to life on the Day of Judgment and the angels enquired about what should be done regarding him. Allah said, “Ask him why he made such a will?” He replied, “O my Lord, I have never done any good in my life and spent my life in sin. So, my Lord, I did what I did out of your fear. You fully know the truth.” Allah the Almighty replied, “He is telling the truth. He had my real fear and taqwa in his heart. Thus, I forgive him.”

15. On one side, I saw some men walking happily towards the road to Paradise. I asked them, “Have you been forgiven?” They replied, “Yes.” When asked, “Why?” they replied, “When our Lord saw us in trouble, he said, ‘I have promised these people that I will send them to heaven.’” I asked them what sort of promise was made to them. They replied, “Allah the Almighty had promised through his prophet:

مَنْ كَانَتْ لَہٗ اُنْثٰى فَلَمْ يُؤَدهَا وَلَمْ يُهْنهَا وَلَمْ يُؤثِر وَلَدَهٗ عَلَيْهَا يَعْنِیْ الذُّکُورَ اَ دْ خَلَہٗ اللّٰهُ الْجَنَّۃَ

“Whosoever has one daughter, and he does not bury her alive [like the custom of some Arab tribes], nor degrades her, nor does he give preference to his sons over his daughters, then I will enter them into paradise. So, Allah showered His grace upon us because we followed this commandment of Allah.”

16. Similarly, I saw another woman whose worship of Allah, such as her prayers, her fasting, her alms-giving, were not enough, but she was sent to Paradise because she never hurt her neighbours with her tongue and they were all happy with her.

17. So, we kept on walking around like this, until we came upon a huge group of martyrs, whose count was above anything I could have ever imagined. Ghufran told me that there were very few in this group who were martyred by a sword while fighting in the way of Allah. But Allah’s mercy and forgiveness had created so many ways to enter the fold of martyrdom. For example:

– A person who died even from a natural death, while serving the cause of Allah would be considered a martyr

– Whosoever died while protecting his property was a martyr

– A believer who died of plague was a martyr

– A woman who died in childbirth was a martyr

– Whoever died of pleurisy was a martyr

– Whoever died of diarrhea was a martyr

– Whoever died with something falling on him was a martyr etc.

Hence, Allah has opened so many ways to become a martyr and partake from the mercy and forgiveness of Allah that even if a believer spends all of his life being grateful to Allah, they will not be able to properly thank their Lord, so much so that a person who regularly prays for martyrdom, even if he dies in his bed, he will be considered a martyr.

18. There was a special kindness being shown when it came to women. There was a general commandment that a woman who prays five times a day, fasts, protects her chastity and does not disobey her husband, can enter paradise from whichever door of the heaven she prefers.

19. Then we went further and saw that the case of a person who had died during the time of the Holy Prophetsa was being presented in the court. When he passed away, the Holy Prophetsa also went out for his funeral prayers. Hazrat Umarra requested, “O prophet of Allah, this person was an open sinner and transgressor, please do not offer his funeral prayer.”

The Holy Prophetsa enquired from those attending the funeral prayer, “Has anyone seen this person act upon any of the commandments of Islam?” People replied that on one occasion, he stood for guard duty at night.

The Holy Prophetsa offered his funeral prayer, poured soil in his grave, looked at the grave of the deceased, and said, “O you who have died! Your friends think you are hell-bound, but I bear witness that you shall go to paradise. O Umar ibn Al-Khattab! Do not dig too deep into people’s actions. Generally observe if they were observant of Islam or not.”

Thus, the same act rewarded him the salvation in the Hereafter.

20. Similarly, there was a Muslim fighter who had fought in the way of Allah. His deeds were not sufficient to send him to heaven. Allah put his horse, horse’s feed and even the horse’s dung into the scale of his good deeds, until the scale of his good deeds became heavier than the scale of his wrongdoings and shortcomings and he raced towards paradise on his horse. Similarly, infinite people were forgiven because they were in love with prophets, saints and other holy figures. Even though their actions were not enough, but they were made the neighbours of their loved ones according to the hadith:

اَلْمَرْءُ مَعَ مَنْ أَحَبَّ

“A person will be with whom he loves.” [Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab al-Adab]

21. I saw at another place that a group of people, who used to do zikr and tasbih of God, was being taken to paradise beneath the wings of the angels. There was another person walking behind them. Ghufran [the angel accompanying Hazrat Mir Sahibra in this vision] told me that the story of this person is very interesting.

“Once, Allah asked the angels, what did you see in the world today? The angels replied, ‘We saw a group of people in a mosque remembering you with love and devotion.’ Allah said, ‘Bear witness that I have forgiven them all.’ The angels said, ‘O Allah, there was a person in that gathering who did not come there for Your remembrance, but for a personal errand.’ Allah said, ‘Bear witness that I have forgiven him as well, for ْ

هُمُ الَّذِي لَا يَشْقٰي جَلِیْسُھُمْ

“These people [who remember Allah] are such that those who are in their company can never be unfortunate.”’

The person walking behind is that same person.”

22. As we went further, Ghufran pointed towards a person who was walking around with the mantle of Allah’s forgiveness covering him. Ghufran informed me that the story of this person is also very interesting.

“This person migrated to Medina along with a noble companion of the Holy Prophetsa at the time of the migration of the Holy Prophetsa. He got sick in Medina and got so impatient that he slit his own wrists with an arrow, which caused so much bleeding that he eventually died. His friend, who was a companion, saw him in the dream that he was in a very good condition, but he had both his hands covered. His friend asked him, ‘What happened with you [at Judgment Day]?’

“He replied, ‘My Lord forgave me because I had migrated towards His Prophetsa. But Allah also told me that He would not heal my hands which I had damaged.’ When this was mentioned to the Holy Prophetsa, he prayed for him that:

اَللّٰھُمَّ وَلِيَدَیْہِ فَاغْفِرْ

‘O Allah, forgive his hands as well.’”

Ghufran informed me that he remained in his original condition, but today, due to this prayer, his hands’ completely function and now, he was going to paradise.

23. We went further and I learned of a person about whom Allah had ordered that He would call him to account personally. So, this person was brought in front of Allah’s throne. Allah asked him, “Do you know that you committed (such-and-such) grave and heinous sins in the world?” He replied, “Yes, my Lord, I do.” Every single muscle on his body was trembling with fear that now, there would be no place for him except hell. However, in that very moment, Allah the Almighty said, “I covered your sins while you were on earth so I will cover your sins today as well. Here, take the register of your good deeds, go towards the people whose accounts are being checked and leave the register of your sins with Us. Now be on your way; We shall take care of things from here.”

24. Then, another case was presented in the court of Allah. A prisoner was brought with 99 huge registers of his actions. He was asked, “These are the registers of your deeds. If you dispute any of these, let Us know.” He replied, “My Lord, whatever is mentioned in them is correct.” He was asked, “Do you have any excuse,” He replied, “No, my Lord.” Allah replied, “We have one excuse from you, which is a great virtue. You will not be punished.”

Then, a piece of paper was presented on which it was written:

أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَّاإِلٰهَ اِلَّا اللّٰهُ وَ أَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهٗ وَ رَسُوْلُهٗ

“I bear witness that there is no God except Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.”

It was commanded to put this sheet in the scale of his good deeds and when this sheet of paper was put with his good deeds, the scales of goodness lowered against the other side with heavy registers of sins and that person went running towards paradise, repeating the words:

 اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ، اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّٰہِ

“All praise belongs to Allah; All praise belongs to Allah.”

25. Then we turned our attention to another side and we heard a caller making an announcement on behalf of Allah the Almighty:

 اَیْنَ الَّذِیْ کَانَتْ تَتَجَافٰی جُنُوبُهُمْ عَنِ الْمَضَاجِعِ

“Where are those who used to separate their bodies from their beds at night in the remembrance of their Lord?”

Upon hearing this, many such people stood up and gathered at one place and it was announced that all of them were forgiven without any judgment.

26. Then, a third case was presented in the special court of Allah. A man was brought forward and an order was decreed by Allah to read out all of his smaller sins and errors and ask him whether he had committed these sins, but not to present the graver sins. Upon hearing these smaller sins, the man replied, “Yes, my Lord. I have made all of these mistakes. How can I lie about this truth?” At the same time, the person was thinking fearfully in his heart that these were only his smaller sins.

He asked himself what would happen when his more severe sins would be read out aloud. While he was still in his thoughts, Allah said, “Go, We have forgiven you and given you one good deed for each of your sins.” Hearing this the person lost all his faculties due to happiness and blurted out, “O my Lord, these were only my small sins. The major sins have not been recited yet; those should also be presented before of You.” When the audience heard this, they all started laughing. The person, obviously embarrassed, went towards paradise and was covered in the mantle of God’s forgiveness by one of the angels.

27. I also saw that those who were already punished for their crimes on earth were being treated with extra compassion and kindness. For example, there was a person who had committed a grave sin, so he himself went to his ruler and said, “I have committed this sin. I am terribly regretful and have asked Allah for forgiveness, but I would rather face the punishment in this life than face the punishment of the Hereafter.” On this, he was stoned to death. When this person was brought in front of Allah on the Day of Judgement, Allah said to him, “O My servant! We are very pleased with your repentance. If your regret and repentance was distributed to an entire city, we would have forgiven all of them.”

28. There was also a case of a very cruel ruler who had wronged many of his subjects. All of his oppressed subjects were present to look at the punishment that was about to be dealt to him, but when they heard that this person had truly repented from his sins in his last days and had migrated to Medina and died there, they all said that they forgave all of his trespasses against them and beseeched Allah to do the same. Hence, that person also went to paradise with a smile on his face.

29. Millions of people were being forgiven because those who were wronged by them were being recompensed by Allah manifold and in return, these wronged souls were forgiving their transgressors and seeking forgiveness for them and in this manner, they – both the wronged and the wrongdoers – were being forgiven. Many people who did not have enough good deeds were being forgiven because their parents were happy with them and they were absorbing God’s grace under the rule:

رضی الرب في رضی الوالد

“The pleasure of Allah lies in the pleasure of the parents.”

30. The most astounding example for me was that of two persons. Two people were standing to one side, waiting to be dragged to hell, when they saw a forgiven person entering paradise. One of the hell-bound man said to him, “Dear brother! Do you recognise me? I am the person who gave you water on one occasion at such-and-such place.” The second one added, “You must remember me also, brother. I filled up your container with water so that you could perform ablution. Now, look at us, you are going to heaven and we are going to hell.” This melted the heart of the forgiven person and he started praying for them to Allah, the Most Merciful, there and then. It was ordered to take both of them to paradise with him as well.

31. We were still engrossed in these scenes when all of a sudden, we heard some commotion coming from hell. It was reported [to Allah] that two people were causing all this noise. It was ordered to bring the two in front of Allah. Once presented, they were asked, “Why are you making so much noise?” They replied, “O our Lord! We are burning. We cannot bear this pain and punishment. Please have mercy on us.” Allah said, “Alright, go back to your places in hell. We shall make a decision about you later.” One of them returned back, but the other stood there and said, “O my Lord, did you take me out of hell only so that you could put me back?” This caused everyone to laugh. Allah the Almighty ordered, “Alright then, go, O impatient one. We have forgiven you and your friend.”

32. Hence, we went forth, observing similar incidents, until we reached a group of the Companions of the Holy Prophetsa. There was similar commotion and judgment happening there too. There was a companion by the name of Hatib about whom certain witnesses said, “He is guilty of treason to Islam and the Holy Prophetsa and the punishment for that should have been death in the world and hell in the Hereafter.” It was alleged, he had written a letter to the disbelievers of Mecca informing them of the imminent attack of the Holy Prophetsa, which was a state secret, the divulgence of which could have resulted in the destruction of the Muslims.

“If Allah had not informed the Holy Prophetsa of this treason in time, the entire plan for the victory of Mecca would have been ruined. We cannot find a bigger traitor than him.”

It was ordained from the throne of Allah, “You are right, but look at our order that was passed in second year of Hijra regarding the Companions who fought in the Battle of Badr. The order was searched and presented and it said:

إِعْمَلُوْا مَا شِئْتُمْ فَاِنِّی غَفَرْتُ لَکُمْ

“Do whatever you wish. For I have surely forgiven you all.”

It was further said, “There are certain services of our servants which are worthy of such rewards. Let Hatibra bin Balta‘ah go, for he is forgiven along with the Companions of Badr.”

33. After this, the case of the Chief of the Martyrs, Lion of Allah, Hazrat Hamzara bin Abdul Muttalib was presented. The witnesses reported that on one occasion, he was drunk and listening to songs from his female slave. He was so pleased with the singing that he asked her to make a wish. This woman felt some animosity towards Hazrat Alira, so she asked him to bring the livers from the two camels of Hazrat Alira that were given to him as a bounty of war from the Battle of Badr.

On this, he went to that place and split open their stomachs and took the livers out. The poor animals died in agony.

When Hazrat Alira was informed, he reported this to the Holy Prophetsa in tears. The Holy Prophetsa went to Hazrat Hamzara, along with Hazrat Alira. Hazrat Hamza was still drunk and in his drunken condition, said, “Are you two not the slaves of my father.” The Holy Prophetsa realised that Hazrat Hamza was drunk and did not deem it appropriate to continue talking to him in this manner. After a while, Hazrat Hamzara was martyred in the Battle of Uhud.

It was said, “He must be punished for the crimes against humanity and the creation of Allah, and though alcohol was not yet forbidden at the time, but it still does not take away from the severity of the crime as it was a demonstration of extreme cruelty, which is against human nature, no matter which religion a person may belong to. That is why we are asking for recompense.”

It was said from the throne of Allah:

“We have already taken retribution for his mistake. Hamza is our lion. The recompense that was taken from him is evident and the nearness [to Allah] which we have bestowed upon him is also evident. Is it not correct that he killed the camels on the request of his female slave. So, in Uhud, a slave named Wahshi, who was hired for a reward, killed Hamza and tore open his torso in a manner that animals do.

Then Hind, the wife of Abu Sufyan, took out his liver from his body just as Hamza removed it from the carcasses of those animals. Just as the liver of the camels was grilled and eaten, so was his liver chewed by Hind in front of everyone at Uhud. As another, second camel was killed, so Hamza’s body was mutilated and his nose, ears and lips were cut off and made into a necklace and shown off to everyone in the battlefield. As he declared the Holy Prophetsa as the slave of his father, a slave was arranged for the murder of Hamza, as opposed to a nobleman of the Quraish.”

Allah continued to say:

“Now, tell us, was every aspect of this crime not retributed? Even to the point that the one on whose request camels were killed was a singer and Hind, who mutilated Hamza’s body was also a singer who sang songs in the Battle of Uhud to inspire the army, the first couplet of which is:

نَحْنُ بَنَاتُ الطَّارِقِ

نَمْشِیْ عَلٰی النَّمَارِقِ

“But because he was our beloved, our retribution was in fact a reward for him. His martyrdom at Uhud made him the Chief of the Martyrs and whatever was done to his body after death did not cause him any pain; neither the mutilation, nor the removal or biting of his liver. So, today, we have covered him in our mantle of forgiveness and dignity. His status is raised and your claim is answered. Now, take him to heaven and give him a station near his nephew [the Holy Prophetsa]. We are pleased with him and he, with Us.”

34. After hearing this judgement, we went further and saw a believer who had committed every type of sin other than Shirk [associating partners with Allah]. He was about to be dragged towards hell, when we heard an awe-inspiring voice proclaiming:

مَنْ عَلِمَ اَنِّی ذُوْ قُدْرَۃٍ عَلَی مَغْفِرَۃِ الذُّنُوْبِ غَفَرْتُ لَہٗ وَلَا اُبَالِیْ مَا لَمْ یُشْرِکْ بِیْ شَیْئًا

“I shall forgive the person who believed about Me that I have complete power to forgive all of someone’s sins and shall not care for anything until they associate a partner with me.”

There was another person standing next to him. Every page of his register of deeds was full of sins and transgressions, but every once in a while, there were a couple of istighfars [seeking forgiveness] recorded on the pages as well. It was ordered that today, all of his sins were effaced due to those istighfar.

35. There was an argument regarding a blind man. Order came from the throne of Allah that we took his two beloved eyes from him, so today we forgive him because of that.

36. I went further and saw a huge crowd of sick, poor and needy people. Allah said:

لَا اُخْرِجُ اَحَدًا مِنَ الدُّنْيَا اُرِيْدُ اغْفِرْ لَہٗ حَتَّی اسْتَوْ فَي كُلَّ خَطِيْئَةٍ فِيْ عُنُقِهٖ بِسُقْمٍ فِیْ بَدَنِهٖ وَاقتَارٍ فِيْ رِزْقِهٖ

“Whenever I care for someone’s forgiveness, I make sure to get rid of all their sins by putting them through trials of sickness and poverty.”

When I heard this, I became very happy because I was also a very sick child and suddenly, all of my pains began to feel like blessings.

After a while, I told Ghufran, “I have seen many examples of the forgiveness of Allah. But what I see here is like an ocean with no end in sight. I am a little tired. Can you please take me back?” So we started making our way back, but Ghufran, considering my tiredness, wanted to keep me occupied. He informed me about some general rules and reasons for forgiveness. So, I will mention them here briefly:

A few reasons of forgiveness

1. No one will enter paradise due to the strength of their own actions, no matter how good their actions might be. It is only Allah’s grace and compassion which results in a person’s salvation

2. The second rule is that Allah is very appreciative and rewards every action manifold

3. Allah is the Most Forgiving, Ever Merciful, of His Own will. He may forgive someone without any judgment, while someone may have an easy judgment and another may be called to full account

4. Allah’s mercy always overpowers his wrath

5. Every punishment of Allah is based on wisdom and leads to reformation and is not based on personal anger or displeasure. Even hell is an abode for rehabilitation and is temporary and not permanent

6. No one can forgive any sins of another person. Forgiveness of sins is exclusively God’s prerogative.

 اِنّهٗ لَا يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوْبَ اِلَّا اللّٰهُ

[Verily, no one can forgive sins, save Allah]

7. There is no cruelty in God’s judgment. There is either compassion, justice or appropriate punishment

8. Every good deed is rewarded manifold, whereas the punishment of each sin is equal to its measure. If a person only thinks about doing a good, they get the reward for it, but if a person thinks about doing an evil, then there is no punishment for it, rather, if he stops himself from the evil he planned to do, there is reward for that as well

9. Istighfar [prayer for Allah’s forgiveness] is readily accepted by Allah

10. If a person prays for someone else’s forgiveness, this prayer is considered for both the one praying and the one prayed for. In reality, praying for the deceased is one of the best gifts we can offer them

11. The Most Forgiving, Ever Merciful God has appointed numerous angels in each and every corner of both worlds and there is a very respected and close group of angels around His throne whose sole job is to pray for the forgiveness of His servants. God does not shy away from even forgiving the shortcomings of a believer whose sins are high like a mountain or even reach the sky. Everyday, infinite sins of mankind are forgiven by the Most Gracious, Most Forgiving God without any reason

12. On the Day of Judgment, prophets, especially the Holy Prophetsa – the Chief of all Prophets – as well as other holy and chosen people, will intercede on behalf of the believers, with the permission of God, and countless creation of God will be forgiven by their intercession. Not only these chosen ones, but even the Holy Quran and its chapters will intercede on behalf of servants. Many people will be forgiven due to such intercessions

13. Finally, the Most Forgiving and Merciful God will extend His hands into hell and say, “All the intercessors have interceded. Now the Most Forgiving, Most Compassionate, Most Loving will intercede”, i.e. God Himself. All the sinners will be removed from hell and the doors of hell will shake with the soft breeze of God’s mercy – no one will be left therein. Even the Pharaoh and Abu Jahl will be brought into the mantle of Allah’s forgiveness. Hell would keep its prisoners only until their reformation is complete. This is indicated by the Holy Prophetsa as well that:

 حَتّٰی اِذَا هَذَّبُوْا وَاتَّقُوْا

that as soon as manners and righteousness are achieved by them and they are capable of living peacefully among the people of paradise, with high morals and virtue, they will be sent towards paradise. And severe punishments are given to the people of harsh and extreme natures

14. Some people are in doubt that if God is Ever Merciful, more compassionate than one’s parents, then why would He place people in hell? The answer to this is that hell is for those who associate partners with Allah and transgress and rebel without any care and are among the worst enemies of God and His Messengersa in the world. Even parents become apathetic and get sick of their children when they become openly rebellious and transgressors.

اِنَّ اللّٰهَ لَا يُعَذِّبُ مِنْ عِبَادِهٖ اِلَّا الْمَارِدِ الْمُتَمَرِّدَ الَّذِي يَتَمَرَّدُ عَلَى اللّٰهِ وَاَبَی اَنْ يَّقُوْلَ لَا اِلٰهَ اِلَّا اللّٰهُ

“Allah does not punish any of His slaves except those who are defiant and rebellious, who rebel against Allah and refuse to say, ‘There is none worthy of worship except Allah.” [Sunan Ibn-e-Majah, Kitab al-Zuhd] Otherwise, you have already seen how Allah will deal with people on the Day of Judgment.

فَسُبْحَانَ اللّٰهِ عَمَّا يَصِفُوْنَ

“Glorified be Allah above all that which they attribute [to Him]!”

Righteous deeds

Ghufran said:

“Other than what you have seen, there are countless other ways of the forgiveness of Allah. There are countless deeds which are so liked by Allah that due to them, a person is covered in the light of Allah’s forgiveness.

“Some such actions include the five daily prayers, fasting, good morals, taking care of the elderly, obedience to parents, loyalty to husbands, taking care of orphans, charity and alms-giving, seeking forgiveness and repentance, propagating the message of Islam, remembrance of Allah, fear of Allah and taqwa, having hope in the mercy of Allah, trying to stay away from big sins, respect of elders, forgiving the faults of other people, love of Allah, helping people, invoking Durood upon the Holy Prophetsa with love and devotion, sincerity, jihad, sacrifice, recitation of the Holy Quran etc.

“In essence, all good deeds absorb the forgiveness of Allah and sometimes, it is these small deeds that are appreciated and rewarded manifold by Allah and result in the forgiveness of the person. When you return here next time, I will tell you some other aspects.

“And anyway, with the command of Allah, your leader and guide, Ahmadas [the Promised Messiah] has opened a place of forgiveness in the world. I asked, “Which place?”

He replied, “The same place which is known as Bahishti Maqbarah [the Heavenly Graveyard, founded by the Promised Messiahas]. Your Jamaat is very fortunate that they are able to receive such [blessings] through the grace of Allah, which the previous ummahs and the earlier people of this ummah were not able to. Everyone who is buried in this graveyard will come out on the Day of Judgment already dressed in the garb of Allah’s forgiveness.”

Then, Ghufran asked me, “Tell me, since you are personally aware of matters of that graveyard, let me hear some interesting incidents of God’s forgiveness pertaining to the place. I have shown you around this place in such detail, now let me hear an incident or two from you that you have witnessed with your own eyes so that it may please my heart.”

I replied, “Okay, then listen!”

Interesting incidents linked with Bahishti Maqbarah

“One incident is that of Maulvi Nabha Sahib. He used to live in a city called Nabha, quite far from Qadian. He was very old and poor. If he had died there [in Nabha], there was no appropriate arrangement for bringing the dead body [to Qadian], nor were his relatives rich enough to arrange for the transport.

“One day, perhaps only four days before his demise, Allah instilled a great yearning and passion in his heart to visit Qadian. He got on a train right away and alighted at Batala Station. In those days, the trains did not yet reach Qadian.

“The same day, I was returning back to my place of employment from Qadian. I met him roadside near the village of Vadala. He was happy and in great shape. I asked him as to what brought him to Qadian? He replied, ‘All of a sudden, I got so eager to visit Qadian that I could not even stay a single moment in Nabha. I plan to stay a few days here and then I shall return.’

“After this [short conversation] my horse-carriage left for Batala and his departed for Qadian. Two or three days after I reached the place of my employment, I read in Al Fazl that Maulvi Nabha Sahib was visiting Qadian, he got sick there and had passed away from the illness. It said that he was buried in the Bahishti Maqbarah.

“So, this was one sign I saw in that Allah compelled his heart and brought a weak and poor person, hundreds of miles away from his home, to Qadian at the time of his death. Otherwise, the poor person would have been buried in his hometown Nabha because there would have been no arrangements for his dead body to be brought to Qadian, so Bahishti Maqbarah pulled him to itself.

“The second incident is even more fascinating than this one. Sheikh Mahmud Ahmad Irfani Saghir was sick in his final illness. He was not a musi [participant in the scheme of Al Wasiyyat]. A few days before his death, he finalised his Wasiyyat and sent it to the administrative offices of Bahishti Maqbarah. He passed away after a few days.

“The day he died was the same day when Jalsa Hoshiarpur, relating to the announcement of the fulfillment of the Musleh-e-Maud prophecy, took place. Th e majority of the men in Qadian had traveled to Hoshiarpur to participate in the Jalsa. Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II[ra] was not in Qadian, nor were any of the other elders of the Jamaat. It was quite a desolate sight in Qadian and his family members felt that Irfani Saghir had passed away on a day when you could not even see enough people in Qadian to off er the funeral prayer.

“Irfani Kabir informed Hazrat Amirul Momineen [Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIra] and also informed Hazrat Maulvi Sarwar Shah[ra] about his son’s demise. He requested His Holiness to allow for this old servant [of the community] to be buried in qitta-e-khas [an area of the graveyard dedicated for devout servants of the Jamaat] and wrote to Maulvi Sarwar Shah Sahib[ra], Secretary of Bahishti Maqbarah that his Wasiyyat was still in the office, pending approval. Thus, he requested him if he could grant special permission for him to be buried in Bahishti Maqbarah.

“Within a few hours, an answer was received for both telegrams. Huzoor[ra] replied that a place could not be offered in qitta-e-khas because there were special conditions for that. This instruction was complied with. Hazrat Maulvi [Sarwar Shah] Sahib[ra] replied that the will was not accepted, that is why he is not permitted to be buried in Bahishti Maqbarah.

“This was possibly because the will was made at the deathbed. But despite all this, God’s forgiveness and mercy was smiling over the body of this individual, that ‘We have caused you to die today so that you can be buried in the graveyard [Bahishti Maqbarah] and We have sent those who did not approve your request there [to Hoshiarpur]. Do not worry, for your services will not go in vain. And you will surely be buried in this very graveyard of which you are not considered worthy by the administrators.’

“So, what transpired was that a few members of Sadr Anjuman [the Central Administrative Body of the Jamaat] were able to reach Qadian in the middle of the night. A meeting was held that very morning by those members and the Wasiyyat was accepted. By 2pm, the deceased was buried in the graveyard aft er his funeral prayer.

“The train upon which Hazrat Maulvi Sarwar Shah Sahib and the others were supposed to arrive in Qadian was scheduled for 1:30pm, but the train was delayed by an hour and a half. If the train had reached in time, then surely Irfani Saghir would not have been buried in the graveyard because he was buried just after 2pm. Hence, I saw the special involvement of the forgiveness of Allah in that case with my own eyes, and I truly came to believe:

  لَا يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوْبَ اِلَّا اَنْتَ

“that ‘there is none other than You [Allah] who can forgive the sins.’

“When the will of Allah decides to show mercy, then there is no one who can stop it! Those of us who were saddened by the fact that Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II[ra] and other elders were not in Qadian came to know that this was all according to the wisdom of Allah and that the forgiveness and mercy of Allah had decided that Mahmud Irfani would most definitely be buried in Bahishti Maqbarah, despite various hurdles and even not fulfilling certain criteria. And so it happened!”

Ghufran’s whispering

Ghufran laughed at these incidents and then said, “Bring your ear closer to me.” I leaned towards him and he whispered such a thing in my ear that I could not stop the tears from flowing down my eyes; all I managed to say was, “Alhamdolillah” and “Jazakallah”.

Ghufran was not yet done with his conversation, when I saw the great door which we had used to enter the place of resurrection. Upon seeing the door, the peaceful trance that had intoxicated me with the forgiveness of Allah was slowly lift ed and I was awoken. What I saw was that I was still on my bed in my home, writing this very article. But the only thing I wrote in full consciousness was this last sentence:

آخِرُ دَعْوَانَا اَنِ الْحَمْدُ لِله رَبِّ الْعَالَمِيْنَ

[Our final call is that all praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all the worlds.]

(Translated by Talha Ali, Missionary Philippines)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________
1947

In July of 1947, he died in Qadian, British-India (See “Wings of Duty A Memoir” by Syed Muhammad Ahmad, 2023) and (the Al-Hakam).
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
1965

After he died, the Qadiani jamaat at Rabwah, published a letter of his to the Lahori-Ahmadi’s. These were probably made up…no one really knows. Muhammad Ismaeel (Ahmadi Qadiani) Response to the Letter of Dr. Hasan Ali (Lahori Qadiani) letter starts from page 40. Translation from a Topic ‘Aik Khas Daleel From the Letter)

Furqaan 1965. May-June edition:

Summary:

Muhammad Ismaeel (Ahmadi Qadiani) Response to the Letter of Dr. Hasan Ali (Lahori Qadiani) letter starts from page 40. Translation from a Topic ‘Aik Khas Daleel From the Letter) Recently I met with Mulvi Abu al Athar and had conversation with him on these topics (MGQ is Wali, Muhadis not Prophet) but he couldn’t present any logical proof. Now I want to present you a specific Logic with new angle to solve the issue. We both (Lahori and Ahmadi) are followers of MGQ, we believe he is truthful and honest. One Place Hazor(MGQ) says Maseeh Nasri (Jesus As ) is alive then he says Maseeh Nasri (Jesus AS) is dead. Then MGQ says Maseeh Nasri (Issa AS) will decend from skies(heaven) but then in another place MGQ says Issa As will not descend from Heaven (MGQ ) Says Maseeh and Mahdi are two different personalities then he says Maseeh and Mahdi is one person. Sometimes he (MGQ) says Mahdi will be Fathmi (from The race of Fatima and Ali RZA) but then says I (MGQ) am Mahdi. Somewhere he (MGQ) says I have no resemblance with Maseeh Nasri( Issa AS) he is a glorious Prophet but he (MGQ) also says I am superior and more glorified to Isaa AS. Somewhere he (MGQ) says he is not Prophet but only Mujadid and Muhadis but also Claims to be Nabi and Rasool. Somewhere he says those who refute me (MGQ) don’t become Non-believer of Islam (Kafir) but also says those who refutes me (MGQ) are N0n-Beliver (Kafirs). He was offering Prayers behind Non-Ahmadis (Muslims) but then he called him Haram too and ordered not to make relationships (especially Marriages) with them. He translated Mutawifika as “will give you full blessings” and the announced 1000 Rupees prize if someone if anyone will prove it in meaning other than DEATH. He (MGQ) say one Prophet is not subordinate of the other Prophet but then says one Prophet can be subordinate of other Prophet. He did completely opposite definitions of Nabi (Prophet) in different books. Somewhere he says he is Maseel Maseeh (like Jesus AS), not Jesus AS. Jesus AS will definitely come but then says I am Maseeh none will come after me. Thus if you can show from the ten similar references from the books of Hazoor (MGQ), we can show you Hundred references apposite to your Ten references BUT we are clear that Hazoor ( MGQ) kept on changing his statements as per revelations but then again it becomes very difficult for a stranger to understand the contradictions in his claims. We presented you HAQIQAT-UL-WAHI but you presented AZALA-E-AWHAM and then debate on contradictions, arguments becomes unpleasant, it becomes difficult to understand the true logics. It does not become tough time for Pious and Wise but insult for Stubborn and denier. I am presenting you a way-out for the difference and opposite opinion in Hazoor (MGQ) writings which is UNDENIABLE FACT. Either this is the Prophet Hood (of MGQ) but also in the death and Life of ISSA AS. Anyway you (LAHORI QADIANSI) also accept that Prophets can do IJTIHADI Mistakes (Mistakes with consent from ALLAH), some mistakes are due to the translations or understanding of Prophet (MGQ). Sometimes Prophets do mistakes due to HUMAN-NATURE or MENTAL-CONDITION, when Prophet (MGQ) say “it was revealed to me” (this may not be revealed to them but they assumed). These all factors makes Prophet (MGQ) prone to mistakes. He (MGQ) can do mistakes to various factors but he (MGQ) cannot do mistake in God’s Kalam (Revelations) descended on him (MGQ) because in this case his (MGQ) Humanity is not involved. This revelations are free from Mistakes. The disputes and quarrels are as, for example Hazoor (MGQ) says about Maseeh Nasri (Issa AS) that he is alive and will descend but then says he (Issa AS) has died and I (MGQ) is Maseeh. Page 45 Though a wise man will conclude the facts but people like Maulana Sanaullah will make a dispute out of it (these conflictive statements and contradictions) and then fights. Why you (Lahori Qadianis) ignore (Mulvi Sanaullah) and look into all revelations of Hazoor(MGQ), you will get many signs that Maseeh Nasri ( Issa AS) is not alive but we made you (MGQ) you Maseeh ibne Maryam and promised messiah etc. So then we (Qadianis) decide the Prophet Hood of MGQ from the God’s revelations. You have published MGQ revelations in three Volumes as ‘AL-Mubashira” and we published it as “Thadkira” Please don’t divert your attention to Hazoor (MGQ) statement when according to his (MGQ) understanding stated or wrote what? Because you will get varying statements which will cause differences and quarrels between us (Ahmadi Qadianis and Lahori Qadiani) BUT you read all the revelations and then ask us you won’t find a single revelation in which stated that MGQ is not Nabi and Rasool. Allah who cannot do mistake and Knows Ilm-e-Ghaib , knows the future differences and delusion would have definitely revealed that MGQ is not Prophet to protect people from Fitna ( deceive) but we do not find anywhere that he is refuted and not called Nabi, instead we find it from the start till end he(MGQ) is called Nabi, Mursil and Rasool, so we ( Ahmadi Qadianis) have no choice to accept him as Prophet as per God’s saying. So as Per God’s revelations, whose words are without doubt call Hazoor (MGQ) prophet without any doubt ,to overcome differences by IGNORING the DIFERRENCES in his (MGQ) WRITINGS/STATEMENTS. We have to Judge his (MGQ) writing/Statements by Muhkamat (Orders) as per Gods Orders in revelations, so thus if you will Publish ONLY those revelations which states that Maseeh Maood (MGQ) is not NABI but MUJDID, not RASOOL but MUHADIS, not MURSIL but a MOMIN and SIDDIQUE we will in response publish those revelations in which Hazorr MGQ is proclaimed Nabi and Rasool, we will support our published articles by various references then our ( Lahori and Ahmadi Qadianis) position will be clear to everyone. Page 46 Author presents Various Quranic verses to support his arguments. “I Maseeh E Muhammad is better than Maseeh E Musvi” These revelation from God cannot be rejected (after providing verses from Quran), then we (Ahmadi Qadianis) will ask you (Lahori Qadianis) to present revelations of GOD but we and you know the revelations for rejection of Prophet Hood. This is the simple and easiest way to sort out differences. What you have written about Khilafat-e- Jmaat-e-Ahmadia , a sensible person can guess easily that this is the same state which was enforced By Sahaba ( Friends Of MGQ) By collective decision and Collective IJMAA after death of Hazoor (MGQ), which was most suitable and right decision. ‘IF SOMEONE THINK OF NEW PLAN, GETS HIMSELF SEPARATED FROM THE IJMA, HE MUST RETHINK ON HIS POSITION AND STATUS” At the end I want to bring in your Notice about indecent sentence in your letter where you state that “if the beliefs of Jamaat-e-Qadian would have correct, I would have joined you long ago”. I (Muhammad Ismail) believe this is self-Praise which you will regret or this may be the reason that you an old and sincere got deluded. ( Allah Knows Better) Wsalam. Muhammad Ismaeel.

 

Scans

_____________________________________________________________________________________________Links and Related Essays

Who is Mirza Bashir Ahmad?

https://ahmadiyyafactcheckblog.com/2021/08/10/who-is-maryam-siddiqa-the-6th-wife-of-mirza-basheer-uddin-mahmud-ahmad/

https://ahmadiyyafactcheckblog.com/2017/11/18/most-of-mir-nasir-nawabs-family-were-killed-by-british-soldiers-during-the-1857-mutiny/

Dr. Mir Muhammad Ismail (MGA’s brother-in-law) was fooled about MGA leading Tarawee or Tahujjad

https://ahmadiyyafactcheckblog.com/2017/10/24/mir-nasir-nawab-wrote-poetry-vs-mga-initially-1891-2-years-later-he-accepted-mgas-claims/

https://ahmadiyyafactcheckblog.com/2017/09/29/hyat-e-nasir-by-mir-nasir-nawab-the-full-pdf-book/

https://ahmadiyyafactcheckblog.com/2016/12/08/how-mga-and-mir-nasir-nawab-met-from-seeratul-mahdi/

https://ahmadiyyafactcheckblog.com/2017/06/19/ahmadiyya-leadership-lied-about-the-age-of-mgas-second-wife/

https://ahmadiyyafactcheckblog.com/2017/12/03/mirza-ghulam-ahmads-young-wife-didnt-do-parda-this-is-against-the-parda-laws-in-rabwah/

https://ahmadiyyafactcheckblog.com/2018/07/10/did-mirza-ghulam-ahmads-wife-wish-to-be-released-from-her-marriage/

https://ahmadiyyafactcheckblog.com/2018/02/13/when-did-mgas-marriage-with-his-second-wife-nusrat-jehan-take-place-what-year/

Mir Nasir Nawab, the father-in-law of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad

Al-Bushra (1914), a manuscript compiled by Pir Sirajul-Haqq Nu‘mani, quotes and summaries

After Mirza Ghulam Ahmad’s lost the debate with Athim, 3 of his followers left Ahmadiyya

https://ahmadiyyafactcheckblog.com/2019/05/16/who-is-sayyed-muhammad-ishaq-the-brother-in-law-of-mga/

Who is Syed Muhammad Ahmad (1925-2017)?

Who were the members of the Sadr Anjuman Ahmadiyya aka “Executive body of Control”: in 1906–1910

Mirza Basheer-uddin Mahmud Ahmad had 20+ children with 7 wives

Who is Mirza Rafi Ahmad? Grandson of MGA and son of Mirza Basheer-uddin Mahmud Ahmad, 5th March 1927 to 15th January 2004

Dr. Mir Muhammad Ismail (MGA’s brother-in-law) was fooled about MGA leading Tarawee or Tahujjad


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