Since it would have been possible to send the most perfect and the highest religion at once for the spiritual guidance of the pagans and the ignorant, why didn’t Allâhu ta’âlâ the most compassionate of the merciful send Islam instead of Christianity six hundred years before or instead of Judaism two thousand years before that; why didn’t He send Islam before them? What was the reason for such a long postponement? Muslims can infer from this proof of ours whether their religion is a true one sent by Allâhu ta’âlâ.”
In summary, this writing of Ghadâ-ul-mulâhazât contains three claims:
First: The reason for the virtue and superiority of Christianity, the religion of Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’, is that it emerged among the Israelites, who had had religious education before and were ready to embrace it, versus Islam, the religion of Muhammad ‘sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ alaihi wasallam’, which emerged among pagans who had not had any religious education and were not ready to receive it.
Second: While Christianity spread mildly in peace, Islam’s spreading was through violence, force and worldly means.
Third: It is possible for Allâhu ta’âlâ to send a Prophet and He is the most merciful of the merciful; so it would have been incompatible with His justice not to send a religion superior to the others, i.e. Islam, before the others.
THEIR FIRST CLAIM: “Îsâ’s ‘alaihis-salâm emerging from a tribe with previous religious education, and Muhammad’s ‘alaihis-salâm’ emerging in a tribe without previous religious education.”
ANSWER: These assertions of theirs are answerable in various ways.
The sons of Israel were fit to receive the heavenly rules taught by Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’, and they had had the experience of obeying canonical rules before. And yet eighty-two people believed and followed Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’ throughout his life. On the other hand, Muhammad ‘alaihis-salâm’ called the heathen Arabs, who had not had any canonical or religious education and therefore were not inclined to accept any religion, to a new religion, i.e. Islam, which was entirely contrary to the religion of their fathers and grandfathers and ran counter to their sensuous desires and flavours. From the time when Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ alaihi wasallam’ declared his prophethood to his death, more than a hundred and twenty-four thousand sahâbas accepted his invitation and became Muslims willingly. We refer it to the wisdom of our readers to decide whether superiority belongs to Christinatiy or Islam. It is true that Abû Tâlib did his best to protect and guard our Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’. But this protection and assistance of his did not contribute considerably or as much as it is believed to have done to the spreading and promotion of Islam. This protection of his was not because he believed in our Prophet’s ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’ religion. It was because he was his relation and lest he would be killed or tormented. For Abû Tâlib was one of the unbelievers. At that time some of the As-hâb-i-kirâm ‘alaihimur-ridwân’ could not endure the polytheists’ persecution and migrated to Abyssinia. Our Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’ and the Ashâb-i-kirâm remained confined in Mekka for three years, being prohibited from all sorts of correspondence. Allâhu ta’âlâ commanded our Prophet twice to call his kith and kin together and to invite them to Islam. The two hundred and fourteenth âyat (verse) of the Shu’arâ sûra (chapter) purports: “Warn your close relations of the torment of Allâhu ta’âlâ.” To carry out the command of this âyat-i-kerîmâ, Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’ invited his relations to become Muslims. [When Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’ convened his relations he stated: “Believe and obey Allâhu ta’âlâ and save yourselves from His torment. Or else your being my relations will do you no good.”] None of them believed. In fact, his paternal uncle Abû Lahab and Abû Lahab’s wife the wood-carrier went so far in their harassing and tormenting Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’ that they and some notables of the Qoureish went to Abû Tâlib to complain about him; they requested him to give up protecting Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’. Upon this Abû Tâlib called Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’ and advised him to give up the business of inviting people to the Islamic religion. It is an established fact testified with this proof and hundreds of other similar proofs that Abû Tâlib’s protection, [contrary to the assertion of the protestant priest], did not cause Islam’s acceptance by the Qoureish tribe.
Muhammad ‘alaihis-salâm’ arose in a tribe not liable to believe him and was sent as a Prophet to them, whereas Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’ had emerged among the Israelites, who had been expecting a Prophet. Like the other Prophets ‘alaihimus-salâm’, Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’ suffered many troubles and afflictions caused by the Jews. But the enemies of Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’ perished when that Serwer (Rasûlullah) was alive yet, and the blessed Prophet left this transient world and honoured the eternal hereafter with his presence as he was in his bed in Âisha’s ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ anhâ’ home in Medina-i-munawwara.
It is written in the four Gospels existing today that when Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’ was caught, members of a tribe who had had religious education and were ready to receive the new religion, i.e. Peter and the other apostles, were so thoroughly preoccupied in their own troubles that they immediately decamped, leaving Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’, and that the same night Peter, who was the closest Apostle of Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’, swore and denied to know Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’ with curses before the predicted rooster crow.
Abû Bekr as-Siddîq ‘radiy-Allâhu anh’ was one of the As-hâb-i-kirâm ‘alaihimur-ridwân’ who were living in pagan tribes not ready to accept a religion [and without any previous religious education] but accepted Islam and were honoured with the blessed suhba of Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’. During the hijra he accompanied Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’ in the cave. [Lest Rasûlullah should get hurt, he tore his waistcoat and plugged the snake nests with the pieces. There was no piece left for the last hole, so he closed it with his foot. The snake bit his foot. He neither pulled his foot back nor made the slightest murmur. When a tear coming out of his eyes dropped on Rasûlullah’s blessed face, Rasûlullah woke up, and put his blessed spittle on Abû Bakr’s ‘radiy-Allâhu anh’ foot. The wound healed as a mu’jiza.] He dispensed all his property for Islam. Later, he fought against the apostate Arabs and brought them to Islam.
’Umar ‘radiy-Allâhu anh’, the first day he became a Muslim, placed himself in front of the Ashâb-i-kirâm and fearlessly announced his becoming a Muslim despite the persecutions and oppressions of the Meccan polytheists. There were great conquests throughout the period of his caliphate. Islam spread far and wide. And in justice no other commander, no other evenhanded person equalled him. These facts are written in history books.
And Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu anh’ sacrificed himself for our Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’ by lying in his bed on the night of his hijra. In a number of combats he acted up to his given nickname, (the Lion of Allah).
As for ’Uthmân-i-zin-nûreyn ‘radiy-Allâhu anh’; he was one of the richest Meccans. All the property he had he spent for the reinforcement of Islam. [We shall mention only the amount he gave in the Ghazzâ (Holy War) of Tabuk here: Our Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’ encouraged the As-hâb-i-kirâm to donate for the Holy War of Tabuk in the mosque. ’Uthmân ‘radiy-Allâhu anh’ stood up and said: “O Rasûlallah! I undertake to donate a hundred camels together with their back-cloths and pack-saddles.” Rasûlullah went on with his encouragement. ’Uthmân ‘radiy-Allâhu anh’ stood up again and said: “O Rasûlallah! I undertake to give another hundred camels together with their back-cloths and pack-saddles.” Rasûlullah said as he alighted from the mimbar (pulpit in a mosque):“Uthmân shall not be called to account for what he will do from now on.” As he went on encouraging the As-hâb-i-kirâm, ’Uthmân “radiy-Allâhu anh’ said: “O Rasûlallah! I undertake to give another hundred camels together with their back-cloths and pack-saddles for the sake of Allah.” Our Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’ declared: “There is the Paradise for the person who has equipped the army of Tabuk!” Upon this ’Uthmân ‘radiy-Allâhu anh’ brought a thousand golds and poured them on Rasûlullah’s ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’ lap. Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’ invoked: “O my Allah! I am pleased with ’Uthmân. May you be pleased with him too!” ’Uthmân ‘radiy-Allâhu anh” equipped half of the army of Tabuk (Sunan-i-Dârakutnî: 4-198).[28] ’Uthmân-i-zin-nûreyn “radiy-Allâhu anh’ donated nine hundred and fifty camels and fifty horses together with their harnesses to this army, provided their cavalry accoutrements, and in addition sent them a thousand dinârs or seven rukyas of golds. All the other As-hâb-i-kirâm Guzîn ‘radiy-Allâhu anhum ajma’în’ never hesitated to sacrifice their lives and property upon each commandment of our Master Rasûlullah. Islam’s superiority over Christianity, and the difference between the believers of these two religions and between the people who saw these two Prophets, is as visible as the sun.
As for our Prophet’s ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’ arising from amongst the Arabs, who were the descendants of Ismâ’îl (Eshmael) ‘alaihis-salâm’, instead of emerging among the Israelites; there is many a use, virtue and superiority in this fact.
First: Allâhu ta’âlâ sent an angel to hadrat Hâjar (Hagar) and gave her the good news: “O Hâjar, I have brought you the good news from Allâhu ta’âlâ that your son Ismâ’îl shall own a great ummat and your offspring shall be superior to that of Sâra (Sarah).” It was this promise of Allâhu ta’âlâ that manifested itself on Muhammad Mustafâ ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’, who was a descendant of Ismâ’îl ‘alaihis-salâm’. Allâhu ta’âlâ, while nominating many of the descendants of hadrat Sâra as Prophets, sent only Muhammad ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’ out of the offspring of Ismâ’îl ‘alaihis-salâm’, thus fulfilling His promise. Doesn’t this signfiy the virtue and superiority of our Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’? The priest who is the author of Mîzân-ul-haqq distorts this good news by interpreting it that “the gist of this (promise) was giving Hagar the good news concerning the [heathen] rich Arabs.” If a zealous and pious Christian is told: “Your offspring will be rich men, but they will be magians and idolaters,” will he be pleased with this news, will he be happy? [Of course not. He will be sorry.] Likewise, it would mean that Allâhu ta’âlâ gave hadrat Hâjar the news that she would have polytheistic descendants instead of consoling her (May Allâhu ta’âlâ protect us from such belief).
Furthermore, the passage about the good news does not contain the phrase (rich Arabs). But it expresses that the descendants of Ismâ’îl ‘alaihis-salâm’ shall be a great ummat and they shall be dominant over the Israelites. It is quite obvious that before the rising of Islam there was no event on the part of the Arabs significant enough to overpower the Israelites and that the real crunch came with Islam.
Second: The Israelite Prophets had been learning and teaching the rules in the Torah (Pentateuch) and Zabûr (the holy book revealed to Hadrat Dâwûd) until the advent of Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’. If Muhammad ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’ had been of the Israelite descent, there is no doubt he would have been slandered as having learned the Qur’ân al-kerîm and all the heavenly teachings from the Israelite scholars. Our master Rasûlullah, who is the highest of Prophets, always lived in his tribe, never went away even for a short while, never learned even a letter from anyone, never held a pen in his blessed hand, and there were no Jews or Christians in the blessed city of Mekka. Despite this fact, in Mîzân-ul-haqq and other books of theirs, priests profess that our Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’ learned from a monk named Bahîrâ or from some notable Christians when he honoured Damascus with his blessed presence for trade. In actual fact, our Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’ was twelve years old when he went to Damascus with his paternal uncle Abû Tâlib. All books of Siyer (biographies of our Prophet) report this fact unanimously. And his conversation with the monk Bahîrâ took only a few hours, Bahîrâ, after looking at our Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’ carefully, realized that he was the would be Prophet of the latest time. Then he said to Abû Tâlib: “If the notables of Christians and Jews sense that this child is the Messenger of Allah, they may attempt to kill him.” Upon this warning of the monk’s, Abû Tâlib took his advice, sold his merchandise in Busrâ and in its neighborhood, and returned to Mekka-i-mukarrama. As for the monk who is said to have taught to our Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’; wouldn’t he just as soon announce his own prophethood instead of teaching so much knowledge to our Prophet? Moreover, from what rich source had the so-called teacher Bahîrâ acquired all this endless lot of knowledge which emerged in our Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’? For the knowledge that Allâhu ta’âlâ communicated to Rasûlullah ‘sall-allâhu alaihi wasallam’ did not only cover the Bible and the Torah but also contained numerous pieces of information that did not exist in them. Consisting of more than six thousand âyats (verses), the Qur’ân al-kerîm covers many rules and ma’rifat (spiritual information). Moreover, the pieces of information and ma’rifat uttered through Rasûlullah’s blessed language; i.e. seven hundred thousand hadîth-i-sherîfs concerning sunnat, wâjib, mustahab, mendûb, nahy, mekrûh, and other narratives are recorded, narrated and published by the ’ulamâ of hadîth. Imâm-i-Nesâî[29] ‘rahmatullâhi aleyh’ confirms this: “I had compiled seven hundred and fifty thousand hadîth-i sherîfs. But fifty thousand of them were from unsound sources, so I left them out, and recorded seven hundred thousand of them.” As for the existing copies of the Pentateuch and the Bible, which are the word of Allah according to Jews and Christians; if you leave aside the episodes and bring together all the verses concerning the commandments, prohibitions and other religious precepts, the number will not reach seven hundred all in all. We shall explain this fact in detail in the chapter about Qur’ân al-kerîm and Today’s Gospels. We wonder what kind of knowledge Muhammad ‘alaihis-salâm’ learned, and from which of the Christian monks? Is it possible to make an ocean from a small pool? This signifies the following fact: this slander is brought against Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’ despite the fact that there were no monks in his tribe; the kinds of slanders that would have been brought against him had he been sent among the Israelites are beyond imagination. It is for this reason that Allâhu ta’âlâ, who is wâjib-ul-wujûd, protected His most beloved one by not sending him among the Sons of Israel.
Third: A retrospection into the history of today’s existing peoples and a meticulous observation of their traditions, customs and deeds will show that the Arabs, even when they were nomadic Bedouins, had superior and high qualities and habits such as patriotism, nationalism, hospitality, charity, bravery, heroism, cleanliness, nobility of pedigree; generosity, goodness, modesty, and love of freedom. Is there another race to equal the Arabs in these qualities and in such merits as intelligence, eloquence and rhetoric? It is written throughout the Torah what a bad character the Israelites have. It is a plain fact that they are the worst race. Which of these cases would be better for our master the Fakhr-i-kâinat ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’; to come from the most virtuous, the highest of races, or from the Israelites [Jews]? The Israelites attained the blessings of Allâhu ta’âlâ and were superior to other nations as long as they obeyed their Prophets and acted upon the canonical laws of Mûsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’. But later, when they betrayed their Prophets ‘alaihimus-salâm’ and killed most of them, they were degraded and became the most ignoble, the basest people. This fact is known by Christians as well. On account of Îsâ’s ‘alaihis-salâm’ malediction, they shall lead a detestable, abhorrent and base way of life and are doomed to an everlasting life of disgrace. Now, what an astonishingly contradictory objection it would be to say, “If Muhammad ‘alaihis-salâm’ were the highest of Prophets, he would have descended from these Israelites who shall never be rescued from this state of ignominy and contemptibility.” The second âyat (verse) of Hashr sûra purports: “O you owners of reason! Learn what you do not know by inference from what you have been taught.”
Fourth: Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’ was sent as the Prophet among the Israelites through various miracles, and some of his blessed statements comprised the figurative elements of his time’s current language; so the priests that came some time later, being unable to interpret his symbolic expressions, established a system of creed called Trinity, that is, believing in three gods, which could never be accepted by anyone with common sense and which had existed in the ancient Indian cults and in Plato’s philosophy. On the other hand, those kinds of our master Rasûlullah’s ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’ teachings that are called mutashâbihât (symbolic, parabolical, ambiguous teachings), which include âyat-i-kerîmas, hadîth-i-sherîfs and other teachings, are explained at length in books of tafsîr and hadîth, which report also that such teachings contain countless other ultimate and subtle divine denotations, connotations, nuances, and inner essential meanings. [Mutashâbihât are those âyat-i-kerîmas and hadîth-i-sherîfs with occult, hidden meanings whose façade meanings do not agree with the established meanings of the popular types of narratives and which therefore need to be interpreted.] Their number is very much larger than those in the teachings of Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’. If our Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’ had been chosen and sent from among the Israelites, they would have altogether denied the divinity of Allâhu ta’âlâ, saying, “There is no God but hadrat Muhammad.” Who on earth will doubt this?
THEIR SECOND CLAIM: The second assertion put forward in Ghadâ-ul-mulâhazat is that “While Christianity spread gently through kindness, Islam spread by violence, force, and by giving wordly advantages.”
ANSWER: This assertion of theirs is, like the others, false, groundless, as follows:
First: It is a fact declared in the Bible and confirmed by Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’ that Christianity was not a religion other than Judaism, but it was a complementary of Judaism. The only difference was that it (Christianity) did not command jihâd-i-fî-sebî-l-illâh (Holy War only for the sake of Allah). Absence of jihâd in Christianity is a proof of its deficiency, rather than proving its superiority. To assert that a religion that spreads through physical means [violence, force, power] is not a true religion would mean to confess that Christianity, before any other religion, is a false one.
Second: If a religion’s spreading by physical media is to be asserted as a proof for its falsity, it will be necessary to take a look at the methods resorted to for the spreading of Christianity. Take the following examples: As Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’ invited the people to his religion, he hid himself for fear of a probable assassination on the part of his adversaries; he advised that his miracle be kept in secret; he ordered his Apostles not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah; he advised his disciples that anyone without a sword should buy himself a sword even if it would cost him his clothes; he ordered them to pay tax as a sign of homage to the pagan Romans; many wars broke out and millions of people were killed because of the controversies among the Christian sects after Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’; popes caused a number of revolutions and conflicts in Europe; millions of innocent people were massacred by Christians in the events of Templier and Saint Bartholomew and during the tribunals of inquisition; in the continent of America and in the other lately discovered islands, the turbulences instigated by missionaries caused millions of people to be put to the sword; when you read about these events and many other similar events in history books, how can you claim that Christianity spread gently through kindness without resorting to physical means, that is, to force, violence, power, or worldly advantages? The cruelties, massacres and savageries exercised during the crusading expeditions, which continued in eight waves for 174 years, from 489 [A.D. 1096] to 669 [A.D. 1270], could not be tallied. The crusaders burned and demolished all the places they went by, including Istanbul, which was the capital city of the Byzantine Greek Empire, their co-religionists. Michaud, a Christian who wrote a book of five volumes about the crusading expeditions, says: “In 492 [H. 1099] the crusaders managed to enter Jerusalem. When they entered the city they jugulated seventy thousand (70,000) Muslims and Jews. They cruelly killed even the Muslim women and children who had sheltered in mosques. Blood flowed through the streets. Corpses blocked the roads. The crusaders were so savagely ferocious that they jugulated the Jews they came across on the banks of the Rhine in Germany.” These facts are written by Christian historians, who are their own men. When Christians routed the Andalusian Omeyyeds[30] in 898 [A.D. 1492] and entered Qurtuba (Cordova), they attacked the Qurtuba mosque first. They entered this beautiful, magnificent mosque on horseback. They pitilessly jugulated the Muslims who had taken refuge in the mosque. So much so that blood poured out through the doors of the mosque. They massacred the Jews in the same manner. The barbarous Spaniards Christianized all the Muslims and Jews at the point of the sword. Those who managed to escape took sanctuary in the Ottoman country. The Jews living in Turkey today are their grandchildren. After annihilating all the Muslims and Jews in Spain, Ferdinand the Spanish king bragged of his victory and said, “There are neither any Muslims nor any unbelievers left in Spain.” Here is the Christianity that is said to have spread through tenderness and kindness and here are the cruelties of Christians who claim to be tender and affable!
The cruelties inflicted by the Christian sects upon one another are no less in severity. But the most notorious cruelties are the persecutions exercised by Christians over Jewry, who are praised by the priestly author of the book Ghadâ-ul-mulâhazât on account of their familiarity with the canonical laws.
It is written as follows in the twenty-seventh page of the book Keshf-ul-âsâr wa fî qisâs-i-enbiyâ-i benî Isrâîl, which was written by priest Dr. Alex Keith, translated into Persian by priest Merik, and published in 1261 [A.D. 1846] in Evenborough: “Three hundred years before the Hegira, Constantine the Great ordered that the ears of all the Jews be cut off and persecuted them by deportations and banishments.”
It is written in the twenty-eighth page: “In Spain the Jews were oppressed to choose one of the following three alternatives:
a) Accepting Christianity;
b) Imprisonment for those who refused Christianity;
c) Deportation if none of these two choices are taken. Similar methods were used in France. Thus Jews travelled from one country to another. At that time there was no home for them, neither in Europe nor in Asia.”
And in the twenty-ninth page: “Because Catholics reckoned Jews as unbelievers, they persecuted them. The most notable priests came together and took some decisions:
1 — If a Christian defends a Jew, he has made an error. He is to be excommunicated. That is, he must be excluded from Christianity.
2 — Jews are not to be assigned any official duties in any Christian states.
3 — No one can eat or cooperate with Jews.
4 — Children born among the Jews shall be raised by the Christians. The oppressiveness of this article is obvious.” In the thirty-second page: “When the Portuguese caught Jews, they threw them into fire and burned them. When they did so, their men and women came together and celebrated the events. Their women danced, sprang and jumped with happiness.”
It is written as follows in the book Siyar-ul-muteqaddimîn, which was written by priests: “In the Christian year 379, Gratinaus the Roman emperor, after consulting with his commanders, ordered the Christianization of all the Jews in his country. Accordingly, those who refused Christianity were to be killed.” These writings belong to eminent Christian priests.
The torments inficted upon Protestants by Catholics and vice versa are no less cruel than the ones related above.
It is written as follows in the fifteenth and sixteenth pages of the thirteenth fascicle of an Arabic book which was published in thirteen fascicles in Beirut in 1265 [A.D. 1849]: “The Roman church inflicted numerous persecutions, torments and massacres upon Protestants. The witnesses to prove this fact are in the European countries. In Europe, more than 230,000 people were burnt alive because they did not believe in the pope though they believed Jesus and made the Holy Bible their guide in belief and worship. Likewise, thousands of them were either put to the sword or annihilated in prisons or through various tortures such as disjointing their bones or extracting their teeth or nails with pincers. Only on the day of Marirsu Lemavus thirty thousand people were killed in France.
The massacre of Saint Bartholomew and many other massacres that would take a long time to relate are the witnesses of the cruelties Catholics inflicted upon Protestants. Sixty-five thousand Protestants were killed in the massacre of St. Bartholomew. Catholic priests publicize this event as something to take pride in. Henry IV, who came to the throne of France in 1011 [A.D. 1593], stopped the massacre of Protestants. The bigoted Catholics who did not like this had Henry IV killed. In 1087 [A.D. 1675] the persecutions and massacres were resumed. Fifty thousand families fled from their country to escape death.
The Protestants were no less cruel to the Catholics than the Catholics were to them. It is written as follows in the forty-first and forty-second pages of a book which was translated into Urdu from English by a British Catholic priest named Thomas and was published with the title Mir’ât-us-sidq in 1267 [A.D. 1851], and which was widely sold in India: “The Protestants first usurped 645 monasteries, 90 schools, 2376 churches and 110 hospitals from their Catholic owners and sold them very cheaply, dividing the money among themselves. They evicted thousands of the poor residents into the streets, leaving them destitute.” It is written in its forty-fifth page: “The Protestants’ grudge and hostility reached the dead lying in their graves with equal savagery. Exhuming the corpses, they tormented them and robbed them of their shrouds.” In the forty-eighth and forty-ninth pages: “Also the libraries disappeared among the other property usurped from the Catholics. Cyl Birl’s doleful account of these libraries is as follows: The Protestants plundered the books they found in the libraries. They burned the books to cook on them, cleaned their candlesticks and shoes with them. They sold some of the books to herbalists and soap makers. They gave most of them to bookbinders overseas. They were not only fifty or a hundred books. They amounted to countless shiploads. They were annihilated in such a manner as to consternate the foreign nations. I saw a merchant buy two libraries, each for twenty rupees. After these cruelties, they robbed the treasuries of churches, leaving them in bare walls only. They thought they were doing something good.” In the fifty-second and later pages: “Now we shall relate the cruelties that the Protestants have done so far: In order to torture the Catholics, the Protestants passed hundreds of laws far from justice, mercy and ethics. The following are some of them:
“1 — A Catholic cannot inherit his/her parents’ property.
“2 — No Catholic past the age of eighteen can buy property, unless he accepts the Protestant sect.
“3 — No Catholic can set up a business for him or herself.
“4 — No Catholic can be a tutor (in any branch of knowledge). He who opposes this shall be sentenced to imprisonment for life.
“5 — The Catholics shall pay double the taxes.
“6 — Any Catholic priest who conducts a (religious) rite shall pay a fine of 330 sterlings. If a lay Catholic does this he shall be fined 700 sterlings plus one year’s imprisonment.
“7 — If a Catholic sends his son abroad for education, he and his son shall be killed. His property and livestock shall be confiscated.
“8 — No Catholic can be employed in the Civil Service.
“9 — If any Catholic does not attend Sunday masses or other religious celebrations in a Protestant church he shall be fined 200 sterlings monthly and shall be dismissed from society.
“10 — If a Catholic goes five miles away from London he shall be fined 100 sterlings.”
It is written in pages sixty-one through sixty-six: “With the command of Queen Elizabeth most of the Catholic monks and other clergymen were taken out on ships and thrown into the sea. Then the soldiers of Elizabeth came to Ireland to Protestantize the Catholics. The soldiers demolished the Catholic churches. Whereever they came across a Catholic priest they killed him immediately. They burned towns. They destroyed crops and animals. But they treated non-Catholics well. Then, in 1052 [A.D. 1643-44], the parliament sent forth men to a number of cities to expropriate all the property and land belonging to the Catholics. These cruelties inflicted upon the Catholics went on till the time of king James I. In his time these cruelties became less severe. But the Protestants were angry with him. In 1194 [1780] forty-four thousand Protestants petitioned to the king for the maintenance of the laws concerning the Catholics so that they could go on tormenting them through the parliamentary power as before. But the king turned down their proposal. Upon this some hundred thousand Protestants came together in London and burned the Catholic churches. They devastated the districts where the Catholics lived. They started conflagrations at thirty-six different places. This vandalism lasted for six days. Then the king passed another law in 1791, giving the Catholics the rights they have been enjoying ever since.”
It is written as follows in the seventy-third and seventy-fourth pages: “You probably have not heard about the event of Cortiraskuln in Ireland. The stories telling about his doings in Ireland are true. Every year the Protestants collected two hundred and fifty rupees and the rentals of various places and with this money bought the children of poor Catholics. They sent these children away to live with Protestants in other places so that they would not recognize their parents (on returning to their hometowns). When they grew up, they were sent back home and did not recognize their parents, brothers and sisters, as a result of which they sometimes married their brothers, sisters, and even parents.”
[The most inhuman, the most ferocious of the cruelties inflicted upon Muslims by Christians were done by the British in India.
Allâma Fadl-i-Haqq Khayr-âbâdî, one of the greatest Islamic ’ulamâ in India, says in his book As-sawrat-ul-Hindiyya (The Indian Revolution), which is explained by Mawlânâ Ghulâm Mihr Alî in the 1384 [A.D. 1964] Indian edition of its commentary Al-yawâqit-ul-mihriyya:
In 1008 [A.D. 1600] the British first received the permission of Ekber Shâh to open business places in the Calcutta city of India. In the time of Shâh-i-Âlam they bought land in Calcutta. They brought military forces to protect their land. Upon curing Sultan Ferrûh Sîr Shâh in 1126 [A.D. 1714], they were given this right all over India. In the time of Shâh-i-Âlam-i-thânî they invaded Delhi, took control of the administration, and began to exercise cruelty. In 1274 [A.D. 1858] the Wahhabis in India said that Bahâdır Shâh II, who was a Sunnî, a Hanafî, and a Sufî in fact, was a bid’at holder and a disbeliever. With their help, which was reinforced by the support of Hindu unbelievers and the treacherous vizier Ahsanullah Khan, the British army entered Delhi. They raided homes and shops and plundered goods and money. Even women and children were put to the sword. The people could not find water to drink. The very old Bahâdır Shâh II, who had taken refuge in the tomb of Humâyûn Shâh, was taken towards the fortress together with his household with their hands and feet fastened. On the way the Patriarch Hudson had the three sons of the Shâh undressed, leaving them in underwears, and then martyred them by shooting them in their chests. He drank their blood. He had their bodies hung at the entrance of the fortress. The following day he took their heads to the British commander Henry Bernard. Then, boiling the heads in water, he made a soup and sent it to the Shâh and his wife. Being extremely hungry, they (the Shâh and spouse) immediately put the meat into their mouths. But they could not chew it, nor could they swallow it. They took it out and left it on the soil, though they did not know what sort of meat it was. The traitor named Hudson said, “Why don’t you eat it? It is very delicious soup. I had it made from the flesh of your sons.” Then they banished the Shâh, his wife and close relations to the city of Rangon and had them put in dungeons. The Sultân passed away in the dungeon in 1279. They martyred three thousand Muslims by shooting and twenty-seven thousand by slaughtering in Delhi. Only those who fled at night managed to survive. The Christians massacred countless Muslims in other towns and villages, too. They ruined historical works of art. Peerless, invaluable pieces of ornamental goods and jewelry were loaded on ships and sent to London. Allâma Fadl-i-Haqq was martyred in his dungeon on the island of Endoman by the British in 1278 [A.D. 1861].
In 1400 [A.D. 1979] Russians invaded Afghanistan and began to destroy the Islamic works of art and martyr the Muslims. They first shot to martyrdom the great ’âlim and Walî Ibrâhîm Mujaddidî together with his hundred and twenty-one disciples, his wife and daughters. This savage and ignoble attack, too, was caused by the British. For in 1945 the German commander Hitler, who had routed the Russian armies and was about to enter Moscow, cried to England and America through the radio: “I admit the defeat. I shall surrender to you. Let me go on with my war against Russia, rout the Russian army and remove the nuisance of communism from the earth.” Churchill, the British prime minister, refused this proposition. They persisted in helping the Russians and did not enter Berlin before the arrival of the Russians. They caused Russians to be a pestilence over the world.
Abdurrashîd Ibrâhîm Efendi states as follows at one place of the chapter called “Hostility of the British against Islam” in the second volume of his Turkish book Âlam-i-İslâm (The Islamic World), which was published in Istanbul in 1328 [A.D. 1910]: “Extirpation of Khilâfat-i-Islâmiyya (the Islamic Caliphate) is the primary British goal. Their causing the Crimean war and helping the Turks there was a stratagem to destroy the Caliphate. The Paris Treaty divulges this stratagem clearly. [They state their enmity overtly in the secret articles of the Lausanne Peace Treaty in 1923.] All the disasters the Turks have undergone so far, whatsoever the cover, have come from the British. The British policy is based on the annihilation of Islam. The reason for this policy is their being afraid of Islam. In order to deceive Muslims, they use saleable consciences, and introduce these people as Islamic scholars or heroes. In short, Islam’s biggest enemy is the British.”
For those who desire more detailed information about the treacheries and murders carried on by the British on various dates in various parts of the world, especially those which were done against Muslims and the Islamic religion; we recommend that they read the book Jinâyât-ul-İngiliz (The Murders by the British) by Es-Sayyîd Muhammad Habîb Ubeydî Beg, which was published in Beirut in 1334 [A.D. 1916].
Bryan William Jennings, an American lawyer and politician, was a renowned writer and lecturer, and at the same time was a U.S. Congressman between 1913-1915. He died in 1925. He gives detailed information about the British enmity against Islam and their barbarisms and cruelties in his book (The British Dominion in India).
The British sent their own men to their colonies whom they had been tyrannizing. These men started, so to speak, the movement of independence and in appearance broke their right of independence away from the British. They always used men of this sort for invading their colonies morally and inwardly while giving them their independence materially and outwardly. In other words, they imposed these men, whom they trained or bought for their own purposes, as leaders or saviors to such countries. And the inoffensive people of these countries, without even having time to consider the matter to sense the British lie, delivered their younger generations to the awful methods of propaganda. These countries had national anthems and flags. But morally and spiritually they were never independent. They had parliaments, prime ministers, ministers. But they never had authorities.][31]
We have mentioned only a few of the cruelties of Christians here. These are only a few examples of the barbarisms and savageries of Christians, who are said to have had a religious background and who claim to believe in the advice of Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’: “If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer him your other cheek.” We do not presume that the priest who wrote the book Ghadâ-ul-mulâhazât is too ignorant to know about these cruelties and savageries. Thinking Muslims unaware of these historical events, he pretends not to know of them in order to reinforce his assertion.
Third: If the spreading of a religion were possible only through physical media, that is, by violence, force and power, the whole world would have been Christianized by now and there would be no Jews left after all these combats, barbarisms and massacres.
Fourth: The jihâd-i-fîsebîl-illâh commanded by Islam does not mean to compel (others) to become Muslim by the sword. Jihâd means to announce and spread the kalima-i-tawhîd all over the world and to reveal the superiority and the merits of the true religion of Allâhu ta’âlâ to the other religions. This jihâd is done by teaching and advising first. That is, it is stated that Islam is the true religion commanding all sorts of happiness, justice, freedom, and human rights. Those non-Muslims who admit this are given the right of citizenship and enjoy all sorts of freedom enjoyed by the Muslims. War is opened to those obstinate states and tyrannical dictators who turn down this invitation. If they lose the war, the former invitation is repeated once more. That is, they are invited to accept Islam. If they accept it they become free like the other Muslims. If they refuse they are proposed to pay the income tax called jizya. Those who accept to pay the jizya are called zimmî. They can by no means be forced to change their religion. [The old, the invalid, the women and children, the poor, the clergy are not liable to the jizya.] They are completely free as to their religious duties, rites and ceremonies, and their property, lives, chastity and honour are, like the property, lives, chastity and honour of Muslims, protected by the state. Muslims and non-Muslims are held equal in all sorts of rights.
THEIR THIRD ASSERTION: The third assertion put forward by the priests is that “Though it would have been possible for Allâhu ta’âlâ to send down a Prophet without any preparatory canonical education, Allâhu ta’âlâ, who is the most compassionate of the merciful, (is said to have) sent such an exalted religion (as Islam) not before the religions of Jesus and Moses; this is paradoxical with His justice.”
ANSWER: These words of the priests are answerable in various ways.
One of them is this: Allâhu ta’âlâ has infinite power. For Him there is no difference between creating the seven layers of the earth and the heavens and creating an ant, [a cell, an atom]. Nothing is beyond the creative power of Allâhu ta’âlâ, except having a partner, which is impossible. [May Allâhu ta’âlâ protect us from such a belief!] If, as they assert, it were impossible to send a Prophet without any preparations, this would be another mu’jiza of Rasûlullah’s ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’ in addition to his other mu’jizas (miracles). For the number of all the Israelites who believed Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’ was eighty-two by the time of his ascension to heaven though they were ready to accept a new religion and had been expecting a Prophet who would be their savior. On the other hand, our Master Fakhr-i-kâinât ‘alaihi efdalut-tahiyyât’, before his decease, had already guided to îmân (belief in the true religion) more than a hundred and twenty-four thousand of the Arabs, who had had no religious education whatsoever and therefore were not ready to receive a new religion; this means to make the impossible possible, and is therefore a mu’jiza. Also, their statement that ‘it is incompatible with the mercy, compassion and justice of Allâhu ta’âlâ not to send the better and superior one before” is contrary to all sorts of reason. For the Christian creed is as follows: “The reason why Jesus was killed after various insults and then burned for three days in Hell was because all people, including all Prophets, were smeared with the original sin committed by Âdam ‘alaihis-salâm’ and hadrat Hawwâ in Paradise, and therefore Allâhu ta’âlâ willed to forgive them by shedding the blood of His beloved son (may Allah protect us from such belief).” Now we ask them: since Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’ is, according to Christian creed, the son of Allah, or perhaps the same as He (may Allah protect us from this belief), would it not have been better if he had been sent immediately after Âdam ‘alaihis-salâm’, so that the whole lot of these Prophets and so many innocent people would not have gone to Hell? It is a rule of protocol among rulers and presidents that the one with the highest rank position arrives last. It is a social custom that in big speeches the most important part is mentioned finally. The same rule applies in everything. For instance, skillful artists have their novices rough out the layouts of their works first and then finish their works by doing the final, important and delicate parts of their works themselves. This procedure is natural. Then, it is more suitable with the divine law of causation of Allâhu ta’âlâ who is the absolutely wise Creator to send the Sayyid-al-mursalîn ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’, the most superior, the highest of Prophets, as the last Prophet, thus bringing His religion to perfection.
The book Ghadâ-ul-mulâhazat, again, makes the following comment concerning the matter whether Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’ had mu’jizas (miracles), in the fourth chapter of the second section: “Jesus and Moses displayed various miracles in order to prove to the people that they were Messengers sent down by Allah. Had it not been for such a touchstone as this to distinguish between the true and the false, many mendacious and immodest liars would have dared to profess being Prophets. And there would not be a gauge to test whether Allâhu ta’âlâ had given His Word to a person, whether He had chosen him as His Prophet. Therefore, if you test Muhammad’s ‘alaihis-salâm’ claim for prophethood by rubbing it against this touchstone, you will see that it is not so firm or so proven as the claims of Moses and Jesus ‘alaihimas-salâm’!
“Even if we believe the testimonies of historians and the scholars of siyar and suppose that Muhammad ‘alaihis-salâm’ displayed many miracles to prove his prophethood, we will not be convinced. For when we compare the wonderful, extraordinary events that they ascribe to their Prophet with the miracles of Jesus Christ and other Prophets, it is too difficult to believe that the so-called wonderful events are from Allah, on account of the discrepancies and similarities among them. Let us take the following examples: With the command of Muhammad ‘alaihis-salâm’ a tree left its place and walked towards him and a voice from its middle part said: Esh-hadu an lâ ilâha ill-Allah wa esh-hadu anna Muhammadan abduhu wa Rasûluhu, thus bearing witness to his Prophethood; animals, mountains, stones and even a bunch of dates expressed the word of testimony we have given above; whatever clothes he put on, whether they were shorter or longer (than his size in appearance), suited him perfectly; now, is it possible not to doubt when we hear such events? For these events are imaginary. They are obviously contrary to the proofs and signs put forward by all the past Prophets.” In short, at the end of all this long, roundabout writing of his, the priest means to say that our master the Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’ did not have miracles although other Prophets had miracles.
ANSWER: It should be known well that one of the methods used by priests to mislead all Christians against Islam has been the slander that Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’ did not show any miracles. (May Allâhu ta’âlâ protect us against believing them!) These lies are answered convincingly and by definite proofs in the books Iz-hâr-ul-haqq and Shams-ul-haqîqa. Various answers are given to each of their questions. These priests pretend not to have seen these books and not to have heard of these answers. To be more precise, because they do not have any proofs sound enough to rebut the answers and evidences put forward to them, they ignore them as if they were unaware of them and repeat their former objections and lies in their books Mîzân-ul-haqq, Miftâh-ul-esrâr, Ghadâ-ul-mulâhazât, and other books full of lies and slanders which they published as against Muslims. These books of theirs bear their evil intentions of deceiving the ignorant and spoiling their belief by changing the titles of the books they wrote before. Yet we have considered it appropriate to write a few of the answers given to the missionaries in the books Iz-hâr-ul-haqq and Shams-ul-haqîqa, which we have mentioned above:
All Prophets ‘alaihimus-salâm’, as a witness for the authenticity of their prophethood they were appointed, put forward as miracles some extraordinary, preternatural, superhuman events that were at the same time valued and accepted by the people they were appointed to (as Messengers). It is written in books of Siyar that the number of miracles that occured through Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’ was more than three thousand. The existence of these miracles, which are stated in Qur’ân al-kerîm and hadîth-i-sherîfs and which were narrated by those who saw and heard them, thus reaching us by passing through generations, is beyond the reach of any sort of doubt. We shall explain some of these miracles (mu’jizas) in two different categories:
THE FIRST CATEGORY: This category contains the miracles that occured through Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’ on past and future events.
Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’ related episodes about the past Prophets. Without reading the books of the Old Testament and the New Testament or learning from anyone, he gave information about the past peoples that had perished thousands of years before and whose signs had already disappeared. As a matter of fact, it is written in the fourth paragraph of the first chapter of the fifth section of the book Iz-hâr-ul-haqq: “Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’ related the episode of Nûh ‘alaihis-salâm’. This mu’jiza is mentioned in Qur’ân al-kerîm. The forty-ninth âyat of Hûd sûra purports: ‘This narrative of Nûh’s (Noah) ‘alaihis-salâm’ is one of the ghayb (unknown) pieces of information which we reveal (wahy) to you [through Jebrâîl]. Until now, neither you nor your tribe knew about it.’ But some differences between the Qur’ân al-kerîm and the past (heavenly) books are explained in the second chapter of the fifth section of the book Iz-hâr-ul-haqq. Qur’ân al-kerîm contains many unknown narratives about past tribes.” The third paragraph of the first chapter of the fifth section of the same book quotes twenty-two of the narratives given in Qur’ân al-kerîm:
1 — The two hundred and fourteenth âyat of the Baqara sûra purports: “O Believers! Do you expect to enter Paradise right away? You have not undergone the despair experienced by the beloved ones of Allah before you. I sent vehement poverty, ailment, hunger and affliction upon them. They were so badly worried by the afflictions they were suffering that the Prophet and his believers were saying: When will help come from Allâhu ta’âlâ? Be careful, be on the alert, for the help of Allâhu ta’âlâ is soon to come.” The help promised in this âyat-i kerîma includes Muslims in general; and the help promised soon came about. Islam spread first in Arabia and then all over the world.
2 — Before the Holy War of Badr, Allâhu ta’âlâ gave the good news of victory to the As-hâb-i-kirâm and declared in the forty-fifth âyat of Qamer sûra: “They will soon be routed, run away and turn their backs (to the battlefield).” Exactly as it was declared, the Qoureish tribe were routed and destroyed at Badr.
3 — As is purported in the first, second, third and fourth âyats of Rûm sûra, Allâhu ta’âlâ declares: “The Rûm were beaten [by the Iranians] at the closest place [to the Arabs, in the vicinity of Damascus]. Three to nine years after the defeat, they will beat their enemies [the Iranians] here. Beating or being beaten, [be it known that], is within the command of Allâhu ta’âlâ in the beginning and in the end. The Believers will be pleased at the victory of the Rûm over the Iranians.” The fact on which the mufassîrs (interpreters of Qur’ân al-kerîm) and the ’ulamâ of Siyar agree as to the interpretation of these âyats is as follows: It is predicted that the Rûm will beat the Iranians after being beaten. And everything occurred exactly as it was predicted. In fact, when this âyat-i-kerîma descended, Ubayy bin Halef, one of the outstanding disbelievers of Qoureish, denied it. In the conversation he had with Abû Bakr ‘radiy-Allâhu anh’, he affronted him and insisted on refusing that the other side would win. Upon this they made a contract to wait for three years and then for the losing party to give fifteen female camels to the party whose prediction came true. Abû Bakr as-Siddîq ‘radiy-Allâhu anh’ came to Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’ and submitted the matter. Rasûlullah ‘sall-allâhu alaihi wasallam’ stated that the word (bid’)[32] in the âyat-i-kerîma included the numbers from three to nine and ordered him to go to him (the bettor) and increase both the duration of time and the number of camels. Upon this, Abû Bakr ‘radiy-Allâhu anh’ renewed the contract they had made, prolonging the duration to nine years and augmenting the number of camels to one hundred. In the seventh year of the Hegira, the news about the Rûm’s victory over Iran reached them at Hudaybiyya. But Ubayy bin Halef had been killed with a spear which Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’ picked from the ground and threw at him. So Abû Bakr-i Siddîq ‘radiy-Allâhu anh’ took the mentioned hundred camels from his inheritors. [Obeying our Prophet’s ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’ command, he distributed the hundred camels to the poor.]
As for the other mu’jizât-i-nabawiyya (the Prophet’s miracles) on the information about the ghayb (unknown), which are reported in hadîth-i-sherîfs; they are countless. We shall give a few examples:
In the beginning of the call to Islam some of the As-hâb-i-kirâm migrated to Abyssinia because of the polytheists’ persecutions. Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’ and those of the Ashâb-i-kirâm who remained in Mekka-i-mukarrama were deprived of all sorts of social activities such as buying and selling, visiting or talking to people other than Muslims for three years. The polytheists of Qoureish had written a contract announcing these decisions of theirs and posted it on the Kâ’ba-i-muazzama. Allâhu ta’âlâ, the omnipotent, sent a wood-boring maggot called arza unto that notice. The maggot ate up all the written part except the phrase Bismikallâhumma (=in the name of Allâhu ta’âlâ). Allâhu ta’âlâ let our Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’ know of this event through Jibrîl-i-emîn (the Archangel Gabriel). And our Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’ in his turn related it to his uncle Abû Tâlib. The following day Abû Tâlib went to the notables of polytheists and said, “Muhammad’s God told him so. If what he said is true, cancel this prohibition and do not prevent them from going around and seeing other people like before. If he didn’t tell the truth, I shall no longer protect him.” The notables of Qoureish accepted this. They all came together and made for the Kâ’ba. They took the contract down from the Kâ’ba, opened it up, and saw that, as Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’ had said, all the written parts had been eaten up, with the exception of the phrase, Bismikallâhumma.
AN EXPLANATION:
[Dost Muhammad Qandihârî,[33] a great Islamic scholar in India, states in his twenty-ninth letter: “The polytheists of Qoureish used to write the phrase Bismikallâhumma at beginning of their letters. In the early years of Islam, our Master the Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’ followed the Qoureishi custom and had the phrase Bismikallâhumma written at the head of his letters. Later, upon the revelation of the âyat of Bismillah, he had the phrase Bismillâh written as the starting phrase of his letters. Afterwards, when the âyat-i-karîma containing the word Rahmân descended, he had the phrase Bismillâh-er-rahmân written. Finally, when the phrase Bismillâh-er-rahmân-er-rahîm descended with the sûra of Naml, he began to have this phrase written. As a matter of fact, the letter he sent to the Byzantine Greek emperor Heraclius with (his private messenger) Dihya-i-Kelebî began with Bismillâh-er-rahmân-er-rahîm. It is sunna to begin a letter with this phrase of Basmala even if it is written to a disbeliever. In the peace of Hudaybiyya, he ordered hadrat Alî to write Bismillâh-er-rahmân-er-rahîm. Suhayl, the Qoureishi representative, said, “We don’t know what Bismillâh-er-rahmân-er-rahîm is. Write Bismikallâhumma.” As it is seen, since Âdam ‘alaihis-salâm’, Allâhu ta’âlâ had taught His name as (ALLAH) to all Prophets, and even disbelievers had used this name.]
Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’ stated, “The fortress of Hayber will be conquered with Alî bin Ebî Tâlib.” So did it happen. Also, he predicted the conquests of Iran and Byzantium by stating, “Muslims will share the treasures of Ajam (Iran) and Rûm (Byzantium) and the Iranian girls will serve them.”
Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’ stated, “My Umma will part into seventy-three groups. All of them will go to Hell. Only one of them will be saved.” He also stated, “ The Ajams will beat the Muslims once or twice, the Iranian state (Sassanians) will be annihilated.” And he stated, “Many Rûm (Byzantine Greek) generations will prevail. As each of them perish, those in the following era, that is, the next generation will take their place.” All these events took place as Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’ had predicted.
The east and the west were rolled up and shown to him. He predicted that his Umma would possess the places that were within his sight and that his religion would spread over those places. So Islam spread in the east and west, exactly as he had predicted. [In fact, there is no country where Islam has not been heard of in today’s free world.]
He stated, “As long as ’Umar ‘radiy-Allâhu anh’ lives, fitna (instigation) will not arise among Muslims.” So the Ummat-i-Muhammad (Muslims) lived in safety till the end of the caliphate of ’Umar ’radiy-Allâhu anh’, as he had predicted. Later instigations began to break out.
Again, Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’ predicted that Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’ will descend form the heaven, that Mahdî ‘alaihir-rahma’ will appear, and that Dajjâl also will appear.
He predicted that ’Uthmân-i-zin-nûrayn ‘radiy-Allâhu anh’ would be martyred while reading Qur’ân al-kerîm, and that Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu anh’ would be wounded with the stroke of Ibn Muljam’s sword and would be martyred. As a matter of fact, whenever Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu anh’ saw Ibn Muljam, he would show his head and say, “When are you going to make this bleed all over?” Ibn Muljam would commit himself to the protection of Allâhu ta’âlâ from this, and would request, “Since such a base and evil deed has been predicted by our Prophet, o Alî, then you kill me. I don’t want to be the cause of this atrocity and be accursed till the end of the world.” Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu anh’ would answer, “One cannot be punished before murder. You will be retaliated after the action.” So all these events took place exactly.
In the the Holy War of Hendek (Trench), he said to Ammâr bin Yâsir ‘radiy-Allâhu anh’, “You will be killed by bâghîs (rebels).” Later, he (Ammâr bin Yâsir) was martyred in Siffîn by those people who were on the side of Muâwiyya ‘radiy-Allâhu anh.’
He said about Berâ bin Mâlik ‘radiy-Allâhu anh’: “Some people that have dishevelled hair and who are repelled from doors are so (valuable) that if they stated something on oath Allâhu ta’âlâ would create it to confirm them. Berâ bin Malik is one of them.” In the war of Ahwâz the Muslim soldiers besieged the fortress of Tuster for six months and fought for eighty days in front of its gate. Lots of people died in both sides. This statement of Rasûlullah’s was known among the As-hâb-i-kirâm ‘alaihimur-ridwân’. So they gathered around Berâ bin Mâlik ‘radiy-Allâhu anh’ and begged him to swear that the fortress would be conquered. Upon this, Berâ bin Mâlik ‘radiy-Allâhu anh’ swore both the conquest of the fortress and his own martyrdom. That day he attained the rank of martyrdom. And the same night the fortress was conquered, so the Muslims attained victory with the help of Allâhu ta’âlâ.
One day Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’ slept in Umm-i-Hirâm’s ‘radiy-Allâhu anhâ’ house. When he woke up he was smiling. She asked, “O Rasûlullah, why are you smiling?” Rasûlullah said, “I saw some of my Umma getting on board ships and going out for Holy War against disbelievers.” Umm-i-Hirâm said, “O Rasûlallah! Pray for me so that I may be one of them!” Rasûlullah said, “O my Allah! Make her one of them!” It came about as Rasûlullah predicted. In the time of hadrat Muâwiyya, Umm-i-Hirâm and her husband joined others getting on ships and sailed to Cyprus for jihâd. There she fell down from a horse and attained martyrdom ‘radiy-Allâhu anhumâ’.
Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’ stated about his blessed daughter, Fâtimâ ‘radiy-Allâhu anhâ’: “Of my Ahl-i-bayt, you will be the first to meet me (in the next world).” Six months after his honouring the next world, Fâtima, our mother, ‘radiy-Allâhu anha’, honoured the next world with her presence.
He predicted that Abû Zer-i-Ghifârî ‘radiy-Allâhu anh’ would pass away alone at a solitary place. It happened exactly so. [He passed away lonely as he was at a place called Rabaza. Only his daughter and his wife were with him. Shortly after his death Abdullah ibn Mes’ûd and some other high persons arrived. They washed, laid out, and shrouded his corpse ‘radiy-Allâhu anhum ejmaîn’.]
He said to Surâqa bin Mâlik ‘radiy-Allâhu anh’, one of the As-hâb-i-kirâm: “How will you be when you put on the Chosroes’ bracelets?” Years later, during the caliphate of ’Umar ‘radiy-Allâhu anh’, the riches that were gained by the conquest of Iran were brought to Medîna-i-munawwara. Among the gains were the Chosroes’ fur coat and bracelets. Dividing the gains, ’Umar ‘radiy-Allâhu anh’ gave the Chosroes’ bracelets to Surâqa ‘radiy-Allâhu anh’. Surâqa put the bracelets on his arm. Being too wide, they went up to his elbow. He remembered what Rasûlullah had said years before, and wept.
Lots of actual miracles came about from Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’. Since the capacity of this book is not convenient for a detailed account of these miracles, we will mention a few of them:
1 — The event of Mi’râj (Ascent to Heaven), which took place both physically and spiritually, and as he (the Prophet) was awake. The disbelievers of Qoureish did not believe this miracle. And some Muslims, being weak both in faith and in mind, fell into the mischief of doubt and confirmed only after asking Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’ various questions and getting their answers. Those who want to know what the disbelievers’ questions and their answers were may consult to the book Iz-hâr-ul-haqq. If Mi’râj had happened only spiritually, there would be no reason to deny it. For the soul travels between the east and the west in an instant when asleep. If a person’s dream takes place in exactly the same way, it may be admitted as true; it cannot be denied.
Mi’râj happened both spiritually and physically. Allâhu ta’âlâ is capable to speedily move anything He wishes. For this reason, those wise people who believe in Mi’râj and those who narrate it can by no means be censured. Yes, Mi’râj is incompatible with the normal course of events. But all miracles are incomptatible with the normal course of events. Ibn Sînâ,[34] a notable philosopher, proves by reasonable evidences the possibility of this miracle, which is contrary to the normal course of events, and describes its occurrence in his book Shifâ. Those who have doubts may consult to the book. [Principles of (Islamic) belief should be learned not from philosophy books, but from the books of the ’ulamâ of Ahl as-sunna.]
Furthermore, bodily ascent to heaven is not impossible according to the people of the book, either. For it is written in the twenty-fourth verse of the fifth chapter of Genesis and in the first verse of the second chapter of the second book of Kings of the Holy Bible that Ehnûh (E’noch), Elia and Elijah (E-li’jah and E-li’sha) ‘alaihimus-salâm’ physically ascended to heaven. And it is written in the nineteenth verse of the sixteenth chapter of the Gospel of Mark: “So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.” (Mark: 16-19) It is written in the second verse of the twelfth chapter of the epistle written to Corinthians by Paul: “I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven.” (I Corinthians: 12-2) As is seen, Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’ also was taken up to heaven (mi’râj).
2 — The miracle of Shaqq-i-qamer, the splitting of the moon, which is related in Qur’ân al-kerîm. In this respect, the objections of the deniers, i.e. the Christian priests, are written at length in the books of Iz-hâr-ul-haqq and As’ila-i-hikamiyya.
3 — The miracle of Remy-i-turâb. In the Holy War of Bedr, the number of the As-hâb-i-kirâm ‘alaihimur-ridwan’ was one-fourth that of the polytheists. At a vehement time of the combat, as the polytheists augmented their offensive, Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’ put his blessed head on the ground in prostration under the trellis and invoked (Allah) for victory and said: “O my exalted Allah! If you do not lead these handful of Muslims to victory, no one will be left on the earth to promulgate Thine unity.” Then he kept silent for a while. Presently signs of joy appeared in his blessed eyes, and he informed Abû Bakr-i-Siddîq ‘radiy-Allâhu anh’, who was with him and who had been his companion in the cave, that he had been given the good news of victory and the aid of Allâhu ta’âlâ. He left the trellis, honoured the battle field with his presence and, taking a handful of sand from the ground, threw it towards the polytheist soldiers. Each grain of sand went to an enemy soldier’s eye like a lightning of disaster and utter defeat, and they were destroyed without any apparent reason. The seventeenth âyat-i-kerîma of the Enfâl sûra descended to describe this miracle. The meaning of the âyat-i-kerîma was: “What you threw to the disbelievers was not thrown by you. They were thrown by Allâhu ta’âlâ.” This âyat-i-kerîma was recited in all the native and foreign languages. None of the polytheists attempted to say, “No such soil came to my eye.” Perhaps they thought it was magic. (May Allâhu ta’âlâ protect us against such belief.)
4 — The miracle of water gushing out from between Rasûlullah’s ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’ fingers at various places. Several hundred Sahâbîs drank from that water and quenched their thirst. On the day of Hudaybiyya, the number of the As-hâb-i-kirâm that were there and drank that blessed water was more than a thousand. In addition, they filled their water-bottles. This miracle was seen at the market of Medîna, at the Holy War of Buwat, at the Holy War of Tabuk, and at many other places. In fact, at Hudaybiyya the water poured from his blessed fingers like pouring from fountains. After the thirsty ones drank, the water sufficed even their animals. These facts are narrated unanimously by very trustworthy ’ulamâ of Siyer through very sound documents.
5 — The miracle of Berekât-i-taâm. Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’ gave a woman and her husband a quarter bushel of barley. Their guests and children ate from it for a long time but could not finish it.
Once, he fed a thousand people with a piece of barley bread and a young goat, and the amount of the food did not decrease at all.
Once, a hundred and eighty people ate from a piece of bread, and the bread became even bigger.
Once, he fed a hundred and thirty people with a piece of bread and a cooked lamb. The remainder was loaded on a camel and taken away.
He satiated an Abyssinian with a few dates. This miracle took place a number of times.
He fed those who were with him, all his household, and all his relations with one portion of food.
6 — The miracle of Teksîr-i-derâhim, i.e. increasing the amount of money. Selmân-i-Fârisî ‘radiy-Allâhu anh’ was the slave of a Jew. When he was honoured with Islam, his Jewish owner said he would be emancipated from slavery on condition that he would plant three hundred date saplings, they would give fruits, and he would give him (the Jew) 1600 dirhams (drachm) of gold.
[The As-hâb-i-kirâm ‘alaihimur-ridwân’ helped Selmân ‘radiy-Allâhu anh’ in digging the holes for the saplings. When the holes were dug, our Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’ honoured the place with his presence and] planted the three hundred saplings resolved upon with his blessed hands. All of them came to maturity in a year and began to yield fruits. [One of the saplings had been planted by ’Umar-ul-Fârûq ‘radiy-Allâhu anh’. The sapling did not give any fruits. When Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’ replanted it with his blessed hands, it gave fruits at once.]