MESSIAH HAS COME !!!!
Today, I will be discussing how Hadhrat
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, [1835-1908 the Promised Messiah and founder of the
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community] has fulfilled the prophecies contained in
the Holy Bible regarding the Second Advent of Jesus Christ (peace be
upon him). The majority of verses from the Bible that I am about to
analyze are found in the literature of the millennium scholars who lived
in the 19th century. Hundreds of these Christian scholars expected the
immediate appearance of Christ, and many went so far as to precisely
predict when he was to return. For example, Christopher Hoffman
undertook to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem for Christ’s occupancy in
1826.
Bengle fixed the date of Christ’s return at 1836, and
from this prediction, others followed in rapid succession. The
Irvingites in England and Scotland announced 1835, 1838, 1864 and 1866.
Mother Lee and her Shakers abolished matrimony, as they also believed
Christ's return was at hand. Cunningham predicted 1839, Elliot 1866,
Brewer and Decker both predicted 1867 and Seis favoured 1870.
William Miller, who predicted 1844, had up to 500,000 followers, many of
whom were so convinced of Christ’s return on October 22, 1844 that they
refused to plant crops, gave away their money, discharged their
employees, settled their accounts and made preparations for the
climactic midnight cry, ‘Behold, the Bridegroom cometh, go ye out to
meet him.’ They dressed in shrouds, and stood on mountaintops in New
York State awaiting Christ's descent. That day has gone down in history
as the Great Disappointment.
A famous Jewish convert to
Christianity, Joseph Wolfe predicted 1847. Claus Epp, a leader of the
Mennonite Brethren in Russia predicted March 8, 1889. The Dukhabors set
forth from a Canadian village in 1902, some naked, to meet the Lord.
Reverend Coming in his book, The End, written in 1879, concluded that
all the signs of those days were preparing for the fulfilment of the
prophecy for the Second Coming of Christ. He wrote, Christ is at our
door. Harriet Livingston, a famous Washingtonian, preached The Second
Coming before the House of Representatives in this time period.
The majority of the predictions that convinced these scholars that
Christ’s return was imminent are found in Matthew’s 24th and Luke’s 21st
chapters. In these chapters, our attention is directed to other books
of the Holy Bible that contain relevant prophecies. These prophecies can
be divided into four main categories:
• The time of his return, specifically in years.
• The social environment that mankind would find itself experiencing at
that time including very specific events, heavenly signs.
• How the Messiah and his followers were to be treated.
• The general location of the Second Coming.
The Jews are still expecting their Messiah to come. That Messiah is to
be escorted by Elijah the Prophet (peace be upon him) whom they believe
rose physically to heaven in a chariot of fire thousands of years ago.
The Jews of 2,000 years ago had the same expectations with evidence of
this found in the New Testament. In John 1 verse 21, the Pharisees asked
John the Baptist (peace be upon him) if he was Elijah and in Matthew
16:14 some people mistook Jesus for Elijah. Their attitude was, we will
certainly entertain your claim as the Messiah, but first produce Elijah
(pbuph).
‘Behold, I will send you Elijah, the Prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.’ (Malachi 4:5)
Many Jews accepted Jesus (pbuph) as the Messiah, yet no Elijah
descended from heaven. Fortunately for us, Jesus (pbuph) clears up the
entire misconception by explaining in Matthew 17:12-13 when he says:
‘But I say unto you that Elijah is come already, and they knew him not,
but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the
son of man suffer of them. Then the disciples understood that he spoke
unto them of John the Baptist’
Elijah's return had been fulfilled by John the Baptist (pbuph).
Therefore, if we as Ahmadi Muslims claim that Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam
Ahmad (pbuph) has fulfilled the descent of Jesus Christ (pbuph) as John
the Baptist (pbuph) fulfilled the descent of Elijah (pbuph), we would
not be extraneous to the explanation of such an event, as presented by
Jesus(as) himself. Obviously descent is a metaphorical term used to
attach greater importance to the expected occurrence.
This is also supported in Matthew 23:39 where Jesus (pbuph) states:
‘…Ye shall not see me henceforth till ye say “Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.”’
This may mean that someone was to come in the name of Jesus (pbuph), and not Jesus (pbuph) himself.
Let us now review the verses pertaining to Christ’s (pbuph) return. In Luke 21:24-27, we read:
‘And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away
captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the
Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. And there shall
be signs in the sun and in the moon, and in the stars, and upon the
earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and waves roaring.
Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things,
which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
And then shall they see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and
great glory.’
In these verses, Jesus (pbuph) is predicting the
destruction of Jerusalem by the Gentiles, and the banishment of the Jews
from Jerusalem. When that banishment was to end, when the time of the
gentiles is fulfilled, he would return.
Jerusalem was
destroyed by the Romans under Emperor Titus in 70 A.D. after a long
siege. In 132 A.D. the Jews, under the leadership of Bar Cochba,
rebelled against the Romans. Jerusalem was destroyed and a new city,
Aellia Capatilina was constructed on the ruins. Many Jews were scattered
and exiled. Under Roman law, Jews were not allowed to enter the city.
In 637, the Arabs took control of Jerusalem and similar restriction
still applied.
This restriction upon the Jews was lifted when
Turkey signed the ‘Edict of Tolerance’ allowing Jews to freely enter
Jerusalem. This document was signed on March 21, 1844. Shortly
thereafter, Jews started to migrate back to Jerusalem for the first time
since 70 A.D. The time of the Gentiles had come to an end. David ben
Gurion comments on this era in the book, The Jews In Their Land:
‘And every such wave of return was inspired by renewed Messianic hopes.
This process was crowned in the last quarter of the 19th century with
heightened immigration and the beginnings of agricultural settlements.’
The millennium scholars found a verse in the Book of Revelation that supported this date. In Chapter 11:2-3, we read:
‘…And the holy city (Jerusalem) shall they tread under foot forty and
two months….And they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and three
score days.’
Christian scholars all agree, that in Bible prophecy,
one day stands for one year. This is supported in several verses. For
example in Ezekiel 4:6 we read: ‘I have appointed thee, each day for a
year.’
The Christian scholars came to the conclusion, that
since at that time, the Gentiles who controlled Jerusalem were Muslims
that predicted time period of forty-and two months, or 1,260 days when
applied as the year 1,260 to the Muslim calendar was 1844 of the
Christian calendar.
The Book of Matthew directs us to the
Prophet Daniel (peace be upon him) in Chapter 24:15. Again the
millennium scholars found reference to several more dates. Daniel 12:
11-12 referring to the holy temple in Jerusalem states:
‘And from
the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the
abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two
hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the
thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.’
Using the same
method of calculation as was used for the verse in Revelation; the dates
of 1,290, 1305, and 1330 of the Muslim calendar correspond to 1873,
1888 and 1912 of the Christian Calendar. More dates are predicted in
Daniel 9:1-24:
‘Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people, and
upon the holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of
sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in
everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and
to anoint the most Holy.’
The millennium Christian scholars
unanimously interpreted this verse to be the time period from the
rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem to the coming years. They also
took this prophecy to start when Artaxerxes decreed the Temple to be
rebuilt in 47 B.C. as mentioned in Ezra Chapter 7. 457 BC plus 490 years
brings us to 33 A.D., the general time of Christ’s crucifixion.
They also found another prophecy in Daniel that they believed applied
to the Second Coming of Christ. We find in Daniel 8:13-14:
‘Then I
heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint
which spake; How long shall be the vision concerning the daily
sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the
sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? And he said unto me,
unto two thousand and three hundred days then shall the sanctuary be
cleansed.’
Adding 2300 years to 457 B.C. brings us to 1843. We can
readily understand why the millennium scholars of the 19th century
expected the return of Jesus Chris during their time. The second
category of predictions which describe the condition mankind would be in
at that time fully support the same time period. We read in Matthew
24:14:
‘And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the
world for a witness unto all nations and then shall the end come.’
The study of the spread of Christianity conducted by the millennium
scholars of the 19th century establishes that this was the time when the
message of the kingdom had been conveyed to the entire world. According
to the British and American Bible Societies, 421 million copies of the
Bible had been distributed in 50 languages in practically every country
of the world. In 1842, Mr. Spicer stated in Our Day In The Light Of
Prophecy, that the gospel had been spread to 95% of the inhabitants of
earth.
In 1842, five treaty ports in China were opened to
commerce and missionaries. In that same year, Dr. Livingston opened the
door to Bible preaching in the African interior. In 1844, Turkey
recognised the right of Muslims to become Christian. In the book, A
Hundred Years Of Missions, Dr. Leanard writes:
‘For the first time
since the apostolic period occurred, an outburst of general missionary
zeal and activity occurred.’ He was referring to the 19th century.
Dr A.T. Pearson wrote in Modern Mission Century:
‘India, Siam, Burma, China, Japan, Turkey, Africa, Mexico, South
America were successively and successfully entered within 5 years, from
1853 to 1858, new facilities were given to entrance and occupation of
seven different countries, together embracing half the world
population.’
Mr Faber writes in Eight Dissertations:
The
stupendous endeavours of one gigantic community to convey the Scriptures
in every language to every part of the globe may well deserve to be
considered as an eminent sign even of these eventful times. Unless I be
much mistaken. Such endeavours are preparatory to the final grand
diffusion of Christianity, which is the theme of so many inspired
prophets and which cannot be so far distant in the present day.’
Another prophecy of this category is found in Matthew 24:6,
‘And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars; see that ye be not
troubled, for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not
yet.’
Just before the end, the end defined as the time for the
return of Jesus Christ, wars and rumours of wars would prevail. We can
readily determine that this prophecy was fulfilled in the 19th century
by reviewing the wars fought during that time period. To be brief, I
will mention just 10. They were Britain, Prussia, Austria and Russia
against France in 1815. The war of 1818 between America and Britain. The
Crimean War 1853, The Civil War in America 1861, Britain against China
in 1860, the Sepoy Mutiny in India, 1857, Russia against Turkey, 1870,
China against Korea, 1894, the Boxer Rebellion in China, 1900, Great
Britain against the Boer Republic 1899 and America against Spain in
1898.
Two more prophecies of this category, the category of
special events and social conditions is found in the Book of Daniel,
12:4. It states:
‘But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal
the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro and
knowledge shall be increased.’
Regarding the increase of knowledge,
economist Robert Gorden suggests that the great inventions of 1860 to
1900 had a more pronounced effect on productivity and living standards
and for many more years than our much-acclaimed New Economy of today. In
fact, our modern inventions pale when compared to the great inventions
leading to the first new economy. Those inventions, electricity, the
internal combustion engine, the chemical and pharmaceutical industries,
advances in entertainment and communication, and urban sanitation really
did change the world. The post 1913 surge in productivity growth that
lasted until the beginning of the 1970's was directly connected to these
new inventions. Computers and the Internet do not measure up to the
Great Inventions of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Again, we
conclude that there was a great increase of knowledge in the 19th
century.
The second prophecy found in this verse in Daniel
speaks of people running to and fro, as a description of restlessness.
Again looking for evidence of restlessness during the 19th century we
see a long list of riots and revolutions. Again, for brevity, I will
mention just 10. Enough to prove that this prophecy also came to light
in the 19th century.
Riots raged in 1842 from September to
December in southern and eastern England as rioting agricultural workers
directed their main efforts against threshing machines. More rural
riots broke out in 1843. During the plug riots of 1842, strikers
stopped, instead of wrecking the mills by removing the lead plugs in the
steam engines. In Latin America, revolutions against the Spanish and
Portuguese occurred in Venezuela, Argentina, Paraguay, and Mexico in the
early 1800s under the leadership of Simon Bolivar. From July 27th to
July 29th 1830, students and workers raised barricades and made
themselves masters of France, leading to the flight of Charles X.
The Slavs were too scattered to form a single nation. A rising in
Prague in June of 1848 was ruthlessly crushed by Austria. On March 13,
1881, the Nihilist organization known as the People’s Will, assassinated
Tsar Alexander. The bomb blast shook every European throne and reprisal
in Russia was severe. The general mood of Europe and the US was more
aggressive in the last years of the 19th century, than it had been for
several decades before. In November 1887, the lifeguards were called in
to London to clear Trafalgar Square of demonstrators. On May 1, 1890,
militant workers demonstrated in both America and Europe, demanding an
8-hour day. In 1894, the army was called in to quell rioting strikers in
Illinois. In China, rebellions, murders, massacres and succession
crises accompanied the rise of power of Empress Tzu Hsi in 1898.
R.A. Wallace in his book, The Wonderful Century, 1898, summarized the mood of the time.
‘There was, therefore, no 19th century resting place. The French
Revolution, combined with the Industrial Revolution (both unfinished),
affected both ways of thinking and feeling. The repercussions are still
echoed today.’
The next category deals with heavenly signs, or
special astronomical activities. Research into this topic show that the
amount of unique astronomical activities increased several times during
the 19th century.
Again we turn to Matthew’s 24th chapter, verse 29:
‘Immediately after the tribulation of those days, shall the sun be
darkened and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall
from the heavens and the power of the heavens shall be shaken.’
The Christian Millennium scholars of the 19th century interpreted this
verse to mean eclipses of the sun and the moon, meteor showers, comets,
etc.
Henry James Foreman states in his book, The Story of Prophecy:
‘It was the 19th century, yet the shooting stars of 1833, and the
perihelia, or rings around the sun 1843 were objects of the most awesome
speculation and discussion. And the tail of the great comet of 1843
measured 108 million miles in length... whole families were engaged in
making shrouds against that fateful day.’
In 1811, a comet appeared
with a head 1,125,000 miles in diameter, larger than the sun. The tail
was 100 million miles in length.
Bielids Comet was first
discovered in 1772, but was not found to be periodical until 1826. In
1832 the comet passed very close to the earth. In 1845, the comet was
observed to break in two, and in 1852, at the time of its expected
return, it was found that the two parts of the comet were both very
faint and separated by over one million miles. It did not return in
1866.
On November 27 of 1885, a spectacular meteor shower
originating from Von Nostrands Comet was observed. 39,546 meteors were
observed in four hours and eight minutes. Since 1899, very few showers
from this comet have been observed.
Records of Leonids Comet
are found as far back as 585 A.D. In 1799, 1833 and 1866-67 this comet
caused the most spectacular shower of modern times.
The great
comet of 1843, which has not been named, was a periodical comet with an
orbit of 400 years. It had the longest tail of any comet, 200 million
miles long, making it a sight of grandeur. Donati's comet lit the sky in
1858.
Yet another comet appeared in 1861. At one time the
comet was brighter than any star in the sky, except Venus, and a
peculiar glow suffused the entire sky. It could easily be seen in broad
daylight.
Another great comet, one of the brightest of modern times, passed within a third of a million miles of the sun in 1882.
The head of Holmes comet had a diameter in excess of a million miles.
It is one of the largest on record and appeared in 1892, 1899 and 1906.
Since then it has not been seen.
On June 30, 1908, the
greatest meteor fall in modern history took place in Siberia. Scientists
still study this phenomenon because of its great destructive power.
Lunar and Solar eclipses also occurred in 1894 and 1895.
To
the people witnessing these events, it would surely have looked as if
the stars were falling from heaven, and we can readily conclude that
this prophecy was fulfilled during the 19th century.
Let us
now turn to the fourth category of millennium prophecies, those that
describe how the Messiah and his followers were to be treated.
‘Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted and shall kill you, and ye shall be hated by all nations for my name’s sake.
And then shall appear the sign of the son of man in heaven, and then
shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the son of
man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.’ (Matthew
24:9,30)
‘For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your
adversaries shall not be able to gainsay or resist. And ye shall be
betrayed both by parents and brethren, and kinsfolk and friends, and
some of you shall be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for
my name's sake. But there shall not an hair on your head perish.’ (Luke
21: 15-18)
These verses paint a rather grim picture of how those
who were to accept the Messiah, those who would pledge their loyalty to
the one who would represent Jesus Christ in his Second Coming, were to
be treated. Hatred, persecution and even death awaited them. They would
be betrayed by their own family members and entire nations would
conspire to oppose them.
The Messiah, from the verses in Luke,
would possess profound wisdom, such that no one on earth could argue
against him, and even though afflicted with severe persecution, he would
be protected by God Almighty as indicated by ‘there shall not an hair
on your head shall perish’. His appearance should be of a cloudy nature,
and his message would run counter to all contemporary thought and
expectations, causing the nations of the earth to mourn. This type of
appearance is supported in Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians 5:2;
‘For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.’
The fifth category of prophecies indicating the general location of the Second Coming is found in Matthew 24:27:
‘For as lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.’
The millennium scholars interpreted this verse literally, expecting
Christ's return to be accompanied by a huge flash of lightning that
would travel across the globe. However, the verse could very well
indicate that since Jesus was in Jerusalem when he made this prophecy,
the Second Coming would appear east of Jerusalem, and the light or
teachings of the Promised One would first be accepted in the east and
would eventually extend to the west.
This interpretation finds
support in Ezekiel 43:2 where he describes in a vision the glory of God
came from the way of the east, and in Revelation 7:2 that mentions
another angel ascending from the east having the seal of the living God.
We also read in Matthew 24th chapter, verse 5:
‘For many shall come in my name saying, I am Christ: and shall deceive many.’
This verse also indicates that the Second Coming would not be of an
earth shattering event because if false Messiahs were to be accepted,
they would somehow have to announce their arrival by descending from the
sky surrounded by lighting bolts and angels. During the 19th century
there were several men claiming to be either the Messiah or a Prophet.
They were the Mahdi of Sudan; Alexander Dowie of Zion, Ohio, who claimed
to be Elijah the third; Joseph Smith of the Mormons who claimed to be a
prophet; Ali Muhammad Bab who claimed to be the Mahdi when he performed
Hajj in 1844; Bahaullah of Iran who claimed to be the manifestation of
God; Piggot of England who claimed to be the Messiah; and Hadhrat Mirza
Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian, India who claimed he represented the second
coming of Christ for the Christians and Imam Mahdi for the Muslims.
To find the true Messiah, we need to apply the prophecies from
categories 4 and 5, those that describe the Messiah’s characteristics
and how he and his followers would be received, to the claimants who
came from areas east of Jerusalem during the 19th century. They were
Mirza Ali Muhammad (Ali Muhammad Bab of Shiraz), Bahaullah (Mirza
Hussain Ali Nur) of Tehran and Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian,
India.
Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (peace be upon him) was born
in Qadian, India in the year 1835 and departed from this world in 1908.
Heavenly signs mark both the years of his birth and death. Haley’s
Comet made its most dramatic appearance of modern times in 1835, and a
great meteor impact occurred in Siberia in 1908.
Qadian, India
is directly east of Jerusalem. He authored over 80 books on religious
and comparative religious studies and claimed to be the Mahdi and
Messiah whose advent had been predicted in the Holy Bible and other holy
books.
When commenting on just one of his books titled
Baraheen-e-Ahmadiyya, one of his most bitter opponents admitted, and he
says: ‘He challenged the representatives of other religions to prove the
truth of their religions with the same or less number of arguments as
had been presented by him in support of the Holy Qur’an in his
monumental work.’ (Qadianism, A Critical Study, p.27)
Towards
the end of 1890, Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (peace be upon him)
announced that God had informed him that Jesus (peace be upon him) was
dead and was not going to return and that he was in fact representing
the Second Advent of Jesus. This announcement brought a storm of protest
and threats from Christians and Muslims alike, who both were and are
still expecting Jesus to descend from the sky. He told the entire world
that their beliefs were wrong, their knowledge hollow and their actions
unworthy because their spiritual faculties had become debilitated by
drifting away from God.
Today, the followers of Hadhrat Mirza
Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian (peace be upon him), India are counted in tens of
millions and have established centuries for the spread of the true
Islam in over 190 countries. We propagate our faith by means of clear
and logical arguments, based on wisdom and proof. However, the Messiah
and his followers were, and still are persecuted in many countries.
In 1984, General Ziaul Haq of Pakistan brought Ordinance XX into law,
making it a criminal offence for the followers of Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam
Ahmad (pbuph) to practice or propagate their religion. On the Pakistani
passport applications, the applicant must sign a statement denouncing
Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (pbuph) as an impostor before a passport is
issued.
The Saudi Arabian Government does not allow the followers of Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (pbuph) from Pakistan to perform Hajj.
A report by the Lawyers Committee for human rights states that the
Ahmadiyya Sect, as a groups is subject to systematic and extensive
discrimination.
Over the course of the last 111 years, Ahmadis
have been murdered in cold blood, only because they believe that the
Messiah has come.
In closing, only one of the claimants who
came from east of Jerusalem was alive to witness and announce that these
eclipses were a unique sign by God specifically for him and that was
Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian (peace be upon him).
Ahmadiyyat - The True Islam (Real Islam)
Tuesday 12 June 2012
Eclipse Of Sun And Moon - Prophecy Fulfilled....
Eclipse Of Sun And Moon - Prophecy Fulfilled....
The Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) had announced a very clear and definite sign of the appearance of the Mahdi which was not in the power of anyone to manufacture or improvise. Darqutni, an eminent and recognized authority on Hadith, had recorded that the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:
For our Mahdi there are appointed two signs which have never been manifested for any other claimant since the creation of the Heavens and the earth. They are that at his advent there shall occur an eclipse of the moon on the first of (Its appointed nights), and an eclipse of the sun on the middle one of (Its appointed days) and both will occur in the same month of Ramadan. (Sunan Dar Qutini vol 2, p. 65, Bab Safatus – Salatulkhusuf)
In this Hadith four conditions have been stated, which if fulfilled will become a sign of the truth of the Imam Mahdi.
The eclipses of the moon and the sun occur according to the set laws of nature as related to astronomy. According to these laws, if Hijrah Calendar is used, the dates on which a lunar eclipse can occur are the 13th, 14th or 15th nights of the lunar month. And the dates on which a solar eclipse can occur are the 27th, 28th or 29th of the lunar month. The sign mentioned by the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), therefore, was that the moon would be eclipsed on the 13th night of the lunar month, and the eclipse of the sun would take place on the 28th of the same month, which will be the month of Ramadan. The sign was to appear after and not before the advent of the Mahdi.
Some have objected that the lunar eclipse should have occurred on the first night of Ramadan. They ignore the laws of astronomy and the established movements of celestial bodies. Furthermore, the Arabic word for moon used in the above stated Hadith is Qamar, which is used for the moon on the fourth lunar night and onward; whereas, the moon of the first three nights is called Hilal in Arabic.
The above stated Hadith does not mean to say that the lunar and solar eclipses have never occurred in the month of Ramadan before. In fact, according to astronomers they have occurred many times in the month of Ramadan since the time of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). The crucial point is that there would be a claimant of being Mahdi at that time and he will proclaim this occurrence to be a sign for him. This is exactly what happened.
Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad founded the Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam in 1889, and announced his claim of being the Reformer of the age. Later on, in 1891, under Divine guidance he claimed to be the Promised Messiah mentioned in the prophecies of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), and Jesus in Bible. The sign of eclipses of the moon and the sun in the month of Ramadan was shown in 1894. An eclipse of the moon occurred on Thursday night, the 13 of Ramadan Hijrah, 1311 (21 March, 1894), and the eclipse of the sun occurred on the 28th Ramadan of the same month of Ramadan (6 April, 1894), in exact accord with the prophecy of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad proclaimed the eclipses in Ramadan of 1894 to be a great sign in his favor. There have been many claimants of being Mahdi in Islamic history, but this sign was never shown for any one of them. This sign about the Mahdi is found in the books of Hadith collected by both Shi‘ah and Sunni sects. A great many of Islamic religious books mention this prophecy about the expected Mahdi. (The Promised Messiah and Mahdi, Dr. Aziz Ahmad Chaudhry, pp 77-78)
These eclipses were visible over a large part of Asia including India. The same phenomenon was repeated in the United States of America in 1895.
(The Story of Eclipses, George F. Chambers, p 33, London, 1902)
The sign of the eclipses was beyond the power of any person to show. The Promised Messiah and Mahdi considered this sign of the eclipses to be very significant and said that with this sign, the foundation of the victory of Islam had been laid. He also said that mosques will be built and people will join Islam in hordes. The Promised Messiah and Mahdi has written about this sign in many of his books. He writes:
"And I also swear by God Almighty that I am the Promised Messiah and I am the same person who was promised by the Prophets. There is news about me and my age in the Torah, the Gospels, and the Holy Qur’an. It is stated that there will be eclipses in the sky and severe plague on the earth." (Da'fiul Bala’, p 18)
"These signs are not unknown and obscure, they have been witnessed by hundreds of thousands of people and I can confidently say that probably hundreds of such witnesses are present in this very meeting (i.e. November 2nd 1904). Signs appeared for me from the heaven and so they did from the earth. The signs which were the conditions precedent to my advent, and which the prophets, including the Holy Prophet(saw), had foretold, appeared in my support. One of them was the eclipse of the sun and the moon which must have been witnessed by everyone. Indeed this was the prophecy recorded in the authentic tradition according to which both the sun and the moon were to be eclipsed during the month of Ramadan, testifying to the coming of the Mahdi and Messiah. Now come and tell me whether this prophecy has been fulfilled or not? Who can deny having witnessed this sign?" (Lecture Ludhiana p. 61; delivered before a large gathering on Nov. 2 1904).
The Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) had announced a very clear and definite sign of the appearance of the Mahdi which was not in the power of anyone to manufacture or improvise. Darqutni, an eminent and recognized authority on Hadith, had recorded that the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:
For our Mahdi there are appointed two signs which have never been manifested for any other claimant since the creation of the Heavens and the earth. They are that at his advent there shall occur an eclipse of the moon on the first of (Its appointed nights), and an eclipse of the sun on the middle one of (Its appointed days) and both will occur in the same month of Ramadan. (Sunan Dar Qutini vol 2, p. 65, Bab Safatus – Salatulkhusuf)
In this Hadith four conditions have been stated, which if fulfilled will become a sign of the truth of the Imam Mahdi.
The eclipses of the moon and the sun occur according to the set laws of nature as related to astronomy. According to these laws, if Hijrah Calendar is used, the dates on which a lunar eclipse can occur are the 13th, 14th or 15th nights of the lunar month. And the dates on which a solar eclipse can occur are the 27th, 28th or 29th of the lunar month. The sign mentioned by the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), therefore, was that the moon would be eclipsed on the 13th night of the lunar month, and the eclipse of the sun would take place on the 28th of the same month, which will be the month of Ramadan. The sign was to appear after and not before the advent of the Mahdi.
Some have objected that the lunar eclipse should have occurred on the first night of Ramadan. They ignore the laws of astronomy and the established movements of celestial bodies. Furthermore, the Arabic word for moon used in the above stated Hadith is Qamar, which is used for the moon on the fourth lunar night and onward; whereas, the moon of the first three nights is called Hilal in Arabic.
The above stated Hadith does not mean to say that the lunar and solar eclipses have never occurred in the month of Ramadan before. In fact, according to astronomers they have occurred many times in the month of Ramadan since the time of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). The crucial point is that there would be a claimant of being Mahdi at that time and he will proclaim this occurrence to be a sign for him. This is exactly what happened.
Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad founded the Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam in 1889, and announced his claim of being the Reformer of the age. Later on, in 1891, under Divine guidance he claimed to be the Promised Messiah mentioned in the prophecies of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), and Jesus in Bible. The sign of eclipses of the moon and the sun in the month of Ramadan was shown in 1894. An eclipse of the moon occurred on Thursday night, the 13 of Ramadan Hijrah, 1311 (21 March, 1894), and the eclipse of the sun occurred on the 28th Ramadan of the same month of Ramadan (6 April, 1894), in exact accord with the prophecy of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad proclaimed the eclipses in Ramadan of 1894 to be a great sign in his favor. There have been many claimants of being Mahdi in Islamic history, but this sign was never shown for any one of them. This sign about the Mahdi is found in the books of Hadith collected by both Shi‘ah and Sunni sects. A great many of Islamic religious books mention this prophecy about the expected Mahdi. (The Promised Messiah and Mahdi, Dr. Aziz Ahmad Chaudhry, pp 77-78)
These eclipses were visible over a large part of Asia including India. The same phenomenon was repeated in the United States of America in 1895.
(The Story of Eclipses, George F. Chambers, p 33, London, 1902)
The sign of the eclipses was beyond the power of any person to show. The Promised Messiah and Mahdi considered this sign of the eclipses to be very significant and said that with this sign, the foundation of the victory of Islam had been laid. He also said that mosques will be built and people will join Islam in hordes. The Promised Messiah and Mahdi has written about this sign in many of his books. He writes:
"And I also swear by God Almighty that I am the Promised Messiah and I am the same person who was promised by the Prophets. There is news about me and my age in the Torah, the Gospels, and the Holy Qur’an. It is stated that there will be eclipses in the sky and severe plague on the earth." (Da'fiul Bala’, p 18)
"These signs are not unknown and obscure, they have been witnessed by hundreds of thousands of people and I can confidently say that probably hundreds of such witnesses are present in this very meeting (i.e. November 2nd 1904). Signs appeared for me from the heaven and so they did from the earth. The signs which were the conditions precedent to my advent, and which the prophets, including the Holy Prophet(saw), had foretold, appeared in my support. One of them was the eclipse of the sun and the moon which must have been witnessed by everyone. Indeed this was the prophecy recorded in the authentic tradition according to which both the sun and the moon were to be eclipsed during the month of Ramadan, testifying to the coming of the Mahdi and Messiah. Now come and tell me whether this prophecy has been fulfilled or not? Who can deny having witnessed this sign?" (Lecture Ludhiana p. 61; delivered before a large gathering on Nov. 2 1904).
Saturday 26 May 2012
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