Slight Stammer

Slight Stammer

Allah States:

مَا يُقَالُ لَكَ إِلَّا مَا قَدْ قِيلَ لِلرُّسُلِ مِنْ قَبْلِكَ ۚ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَذُو مَغْفِرَةٍ وَذُو عِقَابٍ أَلِيمٍ{44}

Nothing is said to thee but what was said to the Messengers before thee. Thy Lord is indeed the Master of forgiveness; and also the Master of painful chastisement.(Chapter 41, Verse 44)

The allegations which the non Ahmadi Muslims raise against the Promised Messiah^as are the same allegations which opponents of other prophets had raised against them. If a Prophet has a slight stammer, how could this possibly be a
threat to Islam? The belief of the anti Ahmadis is inconsistent with this allegation. It is stated about Hadhrat Mosa^as in the Qur’an:

قَالَ رَبِّ إِنِّي أَخَافُ أَنْ يُكَذِّبُونِ {13} وَيَضِيقُ صَدْرِي وَلَا يَنْطَلِقُ لِسَانِي فَأَرْسِلْ إِلَىٰ هَارُونَ {14}

He said, ‘My Lord, I fear that they will treat me as a liar;And my breast is straitened and my tongue is not fluent; therefore, send word to Aaron. (Chapter 26 Verses 13-14)

Allah also States:

وَأَخِي هَارُونُ هُوَ أَفْصَحُ مِنِّي لِسَانًا فَأَرْسِلْهُ مَعِيَ رِدْءًا يُصَدِّقُنِي ۖ إِنِّي أَخَافُ أَنْ يُكَذِّبُونِ{35}

‘And my brother Aaron — he is more eloquent in speech than I; send him therefore with me as a helper that he may bear witness to my truth. I fear that they will accuse me of falsehood.’(Chapter 28 Verse 35)

If stammering was objectionable, then why did Allah the All Mighty, choose the one who stammered and was less eloquent? The Holy Qur’an makes it clear that Prophet Moses^as could not speak eloquently, but despite this he is accepted by Muslims and many others as a Prophet. Nor do the anti Ahmadis or others believe that Moses^as was a grave threat to the religion, because of his stammering. However, when the anti Ahmadis want to mock Hadhrat Ahmad^as, they raise the same allegations which were raised by the Pharaoh. Allah Made it clear that the true Prophets are mocked in the same ways.

In the commentaries of the anti Ahmadis themselves, a lot of tales are written about stammering. In Ruhul Ma’ani, Part 19, Page 65, it is stated:

“Because of the atmosphere of suppression, the Prophet Moses was not able to speak clearly. This is a common experience. For example, when even the most eloquent people are struck with extreme grief, their hearts are overwhelmed, and as a result their speech falters, and they cannot express themselves.”

The lack of eloquence of Hadhrat Mosa^as is also mentioned in Tafsir Jalalain, Tafsir al Khazain, Fath ul Qadir, and many other books of commentary.

There is well documented evidence about well Muslim divines who stammered as well. For example, Hadhrat Bilal^ra, whom Hadhrat Umar^ra called Syeduna Bilal, meaning our Master Bilal. He would say as-hadu al-la ilaha illAllah instead of ash-hadu al-la ilaha illAllah. Despite this, the companions of the Prophet Muhammad^saw used to cry when he would do the adhan, rather than declare him a threat to Islam.

It is also stated that Hadhrat Hussain^ra used to stammer. It is written in Ruhul Ma’ani Part 16, Page 183:

“Hadrat Husain^ra used to stammer. In commenting on this, the Holy Prophet^sa stated that Husain had inherited this stammering from his uncle Prophet Moses^as.”

In Tafsir Ruhul Ma’ani Part 16, Page 183, the following is written about Hadhrat Imam Mahdi:

“It has been stated that the awaited Mahdi would also stammer. And when he will not be able to express himself, he will strike his left thigh with his right hand.”

This was already prophesied in regards to the Mahdi, yet the anti Ahmadis raise allegations.

The Prophet Muhammad (sa) stated:

حَدَّثَنَا الْوَلِيدُ، وَرِشْدِينُ، عَنِ ابْنِ لَهِيعَةَ، عَنْ إِسْرَائِيلَ بْنِ عَبَّادٍ، عَنْ مَيْمُونٍ الْقَدَّاحِ، عَنْ أَبِي الطُّفَيْلِ، رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَصَفَ الْمَهْدِيَّ فَذَكَرَ ثَقُلًا فِي لِسَانِهِ، وَضَرَبَ بِفَخِذِهِ الْيُسْرَى بِيَدِهِ الْيُمْنَى إِذَا أَبْطَأَ عَلَيْهِ الْكَلَامُ،

Regarding the Imam Mahdi, the Prophet Muhammad (sa) prophesied that the Mahdi would have a stammer in his tongue and he would hit his right thigh with his left left and would then continue to speak (Kitabul Fitn, Volume 1 Page 365)

Imam Barzanjee (rh) stated:

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said “He will be slow in speech (with a slight stutter) and when he stutters, he will strike his left thigh with his right hand. . (Muhammad Al-Barzanji in Isha’ah li Ashrat al-Sa’a).

The following is an important incident which took place in the lifetime of Hadhrat Ahmad^as. It involves a young Arab who addressed the Promised Messiah and said:

“You claim that you are eloquent in Arabic but you are unable to pronounce the letters “ain” and “qaaf” like the Arabs and you falter in your speech. These impediments detract from your eloquence.” Witnessing the gross arrogance and the harsh manner of his address Sahibzada Abdul Lateef lost his cool and in this disposition was about to strike the Arab with his fist when the Promised Messiah^as caught hold of his hand, put it on his thigh, and put his own hand over it. Then the Promised Messiah said to the Arab, “My claim concerning eloquence in the Arabic language relates to written Arabic and I do not claim that I can speak like those whose mother tongue is Arabic. I would therefore suggest that you look through some of my Arabic books which you will find in the guest house. Only then will you be able to assess my proficiency in Arabic.” Then he said, “Many earlier sages had foretold that Imam Mahdi would stammer somewhat. Therefore a trace of stammering in my speech is a proof of my truth” (The Afghan Martyrs, By BA Rafiq)

Hadhrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmood Ahmad^ra stated:

“It was foretold that the promised one would suffer from two maladies, one in the upper part of his body and the other in the lower, that the hair of his head would be straight, that he would be wheat-coloured, that he would suffer from a slight stammer in his speech, that he would belong to a family of farmers, that, while talking, he would occasionally strike his hand against his thigh, that he would appear in a village called Kada, and that he would combine in himself the office of the Messiah and the Mahdi. And so it has turned out to be. Ahmad, the Promised Messiahas, suffered from vertigo and diabetes; he had straight hair, was wheat-coloured, and occasionally stammered in his speech. He had the habit of striking his hand against his thigh while giving a discourse, and belonged to a family of landowners.” (Ahmadiyyat or the True Islam, Pages 17-18)

“It had been written that he would be affected by a slight stammer in his speech, and so he was.”(Ahmadiyya Movement, Page 23)