Signature of God

Signature of God

This is yet another baseless allegation. We will firstly look at the entire vision in context, in the words of Ahmad^as himself. He states:

“I remember that on one occasion I saw in a state of vision that I had written certain divine decrees with my own hand setting out events in the future and then presented the paper to Allah the All-Powerful, Gloried be His name, for His signature. (It should be remembered that it often happens in visions and divinely inspired dreams that some divines attribute of Beauty or Majesty are beheld by the recipient of the vision in the form of a human being and the person seeing the vision thinks, by way of symbolism, that he is actually beholding God, the Absolutely All-Powerful. Among those with experience of spiritual visions, this matter is well-recorded, known, and accepted as an established fact. It cannot be denied by anyone with experience of visions.) To the same Peerless and Self-Sufficient Being—Who manifested His attribute of Beauty to my mind in the state of vision and appeared to be God, the All-Powerful—I presented the document containing divine decrees for attestation. And He, Who was manifesting Himself in the form of a Ruler, dipped His pen in red ink and first flicked it in my direction and with the rest of the red ink which remained at the point of the pen He put His signature( As this Sign was shown in view of the opposition of Aryas, I consider that it presaged the assassination of Pandit Lekhram and it also had reference to the plague. [Nasim-e-Da‘wat, p. 62 footnote, Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 19, p. 427] )to the document. Thereupon, the state of vision came to an end and when I opened my eyes to look at the material world around me, I witnessed several red drops falling on my clothes. Two or three of the drops also fell on the cap of one ‘Abdullah of Sannour (Patiala State) who was at the time sitting close to me. Thus, the red ink which was part of the vision materialized externally and became visible. Many other such manifestations have been witnessed which it would take too long to relate. “(Surmah Chashm-e-Aryah, pp. 131–132 footnote, Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 2, pp. 179–180 footnote )

Firstly this was a vision and a beautiful one. We have already explained in depth throughout this book that visions are not to be taken literally according to the Qur’an, Ahadith and the great saints and scholars of Islam. In regards to this vision, there is also a note which is as follows:

Note by Hadrat Mirza Bashir Ahmad^ra: Maulavi ‘Abdullah of Sannour^ra had the following statement published in al-Fadl, volume 4, number 24, September 26, 1916 by way of attestation of this event: It was the month of Ramadan on the 27th day of which was Friday. I had the honour of being in attendance upon the blessed presence. After offering the Fajr Prayer, the Promised Messiah[as], as was his wont, retired into the chamber (i.e., the small room to the east of Masjid Mubarak) and lay down on a cot. Sitting near him, my humble self started massaging his feet as usual. This continued till the sun came out and the chamber was lit up. The Promised Messiah(as) was lying on his side and his forearm covered his face. I was thinking with great joy how fortunate I was and what a blessed opportunity had been afforded to me by Allah, the Holy and High, that it was the blessed month of Ramadan and it was the blessed 27th day, the blessed period of the last ten days [of Ramadan], a blessed Friday and I was in the company of the blessed personage. I thought to myself how many blessings combined for me that day; it would not be strange if God Almighty were to show me some Sign of the Promised Messiah(as). I was deep in these delightful thoughts as I was massaging his foot near the ankle when suddenly I perceived a slight trembling of his body, whereupon he removed his forearm from his face and looked at me. His eyes were wet and were possibly running with tears. He covered up his face again and continued in that posture. When I looked at his ankle I noticed a red drop which was round and had not spread out. I put the tip of my forefinger on the drop and it spread out and it coloured my finger also. I was surprised and the verse passed through my mind:

صِبْغَةَ اللَّهِ ۖ وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ مِنَ اللَّهِ صِبْغَةً ۖ وَنَحْنُ لَهُ عَابِدُونَ {2:139}

(Arabic: [The colouring of Allah and who is better than Allah in the matter of colouring.)

Then I thought that if this was Allah’s colouring may be it had a fragrance. I smelt my finger but there was no fragrance. Then I started massaging his back and observed a few wet red stains on his shirt which made me wonder, and I got up and examined the whole chamber but did not find any red stain anywhere else. I was very puzzled, and resumed massaging his feet. The Promised Messiah(as) continued lying down with his face covered with his forearm. In a short while he sat up and then went to the mosque and sat there. My humble self continued massaging his back. It was then that I asked him: ‘Hudur, where did these red drops fall from?’ At first, he put me off; but on my persisting he related the whole incident as he has set out in detail in his books. Before describing the incident, he expounded to me in detail the matter of beholding God Almighty and the external materialization of elements observed in a vision. He drew upon the experiences of Hadrat Mohy-ud-din Ibn-e- ‘Arabi to make me fully comprehend how perfect individuals are vouchsafed the experience of the personification of divine attributes of Beauty and Majesty. Then the Promised Messiah^as asked me: ‘Did any drop fall on your clothes?’ I looked at my clothes and answered: ‘There is no drop on me.’

He asked me to look at my cap (which was of white muslin.) I took off my cap and looked at it and saw that there was a drop on it also. I felt very happy that a drop of the divine ink had fallen on me too. I begged the Promised Messiah(as) persistently to bestow upon me the shirt on which the red drops had fallen.. He agreed on the condition that I should give a direction in my will that on my death it should be buried along with me. His hesitation in bestowing it upon me was due to his apprehension that after the death of both of us, people might convert it into an object of worship; and he gave it to me after a good deal of discussion between us. It is still with me and bears the red stains exactly as they were then.This is my true eye-witness testimony! Suffice to say that if I have lied, may I be subject to the warning of: [Curse of Allah be upon the liars.] Taking Allah as Ever-Present, All-Seeing, I declare on oath in the name of Allah that whatever I have stated is the truth in its entirety. If I have forged a lie I call down upon myself the curse! curse!! curse!!! and wrath! wrath!! wrath!!! of Allah. Humbly, ‘Abdullah of Sannour.

What the anti Ahmadis in reality accuse is the fact that Ahmadas saw Allah with human qualities in a vision. Such allegations would never be raised by a sincere person who has, even a little bit of knowledge on the Qur’an and the Ahadith. The reason they are confused on such issues is because they sadly fall into the trap of taking all visions literally. Allah is given human qualities metaphorically in both the Qur’an and the Ahadith. Allah States:

فَلَمْ تَقْتُلُوهُمْ وَلَٰكِنَّ اللَّهَ قَتَلَهُمْ ۚ وَمَا رَمَيْتَ إِذْ رَمَيْتَ وَلَٰكِنَّ اللَّهَ رَمَىٰ ۚ وَلِيُبْلِيَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ مِنْهُ بَلَاءً حَسَنًا ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ {18}

So you killed them not, but it was Allah Who killed them. And thou threwest not when thou didst throw, but it was Allah Who threw, that He might overthrow the disbelievers and that He might confer on the believers a great favour from Himself. Surely, Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.(Chapter 8 Verse 18)

No one takes such statements of the Qur’an to literally mean that Allah Came down to throw the sand and it was not the Holy Prophet^saw in reality who threw it. These are beautiful statements when one tries to understand them.  Firstly the words which state that it was Allah who killed them simply shows that the victory of Badr was all because of the Help of Allah and not because of the effort of the Muslims. The throwing of the pebbles also suggests that the victory came from Allah but the Holy Prophet^saw also had a share in the effort because of his prayers which drew the help of Allah.

Allah also States:

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يُبَايِعُونَكَ إِنَّمَا يُبَايِعُونَ اللَّهَ يَدُ اللَّهِ فَوْقَ أَيْدِيهِمْ ۚ فَمَنْ نَكَثَ فَإِنَّمَا يَنْكُثُ عَلَىٰ نَفْسِهِ ۖ وَمَنْ أَوْفَىٰ بِمَا عَاهَدَ عَلَيْهُ اللَّهَ فَسَيُؤْتِيهِ أَجْرًا عَظِيمًا{11}

Verily, those who swear allegiance to thee indeed swear allegiance to Allah. The hand of Allah is over their hands. So whoever breaks his oath, breaks it to his own loss; and whoever fulfils the covenant that he has made with Allah, He will surely give him a great reward.(Chapter 48 Verse 11)

This statement is also not literal and people do not physically believe that Allah’s hands were over their hands. Rather it is taken metaphorically. In a Hadith Qudsi, it is stated It is narrated:

حَدَّثَنِي مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ حَاتِمِ بْنِ مَيْمُونٍ، حَدَّثَنَا بَهْزٌ، حَدَّثَنَا حَمَّادُ بْنُ سَلَمَةَ، عَنْ ثَابِتٍ، عَنْ أَبِي رَافِعٍ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏ “‏ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ يَقُولُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ يَا ابْنَ آدَمَ مَرِضْتُ فَلَمْ تَعُدْنِي ‏.‏ قَالَ يَا رَبِّ كَيْفَ أَعُودُكَ وَأَنْتَ رَبُّ الْعَالَمِينَ ‏.‏ قَالَ أَمَا عَلِمْتَ أَنَّ عَبْدِي فُلاَنًا مَرِضَ فَلَمْ تَعُدْهُ أَمَا عَلِمْتَ أَنَّكَ لَوْ عُدْتَهُ لَوَجَدْتَنِي عِنْدَهُ يَا ابْنَ آدَمَ اسْتَطْعَمْتُكَ فَلَمْ تُطْعِمْنِي ‏.‏ قَالَ يَا رَبِّ وَكَيْفَ أُطْعِمُكَ وَأَنْتَ رَبُّ الْعَالَمِينَ ‏.‏ قَالَ أَمَا عَلِمْتَ أَنَّهُ اسْتَطْعَمَكَ عَبْدِي فُلاَنٌ فَلَمْ تُطْعِمْهُ أَمَا عَلِمْتَ أَنَّكَ لَوْ أَطْعَمْتَهُ لَوَجَدْتَ ذَلِكَ عِنْدِي يَا ابْنَ آدَمَ اسْتَسْقَيْتُكَ فَلَمْ تَسْقِنِي ‏.‏ قَالَ يَا رَبِّ كَيْفَ أَسْقِيكَ وَأَنْتَ رَبُّ الْعَالَمِينَ قَالَ اسْتَسْقَاكَ عَبْدِي فُلاَنٌ فَلَمْ تَسْقِهِ أَمَا إِنَّكَ لَوْ سَقَيْتَهُ وَجَدْتَ ذَلِكَ عِنْدِي ‏”‏ ‏.

Abu Huraira reported Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) as saying:Verily, Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, would say on the Day of Resurrection: O son of Adam, I was sick but you did not visit Me. He would say: O my Lord; how could I visit Thee whereas Thou art the Lord of the worlds? Thereupon He would say: Didn’t you know that such and such servant of Mine was sick but you did not visit him and were you not aware of this that if you had visited him, you would have found Me by him? O son of Adam, I asked food from you but you did not feed Me. He would say: My Lord, how could I feed Thee whereas Thou art the Lord of the worlds? He said: Didn’t you know that such and such servant of Mine asked food from you but you did not feed him, and were you not aware that if you had fed him you would have found him by My side? (The Lord would again say: ) O son of Adam, I asked drink from you but you did not provide Me. He would say: My Lord, how could I provide Thee whereas Thou art the Lord of the worlds? Thereupon He would say: Such and such of servant of Mine asked you for a drink but you did not provide him, and had you provided him drink you would have found him near Me. (Sahih Muslim, Hadith #2569)

This  vision has to also be interpreted just as the dreams and visions of in the Qur’an, Ahadith and dreams of saints are interpreted. This story is a miracle and a proof of a living God and there is no room for accusations. Allah reveals to his prophets in the same way and there is nothing wrong with attributes metaphorically given to Allah. In the Ahadith He is Given attributes of eating and drinking and in this vision the flicking of a pen. Both are not literal.

Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad^as states:

” The greatest wonder is that sometimes one possessing the capacity for vision, through concentration, appears to another person, with the permission of God Almighty, at a distance of hundreds of miles in a state of complete wakefulness without his body moving from its place. Reason holds that a person cannot be at two places at the same time, yet this impossibility becomes possible in the third world. In the same way, a person of understanding witnesses hundreds of wonders with his own eyes and is surprised at the denial of those who altogether reject the wonders of the third world. I have witnessed the wonders and rare visions of that world with my own eyes approximately five thousand times and have experience of them happening to myself. It would take a large volume to record details of these experiences. One wonderful aspect of these experiences is that some matters which have no external existence come into being through Divine power. The author of Futuhat and Fusus and other great Sufis have recorded a number of their own experiences of this kind in their compilations. But as there is a great difference between hearing and seeing, I could not have obtained that certainty by merely reading these accounts which I have acquired through my own experience. I recall that in a vision I saw that I had drawn up with my own hand certain Divine decrees which related to the future and then presented the paper to God Almighty, the Omnipotent, the Glorious, for His signature. (It should be borne in mind that it often happens in visions and true dreams that some Divine attributes of beauty or glory appear in human form to the person seeing the vision and he imagines the form to be God Almighty. This experience is well known to those who are favoured with visions and cannot be denied).

In short, I presented that book to that personification of beauty, which appeared as God Almighty, the Omnipotent, the Incomparable and the Unfathomable, in the state of my vision. On my presenting that document, God Almighty, Who appeared in the form of a ruler, dipped His pen in red ink and sprinkled it in my direction and with the ink that remained at the point of the pen He signed the document. Thereupon the vision came to an end and when I opened my eyes I saw several drops of red ink fall on my clothes and two or three of them fell on the cap of one ‘Abdullah of Sannaur who was sitting near me at the time. That red ink which was part of the vision became materialized and became visible externally. I have seen several other visions of the type which it would take too long to set down, but whereby my own experience confirmed that sometimes a matter that is observed in a vision assumes external form by the command of Allah. These matters cannot be appreciated through reason alone. Indeed a person who is afflicted with the pride of his reason hears these things and affirms arrogantly that they are impossible and false and that the person who claims to have had such experience is either a liar or is mad or is self-deceived and for lack of proper research, has not been able to penetrate to the reality. Such a one does not reflect that these matters are testified to by thousands of the righteous from their personal experiences, and of which they undertake a demonstration to those who might keep company with them. Can they be set aside with mere verbal denials? The truth of the matter is that, apart from the wonders of the world of vision, reason has not been able to compre hend fully even that which pertains to the world of reason and there are millions of Divine mysteries which are still hidden and beyond the reach of the wise.” (Surmah Chashm Arya, Ruhani Khazain, Volume 2, Pages 175-181, Footnote)

Furthermore in this vision Ahmad^as saw a ruler as God and Ibn Sirin has even narrated:

“Someone asked : “O Messenger of God, can one see his Lord?” He replied “The King represents God, and God is the King in one’s dream”

I will now prove it from the Muslim scholars themselves that it is possible for one to see Allah in a dream and that if one sees Him as a individual it should be interpreted. Firstly the Holy Prophet^saw also saw his Creator in a dream. It is narrated:

Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, ‘My Lord came to me tonight in the most beautiful form.’ I think he said, ‘in a dream. He said, “O Muhammad, do you know what the chiefs on high disputed about?” I said, “No.” He put His hand between my shoulder-blades and I could feel its coolness on my chest (or just beneath my throat), then I knew everything that is in the heavens and on earth. He said, “O Muhammad, do you know what the chiefs on high disputed about?” I said, “Yes.” He said, “About expiation, and expiation is staying in the mosque after prayers, walking to join congregational prayers, and doing wudoo’ properly in adverse conditions. Whoever does that will live a good life and die a good death, and will be as sinless as the day his mother bore him.” He said, “O Muhammad, when you pray, say Allaahumma innee as’aluka fa’l al-khayraat wa tark al-munkaraat wa hubb al-masaakeen, wa idha aradta bi ‘ibaadika fitnatan fa’qbudni ilayka ghayra maftoon (O Allah, I ask you to make me do good deeds and avoid evil deeds, and to make me love the poor and wretched. If You want to test Your slaves, then take me unto You without subjecting me to the trial). One’s status in Paradise may be raised by spreading the greeting of salaam, feeding others, and praying at night when people are sleeping.” (Reported by Imaam Ahmad, 16026; and by al-Tirmidhi, 3159)

Imam Al Taftazani states in his commentary of Imam Nasafi’s al-Aqaid:

” As far as the vision of Allah in sleep is concerned, it is something that has been related from many predecessors (salaf). And there is no doubt that this is a type of observation by the heart rather than the eye.”(Sharh al-Aqa’id al-Nasafiyya, P: 135)

Mullah Ali Qari^rh states in his Sharh Fiqh al Akbar:

“The majority of the scholars are of the view that the vision of Allah Most High in sleep is possible, without any given description of modality (kayfiyya), direction (jiha) or quiddity (hay’a). It is recorded that Imam Abu Hanifa (Allah have mercy on him) said: “I saw Allah Most High 99 times whilst asleep.” Then he saw Him the hundredth time also, the story of which is long and not feasible to be mentioned here. It is recorded that Imam Ahmad (Allah have mercy on him) said: “I saw Allah Most High in a dream, I said: “O Lord! How is it possible to achieve closeness to You?” He replied: “By the recitation of my speech (Qur’an).” I said: “O Lord! Recitation with understanding or (even) without understanding?” He replied: “With or without understanding.” It is also narrated from the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) that he said: “I saw my Lord in my sleep.” Hence, the vision of Allah in sleep is recorded from many predecessors (salaf) and it is a type of observation by the heart observed by noble people…” (Sharh Fiqh al-Akbar, P: 356-357)

Imam al-Daarimi states in his refutation of Bishr Ibn Ghiyaath: “This seeing took place in a dream, and in a dream it is possible to see Allah in any shape or form.” (Page 166)

Imam al-Bajuri stated in his commentary of Jawhara al-Tahid:

” He states that, if one sees Allah in a manner that is not impossible for Allah, then one has surely seen Him. However, if one sees Him in a form that is impossible for Him such as seeing Him in a form of a specific individual, then that is not Allah rather it is the creation of Allah, and the dream will need to be interpreted by those qualified to do so. Some scholars said that even in such a case, one did actually see Allah, but the form seen is not the reality of Allah; rather, it is reflecting the mind of the one having the vision. (Tuhfat al-Murid Sharh Jawhara al-Tawhid, P: 118)

Imam Ibn Sirin States:

“Sayyiduna Daniyal (peace be upon him) relates that if a believer was to see Allah Most High in his dream unequalled and incomparable, as is related in the verses of the Qur’an and in the Hadiths, he will be blessed with the magnificent sight of Allah Most High (in the hereafter) and his needs will also be fulfilled. If an individual was to see a dream in a manner that he was standing before Allah Most High and that He Most High was watching him, then the dream is a sign of his piety and spiritual well-being. He will be chosen for forgiveness, and if he is sinful he will repent.” (Ta’bir al-Ru’ya, P: 67)

Ibn Taymiyya^rh, who is accepted by millions of Muslims as a Mujadid states:

” A believer may see his Lord in a dream, in various forms according to his faith and belief. If his eemaan is correct, he can only see Him in a beautiful form, and if his faith is lacking, this will be reflected in the way he sees Him. Seeing Allah in a dream is not like seeing Him in reality. It may have different interpretations and meanings referring to something in reality.” (al-Fataawa, 3/390)

He also states:

” Whoever sees Allah in a dream sees Him in a form that corresponds to his own state. If he is righteous, he will see Him in a beautiful form, which is why the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) saw him in the most beautiful form.” (al-Fataawa, 5/251)