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Chapter 75 Verses 7-11
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Chapter 75 Verses 7-11

The Heavenly Sign

Allah States in the Qur’an in regards to a heavenly sign for the latter day Messiah and Mahdi:

يَسْأَلُ أَيَّانَ يَوْمُ الْقِيَامَةِ {7} فَإِذَا بَرِقَ الْبَصَرُ {8}

وَخَسَفَ الْقَمَرُ {9} وَجُمِعَ الشَّمْسُ وَالْقَمَرُ {10} يَقُولُ الْإِنْسَانُ يَوْمَئِذٍ أَيْنَ الْمَفَرُّ {11}

 

“He asks: When will be the day of Resurrection? When the eye is dazzled, And the moon is eclipsed, And the sun and the moon are brought together, On that day man will say, whither to escape?” (Chapter 75 Verses 7-11)

 

This sign is also explained in the ahadith of the Holy Prophet Muhammadsaw. He states:

 

حدثنا أبو سعيد الإصطخري ، ثنا محمد بن عبد الله بن نوفل ، ثنا عبيد بن يعيش، ثنا يونس بن بكير عن عمرو بن شمر عنجابر عن محمد بن علي قال : إن لمهدينا آيتين لم تكونا منذ خلق السماوات والأرض ينكسف القمر لأول ليلة من رمضان وتنكسف الشمس في النصف منه ولم تكونا منذ خلق الله السموات والأرض.

 

For our Mahdi (Spiritual Reformer) there are two Signs which have never occurred before since the creation of the heavens and the earth, namely, the moon will be eclipsed on the first night in Ramadhan (i.e., on the first of the nights on which a lunar eclipse can occur) and the Sun will be eclipsed on the middle day of Ramadhan (i.e., on the middle day on which a solar eclipse can occur) and these Signs have not happened since the creation of the heavens and the earth (Dar Qutni Vol.1, p.188)

 

The first point to keep in mind is that Lunar eclipses only occur on the 13th, 14th and 15th of the month and Solar eclpses occur on the 27th, 28th and 29th. This tells us that accrding to this prophecy the eclipses for the true Mahdi claim would occur on the 13th of Ramadhan (the first day) and the solar eclipse would be on the 28th of Ramadhan (the middle day). It iss clear that eclipses only happen on these dates and this is also the belief of the non Ahmadi Muslims. Imam Ibn Taymiyyarh who is one of the most respected scholars of Islam and known as a Mujadid stated:

 

” Thus Allah has decreed that the sun is eclipsed only in dark nights, and the moon is eclipsed only in moonlight nights. These are the nights when the moon is full, and during whi ch days the keeping of optional fasts is preferable. These nights are the thirteenth, fourteenth and fourteenth. Hence, the moon is eclipsed only on these nights.” (Fatawa Sheikh ul Ilam, Taqi ud Din, Chapter Khasuf ul Qamar, Volume 1)

 

Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas stated:

 

” The correct interpretation and the true and correct meaning [of the hadith] is that ‘the moon would be eclipsed on the first night in the month of Ramadan’ means that it will be eclipsed on the first of the three nights in which it is full, as you well-know the expression ayyam-e-bid [white days]…. Also, the meaning of his words that ‘the sun would be eclipsed on the middle [day]’ is that the solar eclipse would occur in a manner that it would split in the middle the days on which an eclipse takes place. …I have not said this on my own; rather, it is a revelation from the Lord of the worlds.” (Nurul Haqq, Part 2, Pages 13-15, Ruhani Khazain, Volume 8, Pages 201,204,210)

 

This is also supported by the Arabic lexicons which show us that the moon is never called Qamar on the first day, rather a newly born moon is called a Hilal. In Lisanul Arab it is stated:

 

“For the first two days of the month, the moon is called a Hilal. Al-Jauhari states that “A Qamar refers to the moon after the second night to the end of the month.”Similarly, Ibn Saiyyidah states “On the third night of the month, the moon becomes a Qamar”

 

Aqrabul Mawarid and Munjud, two other famous dictionaries of Arabic further support this by stating “A Qamar refers to the moon after the third night until the end of the month. Prior to this period the moon is referred to as a Hilal”

 

The Promised Messiahas claimed that he is indeed the Imam Mahdi, and in support of his claim, Allah showed these signs which the ummah was waiting for. The lunar eclipse occurred on March 21st 1894, which is the 13th of Ramadhan 1311 Hijri, while the solar eclipse occured on Friday April the 6th in 1894 which is the 28th of Ramadhan. Ahmadas included these heavenly signs and spoke about them much before they occured. Sadly, like all other signs of prophets, this sign came accross allegatins as well.

 

The first allegation of the non Ahmadi Muslims is that this sign is not authentic. Firstly, we have already shown that this sign is also supported by the Qur’an. How can a sincere Muslim then have any doubts remaining? The eclipses are a sign of resurrection and are also referring to the eclipses for the Mahdi. When a prophecy is fulfilled and is attributed to the Holy Prophetsaw, the authenticity itself becomes clear is it is supporting our Master Muhamamdsaw. Firstly Ahmadas states:

 

“If anyone from among the great Muhaddithin have declared this Hadith to be Mawdhu then present an action or statement of any Muhaddith who has written that this Hadith is Mawdhu‘. If then you are able to prove this Hadith to be Mawdhu‘ from any book of an illustrious Muhaddith then we shall immediately present to such a person a reward of 100 Rupees.” (Tohfah-e-Golarviyyah, Ruhani Khazain, Volume 17, pp. 133-134)

 

Now a hadith which is narrated by Imam Baqir cannot simply be called unauthentic for no reason. In regards to his status, it is written by Shah Abdul Aziz Muhaddith of Delhi:

 

“Imam  Dar  Qutni  once  said,  ‘O residents  of  Baghdad!  Do  not

 

think that anyone possesses the power to attribute a fabrication to the Holy  Prophet (sa) while I live.” (Nukhubatul-Fikr, Page 56 footnote)

 

Furthermore, this hadith is narrated in both the Sunni and Shia books. In Kitabus-Safi it is written:

 

“It is written in Kitabul-Ghaibah that the sun and moon would be brought together. Imam Qa’im was asked as to when this sign would occur? He responded that when a hindrance would be set up between you and the Ka’bah i.e, when you are stopped from going to the Ka’bah the sun and moon woul be gathered. The constellations and stars would begin to circle the moon” (Kitabus Safi Fi Tafsirul Qur’an by Imam Kashani, Manshuratul Maktabatil Islamiyya, Tehran, Volume 2, page 765)

 

Now what is also amazing is that in this saying, the Imam has written that this would occur when people are stopped from going to the Ka’bah which was another sign of the Messiah which was fulfilled. This will further be talked about in the section “Truthfulness from Ahadith”.

 

Furthermore, in a Shia book of Ahadith it is written:

 

“It is narrated by Abu Ja’far that at the time of the avent of the Mahdi, two signs would be manifested. The lunar eclipse would occur on the 5th and the solar eclipse on the 15th; and since the time Adamas was commissioned, this sign has never been manifested”(Ikmalud-Din Wa Itmamun-Ni’mah, By Muhammad bin Ali Bin Al Hussain)

 

If this hadith was unauthentic why were the Sunni scholars waiting for this sign for hundreds of years? Here are some statements of Sunni scholars in regards to this heavenly sign:

 

Imam Qurtubi Stated:

 

أخرج نعيم (642) عن شريك أنه قال:(( بلغني أنه قبل خروج المهدي تنكسف الشمس في شهر رمضان مرتين ))

 

“There will be two solar eclipses in Ramadan before the Mahdi’s advent.”  (Imam Qurtubi’s book Mukhtasar Tazkirah , p. 440)

 

Ahmadas states in regards to this hadith:

 

“As stated in another Hadith, this eclipse occurred twice in Ramazan first in this country and then in America, and on both occasion it occurred on the same date. Since at the time of the eclipse there was no claimant on earth of Mahdi (Reformer of the Time) and since nobody else declared this eclipse as his sign and published hundreds of pamphlets and books in Urdu, Persian and Arabic, this heavenly sign is for me. Another proof of this is the fact twelve years before this sign occurred, Almighty God had informed me that such a sign would occur and this news which is stated in Braheen-e-Ahmadiyya was announced to hundreds of thousands of people before the sign was manifested.” (Haqiqatul Wahi p. 195)

 

According to this hadith, in the year of 1895, the lunar and solar eclipses occurred again on the 11th of March and on the 26th of March. These occurred in the West and further proved the truthfulness of Ahmadas. Here are more statements of some scholars:

 

Ibn Hajar al-Haithami stated: “There are two signs for the Mahdi… The first one is the lunar eclipse on the first night of Ramadan, and the second is the solar eclipse in the middle of this month.”  (Ibn Hajar al-Haithami’s book Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar fi `Alamat al-Mahdi al-Muntazar, p. 47)

 

Muhammad Al Barzanji stated: “Lunar eclipse will occur in the first night of the Ramadan. In the middle of the Ramadan, solar eclipse will occur.” (Muhammad Al-Barzanji, Al-Isha’ah li Ashrat AsSa’ah, p. 199)

 

Imam Rabbani “During his reign, on the 14th of the Ramadan, solar eclipse will occur. On the 1st of that month, moon will darken…”  (Imam Rabbani, Letters of Rabbani, 380; Letters of Rabbani, 2-1163)

 

Ali Bin Abdullah Bin Abbas stated:
حدثنا ابن المبارك وابن ثور وعبد الرزاق

عن معمر عن ابن طاووس
عن علي بن عبد الله بن عباس قال لا يخرج المهدي حتى تطلع الشمس آية

 

“The Mahdi will not emerge until the Sun rises as a sign (or unless a sign emerges from the Sun).” (Al-Baihaqi, Al-Haakim, Al-Harbi, As Suyuti, Nuaim bin Hammad’s Kitab Al-Fitan, Ibn Hajar al-Haithami’s book Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar fi `Alamat al-Mahdi al-Muntazar, p. 47, Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi’s book Al-Burhan fi Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir al-Zaman, p. 33 ).

 

Another allegation raised is that these eclipses have occurred before in Ramadhan as well. Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas answers this beautifully. He states:

 

” We are not concerned with how often solar and lunar eclipses have occurred in the month of Ramadhan from the beginning of the world till today. Our aim is only to mention that from the time man has appeared in this world, solar and lunar eclipses have occurred as Signs only in my age for me. Prior to me, no one had this circumstance that on the one hand he claimed to be Mahdi Mauood (Promised Reformer) and on the other, in the month of Ramadhan, on the appointed dates, lunar and solar eclipses occurred and he declared the eclipses as signs in his favor. The Hadees of Darqutani does not say at all that solar and lunar eclipses did not occur ever before, but it does clearly say that such eclipses never occurred earlier as Signs, because the word ‘Takoona’ is used which denotes feminine gender; this implies that such a Sign was never manifested before. If it was meant that such eclipses never occurred before, ‘Yakoona’ which denotes masculine gender was needed and not ‘Takoona’ which denotes feminine gender.

 

It is clear from this that the reference is to the two signs because signs are feminine gender. Hence if anybody thinks that lunar and solar eclipses have occurred many times before, it is his responsibility to show the claimant to Mahdi who declared the solar and lunar eclipses as his signs and this proof should be certain and conclusive and this can only happen if a book of the claimant is produced who claimed to be Mahdi Mauood and had written that the lunar and solar eclipses which occurred in Ramadhan on the dates specified in Darqutani are the Signs of his truth. In short, we are not concerned with the mere occurrence of solar and lunar eclipses even if they had occured thousands of times. As a sign this has happened at the time of a claimant only once and the Hadees has proved its authenticity and truth through its fulfillment at the time of the claimant to Mahdi.” (Chashma-e-Marifat, Roohani Khazain, Vol.23, pp. 329 – 330)

 

Heas also states:

 

” That Hadith is quite correct and is recorded not only in Dar Qutani but also in other books of Hadith of both Shia and Sunni sects. Furthermore, this principle has been accepted by the scholars of Hadith that if a prophecy of any Hadith has been fulfilled, then even if, for the sake of argument, that Hadith was earlier considered as false, the Hadith will be regarded as true after the prophecy has been fulfilled because God has borne witness to its truth since except God nobody has power over the unknown. The Holy Quran says: i.e. only the Messengers of Allah can narrate the unseen in a perfect way; others cannot be of this rank. Here Messengers include Rasool Nabi, Muhaddath and Mujaddid.” (Aiyamus Suleh, Roohani Khazain Vol.14 p. 419).

 

Heas also states:

 

I swear by God in Whose Hand is my life that He has manifested this Sign in the sky to testify my truthfulness, and He manifested it at a time when the Maulvis (theologians) named me Dajjal (Anti-Christ), the biggest liar, infidel and even the biggest infidel. This is the same Sign regarding which twenty years ago I was promised in Braheen-e-Ahmadiyya, namely, Tell them I have with me testimony from Allah, will you believe it or not? Tell them I have with me testimony from Allah, will you accept it or not? It should be remembered that although there are many proofs from Almighty God for vindicating my truthfulness and more than a hundred prophecies that have been fulfilled to which hundreds of thousands of people are witnesses, but in this revelation, this prophecy has been mentioned specifically, i.e. I have been given such a Sign which was not given to anybody else from the time of Adam to the present time. In short, I can stand in the sacred precincts of the Ka’aba and swear that this Sign is to testifying to my truth.”(Tohfa-e-Golarviyya; Roohani Khazain, Vol.17, p.143)

 

After these eclipses occurred, Ahmadas stated:

 

“O servants of God, ponder and think. Do you consider it permissible that the Mahdi should be born in the countries of Arabia and Syria and his Sign should be manifested in our country; and you know that the wisdom of God does not separate the sign from the person for whom the sign is meant. Then how could it be possible that the Mahdi should be in the East but his sign should be in the West. And this should be sufficient for you if you are really seekers after truth.”(Noorul Haq, Part-II)

 

Here is an image from the official astrology website in regards to these eclipses:

ECLIPSES-FOR-PROMISED-MESSIAHAS