Sunday, June 19, 2011

In Defence of Hadhrat Khalifa Sani (ra)- III


Abdul Ghaffar Janbah Sahib of Germany, the man who claims to be the Mujaddid of the Fifteenth Century and the Imam of the Age, has a disciple by the name of Mansoor Ahmed Sahib.  In a recent article, the latter has responded to the first part of my essay In Defence of Hadhrat Khalifa Sani (ra)- I& II, published here at the Sahih Al Islam Blogspot, on May 02- 03, 2011

From the response article [available at their website: www.alghulam.com ], it is absolutely clear:  The entire claim of Janbah Sahib hangs precariously on a string of a feeble, single argument: that Hadhrat Khalifa Sani (ra) completed only 22 years and six months after claiming to be the Musleh Maoud and did not complete 23 years as per the Qur’anic Law on the subject as perceived by him!

The term “satanic theory” was used in my essay to describe Janbah Sahib’s theory to malign the reputation of Hadhrat Khalifa Sani (ra). Now Mansoor Ahmed Sahib has taken righteous indignation at the use of the term “satanic theory”. He seems to think, wrongly in my opinion, that the term “satanic theory” has been used in the essay to describe the very Qur’anic principle in this regard. Willful misrepresentation or deliberate distortion cannot be the objective or the intention of a believer. So, I assume that the writer is under a genuine misconception about the issue. Let me explain it for him.


The description was indeed based on my clear conviction that the attempt to apply the Qur’anic principle regarding the punishment of false claimants of divine revelation in the case of Khalifa Sani is a satanic idea. In the two-part essay, it is precisely this point that I have sought to prove- by looking at the implications of applying the Qur’anic principle’s interpretation given by the Janbah Sahib in the case of Khalifa Sani. And especially the second part of my essay (which is yet to be responded to) seeks to point out that any one who seeks to promote a satanic idea under the guise of this Qur’anic principle will cut a sorry figure at the altar of objective assessment.

I did not and cannot consider for a moment that the Qur’anic prescription of punishment for false claimants of divine revelation is a satanic theory (God Forbid). The Holy Qur’an is the Word of God. Naturally, satanic theories have absolutely no place in it. On the contrary, I firmly believe that the Qur’anic principle is a touchstone to test the fate of all fake claimants of all time and conversely, any attempt to malign the reputation of noble souls through the prism of this Qur’anic principle will come back to haunt the accuser with the charge of being under the influence of satanic inspirations, for the Qur’an will certainly uphold the dignity of the righteous and noble souls.

Based on the writings of Hadhrat Ahmad (as), the writer now insists that a claimant to divine revelation has to complete not just more than twenty years but he has to reach till 23 years just as the Holy Prophet of Islam (sa) did. While agreeing that the Promised Massih (as) had indeed said that more than 20 years is sufficient to close the case against a fake claimant, the writer explains it away by pointing to the number of years Hadhrat Ahmad (as) had completed at that point of time when the statements were made. 

Are you now suggesting that Hadhrat Ahmad (as) used the term “more than 20 years” as merely out of expedient, self-serving considerations and that it has nothing to do with the “actual standard”?  The writer swears by the thoughts of Hadhrat Ahmad (as) on the issue of 23 years. Yet, he conveniently over looks the emphatic declaration of the Promised Massih (as) that Allah never gives respite to the false claimant to divine revelations for a period extending over twenty years.

From now on, every claimant to divine revelations will be a suspect in the eyes of people even if they complete more than twenty years after the advent of revelations in them. This is so because, for the first time after the revelation of the Holy Qur’an, Allah has changed His practice, so argues the new theory. From now onwards, Allah will allow a fake claimant to flourish over two decades with his criminal enterprise, as the new theory would have us believe. According to the new theory, a fake claimant can roam around freely till he reaches the midnight of the last day of 23rd year! Are we to believe that Allah changes His long-established practice for one fake claimant? And that too even when the Holy Qur’an says that we shall never see changes in the enduring practice of Allah?

I for one find much Qur’anic wisdom behind the standard of “more than twenty years” as representing a sufficient period to test the fate of a claimant to divine revelations. More than twenty years clearly means at least 21 years and largely correspond to the length of the Holy Prophet’s prophethood.

It is instructive to note that the Holy Book uses the term “Bidh’a zineen” (30:5, 12:43) on several occasions to refer to a short period of time- between 3 and 9 years. Thus, if we go by the Holy Qur’an, a period of less than 3 years is not worthy of being considered even a short period of time. Even closer to the point, the Holy Qur’an did not consider a period of one year or less as worthy of being projected as determinative.  That is why in Surah Al Fatah, amidst an apparent defeat of the Muslim cause, Allah describes the events as a great victory.

Mansoor Ahmed Sahib points out that the Promised Massih (as) wrote about the period of “more than 20 years” at a time when he has completed 20 years of receiving divine revelations. The underlying principle is discernible: only someone who has completed the standard has the right to call the attention of others towards it.

Unlike the Promised Massih (as), the new claimant of Imam of the Age Janbah Sahib does not consider “more than 20 years” as sufficient to close the case against a false claimant. Even reaching the 23rd year will not be sufficient. Even crossing the half way mark of the 23rd year will not be enough. How can the new claimant to Imam of the Age prescribe these standards that he himself has not completed?