Did Ghulam Ahmad Claim Prophesy (Part 15): No Claim to Original or Actual Prophesy

 ‌بِاسْمِكَ ‌اللَّهُمَّ وَفِي سَبِيلِكَ وَعَلَى مِلَّةِ رَسُولِكَ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ

In my previous article in this series debunking the myth that Mirzā Ghulām Ahmad claimed to be an actual prophet of God, I quoted his statements where he clarified that any indication he might have given of possessing superiority over the Messiah of Nazareth على نبينا وعليه السلام is to be understood as a partial superiority only.

And certainly it is possible that a non-prophet, an Ummatī, have a partial fadīlah (excellence or virtue) over a Prophet. I previously quoted the founder of the Deobandi sect, mawlānā Qāsim Nānawtawī (1832-1880 CE):

انبیاء اپنی امت سے اگر ممتاز ہوتے ہیں تو علوم ہی میں ممتاز ہوتے ہیں۔ باقی رہا عمل، اس میں بسا اوقات بظاہر امتی مساوی ہوجاتے ہیں بلکہ بڑھ جاتے ہیں

Prophets, if they excel their Ummah (nation), then it is in the field of knowledge that they excel. As for good deeds, then sometimes an Ummati, at face value, exceeds (Tahdhīr un-Nās)

However, as pointed out to me by several individuals on both sides of the fence—meaning those who accuse Ghulām Ahmad of having claimed to be an actual prophet, and those who don’t believe he made such a claim, from this latter category is Nāsir Ahmad Sultānī—Ghulām Ahmad later altered his belief and began professing total and absolute superiority over Jesus son of Mary عليهما السلام

The source for this information is what the respected Mirzā wrote in his answer to the first question posed in Haqīqat ul-Wahī.

However, there are two possibilities. If the respected Mirzā meant that he is absolutely superior to Jesus of Nazareth in his personal capacity, then I must respectfully disagree. It should be noted that many other Muslims, notably the Shī’ah, likewise believe that their twelve Imāms, despite being non-prophets, are superior to all of the Prophets of God from Adam till Jesus عليهم السلام

Some of the Rāfidī Shī’ah even have the audacity to proclaim that amīr al-mu’minīn Alī bin Abī Tālib كرم الله وجهه is equal in rank to the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم – and we ought to seek refuge in Allāh from such a damnable heresy, which is a means for Satan to rob a person of his faith completely.

Nevertheless, these controversies on the subject of superiority and inferiority are not from the basic necessities of Islām, they are not from the essential Articles of Faith. Differing over them may at most be a matter of guidance and misguidance, but not a matter of īmān and kufr. Therefore, while it is my solid conviction that even the smallest of the Prophets is totally superior to the greatest and most righteous non-prophet, whether that be sayyidinā Abī Bakr as-Siddīq, or the Imām al-Mahdī رضى الله عنهما, if Mirzā Ghulām Ahmad declared himself fully superior to Jesus Christ عليه السلام that is certainly not kufr, and likewise, it is certainly not a proof that he claimed to be a prophet himself in the true sense.

However, it appears to me that the respected Mirzā actually meant that not in his personal capacity, but in the capacity of being the reflection or mirror image of the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم he is not inferior than Jesus Christ. And this is most likely what he meant, as he stated elsewhere:

میرا نفس درمیان نہیں ہے۔ بلکہ محمد مصطفے صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم ہے

My self doesn’t come in between, rather it is Muhammad Mustafā blessings of Allah and peace be upon him (Rūhānī Khazā’in; v.18 p.216)

In the pages of Haqīqat ul-Wahī in which the respected Mirzā is supposedly clarifying his full superiority over Jesus of Nazareth, he actually, once again, elucidates the fact that he is not making any claim to actual prophesy for himself:

یاد ر ہے کہ بہت سے لوگ میرے دعوے میں نبی کا نام سنکر دھوکہ کھاتے ہیں اور خیال کرتے ہیں کہ گویا میں نے اس نبوّت کا دعوی کیا ہے جو پھلے زمانوں میں براہ راست نبیوں کو ملی ہے لیکن وہ اس خیال میں غلطی پر ہیں میرا ایسا دعوی نہیں ہے بلکہ خدا تعالی کی مصلحت اور حکمت نے آنحضرت صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم کے افاضہ روحانیہ کا کمال ثابت کرنے کے لئے یہ مرتبہ بخشا ہے کہ آپ کے فیض کی برکت سے مجھے نبوت کے مقام تک پہنچایا۔ اس لئے میں صرف نبی نہیں کہلا سکتا بلکہ ایک پہلو سے نبی اور ایک پہلو سے امّتی اور میری نبوت آنحضرت صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم کی ظل ہے نہ کہ اصلی نبوت۔ اسی وجہ سے حدیث اور میرے الہام میں جیسا کہ میرا نام نبی رکھا گیا ایسا ہی میرا نام امتی بھی رکھا ہے تا معلوم ہو کہ ہر ایک کمال مجھ کو آنحضرت صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم کی اتباع اور آپ کے ذریعہ سے ملا ہے۔

Keep in mind, quite a few people are misled when they come across the term ‘Prophet’ with reference to my claim. They think as if I have claimed the kind of Prophethood as was vouchsafed directly to the Prophets of old. But they are wrong in thinking so; I make no such claim. On the contrary, the wisdom and providence of God Almighty has bestowed this status in order to prove the excellence of the spiritual blessings of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, that He took me to the station of Prophethood through the blessings of his (the Holy Prophet’s) grace. Therefore, I cannot be defined only as a Prophet. Rather, I am a Prophet in one respect and an ummati [follower of the Holy Prophet sa] in the other. My Prophethood is a reflection of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and not an independent Prophethood [original prophethood “aslī nubuwwat”]. This is why in the hadith as well as in the revelation vouchsafed to me, I have been named a Prophet, just as I have been named an ummati, so that it may be known that every excellence has been bestowed on me through following the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and through his medium (Haqīqat ul-Wahī; Rūhānī Khazā’in, v.22 p.154, footnote):