Brief Overview of Ayk Ghalati ka Izala (Correction of An Error)

[ BACK ] On November 5th, 1901 Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad published a three page pamphlet titled Ayk Ghalati Ka Izala ("Correction of an error"). The reason for its publication was that someone from his followers, while explaining the beliefs of Mirza sahib to an outsider had denied that the words nabi (prophet) and rasul (messenger) existed in his revelations. This was an error, as the words did exist in abundance. Instead the correct position was that these words indeed existed in Mirza sahib's revelation, but as he himself had explained, they were to be taken in the sense of fana-fir-rasul or under the sufi concepts of Barooz and Zill.

The pamphlet begins as follows:

"Some people in our Movement who are not well-acquainted with my claim and the arguments relating to it --- not having had the occasion to study my books carefully, nor having stayed in my company for a sufficient length of time to complete their knowledge --- in some instances in response to an objection of the opponents give a reply which is entirely against facts. So, despite being on the side of truth, they have to face embarrassment.

Thus it happened a few days ago that a person faced from an opponent the objection that "the man whose pledge you have taken claims to be a prophet (nabi) and a messenger (rasul)". This was answered by only a denial, while such an answer is not correct. The fact is that the holy revelation of God Almighty which descends upon me contains words such as rasul, mursal and nabi, not once but hundreds of times. So how can the reply be correct that such words are not present?

The following points should be noted:

  1. The title of the pamphlet Correction of an Error referred to an error on the part of one of Mirza sahib’s followers (who had not only denied their existence, but also denied the terms’ applicability in any way to Mirza sahib instead of denying their application to him in a full, theological sense), and not an error on the part of Hazrat Mirza himself, as the Qadiani interpretation of this work (namely, that Ayk Ghalati ka Izala represents a "turning point" in Mirza sahib’s teachings, a point where he recanted his many previous denials of laying claim to prophethood) necessarily implies.

  2. Hazrat Mirza makes it clear that the follower in question made this error because he had neither studied Mirza sahib’s previous writings nor spent adequate time reflecting on his teachings.

  3. No new claim is presented here by Mirza sahib. (To the contrary, he emphasizes the pamplet’s continuity with his previous works.)

  4. The words nabi and rasul were indeed present in Hazrat Mirza’s writings and claims, so it is an error to deny their existence or deny that they have any relevance to Hazrat Mirza.

When Mirza Sahib summarizes his claims at the end, he writes the following:

"Now by all of this writing, I mean to say that ignorant opponents accuse me of claiming to be a prophet and messenger. I make no such claim. I am neither a prophet nor a messenger in the sense which they have in mind. However, I am a prophet and a messenger in the sense which I have just explained. Hence the person who maliciously accuses me of claiming prophethood and messengership is a liar and evil-minded."

And the limited sense in which Mirza Sahib used the words nabi and rasul in his revelations is made clear in the last few lines:

"It is the form of burooz which has made me a prophet and a messenger, and it is on this basis that God has called me nabi and rasul again and again, but in the sense of burooz. My own self does not come into it, but that of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and the blessings of God be upon him. It was on this account that I was called "Muhammad" and "Ahmad". So prophethood and messengership did not go to another person. What belonged to Muhammad remained with Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him."

Throughout the rest of the pamphlet Mirza Sahib elaborates on the sufi concepts of Barooz, Zill and Fana-fir-rasul. He points out that when a wali (saint) passes through different stages of spiritual perfection and achieves the highest level of becoming a Siddiq (truthful one), he is considered to partake of the spirituality of the prophet Mohammad (pbuh) with such intensely that he said to become Fana-fir-rusul ("annihilated in [the being of] the Prophet, pbuh"). His being becomes a perfect reflection of the prophet Mohammad (pbuh), a state described in sufism by the term Zill ("reflection of the Prophet, pbuh"). Another sufi term for this state of affinity with the Prophet is Barooz ("manifestation of the Prophet, pbuh"). At this point, the wali is spiritually named "Mohammad" and "Ahmad" by Allah (swt).

That is why Allah refers to the wali as nabi and rasul in His revelations to him.

The words nabi and rasul, in his case, are to be taken in their literal sense of denoting someone who receives news of the unseen from God, and a messenger or person sent, respectively.

Therefore, it is both a mistake to deny the existence of these words in Mirza Ghulam Ahmad's writings and to take them in the full theological sense. They are to be understood in the light of the sufi concepts of Burooz, Fana-fir-rasul and Zill.