Seventeenth Argument: Zilli Nabi

[ BACK ] If Hazrat Mirza had indeed claimed to be a prophet, he would not have called himself a zilli nabi (a reflection or shadow of a prophet) because the shadow or reflection is not the actual thing itself. He wrote:

``My prophethood is a reflection of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace and the blessings of God be upon him. It is not actual prophethood.''

(Haqiqat al-Wahy, footnote, p. 150)

``This title [nabi] was bestowed upon me in the sense of reflection (zill), not in the real sense.''

(Chashma-I Ma`rifa, footnote, p. 324)

``Remember well that the fruits of perfect obedience [to the Holy Prophet] are never wasted. This is an issue of Tasawwuf. If the rank of zill had not existed, the saints of the Muslim nation would have died. It was exactly this perfect obedience, and the rank of burooz and zill [becoming a reflection or image of the Holy Prophet], due to which Bayazid [famous Muslim saint, d. 874 C.E.] was called `Muhammad'. Upon his so saying, the verdict of heresy was pronounced against him seventy times over, and he was exiled from the city. In brief, the people who oppose us are unaware of these facts.''

(Badr, 27 October 1905)

``The shadow itself has no independent existence, nor does it possess any quality in a real sense. Whatever is in it, is only an image of the original person that is being manifested through it.''

(Barahin Ahmadiyya, Part I, p. 243)

``It is just as when you see yourself in the mirror, you do not become two, but remain only one, though there appear to be two. The only difference is that between the real thing and the image.''

(Kishti Nuh, p. 15)

``Sainthood (wilayat) is the perfect reflection (zill) of prophethood (nubuwwat).''

(Hujjat-Ullah, p. 24)

``The prophet (nabi) is like the real object, while the saint (wali) is like the reflection (zill).''

(Lujjat an-Nur, p. 38)