Hazrat’s
scholarly eminence
The fame of Hazrat’s debating skills and scholarly eminence
had spread far and wide right from his student days. In course of time,
prominent ulama from all schools of thought testified to Hazrat’s superiority
in these fields, especially after the publication of his books on various
subjects and also during his memorable battle against Qadianism.
The
order and aptness of Hazrat’s questions during the debates often used to
surprise the opponents and leave them at a loss for a convincing reply. On other
hand, his rejoinders to the opponents, and objections used to be instant and
comprehensive. Endowed with extraordinary intelligence, he used to resolve the
most intricate issues without a moment’s deliberation or mental effort. Many
times, he used to fling back at the opponent some aspect of latter’s own
objection with arguments that defied a credible response. Furthermore, his
observations during the debates were an exquisite blend of erudition and
simplicity that made them easily clear to scholars and laymen alike.
In
general, Hazrat spoke in a soft and pleasant manner. His voice was loud and
clear enough to be heard equally clearly by all sections of the audience. Those
present would feel as if under a sweet spell. He spoke in a measured tone,
enabling the audience to understand every word of what he said. Those coming to
him with diverse questions thus would almost invariably return convinced and
re-assured from his presence. A selection of the answers that he gave to the
questions posed to him on certain issues is given below:
Reply
to the objection of an American clergyman
An
American clergyman on a visit to Golra Sharif once raised this objection in
Hazrat’s presence: “The Muslims claim that the Quran contains a reference
to everything in the universe. Yet it makes no reference to Imam Hussain (R.A),
even though it kept being continuously revealed during the first six years of
the Imam’s life. This is a surprising omission, considering the supreme
sacrifice that the Imam offered in the cause of Islam. Hazrat asked the
clergyman to quote any part of the Quran so that his objection could be
responded to. When the latter recited Quran’s opening ayah before reading a
substantive portion of the Quran, Hazrat asked him to stop there. He then drew
the cleric’s attention to the fact that from the point of view of
“Abjad”, the number of the various letters of the words totals to 786. Thereafter, he asked the cleric to note down the number of
Syedna Imam Hussain’s name and related episodes of his life as follows:
=
210
Year
of Birth
= 4
(A.H)
Year
of Martyrdom
=
61 (A.H)
= 261
=
200
Years
of his Martyrdom
=
50 (A.H)
Total
786
Hazrat
thus demonstrated that a reference to Syedna Imam Hussain (R.A), his brother
Syedna Imam Hassan (R.A), the years of their martyrdom etc. appeared in the very
first verse of the Quran.
This
discourse of Hazrat left the American clergyman amazed at the depth and breadth
of the research that Muslim scholars and divine had carried out over the
centuries into various aspects of their Holy book which they staunchly believed
to be the Word of God Himself.
Order
of Caliphate of the Four Righteous Caliphs of Islam
Hazrat
once made the following fine derivation about the sequential order of caliphate
of the four Righteous Caliphs (i.e., Syedna Abubakar, Syedna Umar, Syedna Usman,
Syedna Ali) from the Quranic ayah
Translation:
"Muhammad
(P.B.U.H) is the Messenger of Allah. And 'those with him' are 'hard
against disbelievers' and 'merciful among themselves'. Thou (O Muhammad)
seest them 'bowing and falling prostrate in worship' (XLVIII, 29).
The
words “those with him”, he said, referred to Syedna Abubakar (R.A) “ hard
against disbelievers” to referred to Syedna Umar (R.A), “merciful among
themselves” to Syedna Usman (R.A), and “bowing and falling prostrate” to
Syedna Ali (R.A).
Replies
to objections about the "Bahishti Darwaza" (Door to Paradise)
The
door situated immediately towards the south of Baba Fariduddin Ganjshakar’s
(R.A) grave at Pakpattan Sharif is popularly known as Bahishti Darwaza, i.e., door to
Paradise. The appellation is based on the belief that anyone passing through
this door becomes entitled to enter Paradise after his death. The door is kept
locked throughout the year, and is opened only during the annual Urs of
Hazrat Baba Sahib enabling all visitors to the Urs to earn the privilege to
passing through it.
Hazrat (R.A) used to attend Hazrat Baba Sahib’s Urs almost every year. During his stay
there, non-conformist ulama often asked him about the validity of the
aforesaid popular belief concerning the door in question. Hazrat used to respond
to the question in different ways, each time on a convincing but original basis.
On one such occasion, he referred to an authentic saying of Hazrat Nizamuddin
Awlia (R.A), chief Khalifa (successor) of Hazrat Baba Sahib, on the subject. Hazrat
Nizamuddin had once stated that he had seen the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H) passing
physically and in person through the said door on the night of Hazrat Baba
Sahib’s Urs, and had also heard him say that “Who ever entered this door
attains peace (which was a characteristic of Paradise)”.
On
another occasion, a Maulvi objected to the visitors to the shrine shouting
“Farid, Farid” along with certain other words including Allah and the
Prophet (P.B.U.H), and asked why they did not confine themselves to say “
Allah, Allah” only. Hazrat invoked the questioner's attention to the Divine
pronouncement in the following Quranic Ayah:
