As Ahmadi Muslims, one argument that we can present very forcefully is that of the Quran itself. This is a book that is the Word of God and has a challenge for anyone to produce its likeness. The Promised Messiah (as) has elaborated this argument extensively in his book, Baraheen-eAhmadiyya. The fact that no one has ever been able to produce anything like the Quran is a remarkable, undeniable proof of the fact that it is indeed the Matchless Wordof God Almighty.
Another argument that we can present is that of the prophecy of Musleh Mau’ud (the promised son of the Promised Messiah (as)) which was fulfilled in the person of Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mehmood Ahmad ra. A common question that atheists often ask when we present prophecies as proof of the existence of God is, “What’s so great about prophecies? There have been people like Nostradamus who also made prophecies. Does that mean he got those prophecies fromGod?”
In order to present this argument for the existence of God based on prophecies, we have to first understand how this argument is formulated. Hazrat Musleh Mau‘ūd (ra) has himself written a book on this topic, Hasti Bari Ta’ala, where he has elaborated many arguments for the existence. There is one argument, however, that Huzoor argues is the best argument.
According to this argument, each attribute of God Almighty is an evidence for His evidence. The way each attribute manifests itself proves His existence. How do we see this manifestation of attributes? The best place to find this manifestation is in the lives of the prophets of God. For our purposes, the attribute that applies is Aalimul Ghaib (Knower of the unseen). According to this attribute, God is a Being who knows everything, including the future. He can let one of His prophets know something about the future that no human can possibly know and this proves His existence. This attribute of God is elucidated in the following verse of the Quran:
[72:27] He is the Knower of the unseen; and He reveals not His secrets to any one,
[72:28] Except to him whom He chooses, namely a Messenger of His. And then He causes an escort of guarding angels to go before himand behind him.
What this means is that the Prophets are given knowledge that is coming from Allah and that is about the future. To put this in perspective, even to predict tomorrow’s weather conditions with all the technology at our disposal today is not easy to do. How often do such predications about the weather go wrong, even nowadays?
Comparatively, we have the Holy Prophet (sa) telling us 1500 years ago that in the latter days, there will be a Promised Messiah (as), and he will get married and he will have a son. It is impossible to think that a human being could say this about anything that far into the future? This is not the prediction of a man. It is the prediction of the Aalimul Ghaib, God Almighty!
The Promised Messiah (sa) says: “God, the Exalted, does not reveal clear and unambiguous matters of the unseen on anyone other than His Prophets. And it is clear that publication of a prophecy with full explanation, along with the claim, and then its complete, vivid fulfillment as described – what other feature can a bright Sign have?”
When we look at the Musleh Mau‘ud prophecy in detail, we discover that the very purpose of this prophecy is to prove the existence of God, as it is stated within the prophecy:
I do just what I like, so that they are convinced I am with you, and to those who do not yield faith to the existence of God, those who deny God, and deny the Deen of God, deny His Book, His pure apostle, Mohammad Mustafasa, they see with the eyes of denial and falsification, they should get a clear sign and the path of the guilty one should become manifest. Therefore, rejoice that an impressive and imposing, and pure boy shall be given to you.
Hence, it is this manifestation, or, in other words, this display of the knowledge of God, which is beyond human powers. It is this demonstration of the Power of God to do what He says, that is not possible for a man to do. This, in fact, proves to us that God exists without a doubt!
As humans, it is impossible for us to even predict whether we can have one child. The prophecy of Musleh Mau’ud does not just predict the birth of a child. Instead, it predicts the birth of a child with 52 qualities! This is not the work of a human! This is the work of the Aalimul Ghaib – The Knower of the Unseen – God Al-Mighty!
By Murabbi Farhan Iqbal
