Al-Risala (English), Jan-Feb 2002

Another example is that of the India-born Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani (d. 1908), regarded by some as a prophet. But, according to the historically established record, this attribution has no sanction in the works of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani. Therefore, he cannot be included in the list of prophets for he never pronounced himself to be a Prophet of God. On the contrary, what he claimed was that he was a shadow of the Prophet Muhammad. He never projected himself as an independent Prophet. He thus left it entirely to the Prophet Muhammad either to validate or nullify his position in terms of prophethood. As mentioned above, the Prophet Muhammad declared that after him no prophet or messenger would come until Doomsday. This means that after him, neither a dependent nor an independent Prophet was to come to the world. The truth is that to say: “I am a Prophet,” is more difficult than putting a mountain on one’s head. Such words can be uttered either by one who is a Prophet of God in the real sense or by one who is insane. No third person can let this claim fall from his lips. I have had two personal experiences in this regard; one pertains to Guru Gurbachan Singh (d.1980) and the other to Sree Karunakara Guru of Shantigiri, Trivandrum (d. May 6, 1999). The devotees of both holy men told me that their respective gurus were Prophets of God. I said that it was the guru who had the knowledge of being a Prophet of God, and not his devotees. Therefore, the question of considering such a claim seriously arose only when the concerned person uttered these words: “I am God’s Prophet.” So long as these words were not spoken by the concerned person, the case was not worthy of consideration. In the case of Guru Gurbachan Singh of Delhi, chief of the Nirankari mission, some of his devotees visited my office and