Untitled Document
"Book of the Century": A Critical Review
Tahira Parwez (1998)
‘Book of the Century’ - is the claim made on the cover of Mirza Tahir
Ahmad's book "Revelation, Rationality, Knowledge and Truth". The full
affirmation reads”...most readers will testify
that this will always stand out as a book
among books - perhaps the greatest literary achievement
of this century". This is a serious statement, not only for
its shock-value, but also due to a more fundamental reason. Mirza Tahir Ahmad
is the head of "Ahmadi" Jamat (Quadiani group), which has been declared
non-Muslim by orthodox Muslims. Since the matters discussed in this book are sensitive
to Muslims, it is hoped that such a grandiose statement is made with some degree
of responsibility. If the purpose is to throw another challenge to the Muslim
Ummah, the wisdom of doing so in this manner remains to be seen. Unfortunately,
only a minority of Muslims is likely to come across this book; the rest will ignore
it as Quadiani propaganda to grab the limelight or as another futile attempt to
be taken seriously.
The history of Ahmadiyya Mission informs that it has mastered the technique
of putting forward claims, which no reasonable individual takes seriously. Later
on, these claims are declared "facts" as nobody had contested them
or did it too late. Consequently, they become a part of the Ahmadi folklore
and another prophecy of Mirza Gulam Ahmad Quadiani comes ‘true’.
A series of such fantastic claims by Mirza Gulam Ahmad, and a disjointed initial
response from the Muslim community, allowed the birth of this religion in the
late 19th century. If this book were to meet such a fate, Mirza Tahir's unfortunate
followers may come to see him as an "original" thinker.
My reason to read this book was quite simple: I found the statements on its
cover scandalous. Mirza Tahir also promises ample reward for the readers and
claims that engaging in this " … study will assist him by ushering
him into the majestic presence of his Lord - the Creator, the Master of the
Universe". Sounds familiar? The vocabulary has been borrowed from American
Evangelical scene. I am less certain about its meaning though, since Muslims
believe in the presence of Allah everywhere ("nearer than jugular vein").
The following review is my reward and I am happy to share it with Mirza Tahir
and the readers.
This book is essentially an expanded version of Mirza Tahir's lecture delivered
at the University of Zurich in 1987. Mirza Sahib tries to explain the need for
this book "Many attempts were made during subsequent years to translate
the full Urdu manuscript ... to be exhausted and abandoned ... no single scholar
could translate ... no option but to rewrite in my own hand ...". He goes
on without ever telling us the real reason behind his decision to write this
book. The book has 756 pages, excluding publisher's note, acknowledgements,
and preface. It has been published (in 1998) by Islam International Publications,
based at "Islamabad", Surrey (UK), on an expensive paper using "Times
New Roman" typeface and an unusually large font. Its cover price is set
at £25. The book was launched with some vigour at the annual international
meeting of Ahmadis in the UK this year. Since then, it has received endless
"advertisement" on their Satellite Channel and gatherings around the
globe. It is being marketed as the next big thing to "Brahin-e- Ahmadiyya".
The mission claims to have sold thousands of copies to Ahmadis, mostly to give
away to non-Ahmadi friends, potential converts, and acquaintances. If you are
one of them and have not yet received your copy, just ask or be patient. It
will not surprise me to hear in a few years time that this book has reached
the "best-seller" status.
The book has been "translated" into an exquisite English prose. It
is divided into seven Parts, out of which, perhaps the first two justify this
division. Early chapters deal with the history of the development of Religious
Thought, Philosophy, and ideology of selected Religions. However, these topics
are extensively covered by Muslim and non-Muslim authors alike and Mirza Tahir
is unable to offer any new or evolutionary insight. In subsequent chapters,
the author drifts back and forth among varied topics including Revelation, Cosmology,
Evolution, Unseen, Holocaust, and Aids. There are inconsistent and, sometimes,
no attempts to tie these topics together. This is understandable, considering
the variety of topics covered and lack of competence of the author. The reader
also comes across some quality writing in chapters like "Belief in the
Unseen". It is sad that the book eventually drifts into propaganda, like
"The Plague" and "AIDS" were among the prophecies of Mirza
Gulam Ahmad (and hence a proof of his Prophethood!!!). In some chapters, Mirza
Tahir manages to squeeze in age-old Ahmadi favourites like "Jesus versus
Finality", assuming that Muslims of today hold similar views to their old
illiterate adversaries. A detailed discussion on this book is beyond the scope
of this review and, probably, common sense. I will sample a few more issues
and leave the rest for others.
As the name and contents of this book suggest, it is supposed to deal with complex
issues related to various disciplines, including Religion, Philosophy, Entomology,
and Medical Science. However, Mirza Tahir neglects to mention the potential
readership of this book. Has it been written for scholars, general public, or
Ahmadi faithfuls? As a student of many of the disciplines covered in this book,
I can confidently predict that most secondary school students will find it fairly
basic. This may be disappointing for Mirza Tahir and Ahmadi faithfuls, but we
have no choice except to conclude that the lay public is the likely target of
this book. We are, however, still left to contend with the grandiose claim of
"literary work of the century". Literature, as we know, covers a great
variety of written works valued for its form and style. Here, we will have to
give Mirza Tahir benefit of the doubt. Surely, his book is not being compared
with the works of legends such as Freud, Russell, Sartre, Hardy (or our home
grown talents Iqbal, Ali, Jauhar, or even Akbar Ahmad) or for that matter with
his grandfather’s enigma ‘Brahin-e-Ahmadyyiah’ (last volume
published in 1908) in this century.
The book starts promisingly as Mirza Tahir sets up his stall with a summery
of historical development of religious thought and a brief introduction of the
comparative values of reason, logic, and revelation. However, as soon as he
begins to elaborate on these basic ideas in the subsequent chapters, he loses
direction and eventually the plot. The insertion of a chapter on "Individual
versus Society" seems like a bolt out of the blue. In the following chapters,
the author tries to cover various Islamic Schools of Thought, as well as European
and Greek Philosophies. While covering Islamic thought, Mirza Tahir appears
hollow and unnecessarily cautious. He seems to advocate all sides of the argument,
hence failing to advance his own. He also fails to mention Imam Shafi's contribution
in advancing Islamic Thought, especially when the extremists were sitting in
trenches. He is surprisingly unkind to the Sufis. This is pure desertion as
Mirza Gulam Ahmad and his successors have repeatedly borrowed Sufi concepts
and practices to advance their hidden agenda. Serious readers are recommended
to consult works by Sayyid Nasr and Dr. Wadood to pull themselves out of the
depths of despair.
Mirza Tahir's attempt at discussing philosophy begins with reviews of the great
works of several philosophers (with some patronizing remarks of his own), which
appear to be borrowed from primary level Philosophy encyclopaedias. He seems
hopelessly out of depth when trying to summarize difficult philosophical concepts,
and tie them to the thread of the discussion he has since lost. Armstrong, Asad,
Umberto, and Eaton have written on related issues in recent years: Mirza Tahir
fails to rise to their level. Those who have had the pleasure of reading Ali
Shariati's lectures may feel like being in a torture chamber. It is true that
there is no substitute for proper education.
In the last part of the book, the author repeats the age-old Ahmadi propaganda
for the need of ongoing revelation and hints at its continuity (Mirza Tahir
regularly claims to be "in touch", during his sermons and speeches).
In the process, he attacks Allama Iqbal and Maulana Moududi for having had defective
thinking and views on this issue. He accuses Iqbal of borrowing Nietzsche’s
thought when asserting that revelation stopped with Muhammad (SAW). His main
argument in support of continuation of revelation is the "utter moral destitution
of man today". Maulana Moududi has a large following and one would expect
them to hit back, because he has been bracketed with Bahaullah of Iranian infamy
in this book. Before I defend Iqbal (what an honour!), it is wise to point out
the fallacy in Mirza Tahir’s stance. Arguments similar to his were put
forward by Mirza Gulam Ahmad and his associates to justify his claim to being
a reformer, Mahdi, Messiah, and eventually a Prophet. What improvement did this
alleged prophethood bring to the world? It simply divided the Muslims further;
has been responsible for terrible sufferings, and the world is morally a worse
place than before his claim. Despite what they are being told publicly, unfortunate
Ahmadis have also gone from pillar to post in the last 100 years and will soon
be labelled "wandering Ahmadis" - hence proving that Mirza Gulam Ahmad
was only a "Prophet of destruction and death".
Allama Iqbal, the distinguished Muslim poet and philosopher, was one of the
few who saw through the deception of Mirza Gulam Ahmad and his associates, and
made the Muslim Ummah aware of their threat to Islamic Identity. When most Muslim
scholars considered Ahmadiyya too trivial for attention, it was left to Iqbal
to defend Muslim integrity. While Sir Syed said "Gulam Ahmad's claims are
useless" and Maulana Azad was too busy in his politics, Iqbal perceived
the dangers posed by Quadiani existence as a part of Muslim community. When
Nehru spoke in their favor, Iqbal shredded his arguments with the sword of his
wisdom and Islamic knowledge and demanded a separate religious status for them.
Since that time, Ahmadi leaders have spared no efforts to discredit Iqbal. Where
they failed on the intellectual front, they tried to make up for it in the corridors
of establishment in Pakistan. Gradual disappearance of Iqbalian philosophy from
the Pakistani public life is not without reason.
Mirza Tahir deliberately shies away from the truth, when discussing Iqbal's
views on revelation. Iqbal actually proposed that, by the advent of Prophet
Muhammad (SAW), mankind had achieved a high social and cognitive maturity to
be the recipient of Eternal Truths. Therefore, Allah, in His wisdom, completed
His message in the holy Quran. The Almighty made sure that the holy Quran was
detailed (S.6/1l5), contained Eternal Truths (S.5/48), had no deficiency (S.6/38),
carried formulae to address every problem (S.10/57), and took responsibility
for its protection (S.15/9). With the holy Quran, Allah proclaimed that His
religion has been completed (S.6/116) and will remain valid for all mankind
(S.81/27) for all times. Iqbal stressed that mankind can tackle all its present
and future problems under the guidance of the Quranic revelation; hence, there
is no need for future revelation or new prophets. Mirza Tahir must realize that
reformers do not have to be Prophets. A comparison of Sir Syed and Jamal-Ud-Din
Afghani’s life and works with that of Mirza Gulam Ahmad’s, for instance,
could be a study in enlightenment for Mirza Tahir and his associates.
Mirza Tahir has devoted several chapters to discussions about the nature of
revelation. As expected, he misses the point while trying to explain it absurdly
in the context of paranormal, illusions, hypnotism, hallucination, and dreams.
In all fairness to him, I will not quote sources that may be disagreeable (according
to Mirza Gulam Ahmad "Ahadis are like a Madari's (juggler) patari, and
you can take out whatever you wish") or obscure (physiology of the brain)
to Mirza Tahir. Since the author claims that his belief in the holy Quran is
similar to the rest of the Muslims (although his Mission has shamelessly twisted
and changed its meanings to suit their purposes), let us revisit some Quranic
concepts on the topic. According to the holy Quran, Wahi (revelation) is an
objective knowledge or experience given to Allah's chosen individuals (S.6/l05).
This knowledge is direct (S.83/5) and not acquired (S.53/4). No one is aware
of the exact nature of this experience, except Allah who "reveals it on
the heart of the Nabi (Prophet)" (S.40/15). It is not an illusion, dream,
or interpretation of a prophet, but Allah's own Word (S.9/6, S.2/75). Furthermore,
there is no classification of Wahi in the holy Quran. Age-old Ahmadi propaganda
of lesser Wahi, Ilham, and Kashaf of Mirza Gulam Ahmad are Sufi concepts twisted
and misappropriated to justify his claims. It is interesting to note that Mirza
Tahir has not even mentioned them in this book.
Mirza Tahir Ahmad is neither a scholar nor a philosopher. He lacks the knowledge,
ability, training, or necessary qualifications to undertake a serious task as
writing a book on such complex issues. By his own admission, over 50 people
were involved in researching, printing, and revisions of this book. This is
in addition to those "scholars" and researchers who were involved
in " …things I could not have handled alone". The "translators"
must take genuine credit for making this work readable, notwithstanding, Mirza
Sahib's statement, "....when I critically examined the translation, new
ideas emerged...". I know for certain that most of the topics in this book
have either been part of his Friday sermons or were discussed in his "Question-Answer"
sessions. Thus, special recognition should be given to those unknown volunteers
who work in special research cells/units in "Islamabad" and prepare
topics for Mirza Sahib to look presentable. He might have copied some manuscripts
to delude himself or impress others, but to actually claim that he wrote this
book is simply pathetic. Those who know him could easily attested to this fact.
The effort was still worthwhile because it gave Ahmadi propaganda machinery
around the world a well-deserved rest from the routine. Alas! The reality falls
far short of Mirza Tahir’s dreams. The ongoing curse ("prophecy")
of (religious) intellectual inferiority in "the family" continues.
Despite what the cover of this book has us believe, the real biography of Mirza
Tahir is as follows. According to Ian Adamson ("Man of God"), Mirza
Tahir's ambition in life was to become a medical doctor (now content with his
"world-renowned" Homeopathy practice without qualifications), but
he failed his FSc examination. This was no disgrace as his grandfather, Mirza
Gu1am Ahmad (a junior cleric), had failed departmental examinations three times
before embarking upon his career as a "Prophet". Similarly, Mirza
Tahir's father, Mirza Bashir (2nd head of Ahmadi Jamat), failed his middle school
examination and was always taunted by Maulvi Muhammad Ali (Head of Lahori Ahmadi
Jamat) to that effect. In Mirza Tahir's case, his father relied on his contacts
and was able to arrange for his undeserved admission into SOAS, University of
London. He was obviously not good enough; couldn’t cope, and soon dropped
out. He spent the next few years enjoying western life and the hospitality of
poor Ahmadis, while travelling around Europe. In 1982, with crucial support
from Sir Zafar Ullah, he was "elected" the Head of Ahmadi (Quadiani)
Jamat.
Mirza Tahir's main qualifications are his keen political sense and his contacts
in the right places, including the intelligence services. His "Escape from
Pakistan" and overthrow of the government in Sierra Leon with the help
of MI-6 are two prime examples of his strengths. As a politician, he rightfully
boasts that MTA (Muslim Television Ahmadyyiah) is his biggest achievement. Television
being an effective tool in propaganda and mass control, he is well aware of
what he is talking about. He is described as a keen sportsman. He is, therefore,
advised to refrain from boxing out of his weight. To make sure, I would like
to seek a legal injunction against the publishers of this book, stopping them
from making intellectually insulting claims. Good luck to those who want to
follow suit.
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