Allegation that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad claimed Divinity

An accusation against the Promised Messiah may peace be upon him is that he claimed to be God.  For example:-

Argument:

claimed-Divinity

I (Mirza) saw in a dream that I am God. I have believed that I am God.
Roohani Khazain Page 564, Vol. 5

Rebuttal:

The Promised Messiah may peace be upon him has mentioned this in his book A’inah-e-Kamalat-e-Islam pg 566, where he states “I saw in my sleep as if I am God.”  The Promised Messiah may peace be upon him then continues to explain the interpretation of this vision, he says:-

I do not understand this dream to infer that I myself have become God in the manner of Wahdatul-Wujud (i.e., Pantheism, which suggests that everything is God). Nor do I believe as the Hululiyyin as if Allah has become absorbed into my physical person. Rather, this vision alludes to the very same concept which is described in the famous Hadith in Bukhari, regarding the nearness a person acquires to his Lord through voluntary worship.
A’inah-e-Kamalat-e-Islam pg 566, Roohani Khazain Vol 5, pg 566

The famous hadith of Bukhari being refer to here is:-

Abu Hurairah may Allah be pleased with him relates that the Holy Prophet may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him said: Allah says: “Whoever is at enmity with one whom I befriend should beware of having to do battle with Me.  When a servant of Mine seeks to approach Me through that which I like best out of what I have made obligatory upon him, and continues to advance towards Me by dint of voluntary effort beyond that prescribed, then I begin to love him. When I love him I become his ears by which he hears, and his eyes with which he sees, and his hands with which he grasps, and his feet with which he walks.  When he asks Me, I bestow upon him and when he seeks My protection, I protect him.” 
Bukhari – Vol. VIII, Book of Ar-Riqa’iq (softening of hearts) Ch. 38, No.509, page 336

Of course this hadith doesn’t literally mean that such a person becomes God; what it means is that when a servant of Allah develops such a love and closeness to Allah, then that servant kills his own ego and desires and instead strives to please Allah.  So that whatever he does or says, is done only to win the pleasure of Allah.  Such a true servant of Allah becomes so close to Allah, that it is as if he has become completely absorbed into the Being of Allah, so that due to the immense love he has for His Maker, that they become like one and the same thing.

This is the same concept that was understood by the famous Sufi, Mansur Al-Hallaj when he stated “Anal-Haqq, Anal-Haqq”  meaning, ‘I am the Truth, I am the Truth’ (Al-Haqq is an attribute of Allah, therefore people understood this to mean ‘I am God’).  Sadly the people in his time misunderstood what he was trying to say and felt that he was saying he was actually God and so they martyred him for saying this.

In the Ta’tirul-An’am, a famous book on the interpretation of dreams, it is written:

Anyone who sees in a dream that he has become God, the Glorious and Exalted, this is an indication that he would be rightly guided to the straight path.

Therefore we understand that this was only a dream and a vision and relates to the close love and relationship Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad may peace be upon him had with Allah and not that he felt he was really God.

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