Agents of the British
This objection that we are Agents for the British has been partly covered above at the refusal of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad,may peace be upon him, to justify a Jihad against the British. But it is further stated that Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, may peace be upon him, described himself as ‘a tree planted by the British’ and was constantly praising the British, therefore it was really a plan by the British to cause dissension in Islam by promoting Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, may peace be upon him, of being a Prophet. They knew that it would created a ‘hue and cry’ and division in Islam, therefore by creating this sect, they could ‘divide and rule’ the Muslims.
This is of course utter nonsense. Yes it is true that Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, may peace be upon him, did use the expression ‘a tree planted by the British’ but it has been totally used out of context. In fact he was referring to his family with reference to the services rendered by them to the British. It had nothing to do with his own claim of being a Prophet or about his community. Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, may peace be upon him, wrote:
It is not possible to silence those people who seek to cover up the devoted services rendered by my father Mirza Ghulam Murtaza and my brother Mirza Ghulam Qadir, extending over half a century, which are mentioned in Government letters and in Sir Leppel Griffin’s book ‘Chiefs of the Punjab’, and the service rendered in my writings extending over eighteen years and to create a misunderstanding in the minds of the British authorities and to raise a doubt concerning a family that has been loyal to the Government and has wished it well. Some people are determined to convey to the Government false allegations on account of religious differences, or out of jealousy, or spite, or some personal motive. It is requested that the authorities should act with wisdom and caution and after due investigation and attention towards a family whose loyalty and devotion have been well established and concerning whom high officials of Government have always expressed the view in their letters that its members are the well wishers and loyal servants of the British Government and which is a tree planted by itself.
Tabligh Risalat, Vol. VII, pp 19-20
It should be clear from this passage that Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, may peace be upon him, was using this expression ‘a tree planted by the Government’ concerning the services rendered by the members of his family and himself in the past to the British Government that was ruling India at the time. It had nothing to do with his claim to be a Prophet, but due to the mischief of some people who were continuously reporting to the Government that he was a dangerous person and was likely to cause a revolt against them, just as the Sudanese Mahdi had tried.
Maulvi Muhammad Hussain of Batala wrote to the British Government concerning him:
His deception is proved by the fact that in his heart he considers it lawful to put an end to the authority of a non-Muslim government and to plunder its belongings…. Therefore, it would not be proper on the part of the Government to rely on him and it would be necessary to beware of him, otherwise such harm might be suffered at the hands of this Mahdi of Qadian as was experienced at the hands of the Sudanese Mahdi.
Ishaatus Sunnah, Vol VI, 1893
Therefore in order to counter this propaganda, it was necessary to express his loyalty to the British Government. But to say that he was an ‘agent of the British’ is not logical.
Why would an ‘agent of the British’ put forward such arguments that would destroy the foundation of the religion of the British? When Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, may peace be upon him, put forward arguments from the Holy Qur’an and Holy Bible proving that ‘Jesus did not die on the cross’, ‘did not take the sins of man upon him’, and ‘did not set up a new religion of Christianity’, instead he went in search of the ‘lost tribes of the house of Israel’ and eventually ‘died a natural death in Kashmir’, which if true destroys Christianity! As St Paul has said
If the Christ be not risen (from the Dead) then is our preaching vain and your faith also vain
The Holy Bible, I Corinthians 15:14
All of the teachings of Christianity are based on Jesus dying on the Cross. When he apparently did so, then there was‘Atonement and Redemption of the sins’ and ‘Salvation through belief in Jesus’. They have trained a poor agent if that is the case.
What kind of agent would invite the Queen of England to Islam? She was head of the Church and he is stating that their God is dead not resurrected and for her to give up Christianity and accept Islam. Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, may peace be upon him, said:
Honoured Queen and Empress of India, with humble respect we submit that in this time of joy, which is the time of your Diamond Jubilee, you should endeavour… to rescue the honour of Jesus from the stain that has been put upon it.
Tohfa Qaisariyah
Again they have trained a poor agent if that is the case.
Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, may peace be upon him, wrote about this charge of flattering the British:
Some ignorant people have raised the objection, among them the Editor of Al-Manar, that as I live in a country ruled by the British, I, therefore, forbid Jihad. These stupid ones do not consider that if I had wished to please the Government with false declarations, why should I have affirmed repeatedly that Jesus, son of Mary, was delivered from the cross and died a natural death in Srinagar and that he was neither God, nor Son of God. Would not such of the British who are devoted to their religion be disgusted by this affirmation of mine? Then attend to this, ye stupid ones, that I offer no flattery to this Government. The truth is that according to the Holy Qur’an, it is forbidden to go to war against a government which does not interfere in any way with Islam or its practice, nor uses force against us in order to promote its own religion.
Kishti Nuh, p.68
Therefore, whenever Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, may peace be upon him, praised the British, it was not out of flattery but was out of obedience to the direction of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessing of Allah be upon him, who said:
“He who is not grateful to man is not grateful to Allah.” To call a justice-loving government, a just government, is an Islamic quality and should not be open to objection.
