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Heaven Bears Witness
The Grand Signs of Eclipses
Prophets who appear among mankind are bestowed Heavenly charisma and Divine magnetism which serve as proofs for their truthfulness. Hence, when they make their claim, many noble souls accept them and acknowledge their truth witnessing their spiritual aura. However, those who lack the insight to perceive the heavenly light possessed by the prophets feel the need to witness extraordinary signs to recognize their truthfulness. Hence, God, who is the Creator and Sustainer of the universe manifests His signs in favour of His prophets which prove beyond doubt that they come indeed from Him.
The Holy Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, who came as the Promised Messiah and Imam Mahdi was vouchsafed both these signs. Hence, he was accepted by a community of people who recognized his truthfulness after witnessing his impeccable personality – some expressing their desire to take pledge of allegiance to him even before he made his claims. Similarly, many extraordinary signs were manifested by God for his truthfulness one of which was the occurrence of the solar and lunar eclipses under specified conditions, which was prophesied by the Holy Prophetsa 1400 years ago.
کسوف
خسوف
The Holy Prophetsa gave glad tidings regarding Imam Mahdi, who would be raised from within the Muslim Ummah (community) in the latter days to restore the lost faith and unite mankind. While the Holy Prophetsa emphatically commanded his followers to accept Imam Mahdi, saying that they should do so even if they had to crawl through glaciers to reach him, he also mentioned some Divine signs that would mark his advent and would serve as proofs for his truthfulness. Hence, the Holy Prophetsa said:
إنَّ لِمَھْدِیِنَا آيَتَينِ لَمْ تَکُوْنَا مُنْذُ خَلْقِ السَّمٰوٰتِ وَالْأَرْضِ تَنْکَسِفُ الْقَمَرُ لِأَوَّلِ لَيْلَةٍ مَنْ رَمَضَانَ وَ تَنْکَسِفُ الشَّمْسُ فِي النِّصْفِ مِنْهُ وَلَمْ تَکُوْنَا مُنْذُ خَلَقَ اللّٰہُ السّمٰوٰتِ وَالْأَرْضَ
For our Mahdi, there are two signs which have never appeared before since the creation of the heavens and the earth, namely, the moon will be eclipsed on the first night in Ramadan [i.e. on the first of the nights on which a lunar eclipse can occur] and the sun will be eclipsed on the middle day of Ramadan [i.e. on the middle one of the days on which a solar eclipse can occur]. And these Signs have not appeared since God created the heavens and the earth.
Sunan al-Daraqutni, v. 1 p. 188
This narration is strengthened by the fact that eclipses have been mentioned by the Holy Quran as important signs of the latter days. The Holy Quran says:
يَسأَلُ أَيّانَ يَومُ القِيامَةِ فَإِذا بَرِقَ البَصَرُ وَخَسَفَ القَمَرُ وَجُمِعَ الشَّمسُ وَالقَمَرُ يَقولُ الإِنسانُ يَومَئِذٍ أَينَ المَفَرُّ
He asks, ‘When will be the Day of Resurrection?’. When the eye is dazzled, and the moon is eclipsed, and the sun and the moon are brought together. On that day man will say, ‘Whither to escape?’.
Holy Quran 75: 7-11
The root of the prophecy thus lies in the Holy Quran while the Hadith (sayings of the Holy Prophetsa) elucidates the verses of the Holy Quran and provides valuable details.
In 1891, the Holy Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas, following Divine instruction, claimed to be the Promised Messiah and Imam Mahdi whose advent was being awaited by Muslims. He also wrote some books wherein he presented strong arguments in support of his claims, especially in the books Fat-he-Islam (Victory of Islam), Izala-e-Auham (Removal of Suspicions) and Taudih-e-Maram (Elucidation of Objectives).
However, the contemporary theologians rejected his claims. Among the objections raised was also the one that the prophecy pertaining to the eclipses of the sun and the moon has not been fulfilled.
In 1891, the Holy Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas, following Divine instruction, claimed to be the Promised Messiah and Imam Mahdi whose advent was being awaited by Muslims. He also wrote some books wherein he presented strong arguments in support of his claims, especially in the books Fat-he-Islam (Victory of Islam), Izala-e-Auham (Removal of Suspicions) and Taudih-e-Maram (Elucidation of Objectives).
However, the contemporary theologians rejected his claims. Among the objections raised was also the one that the prophecy pertaining to the eclipses of the sun and the moon has not been fulfilled.
As it was destined to be, after around three years since Hazrat Ahmadas made his claim, these heavenly signs came to occur with all its glory, bearing testimony to the truthfulness of the claims of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas. Hence, in 1894, the solar and lunar eclipses occurred over Qadian on the specified dates of Ramadan. The lunar eclipse occurred after sunset on the 13th of Ramadan (March 21, 1894) and the solar eclipse occurred on Friday, the 28th of Ramadan (April 6, 1894).
Apart from the almanacs, there was mention of the eclipses in the Indian newspapers of the time Azad and Civil and Military Gazette. Even today, the dates for these eclipses can be confirmed from Oppolzer’s Canon of Eclipses and The Nautical Almanac, London, of 1894.
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