The
Philosophy of the Teachings of Islam
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- the physical, moral, and spiritual states of man;
- what is the state of man after death?
- the object of man's life and the means of its attainment;
- the operation of the practical ordinances of the Law in this life and the next;
- sources of Divine knowledge
The subjects of the
soul, the threefold reformation of man, what is moral quality? Why the flesh of
swine is prohibited, the attributes of God and heaven upon earth are also discussed.
[1]
In 1896, during the Christmas Holidays a
Hindu by the name of Swami Sadhu Shugan Chandra convened a conference of Great Religions at
Lahore.
A committee was appointed to oversee the arrangements. Six people were
chosen as its moderators including the judge of the Chief Court of
Punjab and the former governor of
Jammu.
The committee invited the learned representatives of the
Hindu,
Christian and
Muslim
faiths to set forth the excellences of their respective faiths. The
main objective of such a conference was so that the learned divines of
each of these faiths were given the opportunity to convince others of
the truth of their religion in the context of a few published themes and
so that the listeners may assess each speech and accept the truth from
wherever it was to be found. Each speaker was required to address the
five themes set by the moderators and to confine his discourse to the
holy scriptures of their religions. Among those who attended the
conference were representatives of
Hinduism,
Freethought, the
Theosophical Society,
Christianity,
Islam and
Sikhism
as well as various scholars, barristers, lawyers, professor, doctors
and extra assistants, who numbered between 7 and 8 thousand.
The speech representing Islam was the essay written by Gulam Ahmad
and though he could not attend himself due to poor health, it was read
out by his disciple Mawlwi Abdul Karim. It could not be read out within
the set time allotted for it; therefore the conference was extended to
an extra day. The Report of the Conference of Great Religions stated:
The essay was delivered in four hours and from start to finish it was most interesting and well appreciated.
On the 21st of December 1896 Ghulam Ahmad declared that he had been
informed by God that his essay would be the most overpowering one. He
stated:
[2]
In the conference of Great Religions which will be held in Lahore
Town Hall on the 26th, 27th and 28th of December 1896, a paper written
by this humble one, dealing with the excellences and miracles of the
Holy Quran, will be read out. This paper is not the result of ordinary
human effort but is a sign among the signs of God, written with His
special support...I have been moved by sympathy for my fellow human
beings to make this announcement, so that they should witness the beauty
of the Holy Quran and should realise how mistaken are our opponents in
that they love darkness and hate light. God, the All-Knowing, has
revealed to me that my paper will be declared supreme over all other
papers... I saw in a vision that out of the unseen a hand was laid on my
mansion and by the touch of that hand a shining light emerged from the
mansion and spread in all directions. It also illumined my hands.
Thereupon someone who was standing by me proclaimed in a loud voice:
Allahu Akbar, Kharibat Khaibar
(God is Great, Khaybar has fallen). The interpretation is that by my
mansion is meant my heart on which the heavenly light of the verities of
the Holy Quran is descending, and by
Khaybar
are meant all the perverted religions which are afflicted with
idolatory and falsehood, in which man has been raised to occupy the
place of God, or in which divine attributes have been cast down from
their perfect station. It was thus disclosed to me that the wide
publication of this paper would expose the untruth of false religions
and the truth of the Quran will spread progressively around the earth
till it arrives at its climax.
I approved very much two articles, ‘How to get rid of the Bondage of
Sin’ and ‘The Life to Come’, especially the second. The idea is very
profound and very true.
It was originally published in
The report of the Conference of Great Religions and was later published in book form as
Islami Usool Ki Falāsifi. It was subsequently translated into
English. It has seen many editions and has been translated into
French,
Dutch,
German,
Spanish and various other languages.
Introduction
A person by the name of Swami Sadhu Shugan Chandar had spent three or
four years of his life attempting to reform the Ka’isth2 Hindu caste.
In 1892 he came to the conclusion that unless people were gathered
together under one roof, his efforts would be in vain. He therefore
proposed to convene a religious conference, with the first one taking
place in 1892 in Ajmer. In 1896, considering Lahore to be a suitable
venue, he began preparations for the second such religious conference.
Swami Sahib appointed a committee to oversee the arrangements. Master
Durga Parshad was president of the committee, and Lalah Dhanpat Roy, BA,
LLB, its chief secretary. The dates chosen for the convention were
26–28 December 1896, and the following six people were nominated as its
moderators:
1. Roy Bahadur Babu Partol Chand Sahib, Judge Chief Court, Punjab.
2. Khan Bahadur Sheikh Khuda Bakhsh Sahib, Judge Small Cause Court, Lahore.
3. Roy Bahadur Pandit Radha3 Kishan Sahib Cole, Pleader Chief Court Lahore, former governor of Jammu.
4. Hadrat Maulawi Hakim Noor-ud-Din Sahib(ra), Royal Physician.
5. Roy Bhawani Das Sahib, MA, Extra Settlement Officer, Jhelum.
6. Sardar Jawahar Singh Sahib, Secretary Khalsa Committee, Lahore.4
The committee invited the learned representatives of Muslims,
Christians and Aryas to set forth the excellences of their respective
faiths. The objective of the Conference of Great Religions, to be held
at the Lahore Town Hall, was that the excellences and the merits of the
true religion be espoused in a gathering of cultured people and that its
love be instilled in their hearts and that they become well acquainted
with its arguments and proofs. The learned divines of every religion
would thus be given the opportunity to convince others of the truth of
their respective religions, while the listeners would be able to assess
each speech in relation to the others and accept the truth from wherever
it was to be found.
Disputes between the followers of different religions had given rise
to the desire to seek the true faith. This was the best achieved by
bringing together the learned preachers and teachers so that they might,
in the context of a few published questions, set forth the beauties of
their respective faiths. In such a conference, the true religion from
God would definitely become patent.
This was the objective of the conference. Every learned teacher and
preacher knew that he was dutybound to make evident the verities of his
faith. The conference was being held so that the truth may become
manifest and it was thus a God-given opportunity for them (the learned
divines) to fulfil this objective. Such opportunities were not always
available to us.
Prevailing upon them further, Swami Sahib wrote: “If a person sees
another suffering from a fatal disease, and he firmly believes that he
holds the cure for the disease, and he also claims to have sympathy for
the human race, then how is it possible for him to intentionally turn
away when called upon to provide a remedy? My heart is filled with the
desire to know which religion is the one replete with truth. I have not
the words to express my fervour.”
Representatives of various religions accepted Swami Sahib’s
invitation, and the Conference of Great Religions was held during the
Christmas holidays of 1896. Each of the speakers was required to address
five questions published in advanced by the committee.
The committee also stipulated that, as far as possible, each speaker
should confine his answers to the holy book of his religion.
The questions were:
- 1. The physical, moral and spiritual states of man.
- 2. What is the state of man after death, i.e. the
hereafter?
- 3. What is the true purpose of man’s existence on
earth and how can it be achieved?
- 4. What are the effects of one’s deeds in this life and
the afterlife?
- 5. What are the sources of divine knowledge?
The conference was held on 26–29 December and was attended by
representatives of Sanatan Dharm5, Hinduism, Arya Samaj, Free Thinker,
Brahmo Samaj, Theosophical Society, Religion of Harmony, Christianity,
Islam and Sikhism. All representatives addressed the conference, but
only one of the lectures provided a true and complete answer to all five
questions.
Words cannot describe the atmosphere of the conference when Maulawi
Abdul Karim Sialkotira, most eloquently, delivered the lecture. Every
person, regardless of religion, could not help but show his appreciation
and approbation. There was not one person who was not engrossed and
enraptured. The style of delivery was most interesting and appealing.
What better proof of the lecture’s excellence than the fact that even
the opponents were full of praise for it. Despite being a Christian
newspaper, the Civil and Military Gazette, Lahore, considered this
speech to be the only one worthy of mention and it was the only one
which it commended highly.
The speech was written by Mirza GhulamAhmad(as)of Qadian, the founder of the AhmadiyyaMuslim Jama‘at.
It could not be completed in the two hours allocated for it, so the
conference had to be extended for an extra day. The newspaper Punjab
Observer filled column after column with applause for it. Paisa Akhbar,
Chaudhwin6 Sadi, Sadiq-ul- Akhbar, Mukhbir-i-Dakkan and General-o-Gohari
Asifi of Calcutta etc. all these newspapers were unanimous in their
acclaim. Non-Muslims and non- Indians all declared the essay to be the
most superior one of the conference.
The secretary of the conference, Dhanpat Roy, BA, LLB, Pleader Chief
Court, Punjab, wrote in his ‘Report of the Conference of Great
Religions’:
“There was an interval of half an hour following the speech of Pandit
Gordhan Das Sahib. As the next item on the agenda was a speech
presented on behalf of a renowned advocate of Islam, most people did not
leave their place. The large Islamia College building began to fill up
long before 1.30pm. The gathering numbered between seven and eight
thousand people. Educated and knowledgeable people from various
religions and nations were present and although plenty of tables, chairs
and floor space had been provided, still hundreds of attendees were
left with no choice but to stand. The attendees included many
dignitaries, Leaders from Punjab, scholars, barristers, lawyers,
professors, extra assistants and doctors. In short, different branches
of educated society were all present. They stood for four to five hours
listening with great patience and with rapt attention and this shows how
deeply they cared for this sacred cause. The writer of the paper did
not attend in person, but one of his disciples, Maulawi Abdul Karim
Sialkoti, was delegated to read it at the conference. The committee had
allotted two hours for the essay; however it was not finished in this
time.
Seeing the avid interest shown by the audience, the moderators
willingly agreed to extend the session until the conclusion of the
speech. This decision was in exact keeping with the wishes of the
participants. Maulawi Abu Yusuf Mubarak Ali agreed to forgo his time so
that Mirza Sahib’s essay could be concluded. This was widely appreciated
by the audience and the moderators. The conference had been due to end
at 4.30 pm., but in view of the wishes of the audience it was extended
to beyond 5.30 pm. The essay was delivered in four hours and from start
to finish it was most interesting and well appreciated.”
After receiving prophetic revelation from God, on the 21st of
December 1896, a few days before the conference, the founder of the
Ahmadiyya Movement publicly declared that his essay would be the most
overpowering one. A translation of his declaration is presented below:
2. Here “th” at the end is pronounced as “th” in “three”.
3. Here “dh” in the middle is pronounced as “dh” in “dharma”.
4. Report Conference of Great Religions. Page 253, 254 printed by Siddiqi Press, Lahore 1897.
5. Here “dh” in the beginning is pronounced as “dh” in “dharma”.
6. Here “dh” in the middle is pronounced as “dh” in “dharma”.
See also
References