The allegation against Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad(as), is that he stated that the Holy Prophet Muhammad(saw) misunderstood the meaning of Surah Zilzal. This is a complete lie and Ahmad(as) has never made such a statement anywhere in any of his books. They try to quote Izala-Auham page 128, and even that is empty of any such statement. This is a completely false allegation and another lie of the non Ahmadi Muslims. The anti Ahmadis trap themselves as they quote Ahmad(as) on page 128 of Izala Auham to have stated:
“Our religious scholars have given a literal meaning of this Surah that earth will face severe earthquakes in the last days and it will be of such severity that the whole earth will become upside down and that what will be inside will come out. And human beings i.e.: – disbelievers [Kafira] will ask the earth what has happened to it. So that day earth will talk and tell its condition. These meanings and explanations are entirely wrong”
Most of the times, the non Ahmadi Muslims lie about the translations, but it seems as if they have forgotten to falsely translate this passage. Ahmad(as) has clearly stated that it is the religious scholars who have given this surah a literal meaning. Now do the anti Ahmadis believe that the religious scholars are prophet Muhammad(saw) now? What a baseless allegation.
Now there is no proof that the explanation of Surah Zilzal which is attributed to the Prophet Muhammad(saw) by later scholars was actually stated by him. Nor are all of the statements attributed to Ibn Abbas(ra) automatically authentic to mean that he himself stated them. Ibn Abbas(ra) was born three years before the hijra and he was 13 years old during the demise of the Holy Prophet Muhammad(saw). Yahya Ibn Sa’id Al Qattan who was one of the greatest scholars of the Ahadtih himself stated that Ibn Abbas(ra) related only about 4-10 traditions from the Prophet Muhammad(saw) himself (Asqalani, Imam Ibn Hajar, Tadhib Al Tadhib, Volume 4, Page 474)
We do not necessarily accept this statement of the non Ahmadi Muslims, but one cannot deny that according to the Muslim scholars, Ibn Abbas(ra) reported a few ahadith which are directly learnt from the Prophet Muhammad(saw). This itself shows that such statements were not said by the Prophet Muhammad(saw) nor can they be attributed to Ibn Abbas(ra). The Muslims themselves agree that much of what is attributed to Ibn Abbas(ra) is forged (Siddiqui, Dr Muhammad Zubayr, Hadith Literature, page 34)
It is also important to notice that there is no mention of the alleged statements to Ibn Abbas(ra) of Surah Zillzal in the most authentic collections including Bukhari and Muslim, which itself shows that there is no explanation or such meaning of this surah traced by the ahadith rules to Ibn Abbas(ra) nor the Holy Prophet Muhammad(saw). It is only included in the works that came much later and such things have been attributed to Ibn Abbas(ra) in regards to other topics as well. We have to realize that Ibn Kathir and Imam Suyuti (ra) were both great scholars, but were not infallible and had many mistakes. They both have many weak narrations in their books as well which are attributed to the Prophet Muhammad(saw). We need to analyze the ahadith before accepting them and the non Ahmadis sadly forget to do that. There is a hadith related by Imam Suyuti which states:
“When God Almighty wanted to create Himself, He created the horse first and let it gallop till it sweated. Then He created Himself from its sweat (Imam Suyuti, Al L’ali al Masnu’a fi AlAhadeeth al Maudu’a)
There is another hadith from the works of Abu’l Fida Ismail Ibn Kathir which states:
“The Prophet took hold of Ali’s hand in the presence of the companions, on his way back from the farewell Hajj. He let him stand till all of them knew him. Then he said:This is my attorney and brother and the caliph after me. So listen to him and obey him” (Kathir, Ismail Ibn Al Al Bidaya wal al Nihaya)
We all know such so called, ahadith are against more authentic ahadith and the Qur’an itself and cannot be accepted. Many ahadith have fabricates and are attributed to the Prophet Muhamamd(Saw) and his companions.
It is clear that many ahadith literature have fabrications and are falsely attributed to the companions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad(saw) by the later Muslims. These narrations are included in the works of Ibn Kathir, and Imam Suyuti. THere is a attributed hadith by Muhammad Bin Sa’id Al Maslub who stated on the authority of Anas Bin Malik(ra) that the Prophet Muhammad(saw) said:
“I am the seal of the Prophets except if Allah Wishes”(Sayuti, Imam Hafiz Jalal Ud Din Abd Al Rahman, Tadrib Al Rawi page 186)
Now as Muslims we cannot accept such ahadith which contradict the Qur’an and do not make sense either. There was another hadith which was fabricated in regards to the meaning of the verse “soon will thy Lord raise thee to a station of praise and glory” to state that this means that God shall seat the Prophet Muhammad(saw) next to him on His throne. Ibn Jarir(ra) inscribed the following on his doorway:
“Glorified is He who has neither a companion nor anyone sitting beside Him on His throne”
This caused the ignorant people to throw stones at the house of Ibn Jarir. There are plenty more Qur’anic ayahs and Surahs, where the explanations are fabrications and not truly said by the Prophet Muhammad(saw) nor his companions. The tafseer attributed to Ibn Abbas(ra) of surah Zilzal is against the wisdom of Allah and what He has shown us in the Qur’an which is why it cannot be accepted. Since these meanings of Surah Zilzal contradict the essence of the Qur’anic teachings, they cannot be accepted. There is a hadith which reports that Ibn Abbas(ra) along with Hazrat Umar(ra), used dissuade people from offering two raka’hs after the Asr prayers since they thought the Prophet Muhammad(saw) did not allow this. However, it became clear that they were misunderstood in regards to this. The hadith is:
“Our religious scholars have given a literal meaning of this Surah that earth will face severe earthquakes in the last days and it will be of such severity that the whole earth will become upside down and that what will be inside will come out. And human beings i.e.: – disbelievers [Kafira] will ask the earth what has happened to it. So that day earth will talk and tell its condition. These meanings and explanations are entirely wrong”
Most of the times, the non Ahmadi Muslims lie about the translations, but it seems as if they have forgotten to falsely translate this passage. Ahmad(as) has clearly stated that it is the religious scholars who have given this surah a literal meaning. Now do the anti Ahmadis believe that the religious scholars are prophet Muhammad(saw) now? What a baseless allegation.
Now there is no proof that the explanation of Surah Zilzal which is attributed to the Prophet Muhammad(saw) by later scholars was actually stated by him. Nor are all of the statements attributed to Ibn Abbas(ra) automatically authentic to mean that he himself stated them. Ibn Abbas(ra) was born three years before the hijra and he was 13 years old during the demise of the Holy Prophet Muhammad(saw). Yahya Ibn Sa’id Al Qattan who was one of the greatest scholars of the Ahadtih himself stated that Ibn Abbas(ra) related only about 4-10 traditions from the Prophet Muhammad(saw) himself (Asqalani, Imam Ibn Hajar, Tadhib Al Tadhib, Volume 4, Page 474)
We do not necessarily accept this statement of the non Ahmadi Muslims, but one cannot deny that according to the Muslim scholars, Ibn Abbas(ra) reported a few ahadith which are directly learnt from the Prophet Muhammad(saw). This itself shows that such statements were not said by the Prophet Muhammad(saw) nor can they be attributed to Ibn Abbas(ra). The Muslims themselves agree that much of what is attributed to Ibn Abbas(ra) is forged (Siddiqui, Dr Muhammad Zubayr, Hadith Literature, page 34)
It is also important to notice that there is no mention of the alleged statements to Ibn Abbas(ra) of Surah Zillzal in the most authentic collections including Bukhari and Muslim, which itself shows that there is no explanation or such meaning of this surah traced by the ahadith rules to Ibn Abbas(ra) nor the Holy Prophet Muhammad(saw). It is only included in the works that came much later and such things have been attributed to Ibn Abbas(ra) in regards to other topics as well. We have to realize that Ibn Kathir and Imam Suyuti (ra) were both great scholars, but were not infallible and had many mistakes. They both have many weak narrations in their books as well which are attributed to the Prophet Muhammad(saw). We need to analyze the ahadith before accepting them and the non Ahmadis sadly forget to do that. There is a hadith related by Imam Suyuti which states:
“When God Almighty wanted to create Himself, He created the horse first and let it gallop till it sweated. Then He created Himself from its sweat (Imam Suyuti, Al L’ali al Masnu’a fi AlAhadeeth al Maudu’a)
There is another hadith from the works of Abu’l Fida Ismail Ibn Kathir which states:
“The Prophet took hold of Ali’s hand in the presence of the companions, on his way back from the farewell Hajj. He let him stand till all of them knew him. Then he said:This is my attorney and brother and the caliph after me. So listen to him and obey him” (Kathir, Ismail Ibn Al Al Bidaya wal al Nihaya)
We all know such so called, ahadith are against more authentic ahadith and the Qur’an itself and cannot be accepted. Many ahadith have fabricates and are attributed to the Prophet Muhamamd(Saw) and his companions.
It is clear that many ahadith literature have fabrications and are falsely attributed to the companions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad(saw) by the later Muslims. These narrations are included in the works of Ibn Kathir, and Imam Suyuti. THere is a attributed hadith by Muhammad Bin Sa’id Al Maslub who stated on the authority of Anas Bin Malik(ra) that the Prophet Muhammad(saw) said:
“I am the seal of the Prophets except if Allah Wishes”(Sayuti, Imam Hafiz Jalal Ud Din Abd Al Rahman, Tadrib Al Rawi page 186)
Now as Muslims we cannot accept such ahadith which contradict the Qur’an and do not make sense either. There was another hadith which was fabricated in regards to the meaning of the verse “soon will thy Lord raise thee to a station of praise and glory” to state that this means that God shall seat the Prophet Muhammad(saw) next to him on His throne. Ibn Jarir(ra) inscribed the following on his doorway:
“Glorified is He who has neither a companion nor anyone sitting beside Him on His throne”
This caused the ignorant people to throw stones at the house of Ibn Jarir. There are plenty more Qur’anic ayahs and Surahs, where the explanations are fabrications and not truly said by the Prophet Muhammad(saw) nor his companions. The tafseer attributed to Ibn Abbas(ra) of surah Zilzal is against the wisdom of Allah and what He has shown us in the Qur’an which is why it cannot be accepted. Since these meanings of Surah Zilzal contradict the essence of the Qur’anic teachings, they cannot be accepted. There is a hadith which reports that Ibn Abbas(ra) along with Hazrat Umar(ra), used dissuade people from offering two raka’hs after the Asr prayers since they thought the Prophet Muhammad(saw) did not allow this. However, it became clear that they were misunderstood in regards to this. The hadith is:
حَدَّثَنِي حَرْمَلَةُ بْنُ يَحْيَى التُّجِيبِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ وَهْبٍ، أَخْبَرَنِي عَمْرٌو، – وَهُوَ ابْنُ الْحَارِثِ – عَنْ بُكَيْرٍ، عَنْ كُرَيْبٍ، مَوْلَى ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ أَنَّ عَبْدَ اللَّهِ بْنَ عَبَّاسٍ، وَعَبْدَ الرَّحْمَنِ، بْنَ أَزْهَرَ وَالْمِسْوَرَ بْنَ مَخْرَمَةَ أَرْسَلُوهُ إِلَى عَائِشَةَ زَوْجِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالُوا اقْرَأْ عَلَيْهَا السَّلاَمَ مِنَّا جَمِيعًا وَسَلْهَا عَنِ الرَّكْعَتَيْنِ بَعْدَ الْعَصْرِ وَقُلْ إِنَّا أُخْبِرْنَا أَنَّكِ تُصَلِّينَهُمَا وَقَدْ بَلَغَنَا أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم نَهَى عَنْهُمَا . قَالَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ وَكُنْتُ أَصْرِفُ مَعَ عُمَرَ بْنِ الْخَطَّابِ النَّاسَ عَنْهَا . قَالَ كُرَيْبٌ فَدَخَلْتُ عَلَيْهَا وَبَلَّغْتُهَا مَا أَرْسَلُونِي بِهِ . فَقَالَتْ سَلْ أُمَّ سَلَمَةَ . فَخَرَجْتُ إِلَيْهِمْ فَأَخْبَرْتُهُمْ بِقَوْلِهَا فَرَدُّونِي إِلَى أُمِّ سَلَمَةَ بِمِثْلِ مَا أَرْسَلُونِي بِهِ إِلَى عَائِشَةَ . فَقَالَتْ أُمُّ سَلَمَةَ سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَنْهَى عَنْهُمَا ثُمَّ رَأَيْتُهُ يُصَلِّيهِمَا أَمَّا حِينَ صَلاَّهُمَا فَإِنَّهُ صَلَّى الْعَصْرَ ثُمَّ دَخَلَ وَعِنْدِي نِسْوَةٌ مِنْ بَنِي حَرَامٍ مِنَ الأَنْصَارِ فَصَلاَّهُمَا فَأَرْسَلْتُ إِلَيْهِ الْجَارِيَةَ فَقُلْتُ قُومِي بِجَنْبِهِ فَقُولِي لَهُ تَقُولُ أُمُّ سَلَمَةَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ إِنِّي أَسْمَعُكَ تَنْهَى عَنْ هَاتَيْنِ الرَّكْعَتَيْنِ وَأَرَاكَ تُصَلِّيهِمَا فَإِنْ أَشَارَ بِيَدِهِ فَاسْتَأْخِرِي عَنْهُ – قَالَ – فَفَعَلَتِ الْجَارِيَةُ فَأَشَارَ بِيَدِهِ فَاسْتَأْخَرَتْ عَنْهُ فَلَمَّا انْصَرَفَ قَالَ “ يَا بِنْتَ أَبِي أُمَيَّةَ سَأَلْتِ عَنِ الرَّكْعَتَيْنِ بَعْدَ الْعَصْرِ إِنَّهُ أَتَانِي نَاسٌ مِنْ عَبْدِ الْقَيْسِ بِالإِسْلاَمِ مِنْ قَوْمِهِمْ فَشَغَلُونِي عَنِ الرَّكْعَتَيْنِ اللَّتَيْنِ بَعْدَ الظُّهْرِ فَهُمَا هَاتَانِ ” .
Kuraib, the freed slave of Ibn ‘Abbas, reported that ‘Abdullah b. ‘Abbas, ‘Abd al-Rahman b. Azhar, al-Miswar b. Makhrama sent him to ‘A’isha, the wife of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), telling him to give her their greetings, and ask her about the two rak’ahs after the afternoon prayer, (for)” we have heard that you observe them whereas it has been conveyed to us that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) prohibited their observance.” Ibn ‘Abbas said:
I along with ‘Umar b. al-Khattab dissuaded people to do so (to observe two rak’ahs of prayer). Kuraib said: I went to her (‘A’isha) and conveyed to her the message with which I was sent. She said: (Better) ask Umm Salama. So I went to them (those who had sent him to Hadrat ‘A’isha) and informed them about what she had said. They sent me back to Umm Salama with that with which I was sent to ‘A’isha. Umm Salama said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) prohibiting them, and then afterwards I saw him observing them. And when he observed them (two rak’ahs) he had already observed the ‘Asr prayer. Then he (the Holy Prophet) came, while there were with me ladies of Banu Haram, a tribe of the Ansar and he (the Holy Prophet) observed them (the two rak’ahs). I sent a slave-girl to him asking her to stand by his side and say to him that Umm Salama says: Messenger of Allah, I heard you prohibiting these two rak’ahs, whereas I saw you observing them; and if he (the Holy Prophet) points with his hand (to wait), then do wait. The slave-girl did like that. He (the Holy Prophet) pointed out with his hand and she got aside and waited, and when he had finished (the prayer) he said: Daughter of Abu Umayya. you have asked about the two rak’ahs after the ‘Asr prayer. Some people of ‘Abu al-Qais came to me for embracing Islam and hindered me from observing the two rak’ahs which come after the noon prayer. So those are the two I have been praying. (Sahih Muslim Book 4, Hadith #1814)
It is clear that Ahmad(as) never made such a claim that the Holy Prophet Muhammad(saw) did not understand the meaning of Surah Zilzal.