Qadianis' (Ahmadiyya) Claim of Eclipses as a Proof of Mehdi Examined
Qadianis (Ahmadiyya) attribute the claim of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad being Mehdi based on a writing in a book of Hadith (Dar Qutni) as follows:
Amr bin Shimr narrates from Jabir who told him that Muhammad bin Ali said that for our Mehdi, two signs are given which never occurred in the past from the creation of the heavens and the earth. One is that a lunar eclipse will occur on the first night of Ramadan and the second sign is that a solar eclipse will occur in the middle of Ramadan and these signs had never happened from the creation of the heavens and the earth (Dar Qutni).
Qadianis (Ahmadiyya) assert that a Hadith of the Messenger, Muhammad (SAW) says that the signs of Mehdi is that in his time lunar and solar eclipses will occur in the month of Ramadan and this sign is a clear proof that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani is the real Mehdi according to the (Hadith-e-Nabavi) saying of the Messenger (SAW).
ANSWER: 1. The narration mentioned above is definitely not the saying of the Messenger (SAW), as the narrator clearly assigns it as the saying of Imam Muhammad Baqir bin Ali which was written in the book of Dar Qutni. Attributing this to Imam Muhammad Baqir is also wrong as the first narrator mentioned was Muhammad bin Ali not Imam Baqir. There were several narrators by the name Muhammad bin Ali and there is no proof or reason to believe that this person is Imam Baqir. Moreover, Imam Baqir was born 47 years after the death of the Messenger (SAW), and for a narration to be a Hadith, it must have chains of narration going back to the Messenger (SAW). This narration clearly does not go back to Messenger (SAW).
2. "According to its authenticity, this saying attributed to Imam Baqir is extremely weak, outcast, and rejected. Looking at the chain of narration, the second narrator is Amr bin Shimr who has been labeled (in Meezanul-E'tidaal P262) as the big liar, a narrator of weak and fabricated Ahadith, a non-believer of Hadith, a person who uses abusive words for the companions of the Messenger (SAW), the Sahabah (Razi-Allahu unhum ajmaeen), and according to Ilm-ul-Hadith, his narration is not written as Hadith." These are the words of Allamah Shamsuddin Dhahbi (Rahmatullah Alayhe) who was an expert of the Funn-e-Rijaal, art of Men Narrators. Thus, it is clear that this narrator is absolutely not reliable nor trustworthy. So, to present this narration as a Hadith of Rasool (SAW) is not only a great false accusation and a lie but according to Hadith-e-Sahih (agreed upon Hadith, which says, "Whoever lies upon me deliberately and knowingly should know that he has made his abode in Jahannam"), it is making an abode in the Hell fire.
The third narrator is Jabir. There were several narrators by this name, and which Jabir is mentioned here is unknown; someone by this name was known to be a person of unknown parentage or lineage. One among the persons with the name Jabir was Jabir Ja'fi, who was described by Imam Abu-Hanifah (Rahmatullah Alayhe) as "among the liars that I met, no one was bigger liar than Jabir Ja'fi." Remember, that Imam Abu-Hanifah, Imam Baqir, Jabir Ja'fai, and Amr bin Shimr were all born after 47 to 80 years after the death of the Messenger (SAW).
None of the narrators mentioned that they heard this from Sahabah or Rasool (SAW), and the authenticity of these narrators is extremely questionable. Now you can tell, how can such narration be labelled as Hadith, and how can it be worth any discussion and argument.
3. With difficult to believe this case of narration as Hadith, even if we accept it as a saying of Imam Baqir, the biggest sign for Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani being a liar is that in his life time, when lunar and solar eclipses occurred, they were not according to this narration. In his life time, the lunar eclipses occurred on 13th Ramadan, and solar eclipses occurred on 28th Ramadan. And this narration clearly says that lunar eclipse will be on first of Ramadan and solar eclipse in Middle of Ramadan.
FABRICATION AND ARGUMENT GIVEN BY QADIANIS (AHMADIYYA): Qadianis (Ahmadiyya) acknowledge that according to the divine rules the lunar eclipse always occurs on 13th, 14th or 15th of a lunar month, and solar eclipse always occurs on 27th, 28th, or 29th of a lunar month. Therefore, the words of narration, "FIRST NIGHT OF RAMADAN" means the first of the three possible nights for lunar eclipse meaning 13th night, and the words of narration, "MIDDLE OF RAMADAN" means the middle of the three possible nights for solar eclipse meaning 28th night. And in life time of Mirza Qadiani eclipses occurred on 13th and 28th nights, just according to the saying of Imam Baqar.
ANSWER: 1. The words of narration definitely do not contain this foolish and feeble paraphrase or interpretation. The words reported are "FIRST NIGHT OF RAMADAN" and not "FIRST NIGHT FROM THE NIGHTS OF ECLIPSES." Nobody ever says 13th Ramadan as the first night of Ramadan. Similarly the words of narration, "MIDDLE OF RAMADAN" means 15th night and not the 28th night which comes toward the end of Ramadan. This kind of feeble interpretation is the work of dumb, illiterate, and foolish people.
2. This paraphrasing or interpretation by Mirza Qadiani is also absurd, because, in the above mentioned narration, two times is a phrase, "THESE SIGNS NEVER BEFORE HAVE HAPPENED FROM THE CREATION OF HEAVENS AND THE EARTH."
3. This saying would only be true when the meaning is kept according to the face value of the obvious words that lunar and solar eclipses will occur on first night and 15th of Ramadan. Because from the creation of the heavens and the earth, eclipses have never occurred on these dates. Such eclipses on 13th and 28th Ramadan have occurred thousands of times before Mirza Qadiani. As an example, we quote 45 years of eclipses in life time of Mirza Qadiani. In these 45 years, 3 times such combination of eclipses occurred on 13th and 28th (see book by Mr. Keith, "Use of the Globes" and another book, "Hadaiqun-Nujoom"). Both these books list eclipses from the year 1801CE to 1901CE. Out of those a list of 45 years is produced in a book, "Doosri Shahadat-e-Aasmani" written by Sayyid Abu-Ahmad Rahmani. In these 45 years 3 times these pair of eclipses occurred in Ramadan, which also means that it must have happened many times before. Further work on Lunar Eclipses in Ramadan can be found in an article written by David McNaughton, a South African astronomer working in United Arab Emirates, and considered to be an authority on the subject of Lunar theories. Accurate and detailed calculations, using Jean Meeus's Algorithm, performed in 1998 By Khalid Shaukat for the 3 pairs of eclipses in the 45 years mentioned above are reproduced for the readers' convenience in the following table:
Schedule of Eclipses in 45 Years of Mirza's Life
| No. | Eclipse | Gregorian Date | Islamic Date in India | Time of eclipse in India | ||
| 1 | Lunar | July 13, 1851 CE | Ramadan 13, 1267 AH | Starts 11:21 Max. 12:51 Ends 14:22 | Lunar Eclipse cannot be seen in Asia, Europe and Africa. It was day time in Qadian and moon was below horizon. | Both lunar and solar eclipses were not visible in India. Moreover, this happened before Miraz's claim of Mehdi when he was 11 or 12 years old. |
| Solar | July 28, 1851 CE | Ramadan 28, 1267 AH | Starts 17:47 Max. 20:04 Ends 22:20 | Solar Eclipse was not visible in Qadian, India. | ||
| 2 | Lunar | March 21, 1894 CE | Ramadan 14, 1311 AH | Starts 18:58 Max. 19:51 Ends 20:44 | Lunar Eclipse seen in Qadian after Sunset, which is 14th of Ramadan. | This pair of eclipse is against 13th and 28th Ramadan as emphasized by Ahmadis trying to explain the interpretation of alleged Hadith. However, using these eclipses Dr. Alexander Dowie of USA also claimed to be the Messiah. |
| Solar | April 6, 1894 CE | Ramadan 28, 1311 AH | Starts 6:46 Max. 9:24 Ends 12:02 | Solar Eclipse was visible in the morning, sunrise in Qadian being 6:11. | ||
| 3 | Lunar | March 11, 1895 CE | Ramadan 13, 1312 AH | Starts 7:25 Max. 9:10 Ends 10:54 | Lunar eclipse not visible in most of Asia. In Qadian, India the moon was set at 6:45 before the eclipse began. | Both lunar and solar eclipses were not visible in India. |
| Solar | March 26, 1895 CE | Ramadan 28, 1312 AH | Starts 14:08 Max. 15:40 Ends 17:10 | Solar Eclipse visible in Greenland and England only, not visible in India. |
The Truth About Eclipses
ReplyDeleteSee also: The Truth About Eclipses by Saleh Mohammed Alladin
Comments on the article entitled "Flaws in the Ahmadiyya Eclipse Theory” by Dr David McNaughton
Saleh Mohammed Alladin
Retired Professor of Astronomy
Osmania University, Hyderabad, India
Hazrat Imam Baqar Muhammad bin Alira has narrated the following Hadees (saying of the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa):
For our Mahdi (Divine Reformer) 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 Ramazan (i.e. on the first of the nights on which a lunar eclipse can occur) and the sun will be eclipsed in its middle (i.e. on the middle day of the days on which a solar eclipse can occur), and these signs have not appeared since God created the heavens and the earth.
(Dare Qutani Vol 1, page 188)
In the literature of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, the dates of the lunar and solar eclipses have been taken as 13, 14, 15 and 27, 28, 29 respectively of the Islamic calendar. Dr David Mc Naughton has pointed out that lunar eclipses can occur on 13th, 14th and 15th and solar eclipses on 28th and 29th. Only under special circumstances, a solar eclipse can occur on the 27th of the Islamic month. Also, under special circumstances, a lunar eclipse can occur on the 12th. Hence the dates of the eclipses should be taken as 13, 14, 15 and 28, 29 or as 12, 13, 14, 15 and 27, 28, 29.
Perhaps the author is the first person to point out that it is possible to observe a lunar eclipse on the 12th. On the other hand, it seems to be well known from observational records that a solar eclipse can occur on the 27th. I present two examples taken from important books wherein 27th is considered as one of the dates for the solar eclipse.
Nawab Siddeeq Hasan Khan writes in his book Hujajal Kirama (in Persian, published in 1271 Hijri ) on page 344 that according to astronomers a lunar eclipse does not take place on any date other than 13, 14 and 15; and in the same way a solar eclipse does not take place on any date other than 27, 28 and 29.
Professor F. Richard Stephenson, who has devoted considerable effort in the study of ancient records of eclipses, writes in his book, "Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation" (Cambridge University Press 1997) on page 436 as follows:
"In the Islamic calendar, lunar eclipses consistently take place on or about the 14th day of the month and solar eclipses around the 28th day”
Hence considering the dates as 13, 14 and 15 for the lunar eclipse and 27, 28 and 29 for the solar eclipse for interpreting the prophecy in 1894, at the time of the claimant, is quite reasonable. The purpose of the prophecy is to help people to recognize the Promised Divine Reformer and the prophecy has served the purpose very well.
It may also be noted that Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas claimed on the basis of Divine revelation, which he received, that the prophecy has been fulfilled in his person. He also declared on oath that he is the Promised Messiah and Mahdi.
In order to understand the Hadees on the basis of our present knowledge we should note that the time between the astronomical new moon and full moon varies between 13.9 days and 15.6 days as mentioned by Dr Mc Naughton. Hence if a lunar eclipse occurs on the 12th of a month, the solar eclipse cannot occur on the 28th of the month because in that case the interval between the new moon and the full moon would exceed 15.6 days. If the Hadees had not laid any restriction on the date of the solar eclipse, the first date of the lunar eclipse may have been considered as 12th. But since the Hadees has specified the date of the solar eclipse, the first night in the Hadees has to be interpreted as the first of the well known three nights, i.e. 13th.
The Promised Messiahas also gave another explanation for the Hadees which is simple but very illuminating. He wrote in his book Noorul Haq Part 2, Roohani Khazaen Vol 8 page 196:
"Dare qutani has recorded that Imam Muhammad bin Ali has narrated that there are two signs for our Mahdi which never appeared before, that is, never occurred for any other person since the creation of the earth and the heavens and these are that the moon will begin to be eclipsed in the beginning of the night in Ramazan and the sun will be eclipsed in the remaining half of the month.”
Professor G.M.Ballabh and I had prepared a list of the years in which both lunar and solar eclipses occurred in the month of Ramazan from the time of the Holy Prophetsa until the year 2000 A.D. We found that 109 times both lunar and solar eclipses occurred in the month of Ramazan over some part of the earth or the other. Out of these only seven pairs of eclipses were visible from Qadian. Only in the year 1894 the moon began to be eclipsed in the beginning of the night in Ramazan. The sun set in Qadian at 18 hrs 41 min and the eclipse of the moon began at 18 hrs 56 min. (Review of Religions Vol 89 No 9 September 1994 page 47)
For a detailed discussion of the fulfillment of the prophecy, please see my article entitled "The Advent of the Promised Messiah as vindicated by the Signs of the Lunar and Solar Eclipses" in the Review of Religions, Vol. 84, No 11, November 1989, pages 3 to 24. Answers to some of the objections have been given in my article "The Truth about Eclipses" published in The Review of Religions, Vol. 94, No's 5 and 6, May & June 1999.
Almighty God says in the Holy Quran:
He (Allah) is the Knower of the unseen, and He reveals not His secrets to anyone, except to him whom He chooses, namely a Messenger of His. (Chapter 72 Verses 27, 28.)
The remarkable prophecy of the Signs of the eclipses and its fulfillment in our age bears eloquent testimony to the greatness of the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa
May Almighty God guide mankind to the right path.
See also: The Truth About Eclipses by Saleh Mohammed Alladin
Please visit
ReplyDeletewww.alislam.org
Inform urself please...before trying to manipulate others opinion....
ReplyDelete