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An Excerpt from: Launch of ‘The Existence Project’ | A Special
“I say it with all the emphasis at my command that I shall not discard the robe bestowed upon me by God. I could not care less if you become my opponents and the rest of the world honed you too. There is a promise from God’s Appointee and we have witnessed the fulfilment that He shall not cast aside this community as worthless. Strange are His mighty ways and all-prevailing is His surveillance. You fulfil your part of the covenant and then witness the progress you make and the success you achieve “Hazrat Hakeem Maulvi Nooruddin Sahib, Khalifatul Masih Ira, Badr, 21st October 1909
Hazrat Hakeem Maulvi Nooruddin Sahib, Khalifatul Masih Ira
Amer Safir: Your Holiness, in terms of communica on with God and experiencing God, is this limited to humankind, or can animals also communicate with God?
Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih Vaba: Animals have been given ins ncts relevant to their needs and ac ons they need to perform. Some mes animals have been given par cular heightened senses. Dogs for example have an excellent sense of smell. They can use it to hunt prey effec vely and also sniffer dogs are used for this reason in narco cs for detec on. Other animals possess other types of a ributes and characteris cs for their needs. They can neither go beyond nor reduce the conferred character which they have been granted by Allah the Almighty. Indeed, one can train an animal to be er use their quali es. However, the characteris cs they are endowed with cannot be reduced nor exceeded, and a er some training they cannot surpass that. Animals have all been given unique traits. In some environments, wild animals will form a herd to protect themselves. Thus, God has granted animals ins ncts to perform their roles. Humans, however, have been given intellect as well. In terms of an outer form all animals including humans have been given one; however, humans have also been given the ability to worship and also intellect. Animals are limited in their purpose in terms of the func ons their bodies can form, whereas humans in addi on to their basic purpose, also have been given an addi onal purpose, which is referred to in the Holy Qur’an as:
(Holy Qur’an, Ch.51, vs.57)
Therefore, humans and jinns have a purpose which is not found amongst other animals. Humans have a higher purpose and thus naturally the soul will encounter more communica on with God as a result.
Spiritual progress and the concept of heaven and hell only relate to human souls because they have been given a purpose in life, whereas animals have a specific func on in life within nature and have been given a role which they enact in their life and they are unable to do anything outside of that sphere.
Amer Safir: Your Holiness, I had a ques on in terms of communica on with God, which is how does a prophet or khalifa [caliph or successor to a prophet] know when they have been informed of something directly by God, as opposed to it being their own thought?
Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih Vaba: First of all, there is a difference in the status and rank of prophets and the khalifas. We have to understand the degrees of ranks. A khalifa cannot possess all the quali es of a prophet. Hazrat Musleh Mau ` udra has explained in great detail that prophets have a unique status, and a khalifa cannot possess all the quali es of a prophet. All the khalifas from the Promised Messiahas un l me, have reflected some of the character and colour of the Promised Messiahas , and some emphasised certain teachings or a ributes more. However, none of us khalifas can reflect all the a ributes of the Promised Messiahas . Hazrat Musleh Mau ` udra , through his special quali es, was as close to a prophet as possible, but even he did not encompass all of the Promised Messiah’sas quali es and neither have any of the khalifas a er him. So firstly, it is important to understand the difference between prophets and khalifas.
Regarding the khalifas, through special prayer, Allah places in our heart a profound sa sfac on that such-and-such should occur and this is how we know it will be beneficial and is the right course. If a khalifa decides something himself (which he has not been directly informed of by Allah) – as we do not say a khalifa cannot make mistakes – if the decision of the khalifa relates to the Jama’at [Ahmadiyya Muslim Community] and is for its benefit, Allah the Almighty grants protec on from any nega ve effects manifes ng, even if the khalifa makes an error. This is something I have explained before as well.
Amer Safir: Your Holiness, if I may ask, can you kindly enlighten on how you personally communicate with God?
Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih Vaba: Through prayers or a dream, or in some way or the other, Allah places in my heart what should happen. This informs me that this is from Allah the Almighty and is the best ac on to take. Some mes it is in prayers, some mes it is a feeling in the heart and some mes I see a dream and I come to know this is from Allah. Some mes it is a feeling that is so empha cally ingrained in my heart from Allah or which emerges repeatedly, again and again during prayer that gives me the firm realisa on that it is God’s will. I do not say that I receive revela on, but some mes Allah informs me by way of a Qur’anic verse, and I know the ma er is from Allah through its meaning and interpreta on.
Amer Safir: Your Holiness, do you experience kashf (visions)?
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaba: Some mes when I am praying for a person, their face appears before me during the prayers. I cannot say that this necessarily is a kashf or that I have seen a kashf, but some special state develops in prayers.
