Written by [In The Words of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, The Promised Messiah (as)] (1)
Those who were perfectly righteous have been called sons of God in the previous scriptures. This does not mean that they were actually the sons of God; such a thing would be blasphemous, as God has no sons or daughters. Such expressions only mean that the reflection of God had been displayed in the clear mirrors of those righteous personages. The reflection of a person in a mirror is, metaphorically speaking, his son; for as a son is born of the father, a reflection is born of the original. When a reflection of Divine manifestations appears in a heart that is absolutely pure, without any kind of stain, the reflection is metaphorically like a son of the original. That is why Israel was called the first begotten of God in the Torah.
If Christians had confined themselves to describing Jesus, son of Mary, as the son of God just as Abraham (as), Isaac (as), Ishmael (as), Jacob (as), Joseph (as), Moses (as), David (as), Solomon (as) and others were metaphorically called sons of God in the Scripture, there would have been no objection to it. Just as these Prophets were called sons of God, so is the Holy Prophet (sa) metaphorically called God in some prophecies. The truth is that all these descriptions are metaphorical; none of those Prophets were sons of God, nor was the Holy Prophet (sa) God. Such expressions abound in scriptures as indications of God’s love.
When a person becomes so devoted in his love for God Almighty that his self disappears altogether, such expressions are applied to him since his ego ceases to exist altogether; as God says in the Holy Qur’an:
“Tell them, O my servants! Despair not of the mercy of Allah; surely Allah will forgive all sins” (2).
In this verse, ‘O my servants’ has been used in place of ‘O servants of Allah’ while mankind are the servants of God and not the servants of the Holy Prophet (sa). The expression has been used here in the metaphorical sense.
Reference:
- Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, Haqiqat-ul-Wahi, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol. 22, Pp. 65-66
- The Holy Qur’an 39:54
Last modified: January 2023
