Love of Prophet Muhammad (sa)

Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as), the Promised Messiah and Mahdi, wrote the Arabic Qasidah [lyric poem]in his book “A’ina’-e-Kamalat-e-Islam” addressing the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa), expressing his love for him and praising him for his high moral and spiritual qualities, his beauty, his beneficence and the spiritual revolution that he brought about in the lives of pre-Islamic Arabs who were plunged in the darkness of evil and were a decadent society.

Taken from: “The Commentary of al-Qasidah” pp 7-24, Commentary by Maulana Jalal-ud-Din Shams, Islam International Publications Ltd., First published in U.K. in 2013.

O you who are the fountain of Allah’s beneficence and divine understanding;

People throng towards you like the thirsty rushing towards water.

O you who are the ocean of the Grace of the Benefactor and Bountiful God;

People flock to you with empty cups in their hands.

O you the sun of the kingdom of beauty and virtue;

You have illuminated the deserts as well as the cities.

A nation was blessed by having been able to see you,

while many heard of the full moon which has captivated my heart.

People shed tears when they fondly reminisce of your grace and beauty;

A fire consumes their hearts due to the pains of separation.

I see their hearts are in such anxiety as if they have reached their throats;

I see that their eyes are owing with tears.

O you who are the sun and moon of light;

You have illuminated the day and the night.

O our full moon and sign of the Gracious God;

O the best of all guides, the bravest of the brave.

I find such a glory in your sparkling countenance;

That surpasses all human excellence.

The wise chose your company and followed you;

And the truthful relinquished their hearths and homes to be with you.

They chose you, and abandoned their friends;

They distanced themselves from their families.

They bid farewell to their base desires, and self-indulgence;

They discarded all their material belongings.

When the clear signs of the truth of their Prophet became manifest upon them,

Their base desires were shattered to pieces like smashed idols.

They became enlightened in the pitch darkness of night;

And Allah saved them from being engulfed in a raging storm of torment.

The fury and wrath of the opponents attempted to grind them to dust;

But the mercy of their Beneficent Lord sustained them and they remained steadfast.

The despicable and accursed of the earth looted all their belongings;

But their faces gleamed upon receiving the pearls of the Qur’an.

They thoroughly cleansed their souls of all impurities;

And moved forward to gain the wealth of unflinching faith.

In battle, they stood with the Messenger in ranks.

Intoxicated in love, they marched forward to the battlefield.

The blood of sincere lovers was shed under the sword;

Like the blood of sacrificed animals flowing under the knife,

They came to you looted and naked,

And you clothed them with the cloak of faith.

You found them dirty like a heap of dung;

And transformed them into a piece of pure gold.

And the wilderness of Arabia was transformed into such a garden;

The streams of which are pleasant and sweet, and the trees of which are laden with fruits.

The towns of Arabia awoke to life once again;

Leaving the days of death and drought behind.

The men of Hijaz, who were given to the love of women;

You made them satiated in with love of the Gracious God.

Only two additions had made the Arabs blind:

Wine and women were all that they sought.

Concerning women clear commandments were laid down;

Prohibiting men marrying those who were prohibited by the Qur’an.

And you laid waste the drinking places;

And you closed down the drinking of all the towns.

Many were those who were given to boozing;

But you made them drunk with the wine of faith.

Many were addicted to playing music,

But you made them enjoy the bliss of converse with the Gracious God.

Many were those who lusted for perfumed women,

But you made them adore the Book of God.

With one look you resurrected to life the dead of ages;

Who can equal you in your glory?

They abandoned the pleasures of the evening wine;

And embraced the joy of prayers in nights of grief

Earlier, they were bewitched by the charms of musical instruments;

They were held like captives who cannot move.

Their pleasure resorts were their music chambers;

At times they would flirt with women or indulge in heavy drinking.

They had no worry but the thought of pretty, singing women;

Or of wine and wine pots.

They were eager to violate peace and order due to their ignorance;

And were quite pleased to live in dirt and ­lth.

Due to ignorance, two were the major faults they were known by:

the obstinacy of a donkey and the ferocity of the wolf.

It was then O sun of guidance, that you arose on the horizon,

To give them light and benevolence with your lustrous face.

You were sent by your Lord, the Noble, the Beneficent,

At a time when evil and vice deluged.

What a noble man! What a man of glory!

His breath smells like the fragrance of sweet basil.

The Protector (God) is visible in his face;

And all of his virtues shine in great glory.

That is why he is beloved. Indeed his beautiful virtues demand;

That he be adored to the exclusion of all.

Of noble character, revered, bounteous, friend of the God-fearing;

He excels all in the ­eld of virtue.

In excellence and beauty, he surpasses all;

And in glory and cheerfulness of heart.

Without any doubt, Muhammad (sa) is the best of the best—

A man of extreme generosity, the soul and strength of the nobles, the elect among the elite.

All noble virtues culminated in his person,

The blessings of all times reached their apex in him.

By God, Muhammad (sa) is the vicegerent of God,

And through him alone can one reach the royal court of God.

He is the pride of the pious, the holiest;

He is the pride of the spiritual legions of men of virtue.

He excels all those who were close to God,

Indeed, excellence is a matter of noble deeds, and not limited to time.

Reflect! The drizzle precedes the heavy rain.

Yet drizzle is drizzle and rain is rain.

He is the unchallenged archer. His arrows do not miss the target,

They are dead set on killing Satan.

He is a garden and I see that his fruits

And clusters have been brought within the easy reach of my heart.

I found him to be an ocean of truth and guidance;

I found him to be a pearl of luster and light.