Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya Part III — Page 197
SUB-FOOTNOTE NUMBER ONE 197 that the word ilham can be used interchangeably with wahī, and since the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has also done so. Therefore, it is sheer dogmatism to suggest otherwise. Maulavi Şahib must be aware that there are hundreds of Arabic words used in Islamic theology which, if confined to their lexical meanings, would do nothing but mislead. Take the word wahi itself and tell me which of its lexical meanings conveys the sense in which Divine Scriptures are called wahy-e-risālat; and show me a lexicon that describes the state in which God speaks to His Messengers and bestows His commandments upon them. Also, look up the word 'Islam' in a dictionary and you will find that it only means to assign a task to some- one, or to surrender, or to overlook or to submit; there is no mention at all of the necessity of professing : لا إله إلا الله محمد رسول الله ]There is no one worthy of worship except Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah']. If all things have to be proven from the lexicons, then Maulavī Şahib ought to view Islam only as an act of reconciliation or assign- ing a task to someone-all other meanings being wrong and unjusti- fied. نعوذ بالله من زلة الفكر وقلة النظر We seek Allah's refuge from misguided thinking and dearth of insight]. It is no secret that every field of knowledge, whether it relates to theology or physiology or any other discipline, necessarily employs specific terms whose purpose is to clearly define and elaborate the underlying reasons for its terminology; and scholars have no choice but to assign specific connotations to certain words so as to be able to communicate. كما لا يخفى على الناظر ]This is no secret to the knowledgea- ble observer]. If, however, Maulavi Şahib does not wish to use the word in its commonly recognized sense, he is free to designate the news of the unseen that is revealed to auliyā'ullāh from God as wahy-e-ittela or wahy-e-ilām [i. e. , the revelations received by the believers other than the Prophets]. But it would be pertinent if he could clearly state that the difference between him and other Muslims is only semantic in nature; that what he calls wahi is the same phenomenon that Muslim scholars commonly refer to as ilhām; and that he fully agrees with them