Explanatory Statement

(With Reference to Hazrat Gohar Shahi’s Meeting with Hazrat Isa (Jesus), Peace Be Upon Him)

A statement concerning Hazrat Syedna Riyaz Ahmed Gohar Shahi (R.A.) came to public attention in which it was mentioned that Hazrat Gohar Shahi (R.A.) met Hazrat Isa (Jesus), Peace Be Upon Him, at a hotel in America. Certain objections were subsequently raised by some religious scholars regarding this statement, which require clarification.

In his explanatory statement, Hazrat Gohar Shahi (R.A.) clearly stated: “Yes, absolutely, I met Hazrat Isa (Jesus), Peace Be Upon Him.” He further explained that there is nothing legally or rationally objectionable about such a meeting. It is important not to confuse the concept of a meeting with that of the public appearance or advent of Hazrat Isa (A.S.).

It is evident that numerous individuals within the Muslim community have claimed to have met Hazrat Muhammad Mustafa ﷺ, and such claims have not generally been objected to on this basis, even though Hazrat Muhammad ﷺ is the most exalted and superior of all Prophets and Messengers. Similarly, some people of Sufi tradition have made statements concerning meeting Allah Almighty or experiencing Divine vision, which scholars have understood in spiritual, inward, or mystical senses.

Some objectors argue that the appearance or descent of Hazrat Isa (A.S.) will take place at Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem) or the Holy Ka‘bah, so how could a meeting with him have taken place in a hotel?

Hazrat Gohar Shahi (R.A.) answered this objection very clearly by stating: “We have mentioned a meeting, not his appearance.” A meeting may be a spiritual and inward experience, whereas the public appearance or advent of Hazrat Isa (A.S.) will be an open and universal event. Its exact time and place are known best to Allah Almighty.

The spiritually close servants of Allah may, according to the understanding of Sufism and spirituality, experience encounters with Prophets, saints, and other sacred personalities either inwardly and spiritually, or through a spiritual manifestation in an outward form. Therefore, such experiences should not simply be rejected on the basis of apparent or material reasoning alone.

Therefore, declaring this statement contrary to Islamic belief or Shariah is the result of a misunderstanding of its meaning and of failing to distinguish between a spiritual meeting and the public appearance or advent of Hazrat Isa (A.S.).

(An interview given to BBC GMR Radio (UK) on 28 September 1997 regarding this matter is attached.)

Interview: Questions Regarding the Meeting with Hazrat Isa (Jesus), Peace Be Upon Him

Question: Under what circumstances did you meet Hazrat Isa (Jesus), Peace Be Upon Him?

Answer: I was sleeping at night in a hotel in America. I had almost fallen asleep when a person entered the room. I assumed that perhaps one of my companions had come, so I asked him who he was. He said that he had come to meet me. When I turned on the light and opened my eyes, I saw a handsome young man standing in front of me. Since I had already experienced spiritual encounters before, I could distinguish between them. Whenever something satanic appeared, I would feel a sense of suffocation, whereas whenever something Divine or benevolent appeared, the sound of Allah, Allah within me would become stronger.

Question: Was this a spiritual meeting or a physical one?

Answer: It felt physical to me, because when I opened my eyes, I had an actual conversation with him. Therefore, I understood that the meeting had taken place physically, with him present before me.

Question: How did you know that he was Hazrat Isa (A.S.)?

Answer: I realized that he was a spiritual personality. When I asked him, he himself told me, “I am Isa (Jesus), son of Maryam.” I asked him where he lived, and he said that previously he had not had any permanent place of residence, and that he still did not have one. He then told me that he had been present for a long time and that, just as I was working to spread the message of the love of Allah, he too was preparing a team.

I asked him whether he also visited his fathers and whether they knew about him. He replied, “No, there is very little spirituality among them.” However, he said that there were a few people among Christians who had learned some spirituality, and that they were connected with them. He said that they bestowed upon these people certain spiritual powers through which their work was being carried out in places such as Thailand and Sri Lanka. Those same people, he said, would later identify him, and at that time people would accept him.

Question: You are speaking through an interpreter at this time. In what language did Hazrat Isa (A.S.) speak to you?

Answer: He spoke to me in Urdu. When I asked him about this, he said, “I have come having learned every language.”

Question: Why did Hazrat Isa (A.S.) choose you, and what was his message for you?

Answer: His message was that, just as you are working with a mission of love, I also have a mission, and one day we have to work together to accomplish this mission.

Question: Your advertisement states that you will deliver a worldwide address at the end of this year, after the Pope’s address. I was not aware that the Pope would also be giving an address this year. Is it true that the Pope will address people in October?

Answer: When the Pope gives his address, it will be for his Christians, and after that our address will be for the Muslims.

Question: Many of your followers are Muslims by birth. But how do those who are not Muslims come to you and receive your message?

Answer: We teach them Allah, Allah through the beating of the heart. When the remembrance of Allah (Allah, Allah) begins to occur spontaneously within them, they come to believe in us and become our devotees.

Question: Some people who do not believe in you have thrown petrol bombs at you and also damaged your building?

Answer: In every religion there are two kinds of forces: some people believe, and some do not believe.

Question: Is the picture displayed on the poster a picture of Hazrat Isa (Jesus), Peace Be Upon Him?

Answer: Yes, this is definitely a picture of Hazrat Isa (A.S.). Furthermore, later, when I went to Houston, a woman there had the same picture. I immediately recognized that it was the same personality who had met me at the hotel. Some faces can also be seen on the Moon, one of which is the face of Hazrat Isa (A.S.), and it resembles this same picture.

Question: Do you mean that there is also a picture on the Moon?

Answer: Yes, it is on the Moon. When people come to us, we show them that this is Hazrat Isa (A.S.).

Question: Could all of this be a deception or illusion? Is it possible that in Mexico you merely thought that you had met Hazrat Isa (A.S.), and that the image on the Moon could also be an illusion?

Answer: There can be no deception in spiritual illumination, nor is deception possible regarding what is on the Moon, because we have seen the image ourselves. The image resembles him, and it also resembles what we see on the Moon. This is what we have observed.

Question: Where did the woman obtain the picture that she had?

Answer: She explained that some of our people had visited sacred places, where they took some photographs, and this image happened to appear among them. The picture had not been deliberately taken. Previously, we had also seen this picture in a magazine, which stated, in reference to America, that this person visited hospitals and performed spiritual healing, after which people recovered. We also obtained the picture from there, and that picture was the same as well.