THE HOLY PROPHET (ALLAHUMA SALI ALA MUHAMMAD WA ALA ALI MUHAMMAD) SAID: “MY AHLUL BAYT ARE LIKE THE ARK OF NUH. WHOSO GETS INTO IT IS SAVED AND WHOSO STAYS AWAY IS DROWNED AND LOST.”

وَقَالَ لَهُمْ نَبِيُّهُمْ إِنَّ آيَةَ مُلْكِهِ أَنْ يَأْتِيَكُمُ التَّابُوتُ فِيهِ سَكِينَةٌ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ وَبَقِيَّةٌ مِمَّا تَرَكَ آلُ مُوسَىٰ وَآلُ هَارُونَ تَحْمِلُهُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ ۚ إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَآيَةً لَكُمْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ مُؤْمِنِينَ {2:248}

[Q2:248] Wa qaala lahum Nabiyyuhum inna Aayata mulkiheee ai yaatiyakumut Taabootu feei sakeenatummir Rabbikum wa baqiyyatummimmaa taraka Aalu Moosa wa Aalu Haaroona tahmiluhul malaaa'ikah; inna fee zaalika la Aayatal lakum in kuntum mu'mineen.

[Q2:248] And the prophet said to them: Surely the sign of His kingdom is, that there shall come to you the chest in which there is tranquillity from your Lord and residue of the relics of what the children of Musa and the children of Haroun have left, the angels bearing it; most surely there is a sign in this for those who believe.

[Q2:248] Dan Nabi mereka, berkata lagi kepada mereka: “Sesungguhnya tanda kerajaan Talut itu (yang menunjukkan benarnya dari ALLAH (SwT)) ialah datangnya kepada kamu peti Tabut yang mengandungi (sesuatu yang memberi) ketenteraman jiwa dari Tuhan kamu, dan (berisi) sebahagian dari apa yang telah ditinggalkan oleh keluarga Nabi-nabi Musa dan Harun; peti Tabut itu dibawa oleh malaikat. Sesungguhnya peristiwa kembalinya Tabut itu mengandungi satu tanda keterangan bagi kamu jika betul kamu orang-orang yang beriman”.

The tabut (3 yards X 2 yards) was a holy ark or chest which contained divine signs, understood by the prophets of ALLAH (SWT) only. IT WAS SO DIVINELY BLESSED THAT WHENEVER CARRIED BY THE JEWS INTO THE BATTLEFIELD, THE ENEMY INVARIABLY RAN AWAY. IT WAS PASSED ON FROM ONE PROPHET TO ANOTHER, AND HAD MIRACULOUS PROPERTIES. It is reported to contain the [*] garments of Musa, the [*] turban of Harun and some sacred relics. It was brought back from Shiloh to help the Jews in the war against the Philistines. The ark mentioned in verse 20:39 of al Taha (Exodus 2: 3) is not this ark.

»         According to the Ahmadi commentators tabut means heart, into which ALLAH (SWT) sends down peace of reassurance (tranquillity). He quotes verse 48:4 of al Fat-h. "Put him into the ark, and cast it into the river", (Taha: 20:39).

Can any sensible person put the word "heart" in the place of "ark"? It would mean that ALLAH (SWT) commanded the mother of Musa to put him into her heart and cast her heart into the river. It is an absurd interpretation. The word baqiyyah is interpreted by them as "the best of a thing", whereas it means "that which is left behind". This kind of interpretations are put forward by the Ahmadi (also known as Qadiani) commentators because their prime motive is to deny miracles attributed to the Prophets of ALLAH (SWT), as Mirza Ghulam Ahmed, the false prophet of Qadian could never ever produce a miracle. The list of their twisting of the verses of the Qur’an and the traditions of the Holy Prophet (ALLAHuma sali ala Muhammad wa ala ali Muhammad) is very long which cannot be discussed here. They are always in search of some imaginary meaning of the word, other than the actual one, be it the most obscure and far-fetched, to serve their purpose. Such misinterpretations are presented with the full force of as many conjectures as possible. The Qadiani (Ahmadi) school is diametrically antagonistic to the faith of the Ahlul Bayt who are the only divinely authorised custodians and teachers of the Qur’an according to the hadith al thaqalayn.

Ì  The Holy Prophet (ALLAHuma sali ala Muhammad wa ala ali Muhammad) said:

“My Ahlul Bayt are like the ark of Nuh. Whoso gets into it is saved and whoso stays away is drowned and lost.”

Verse 10:35 of Yunus and verse 67:22 of al Mulk MAKE IT CLEAR THAT A TRUE GUIDE IS HE WHO IS GUIDED AND APPOINTED BY ALLAH (SWT) HIMSELF. HE DOES NOT RECEIVE ANY TYPE OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING FROM ANY ONE OTHER THAN ALLAH (SWT). So any one, who is not guided and appointed by ALLAH (SWT) as a guide, is an impostor.

The executor appointed by ALLAH (SWT) (see verse 2:247 of al Baqarah) *should have the divine signs, *the sacred heritage of the divinely chosen lineage which is endowed with the tranquillity (sakinah), on account of which *no worldly or temporal force or consideration would frighten him from the way and cause of ALLAH (SWT).

Ä  SUCH AN APPOINTED executor who slept in the bed of the Holy Prophet (ALLAHuma sali ala Muhammad wa ala ali Muhammad) on the night of the migration is praised in verse 2:207 of al Baqarah (see commentary); AND THE SORRY PLIGHT of the man who by himself claimed the executorship with the help of his comrades is exposed in verse 9:40 of al Tawbah.

ON EVERY OCCASION IT WAS ALI, THE BELOVED OF ALLAH (SWT) AND HIS MESSENGER, WHO FEARLESSLY STRIVED IN THE CAUSE OF ALLAH (SWT) AND DESTROYED THE ENEMIES OF ALLAH (SWT) AND HIS MESSENGER, while the rest of the companions either watched the fighting from a safe distance or ran away from the battlefield; this was so because there was tranquillity in Ali's heart from the Lord, as has been confirmed by verse 9:26 of al Tawbah and verse 48:26 of al Fat-h. Besides this in-built tranquillity, **the appointed executor must possess the divine heritage of the holy house, therefore, in view of the saying of the Holy Prophet (ALLAHuma sali ala Muhammad wa ala ali Muhammad) that "Ali is to me as Harun was to Musa", THE DIVINE AUTHORITY TO GUIDE AND ADMINISTER HUMAN SOCIETY CANNOT BE CLAIMED BY ANY ONE WHO DOES NOT BELONG TO THE HOLY AHLUL BAYT (Nisa 4:54).

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(2:248) Their Prophet further informed them, "The sign of his appointment as king from Allah is that during his reign you will get back the Ark, wherein are the means of your peace of mind from your Lord, and which contains the sacred relics of the family of Moses and Aaron, and which is being borne at this time by the angels. *270 Herein is a great Sign for you, if you are true believers."

*270. The Biblical version of this incident is different from the Qur'anic one. The former sheds light, however, on certain details of the incident. It shows that during a military engagement the pagan Philistines had captured the 'Ark of the covenant'. Terrified of the scourge and pestilence which spread wherever they carried the Ark, these pagans placed it on a cart driven by milk cows, and sent it off. (1 Samuel 5-6 - Ed.) Perhaps the Qur'an alludes to this when it mentions angels, since the cart was driverless and it was the angels who kept it in their custody and brought it to the Israelites. The Qur'anic statement, that in the Ark 'lies inward peace for you', can be understood in the light of the Biblical statements that the Israelites regarded the Ark as highly auspicious, and as an emblem of their triumph and victory. When they were deprived of it, they began to feel that they had been deprived of the mercy of God. The return of the Ark, therefore, had a highly salutary effect on them as it strengthened their sagging morale and raised their spirits.
The Qur'anic mention of 'the sacred relics left behind by the house of Aaron' seems to allude to the Tablets of Law bequeathed to Moses on Mount Sinai. The Ark is also said to have contained the original copyof the Torah, which Moses himself had had transcribed and which he had himself handed over to the Levites. The Ark is also supposed to have contained a golden urn holding the manna (Hebrews 9: 2 ff - Ed.), in order that the coming generations might recall God's benevolence to their forefathers during their wandering in the desert. The Ark also probably contained the rod of Moses which was one of the great miracles of God. (Hebrews 9: 5 mentions the rod of Aaron - Ed.)