by Shaykh Omar Subedar

Towards the end of time many major events are to occur as the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم has foretold. Conditions will become extremely intense and humanity will gradually degenerate. Minor signs of the Final Hour will initially appear followed by a sequence of major signs. The Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم stated, “The signs [of the final hour] are [like] beads put together with a string. When the string will break the beads will [fall] one after the other.” [Häkim: 8639]

Among the many signs of doomsday which the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم has informed us of is the advent of the Mahdi (the Guided One) and the return of Ësä ibn Maryam عليه السلام. The Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم said, “There will certainly be the Mahdi in my nation who will emerge...” [Tirmidhë: 2232]

In another narration he declared, “I swear by He in whose hands my soul is, Ibn Maryam عليه السلام shall descend among you with justice and honesty.” [Tirmidhë: 2232]

While Muslims continue to await the emergence of these two great figures, a certain faction of the community has laid claim that this prophecy has already been fulfilled over 100 years ago and that today we are living in a post Mahdi and Ësä ibn Maryam عليه السلام era. This segment of society is known today as the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community which was founded in 1889 by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, a person who claimed to be the awaited Mahdi and the promised Messiah himself. The foundations of this group were laid on March 23 1889 when forty people had pledged their allegiance to him and has since spread to various areas of the world.

Mirza’s claims were never received well by the general Muslims and have been a cause of great contention throughout the past, particularly in the Indian sub-continent. Today in Canada the group has become quite established in the community and has begun a series of outreach programs to Muslims and non Muslims alike. Because the masses are unaware of the details the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم has provided pertaining to the advent of the Mahdi and the second coming of Ësä ibn Maryam عليه السلام they become somewhat confused or even influenced by a member of the Ahmadiyya community when being confronted by them and having certain questions and assertions thrown at them. Hence it is our duty to educate ourselves regarding our creed and beliefs in order to distinguish between truth and falsehood. Thus we would like to take this opportunity to explore the claims of Mirza from his own writings and see how consistent they are with the prophecies of our beloved Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم so that we may be able to determine whether he spoke the truth or not.

The Claims of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad

It was after 1891 that Mirza began a series of claims that raised eyebrows throughout the Muslim world. The first of them being that he was told through divine revelation that he was the awaited Mahdi and the promised Messiah. He writes in ‘The Narrative of the Two Martyrdoms’ (Tazkirat-ush-Shahadatain):

“It was disclosed to me through Divine revelation a few years later that the Messiah that had been promised from the earliest time to this nation and that the last Mahdi who was destined to appear after the deterioration of Islam and who was to be granted direct guidance from God and who was to provide once again the spiritual nourishment, as had been preordained and about whom glad tidings had also been given by the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, himself 1300 years ago, is none other than me. Divine revelations, in this regard, came to me so clearly and persistently that no room for even the least doubt was left in this matter.”

He then shares the revelation he allegedly received, which is considerably lengthy. In it ‘God’ revealed to him:

· Praise is due to Allah Who has made thee "Jesus son of Mary" and taught thee things which thou did not know before. People say, "Whence and how did you acquire this position?" Tell them: Very Unique is my God and no one can hinder His grace. He cannot be questioned for what He does, but people shall be required to answer for their deeds.

· God is He Who has sent His Messenger (i.e. this humble person) with guidance and the religion that is true so that He may cause it to succeed and prevail over all other religions.

· Address no plea to Me concerning the wrong-doers for they are surely going to be drowned and they will make a plan and Allah will also plan, and Allah is the best of planners.

· And build thou the ark under Our Eyes with the help of Our revelation.

When Mirza realized that his claim of being Jesus son of Mary was at odds with the notions held by the general Muslim and Christians alike, he modified his assertion and wrote in the ‘Elucidation of Objectives’ (Taudih-e-Maram),

“Muslims and Christians both believe, albeit with some difference, that the Messiah son of Mary was physically raised to the heavens and that he will descend from the skies at some later time. I have already disproved this notion in the first part of this book. I have also pointed out that the 'Descent' or the 'Coming' does not mean the coming of the Messiah son of Mary; that actually it is a figure of speech signifying the coming of someone resembling the son of Mary; and that, in accordance with Divine intimation and revelation, it is the present writer—my own humble self—to whom it applies.”

He further claimed in his book ‘Jesus in India’ that Jesus survived the crucifixion and later migrated to Kashmir, India in order to preach to the ‘Lost Children of Israel’. He later passed away there due to old age and is currently buried in a shrine called Roza Bal, located in the Khanyar district of Srinagar, Kashmir.

In conclusion, according to these excerpts, Mirza has declared:

a) He is the Awaited Mahdi

b) He is the replica of Jesus son of Mary

c) He is Allah’s Messenger

d) He has been ordered to construct an ark

e) A flood will come that will drown all the wrong doers.

In order to verify these claims it is imperative that we analyze the Prophet’s صلى الله عليه وسلم traditions regarding these matters before reaching any type of conclusion.

The Mahdi

There are several traditions in which Allah’s Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم has described the Mahdi (the Guided One). In these traditions the Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم has said;

· If there was only a day left of this world, Allah would extend it until He would send a man who is from me; or from my family. His name will be the same as my name and his father’s name will be the same as my father’s name (i.e. Muhammad ibn Abdullah). He will fill the world with fairness and justice just as it will be filled with tyranny and injustice. [Sunan Abu Däwōd: 4282]

· This world will not end until the Arabs are ruled by a man from my family. His name will be the same as my name. [Sunan Abu Däwōd: 4282]

· The Mahdi is from my progeny; from the descendents of Fätima. [Sunan Abu Däwōd: 4284]

· The Mahdi is from me. He will have a high forehead and a curved nose. He will fill the world with fairness and justice just as it will be filled with tyranny and injustice and he will rule for seven years. [Sunan Abu Däwōd: 4285]

In one narration the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم has provided details on the Mahdi’s advent. He explained, “There will be a dispute following the death of a ruler (khalifa). A man from the residents of Madina will emerge and run to Makka. [Once in Makka] some Makkans will approach him and bring him out against his will. They will then pledge their allegiance to him between the [Black Stone] corner and the Maqäm [of Ibrähëm عليه السلام].

An army will be sent against him from Shäm (a region that comprised of Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, the Palestinian territories and Syria in those days), which will be swallowed up [by the earth] in Al Baidä, [a place] between Makka and Madina. When people will witness this [sign] the saints of Shäm and the best people of Iraq will come to him and pledge their allegiance to him.

Thereafter a man from the Quraish will arise, whose maternal uncles will be from [the tribe of] Kalb. He will send an army against them (i.e. the Mahdi and those who have pledged their allegiance to him) [to destroy them] however [the Mahdi and his followers] will prevail against them. That [defeated army] will be the forces of Kalb. The true loss will be for he who will fail to witness the spoils of Kalb. The Mahdi will distribute the wealth [acquired from the battle] and will govern the people in accordance to the practice (Sunna) of their Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم.

Islam will become established on the earth and the Mahdi will remain for seven years. He will then die and the Muslims will offer his funeral prayer. [Sunan Abu Däwōd: 4286]

Upon analysing these narrations it becomes extremely difficult to believe that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was the promised Mahdi for a number of reasons;

1. Contrary to the Prophet’s صلى الله عليه وسلم words: His name will be the same as my name and his father’s name will be the same as my father’s name (i.e. Muhammad ibn Abdullah), Mirza’s full name was Mirza Ghulam Ahmad son of Mirza Ghulam Murtaza.

2. He was neither from the descendants of Fatima رضى الله عنها nor among the progeny of Allah’s Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم, rather he was of Iranian descent, whose forefathers were from the tribe of Barlas; a tribe that lived and ruled in Kish, Sogdiana for 200 years.

3. He did not bear the physical features that were described by the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, such as having a curved nose etc. nor did he have any authority over the Arabs at any stage of his life. Instead shortly after his claim 34 scholars from Makka and Madina unanimously labelled him an apostate upon being informed by Shaykh Ahmad Rizha Khan about his assertions.

4. He was never a resident of Madina nor did he ever run off to Makka. In fact he never even travelled to the holy cities in his life. Hence there was no pledge of allegiance that was given to him between the [Black Stone] corner and the Maqäm [of Ibrähëm عليه السلام] nor was there any army that was sent up against him from Shäm, which was swallowed up by the earth at Al Baidä.

5. According to the narration above the Mahdi will be forced against his will to take the pledge of allegiance from people, particularly the Makkans. Mirza on the other hand was never compelled in anyway by anyone to take the oath of allegiance from any community, rather he first published an announcement on December 1, 1888 that God revealed to him that whomsoever seeks true faith and piety, should pledge their allegiance to Mirza so that God may shower His mercy and beneficence on them.

Later, on January 12^th, 1889 he published another pamphlet in which he laid down ten conditions of the pledge, which were;

I. Till the last day of the devotee’s life, the devotee shall abstain from associating any partners with Allah.

II. He shall keep away from falsehood, cruelty, adultery, dishonesty, disorder, rebellion and every kind of evil.

III. He shall offer prayers (Saläh) five times daily.

IV. He shall not inflict injury on any of Allah’s creatures.

V. He shall bear every hardship for the sake of Allah.

VI. He shall not follow vulgar customs and shall guard himself against evil inclinations.

VII. He shall discard pride and haughtiness and shall live in humility & meekness

VIII. He shall deem his faith, dignity, and the welfare of Islam to be dearer to him than his own life, wealth and children.

IX. He shall have sympathy for all of God’s creatures, and devote his talents to their welfare.

X. He shall establish brotherhood with Mirza, obey him in all good things, and firmly adhere to these rules until the last breath of his life.

On March 23, 1889 he began taking the oath of allegiance at the house of Sufi Ahmad Jan, in the city of Ludhiana. There he laid the foundation of the Ahmadiyya Movement. On the first day forty people pledged the oath of allegiance to him. Among them were:

Maulvi Abdullah Sanori
Chaudhry Rustam Ali
Munshi Zafar Ahmad
Munshi Aroray Khan
Munshi Habib ar-Rahman
Qazi Zia al-din
Mir Inayat Ali

Not a single one of these people were from Makka or of Arabian descent.

6. Contrary to the narrations, Mirza did not pass away 7 years after taking the initial pledge. He rather lived on for another 19 years and passed away in Lahore on May 26, 1908.

In light of all these contradictions, among many more which we have not bothered discussing, one can safely conclude that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was NOT the Mahdi the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم had foretold us about.

The Messiah, Ësä ibn Maryam عليه السلام

In respect to what really happened to Ësä عليه السلام Allah explains in the Qur’än, “And [We cursed the People of the Scriptures for] their saying, "Indeed, we have killed the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, the messenger of Allah." And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was made to resemble him to them. And indeed, those who differ over it are in doubt about it. They have no knowledge of it except the following of assumption. And they did not kill him, for certain. Rather, Allah raised him to Himself. And ever is Allah Exalted in Might and Wise.” [4:157-158]

‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbäs رضى الله عنهما elaborated on the ascension incident by relating, “When Allah intended to uplift Ësä عليه السلام to the sky, Ësä عليه السلام came out to his companions and [at that time] there were 12 companions that were present in the house; He came out to them, not exiting the house while his head was dripping of water and said, “Among you there is a person who will disbelieve in me 12 times before he places his faith in me.”