Finality of the Message of God
Mirza Ghulam Ahmed claimed to be a true ‘Muslim’ in some
of his works and speeches; but, at the same instance, many of his blasphemous
statements can be found ‘scattered’ in his books. He said, while openly
degrading Islam: “We believe that a religion which does not have the
continuity of Prophethood (as in Islam) is a dead religion. We call the
religions of the Jews, the Christians and the Hindus dead only because now
there are no prophets in them. If this were the position in Islam too, we
would be no more than mere storytellers! Why do we regard it superior to other
religions?” (Malfoozat-e-Mirza, Vol. 10, page 127)
He also said: “How absurd and false it is to believe
that after the Holy Prophet (Muhammad) the door of the divine revelation has
been closed forever and that there is no hope of it in the future till the Day
of Resurrection! Can a religion having no direct trace of Almighty God be
called a religion? say, by Almighty God, that in this age there is no one
more fed up than myself with such a religion! I name such a religion as ‘Satanic’
religion and not a divine one. I believe that such a religion guides towards
Hell and keeps one blind in life.” (Zamima Braheen-e-Qadianism, Part V,
Roohani Khazain, Vol.21, p354)
From these quotes it is quite clear that Mirza Ghulam
Ahmed despises the religion of Islam and claims it to be a ‘dead’ religion
because the ‘chain’ of prophethood has ended. Conveniently enough, he was
chosen to be a Prophet of God to ‘complete’ Islam and keep it alive!
As Muslims, we believe that the Message of Islam was
completed before the death of Prophet Muhammad. God says: “This day I have perfected for you your
religion and completed My favor upon you and have approved for you Islam as
religion.” (Quran 5:3)
We believe that no Prophet will come after Prophet
Muhammad. He is the final Prophet of God to mankind. God says: “Muhammad
is not the father of [any] one of your men, but [he is] the Messenger of God
and the last of the Prophets.” (Quran 33:40)
The Prophet prophesized that a number of ‘quacks’ would
emerge, each claiming to be a Prophet. He said: “Indeed, there will be in
my nation thirty liars; each claiming to be a prophet. I am the last of the
Prophets; no prophet will come after me.” (Tirmidthi)
The Prophet said: “The tribe of Israel was guided by prophets. When a prophet passed away, another prophet succeeded him. But no
prophet will come after me; only caliphs will succeed me.” (Saheeh Al-Bukhari)
The Prophet foretold that every one hundred years, God
would send a person who would revive the religion of Islam. He said: “Indeed
God will send a revivalist at the head of every one hundred years to revive the
religion of Islam.” (Abu Dawood)
These revivalists have no ‘divine’ connections. They
carry the traits of a true, believing Muslim. They would work strenuously to
bring people back to the texts of the Quran and Prophet Way.
Quran
Mirza Ghulam Ahmed said: “Quran is God’s Book and words
of my mouth.” (Advertisement dated 15th March 1897, Roohani Khazain vol.22
p.87)
After this blasphemous claim, Mirza Ghulam Ahmed began
to interpret the Quran as he liked and felt necessary. Each time a verse of
the Quran seemed to pose a ‘threat’ to his claim, he simply reinterpreted the
meaning to suit his whims. Prior to his claim of being a Prophet, Mirza Ghulam
Ahmed strictly adhered to the proper understanding of textual proofs. He even
viewed the verse of the Quran which stated that Prophet Muhammad was the last
of the Prophets to be exactly that, clear evidence that Prophet Muhammad was
the last Prophet to mankind. After his claim of Prophethood, he revisited this
text and reinterpreted it to mean that Prophet Muhammad was not the final
Prophet to mankind; but, that his prophethood signified a ‘seal of approval’,
i.e. that he was the beauty of the Prophets and Messengers and their best, but
not the last!
Mirza claimed that a number of the verses of the Quran
were revealed to him to signify his grandeur. He claimed that the following
verses were among many that were revealed to him again.
a. “Say, if you really love Allah, then follow me.” (Quran
3:31)
b. “And We have not sent you but as a Mercy for All the Worlds.” (Quran
21:107)
c.
“He is the one who has sent His Messenger
with guidance.” (Quran 9:33)
In this manner, his followers became ‘companions’, his
family became ‘Ahlul-Bait’ (i.e. the members of the respected family) and his
wife became ‘Mother of the Believers.’
In order to protect himself, he said: “Yes, in
support (of our claims) we also present those Prophet Traditions which are
according to Quran and do not contradict my ‘divine revelation’. As for the
rest of the Prophetic Traditions, I toss them aside like wastepaper.” (Roohani
Khazain vol.19 p.140)
Muslims believe that the Quran are the words of God,
they were revealed to Prophet Muhammad through the Arch-Angel Gabriel, may the
mercy and blessings of God be upon him. God says: “Indeed, it is We who sent down the Quran and indeed, We will be its
guardian.” (Quran 15:9)
Interpreting the Quran is not left up to just anyone;
there are levels of the interpretation of the Quran, the highest of which is
interpreting the Quran with the Quran. The second level is interpreting the
Quran with authentic prophetic narrations. The third level, is interpreting
the Quran with the Companions’ statements. The fourth level, which is a weaker
level, is to interpret the Quran through language (like a translation of the
meanings of the Quran). One cannot interpret any verse the way they fancy!
Prophet Muhammad
The followers of Mirza claim that Mirza was superior to
Prophet Muhammad. They claim: “The mental development of the Promised
Messiah (i.e. the Mirza Qadiani) was higher than that of the Holy Prophet
Muhammad. And this is only a part of the superiority which the Promised
Messiah has over the Holy Prophet. The mental faculties of the Holy Prophet
could not manifest fully owing to the deficiency of civilization; although the
ability existed. They have now manifested themselves fully through the
Promised Messiah by virtue of the advancement of civilization.” (Review of
Religions, May 1929, Qadiani Mazhab, p.266, 9th Ed. Lahore)
Mirza further degraded Prophet Muhammad stating that
part of his revelation was false, and that he misunderstood parts of the
revelation given to him by God! (Roohani Khazain vol.3 pp.166-167)
He even ridiculed God Almighty and the Prophet, saying: “And
God chose such a despicable place to bury the Holy Prophet which is extremely
smelly, dark and cramped!” (Roohani Khazain vol.17 p.205)
As Muslims we love and respect Prophet Muhammad. We do
not ascribe to him divine attributes. God says: “Say (O Muhammad), “I am
only a man like you, to whom has been revealed that your god is one God.”
(Quran 18:110)
The claims of Mirza need no response, but it is
noteworthy to mention how Mirza died! He died in a shameful way, in a public
toilet in Lahore while having been stricken with cholera!
Jihad
One of the fundamentals that we are taught in Islam is
self-defense. When someone harms us, we don’t simply ‘turn our cheek’. We
defend ourselves. Defending yourself and protecting yourself from a foreign
invader is something that no human being will dispute. One cannot simply
cancel out Jihad by some ill perceived notion that he is receiving a ‘command
from God’!
Mirza Ghulam Ahmed was truly the ideal British Agent! He
openly said: “For the sake of British Government, I have published and
distributed 50,000 leaflets in this country (i.e. India) and other Islamic
countries, the result of which was that hundreds of thousands of people have
given up their ‘filthy’ ideas about Jihad.” (Roohani Khazain vol. 15
p.114)
He also said: “From my early age till now when I am
65 years of age, I have been engaged, with my pen and tongue, in an important
task to turn the hearts of Muslims towards the true love and goodwill and
sympathy for the British Government, and to obliterate the idea of Jihad from
the hearts of stupid Muslims.” (Kitab-ul-Bariyah, Roohani Khazain vol.
13 p.350)
Mirza supposedly, and quite conveniently, ‘received’
divine revelation from God that ‘Jihad’ was abrogated and no longer a part of
Islam! He said: “From today human Jihad which is done by sword, is being abrogated
by the order of God. From now on, anyone who lifts a sword on a Kafir/non-Muslim
and calls himself a Ghazi/fighter for the sake of God, is disobeying that
Messenger (i.e. Muhammad). After my arrival, there is no Jihad with the
sword. We have raised the flag of Peace and Friendliness.” (Collection of
Advertisement p.295, vol.3)
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