'Worship' of the Khalifa among the Ahmadis

Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib (atba) of Mauritius, the new Mujaddid and Khalifatullah (a Khalifa raised by Allah, not men) has come to renew the days of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa), just as Allah had raised the Divine Reformers in every age of Islam, in many parts of the Muslim world. After all, Allah (swa) does not need the permission of any mundane leaders and mullahs in the raising of His Elects and the questions of Divine Will and decisions regarding the appointment of  His Elect cannot be voted in the assembly and opinion of men! For the devout Ahmadi Muslims, the new Khalifatullah (atba) fulfills the prophecies contained in the writings of the Promised Massih Hadhrat Ahmad (as) regrading the appearance of other spiritually guided souls in His Jamaat in future. The new Mujaddid has also confirmed the veracity of the spiritual expectations and the statements of the Musleh Maoud Hazrat Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmud Ahmad (ra) regarding his 'second coming' among the people. And he has as well confirmed that he is indeed raised in their spiritual shadows. 

Despite all that is with them in the form of the sacred teachings and inherited beliefs, when Ahmadis are informed about the sheer bounty of Allah (swa) in our times, they are stunned to hear the news. That Allah (swa) has raised His Elect in this era and sent the new Mujaddid in the mantle of a Messenger of Allah among themselves, appears to them to be an impossible situation from the confines of their bondage in the nizami syatem . They look here and there to ask whether the chiefs and leaders within had endorsed the Divine prerogative and showed the humility to recognize and accept the Divine decision to send a Messenger among the Ahmadis in this era. Hence, the 'blinds' and 'slaves' are largely indifferent to the coming of a Divinely-raised Mujaddid in this age. 

Indeed, this is the typical behaviour of people in the time of an Elect of Allah. After all, the judgement of the Holy Qur’an, cannot be wrong in any age: “And now when there has come to them a Messenger from Allah, fulfilling that which is with them, a party of the people to whom the Book was given have thrown the Book of Allah behind their backs, as if they knew it not”.   (2:102).

Decadence of the Leadership

When the Khilafat-e-Ahmadiyya was established, there were great spiritual expectations from the institution, at least among those who led it from the front. It is striking to note that according to Hadhrat Musleh Maoud Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmud Ahmad (ra), the Nizam-e-Jamaat has to resemble the lofty category of “godly people and those learned in the Law” entrusted with the responsibility to “preserve the Book of Allah” (5:45). In other words, the leadership is to consolidate the people under the banner of Tawheed, and not to show personal hubris and institutional arrogance in the name of the Exalted Lord, taking themselves as "the lords beside Allah". 

The aforesaid Qur’anic verse contains a declaration, a warning pregnant with profound meaning: “Therefore fear not men but fear Me; and barter not My Signs for a paltry price. And whoso judges not by that which Allah has sent down, these it is who are the disbelievers”. The precise indication is that in course of time, people will start fearing these “godly people and those learned in the Law”, rather than fearing Allah and accepting His Messengers.

The Holy Qur’an has indeed profoundly warned the believers against this mistaken notion and deviant practice. It narrated the history of previous communities which took their leaders and religious divines as lords beside Allah: “They have taken their learned men and their monks for lords beside Allah.” (9: 31).

Worship of the Leadership

It is interesting to note that a Christian convert to Islam asked a question to the Holy Prophet of Islam (sa) when the original verse was revealed. He noted that the Christians did not ritually worship their godly men and those learned in the Law and hence, what does this verse refer to? The Holy Prophet (sa) replied by asking a counter question: “Didn’t the people consider something lawful when their monks declare it so even if they are forbidden by God?” When the convert answered in the affirmative, the Holy Prophet (sa) explained that the verse refer to such a situation. 

The 'situation' among Ahmadis 

Today, common Ahmadis, in general, are in bondage to the Nizam-e-Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya. With a system of tight-fist control over all hierarchical structures within, and the enforcement of social boycott over those who raise questions or differ with the leadership, the existing Nizami system in the Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya, thrives on and perpetuates a culture of exaggerated notions of obedience of the leadership bordering on suspension of one's spiritual reasoning and following on blind faith, invoking images of 'slavery' in the ancient times. 


Many Ahmadi friends tell us that they will join us if the Khalifatul Massih V and the great scholars of the Jamaat agree with us. So, it is not the idea that is unacceptable to them; it is the opinion of the leadership that is the problem for them! Ahmadis, thus, attach extraordinary importance to the opinion of the Khalifa and the Ulema even on a matter that comes exclusively under the prerogative of Allah. To put it differently, in this age, they seem to think that Allah needs the permission or concurrence of the Khalifa of the time to send an Elect of His! Is that what you believe, God forbid?! 

When the Khalifa himself is not a recipient of divine revelations, how will he be able to guide the community on the matter? And more importantly, can someone ever claim immunity from divine punishment on the basis of the Khalifa’s opinion on the denial of a Messenger of Allah? Knowingly or unknowingly, Ahmadis have thus moved away from the very first Condition of Bai’at in the Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya: abstain from Shirk [associating any partner with God]. 

In a well known Hadith, the Holy Prophet (sa) had spoken about the future decadence of leadership among the Muslims. It is also clear that the Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya will witness decline of spiritual standards in course of time. It is been narrated by Hadhrat Adbullah-bin-Masood that the Holy Prophet (sa) said: 

“Prior to my arrival, all the Prophets sent by the Almighty have had some sincere companions that would completely abide by their teachings and practices. After their demise, there came a disobedient group that would say things that they would not do themselves. And they would state things for which they had not been commanded (or authorized) to do so. Whosoever that conducts jihad by hand against them is a true follower (Mu’min), and whosoever conducts verbal jihad is also a follower (Mu’min) and whosoever that conducts jihad in his own heart, meaning that he dislikes it, is also a follower(Mu’min). And afterwards, there is not an iota of faith left.” 

[(Muslim–Kitab-al-Iman– Hadeeqa-tas-Salheen) , Page 314, organized by Late Hadhrat Malik Saif-ur- Rehman Sahib, UK: Islam International Press].