Ahmadis today believe that Mujaddidiyat
or the advent of Divine Reformers appointed
directly by Allah the Most High has come to an end with the departure
of the Promised Massih (as). They think
that there is no scope for any Mujaddid to come in the new century of Islam as
Hadhrat Ahmad (as) has claimed to be the
Mujaddid of the Last Millennium.
“Since it is the last millennium, it was
inevitable that the Imam of the latter days should be born at the turn of this
millennium. After him, there is no
Imam and no Messiah except the one who comes in his image, for in this
millennium the world comes to an end as all the Prophets have testified. This
Imam, whom God has designated as the Promised Massih, is the Mujaddid of this century as well as that of the last millennium”
[p. 9, Qadian: Nazarat Nashro Ishaat (2007)]
Based on this
sole statement, Ahmadis today conclude that no Mujaddid will come in the entire
Millennium. Those who take a second look at the statement will find: there is no Imam and no Messiah except
the one who comes in his image”.
It means that others
can come so long as they are “in his
image”. The door for spiritual elevation in subsequent ages is closed
only in the case of those who reject the Elect of Allah of the day- the
Promised Massih (as) in his era. In other words, Allah will raise the spiritual
progeny of the Promised Massih (as) to all the spiritual blessings that are
promised in the Holy Qur’an (4:70). The Promised Massih thus did not come to cancel the great
Prophetic tradition about the coming of Mujaddidin in every century. Those
who come after him will only confirm his truthfulness, they do not replace him.
So while he remains the Mujaddid of the Last Millennium,
others will come after him. This is how the Promised Massih (as) himself
understood his claim, for he never claimed that Mujaddidin
will not come after him.
As we have noted
above, the Lecture Sialkot was delivered on November 02, 1904. Within
a year after he made this speech, the Promised Massih (as) directly
addressed a question on the future of divine guidance after his time. Indeed, the reply of Hadhrat Ahmad (as) to
the question clearly showed that he believed in the necessity of Mujaddidin in
every century.
“29 SEPTEMBER 1905, before noon. A man asked the question: ‘Will a Mujaddid come after
you?’
He [the Promised Messiah] replied: “What is wrong with a Mujaddid coming after me? The prophethood of Moses had come to an end, and that is why his chain of successors ended with Jesus. However, the dispensation of the Holy Prophet Muhammad will last till the Day of Judgment. Therefore, Mujaddidin will arise in it till Judgment Day. As long as the Day of Judgment withholds its destruction, it does not matter that someone else should come. We most certainly do not deny that good and righteous people will continue to come, and then all of a sudden the Day of Judgment will come.” (Malfoozat. volume 7, page 119)
If the title-Mujaddid of the Last Millennium- has
given rise to the situation of no divinely raised Mujaddid after him, the
Promised Massih (as) would have clarified it here. The response of the Promised
Massih (as) to the question is that “Mujaddidin will arise in it till Judgment Day”. It leaves no room for doubt or confusion in the
mind of any one with common sense as to what he was saying. Those
who attribute a contrary view to the
Promised Massih (as) on the future of Mujaddidiyat are challenging common sense
and the larger Divine Scheme for Islam that the Promised Massih (as) spoke on
countless occasions:
“For every age
the conclusive proving of the case for Islam takes place in a different sense,
and the Mujaddid of the time comes with the powers,
faculties and qualities upon which depends the reformation of the prevalent
evils. God will ever continue to do this, as long as He
pleases, so that signs of righteousness and reform remain in the world. These
matters are not without proof; on the contrary, repeated observations testify
to them.” (Shahadat
ul Quran: page 46)
“Another point
is that the letter ra in
the word alif-lam-ra shows
that this word refers to the permanent institution of Mujaddids and
the sent ones, which will continue till the Day of Judgment. . .
. All these miraculous works and victories which took place at the hands of
the Mujaddids among the followers of the Holy Prophet
Muhammad after him, and will continue till the Day of Judgment,
are really the achievements of the Holy Prophet.” (Ruhani Khaza’in no. 2, vol.
2, p.63.)
“After
one week, clothes get dirty and it becomes necessary to have them washed. But
even after the passing of a full century, is there not a need for a Mujaddid? There
is, most definitely there is. This is the reason why God established this
institution that at the head of every century a Mujaddid comes
for the reform of the people.” (Ruhani Khaza’in no. 2, vol. 3, p.225.)
When asked the
question by a visitor, “Is it essential
that a Mujaddid comes in every century?” the Promised
Messiah is reported as replying:
“Yes,
it is essential that a Mujaddid must
come at the head of every century.Some people, on hearing this, say by
way of objection that if a Mujaddid comes in every century
then tell us who were the Mujaddids of the last thirteen
centuries. My answer is that, firstly, it is not my work to give the names of
those Mujaddids. Put this question to the Holy
Prophet Muhammad who said that a Mujaddid comes
in every century.” (Ruhani Khaza’in no. 2, vol. 5, p.100.)
In the extract quoted above, the Promised Messiah (as) goes
on to say:
“This Hadith
[about Mujaddids] has been accepted by all the authorities. Shah
Wali-ullah has also accepted that this Hadith is from the Holy Prophet. It is
contained in the books of Hadith. No one ever threw it out, nor said that it
should be excluded. . . . I assure
you that this Hadith is not false, but true. It is commonly known that a
Mujaddid comes in every century. . . . Just as a century
destroys the human body, similarly there also comes about a spiritual death.
A new generation is born after a century. . . . In order to re-vitalize the new
generation the law of God (Sunnat Allah)
is in force that a Mujaddid comes in
every century.”
From these
statements of the Promised Massih (as), it is clear that he has not cancelled
any Prophetic tradition regarding the coming of divinely raised souls in the
Community in future. In fact, he provides the glad tiding about the coming of
others after him till the Day of Judgement. The larger question is:
Why do Ahmadis misrepresent the views of
the Promised Massih (as) today?
It is impossible
to consider that the Khalifa and his advisers and the scholars within are blissfully
unaware of these writings and opinions of the Promised Massih (as). The Holy Qur’an says: “And confound not truth with
falsehood, nor hide the truth, knowingly” (2:43). Yet, patent falsehood
is being taught in the Jamaat of the Promised Massih (as) and the Khalifa
himself cannot evade the responsibility for this predicament. How can a Khalifa
who distorts the perspective of the Promised Massih (as) and who is not a
recipient of divine revelations be elevated to the position of being his mirror
image?
As the Promised
Massih (as) noted above:
“Just as a century destroys the human body,
similarly there also comes about a spiritual death”.
A century after the death of the Promised Massih
(as), the Jamaat has lost its spiritual moorings and the body has met with the
inevitable spiritual death. To preserve Islam and to bring back the Ahmadis to
the straight path, no wonder, Allah has
sent the new Khalifatullah in the image of the Promised Massih (as) himself,
Alhamdulillah!