The 'Split' in Jamaat Ahmadiyya Al Mouslemeen

Tests of faith are a recurring theme in spiritual history and it takes different forms and ways in the every day lives of believers. Islamic history itself bears witness that hundreds of hypocrites left the presence of the Holy Prophet (sa) after claiming to be his followers, at critical moments of his Divine Mission when serious issues of life and death hovered over the early Muslim community. Yet, such incidents and events did not and could not harm the cause for which the Divine Messenger stood up and called the world’s attention. Indeed, the survival (and later, flourishing) of the Divine Mission against all odds and trials and tribulations tells its own story: it points to the extraordinary help and succour of Allah that protects and sustains His Message and His Messenger at times of severe shakings. In our own times, one of the questions Ahmadi friends generally raise pertain to the dissension against the Divine Manifestation witnessed within the framework of Jamaat Ahmadiyya Al Mouslemeen, a Jamaat founded and led by the Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib (atba) of Mauritius under clear instructions from Allah the Most High. Some persons feel that the departure of people within a few years of their professing belief from the midst of the Messenger makes him a lonely man. Remember that immersed as they are in Divine remembrance and spiritual contemplation, Elects of Allah prefer solitude of their chamber any time over the company of hypocrites. Yet, people seem to believe that such events represent a credibility crisis for the Divine Manifestation. Worse still, in their wild imagination, some of them even conjure up that such incidents represent Divine displeasure (God Forbid) on the Chosen Messenger!

A recent booklet written by the Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib (atba) provides insightful comments on the 'Split' that happened within the Jamaat Ahmadiyya Al Mouslemeen. 

Read the extracts from the Book:

The Jamaat Ahmadiyya Al Mouslemeen as planted by the hand of Allah promised to bear its fruits until Allah tried them with their faith in His humble Muhyi-ud-Din. Slowly, all kinds of doubts kept entering into their hearts. They began taking the revelations of Allah as an ordinary occurrence, preferring to analyse them in their laboratory instead of complying to the commandments therein. Unfortunately, Oh so unfortunately, Zafrullah Domun Sahib became a party of these people’s – who were mostly his near relatives – scheming. He preferred to join hands with his blood relations instead of holding fast to his belief in his spiritual brother whom Allah had bonded him with. Doubts crept in, all kinds of questions were asked, and finally against all odds, the Jamaat Ahmadiyya Al Mouslemeen was taken in charge by the Managing Committee, having Zafrullah Domun Sahib, the President at its head.

Divine Manifestation in Mauritius- Early Days

Many Ahmadis and other seekers of truth have, in recent times, come to hear about the Divine Manifestation in the person of Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib (atba) of Mauritius. Among all the claimants of Divine revelation and special Divine Mercy in this age, the arguments and claims of the Khalifatullah stands distinctly superior.The Divine Messages the Khalifatullah says he receives from Allah the Most High and presents before the world is of sublime quality. (For an illustrative list of the Divine revelations of the Khalifatullah, click here). 

For an Ahmadi Muslim, these messages, pouring down like heavenly rain, cannot be dismissed out of hand except at the cost of ruining one’s own spiritual self- abandoning long-held beliefs about the continuity of Divine revelations and the coming of Divinely-raised souls in Islam. More thoughtful among them are convinced that the Khalifatullah is profoundly immersed in the spiritual waters of Qur’anic verities. They find that the arguments and viewpoints being articulated by the Khalifatullah are extraordinarily powerful and appealing. Yet, they want to know more about aspects of the Divine Manifestation they are not clear about. The recent set of questions raised by some seekers of truth must be seen in this backdrop.

To address such concerns, in a recently published Booklet, Hadhrat Sahib reflected on the early days of the Divine Manifestation and provided illuminating insights on the Divine favours and trials that are inextricably intertwined in the times of the coming of a Divinely- raised soul. Drawing upon Qur’anic principles and stories of prophets, the Khalifatullah graphically portraits the events of his time- the role played by Zafrullah Domun Sahib, the founding of Jamaat Ahmadiyya Al Muslimeen in the early days of the Divine Manifestation and the circumstances in which Divine favour resulted in the subsequent establishment of Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam. The book stands as a living testimonial to the subtle ways in which Allah’s help and succour follows His Chosen Messenger even when his own people seeks to ridicule him and worse still, abandon the Divine Message altogether.

Extracts from the Book:

The Promises of Allah are true in all ways. Ever since the beginning of the Divine Manifestation in the year 2000 in Mauritius, Allah bestowed upon this humble self countless revelations which was noted down by Zafrullah Domun Sahib, and many of these revelations have been realised, and the proofs of the existence of these revelations are with Zafrullah Domun Sahib. Indeed he himself, till today is a continued solid proof of this humble self’s veracity.

Preaching of Islam: Ethical Guideposts

‘Islam does not enjoin upon every Muslim to devout himself wholly to the preaching of Islam; for if it were so, Muslims could not earn their livelihood nor take part in other healthy pursuits of life. Whereas all should try to preach and propagate the truth of Islam, only a section of the community is required to devote itself exclusively to work of propagation. Though all must contribute their quota, there should be a party of men among Muslims who should be entirely devoted to this work'. 

The Holy Qur’an provides guidelines for preaching the message of Islam and the Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib (atba) of Mauritius gave a profound discourse on the subject in his Friday Sermon of January 20, 2012.  

Read the Extracts from the Sermon:

“Call to the way of your Lord with wisdom and goodly exhortations and argue with them in a way that is best, surely your Lord knows best who has strayed from His way, and He knows those who are rightly guided.” (16: 126)

The word “Hikma” (wisdom) in the verse means: (1) knowledge or science; (2) Equity or justice; (3) Forbearance or clemency; (4) Any saying or disclosure dealing with the exigencies of the occasion; (5) Gift of prophesy; and (6) What prevents or restrains from ignorant behaviour.

Freedom of Conscience: An Islamic Value

As a religion and spiritual order, the ideology of Islam is essentially an appeal to the human conscience and its inherent capacity to embrace the right and reject the wrong. Allah, the Most High has extended to all human beings the faculty of reasoning and the intellectual capability of judgement -Free Will- to choose his or her path in life. It is entirely up to a person’s conscience whether (s)he wants to profit from the spiritual guidance on offer in the form of divine revelations. And there shall be no compulsion in matters of faith. 

In his Friday Sermon of January 20, 2012 Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib (atba) of Mauritius expounded on the principle of freedom of conscience in Islam.Read the Extracts from the Sermon:

“And had your Lord willed, those on earth would have believed - all of them entirely. Then, would you compel the people in order that they become believers?” (10: 100)

In essence, every religion possesses a missionary character. It starts with an individual and seeks to persuade and convince others of its truth and of the beneficent nature of the values it expounds. It must, therefore, stand for freedom of conscience, including the freedom to change one’s religion and the other freedoms which are conducive to the beneficent adjustment of human beings. The Holy Quran explains that it is only within the competence of God, the All-Knowing, the Almighty, to make a person believe, but even He does not force anyone to believe. He leaves everyone to exercise his or her reason and judgement.

Questions about Ahmadi Doctrines

[Janab R. Jamaluddin Raother, the respected Amir Sahib of the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam, Kerala (India) received a bunch of questions through e-mail from an Ahmadi brother who described himself as a “truth seeker”. 

These questions cover a number of issues that are pertinent to the central ideas underpinning the current Divine Manifestation in the person of Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib (atba) of Mauritius. They include issues such as the continuity of divine revelations and the coming of Mujaddidin and other divinely raised souls in Islam, the historic trajectory of the current Divine Manifestation, especially the episode involving the establishment of Jamaat Ahmadiyya Al Muslimeen and the issues pertaining to our previous relations with (and present views on) Zafrullah Dumun Sahib, etc.

Reproduced below is the first installment of an edited transcript of the views shared by this humble writer in response to the questions raised by the brother who sought “clear cut one by one answer for (his) questions”. Some of the responses include added material as well.].       

1. I heard that Mr. Munir Azim (is) claming to be Mujaddid, Like that Mr. Nasir Ahmed Sultani, Abdul Gaffar Janba also claiming. All are denying each other. If so, what is the measurement to understand true one and fake one?

To understand and recognize the Imam of the Age, a truth seeker should ideally learn the nature and scope of the views being clearly articulated by the respective persons who says they have a Divinely ordained mission to fulfill. He should examine the claims in the light of the noble teachings of the Holy Qur’an, the path of the Holy Prophet (sa) and the explanations to these teachings given by the Promised Massih Hadhrat Ahmad (as). Based on a careful study of the views being articulated by the claimants and by applying the spiritual logic to the issues involved, a truth seeker could reach his conclusion. To dispel doubts still remaining, if any, in his mind, he should invoke the ultimate solution of prayer to Allah as famously suggested by the Promised Massih (as).

2. Both this Respected Mr. Munir Ahmed Azim sahib and Mr. Zafarulla Domun were together before, why did they separate? Or (Do you) Still accept Zafarullah Domun as your Imam.

Zafrullah Domun Sahib was the first person to recognize and accept the Divine Manifestation in the person of Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib (atba). He was the first person to take Bai’at at the hands of Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib as well.

In the recently published Biographical Essay on the life of Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib, one can read about an extraordinary event which throws searching light on the special spiritual relationship they shared in the past:    

“On 08 March 2003, the third night of the Safar Zikrullah, Hazrat Munir Ahmad Azim (atba) supplicated Allah to honour his brother Zafrullah Domun Sahib along with him, and therefore he (Hazrat Munir) without receiving any revelation from Allah, humbly dedicated the title of Amir’ul Mumineen to Mokarram Zafrullah Domun Sahib in a special program with the Jamaat. On the spot, he received divine reprimand whereby Allah told him, who has given him permission to dedicate that title which Allah has given him to Mokarram Sahib?

Responsibilities of a Muslim

In his Friday Sermon of January 13, 2012 Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib (atba) spoke about the distinctive characteristics of a real believer and the manifold responsibilities the membership of his Jamaat entails today. The Khalifatullah defines the basic framework of faith and good deeds expected from the believers who accepted (or seek to recognize) his divine office and become members of the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam.

‘The distinctive characteristic of a member of Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam should be undivided and consummated attachment to Sahih al Islam; and this devotion should control his life to such an extent that the slightest deviation from God’s laws is abhorrent to him’, states the Khalifatullah.

Read the Summary of the Sermon:

“A member of the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam is a Muslim who believes in One God, Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa) and Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as), the Promised Messiah and Mahdi whose advent had been foretold by the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa) and in the Khalifatullah and Muhyi-ud-Din raised by Allah in this era with Divine Revelation.

The Khalifatullah of this era (that is, this humble self) is a Messenger of God. I call upon all mankind to accept the truth of my divine office; but this is not all. Islam is a practical way of life which demands total resignation to the teachings of the Holy Quran and the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa). The attainment of this deal must be the resolve and goal of every member of Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam in whose life the principles of Islam should be manifested in every manner of living. The real object of man’s life according to the Holy Quran is, therefore, a true knowledge and worship of God and a total resignation to His will that whatever is said or done is said or done for His sake only. What is the Sahih al Islam? It is the burning fire which consumes all low desires and, setting fire to false gods and it is the offering of our property and honour as a sacrifice before God. It is that sacred fire which burns all papers of trials to uncover the face of God Almighty in the true believer’s pure golden heart.

Nizaam-e-Jamaat: Evolving a Parallel ‘Culture’

‘‘Within a century after the departure of a Mujaddid, his followers lose their spiritual self. They become creatures of the earth, lusting after material riches and vain pursuits’. 

This prescient observation of the Promised Massih (as) is today staring the Jamaat-e- Ahmadiyya in its face- the same Jamaat that he established to revive the faith of Islam more than a century back in India. 

While Ahmadis continue to delude themselves that they remain in the right path, a parallel ‘culture’ has developed within the Jamaat that has corroded and subverted its inner core of sublime spirituality. The empty shell of Khilafat as it exists today is virtually incapable of stopping the eroding ground beneath its feat. Forget about reversing the tide altogether! 

In his Friday Sermon of January 06, 2012 the Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib (atba) of Mauritius confirms what thoughtful Ahmadis have feared for years- the development of a parallel ‘culture’ within. The sermon contains a searing critique of the gross mismanagement and the resultant disarray within the rank and file of the Nizaam-e-Jamaat. It describes the apparent features of this parallel ‘culture’ that has eaten into the vitals of Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya's value systems, corroded the ethics of its members and has come to define their ill-informed decisions and wrong choices today.

Read the Extracts from the Sermon:

“The fifth Caliph is not taking care of the Jamaat of the Promised Messiah (as) like the latter had established the management of the Jamaat. The Caliph is basing himself on false reports of his amirs and mullahs. It is his so-called mullahs and amirs who are leading the Jamaat astray and the caliph is not taking the right decisions for the cause of Allah and according to the precepts of Islam. It is those around him who are taking the major decisions, especially about whom the Ahmadis should greet salaam or not, and boycott.