Saturday, March 12, 2011

Qudrat-e-Saniya and Ahmadiyya Khilafat


There is a radical disconnect between the profound teachings of Hadhrat Ahmad (as) on the question of future divine guidance and the current official doctrine of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. While ordinary Ahmadis continue to believe that the teachings of Hadhrat Ahmad (as) regarding the coming of Mujaddidin and other Messengers of Allah are correct, the Community has already officially disowned the validity of arguments that support the coming of Mujaddidin in future. 

Most certainly, we cannot blame Hadhrat Ahmad (as) for how his disciples have come to understand and interpret his teachings. This point is glaringly visible in the meaning and interpretation being attributed to the concept of Qudrat-e-Saniya or the Second Manifestation of Divine Power under the mainstream Community’s system of Khilafat.

According to Hadhrat Ahmad (as), Allah manifests two kinds of His power in support of the cause of truth and His religion. First, when a Messenger of Allah is around, he receives Divine help and extraordinary support in the promotion of his noble purpose: calling mankind to the path of Allah. Secondly, when the Messenger completes his earthly mission and returns to the Lord, He shows the other manifestation of Divine Power by raising noble souls in order to continue with the unfinished task of the Messenger. In his testamentary declaration, Al Wassiyat, Hadhrat Ahmad (as) clearly mentioned that the different manifestations of Divine Power in support of the cause of truth have appeared all through spiritual history and he had no doubt about the enduring character of the Islamic Khilafat, which would continue to exist till the Day of Judgement.

Friday, March 11, 2011

Promised Massih (as) on Islamic Khilafat

The Holy Qur’an states: Allah has promised to those among you who believe and do good works that He will, surely, make them Successors in the earth, as He made Successors from among those who were before them; and that He will, surely establish for them their religion which He has chosen for them; and exchange security and peace after their fear; They will worship Me, and they will not associate anything with Me. Then whoso disbelieves after that, they will be the rebellious”.---(Chapter 24; Verse 56).


Reflecting on this Qur’anic promise, the Promised Massih Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) of Qadian states:

If a person reflects upon these verses, he will realize that God Almighty has clearly promised the Muslims a permanent Khilafat. If this Khilafat were not permanent there would have been no sense in describing it as resembling the Khilafat of the Mosaic dispensation…

He who limits it to thirty years, foolishly overlooks the true purpose of Khilafat, and does not realize that God Almighty did not design that the blessings of Khilafat be limited to thirty years after the death of the Holy Prophet (sa) and that thereafter, the world may go to ruin…

There are many other verses in the Holy Qur’an, which give glad tidings of a permanent Khilafat among the Muslims, and there are also several Ahadith to the same effect…” [Shahadathul Qur’an, Ruhani Khazain, Vol. 6, pp.339-352]

Khalifatullah and Khalifatul Massih

Historically, the institution of Khilafat emerged within the early Muslim community with the election of Hadhrat Abu Baker Siddiq (ra) as Khalifatul Rasul after the death of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa). In the history of Islam, there has been three types of Khulafa. Like, mentioned above, the early Khulafa/Caliphs who upheld the faith and its values with sincere and complete devotion after having been taught by the Holy Prophet (sa) himself and they having spent their lives as his companions during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet (sa). These caliphs- Hadhrat Abu Baker Siddiq (ra), Hadhrat Umar (ra), Hadhrat Uthman (ra) and Hadhrat Ali (ra)- are collectively known as the rightly-guided caliphs-Khulafa-ur-Rashidun. 

The second type of Khulafa are those who came after these pious caliphs. Those who came after the Khulafa-ur-Rashidun were also leaders of the Muslim Ummah, having sovereignty and political authority over the nation. While many of them practiced their religion as they understood their faith, but the Ummah in general do not consider them to be spiritual models, to be emulated like the early exemplars. They were a manifestation of the material glory of the Ummah as a political and religious community as against the other-worldly preoccupations of true saints and believers. 

The third type of Khulafa are the Divine Reformers or Mujaddidin who appeared in different lands of Islam at different points of time, in the history of Islam. They were the spiritual deputies of the Holy Prophets (sa) who were Divinely-raised, with revelations, inspirations, visions and dreams to guide the Ummah and to be the practical models of a living Islam in their respective communities. As per the Islamic tradition, Allah (swa) will raise a Mujaddid at the turn of every century to preserve the true spirit of Holy Qur'an and the Islamic teachings among the believers and this Divine scheme will continue to serve the spiritual purpose till the Day of Judgement. As these men are Divinely-ordained, they are also known as Khalifatullah or the Vicegerent of Allah. Hence, one of the titles of the Promised Massih (as) is as Khalifatullah.