Thursday, January 10, 2019

‘Qudrat-e-Saniah’: Ahmadi Misconceptions



So dear friends! since it is the Sunnatullah, from times immemorial, that God Almighty shows two Manifestations so that two false joys of the opponents be put to an end, it is not possible now that God should relinquish His old-established Sunnat. So do not be grieved on what I have said to you; and nor your hearts should be distressed. For it is essential for you to see the second Manifestation, too, and its coming is better for you because it is everlasting the continuity of which will not end till the Day of Judgment.” (The Will – (Al-Wasiyyat); Page 5, Written on 24th December 1905).

Based on certain writings by the Promised Massih (as) in the last century concerning the future of the Divine Mission he was to leave behind, and the subsequent interpretative understandings on the same proffered within the Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya to deepen Its institutional order, most Ahmadis had been taught to consider that the present Nizam-e-Jamaat or the Ahmadiyya establishment- led by the assembly-elected Khalifatul Massih- system, is nothing less than Qudrat-e-Saniah’ (Second Manifestation of Divine Power), mentioned by the Promised Massih (as). With the Divine decision to raise a Messenger to guide all humanity in the person of Khalifatullah Hazrat Munir Ahmad Azim Saheb (atba) of Mauritius; the claims of the Nizam-e-Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya concerning Qudrat-e-Saniah (the lofty station of Divine favour), are increasingly looking a little shaky. Many Ahmadi youths are raising their spiritual concerns. Fundamental questions on the meaning and 'selective' interpretation of profound concepts like Qudrat-e-Saniah’, are no longer off the tableInquisitive about the Divine Manifestation in Mauritius in the blessed person of Hazrat Muhyi-ud-Din Al Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim Saheb (atba), Ahmadi brothers in India are wondering now as to how to adjust their ‘received/ conventional wisdom’ in the Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya concerning Divine favours (Qudrat-e-Saniah) so as to appreciate the great manifestation of ‘Qudrat’ that is before them.  

In his Friday Sermon of 29 May 2009Imam- Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam Hazrat Muhyi-ud-Din Al Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib (atba) of Mauritius spoke on Qudrat-e-Saniah, clearly explaining the meaning and correct interpretation of this profound concept for our times. For the benefit of all Ahmadi brothers, we reproduce the relevant extract below:

In his will (Al Wasiyyat), Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) has elaborated that after his death his community would be assisted by a second manifestation of divine power and support, just as it was assisted by a first manifestation during his life. The Ahmadi brothers have interpreted this ‘second power’ to mean the establishment of their Khilafat.

My reply to this, the Promised Messiah (as) has come to continue the work of Hazrat Muhammad (sa) – work which has been trampled by the so-called Muslim scholars or Ulemas. Then, in order to accomplish that work, the manifestation of the power of God takes place, as it says in the Holy Quran:

This day have I perfected for you your religion and completed My favour upon you.”

Its manifestation took place in the time of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa). But after him, this continued in the times of his caliphs (four right-guided caliphs), revivers of faith, or Mujjadidin. They were all the ‘second power’. The ‘second power’ cannot be limited to a particular form.

Whenever any nation or community becomes weak, then Allah the Most High, out of His Wisdom, sends the ‘second power’ in order to strengthen it. It does not mean that there is a chain of caliphs after Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) in the Ahmadiyya Movement who are the manifestation of the second power and I am the first one of these. This is Divine support for the cause of truth in a general sense. Therefore, it is the divine support that this movement receives in various forms which is the Qudrat-e-Saniah.

I would like to ask a question to Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad Saheb and to our Ahmadi brothers also:- Do they believe that the ‘second power’ to the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa) is still being manifested and shall exist forever, or do they believe that it has been replaced and superseded by a new second power which came after Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as)?

This is my question to them, I hope, soon I will get a reply from them, Insha-Allah…..”

Now, almost 10 years down the line from that exposition on Qudrat-e-Saniah and the specific questions raised to the Nizam-e-Jamaat by Hazrat Khalifatullah (atba), neither the Ahmadi chief nor any member of the priestly class within, has come forward to make an attempt at refutation of that view point. That fact says its own story for people who reflect.

Khalifatul Massih Awwal on 'Qudrat-e- Saniah'


Hazrat Saheb’s perspective on Qudrat-e-Saniah is also supported by a number of doctrinal and historical factors as well. Here, we shall note down the perspective of that great Ahmadi polymath Hazrat Khalifatul Massih Awwal Hakkim Nurudddin Saheb (ra) (1841-1914 CE) on the question for the attention of those who use their minds. 

Hazrat Maulvi Hakim Nuruddin (ra) was the foremost companion and disciple of the Promised Massih Hadhrat Ahmad (as). He was a man of wide learning in a range of subjects. And he displayed an abiding interest in understanding the spiritual universe all though his life. Hadhrat Ahmad (as) held him up as an excellent example of devotion and piety, as he said:

How good would it be if every member of the community were a Nur-ud-Din;
So would it be if every heart were filled with the light of the certainty of faith.

It is no accident, then, that after the death of the Promised Massih (as), the Ahmadiyya community elected him as Hazrat Khalifatul Massih Awwal. During his life time as the Khalifatul Massih, Hazrat Hakim Nuruddin (ra) contributed his measure to lead the community in the straight path of Sahih Al Islam. Hadhrat Khalifatul Massih Awwal explained Qudrat-e- Saniah or the Second Manifestation of Divine Power as follows:

When the founding father of a community completes his worldly tenure, his mission will thereafter be carried out successfully with Divine support. As stated in the Holy Qur’an: Today I have completed for you ; your faith and fully blessed you with my bounty” (5:4). It dawned not only upon the time of the Holy Prophet (sa) but also continued onwards during the time of his Khulafa, Nawab’s, Reformers (Mujaddidin); and they were all the second manifestations’. The second manifestation is boundaryless. When a community becomes (spiritually) feeble, the Almighty in his infinite wisdom, keeps on descending the second manifestation to help recoup the deficiency that occurred over time.”  Badar- 23 May 1913.

The mainstream Ahmadiyya Community has now, however, clearly moved away from this concept and understanding of Qudrat-e- Saniah. While the Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya holds that ‘Islamic Khilafat’ is the Qudrat-e- Saniah; in the mainstream understanding, Islamic Khilafat or Qudrat-e- Saniah has only one form till the Day of Judgement: an assembly of faithful in the Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya electing their chief as Khalifatul Massih. It cannot include, in their view, a Divinely-raised Elect (Mujaddid/Muhyi-ud-Din/Khalifatullah/Waliullah/Ummati-Nabi) any longer (God Forbid). Thus, they have reduced the meaning of Qudrat-e-Saniah from the spiritually appealing and historically accurate way in which the Promised Massih (as) understood it and Hadhrat Khalifatul Massih Awwal explained it to the nascent community. Contrary to the explanation offered by Khalifatul Massih Awwal, the current ‘mainstream’ theory on 'Khilafat' (the succession of elected caliphs from the family) and their doctrinal understanding on Qudrat-e-Saniah has the following absurd implications, based as it is on manifestly flawed assumptions:

First, the principle of growth and decay in the spiritual and material fortune of the followers of a Prophet or Divine Elect cannot and will not apply to the Ahmadiyya community till the Day of Judgement (God Forbid). Second, all his life, the Promised Massih Hazrat Ahmad (as) may have protested the charge of reinventing Islam in his own make. But, this is what he actually did: Hadhrat Ahmad (as) has nullified the noble tradition of the Holy Master Muhammad(sa) regarding the coming of Mujaddidin in every century (God Forbid).Third, the Promised Massih (as) replaced the Khulafa of the Holy Prophet (sa)- the Mujaddidin- with his own line of Khulafa till the Day of Judgement (God Forbid).

Fourth, Qudrat-e- Saniah has only one form till the Day of Judgement- that of an assembly-elected Khalifatul Massih. Apparently, they conjecture that Allah (swt) elevate an Ahmadi Khalifa if He wants to do what He wants to do with regard to the raising of Prophets at a time of His choice. While they admit that the descent of Divine revelations is a Divine blessing, they speculate that such spiritual favours cannot be bestowed by the All Powerful Lord on whom He wishes to choose (God Forbid).

In their quest for perpetuating the authority of the their assembly-elected "Khalifa" within the Community, Ahmadis today deny the possibility of Allah sending any Mujaddid or a Divine Elect in future as His Messenger to guide the community of Muslims. Further, they have raised the status of their elected Khalifa even above that of an Elect of Allah such as a Mujaddid. Since Hadhrat Ahmad (as) was an Elect of Allah and the Mujaddid of the Fourteenth Century, where does the Ahmadiyya Khulafa stand in spiritual status vis -a- vis him? Can their status be equal to, or even be above, the status of Hadhrat Ahmad (as)? Are we to consider that given the lofty position to which Ahmadiyya Khulafa have been 'elevated', they have every right to alter, bend and modify and thereby destroy the original teachings of Hadhrat Ahmad (as)? It is striking to note the manner in which the 'mainstream' Ahmadiyya Community has moved away from the teachings of Hadhrat Ahmad (as) while claiming to be his ideal disciples. Are the Ahmadis really conscious of what they believe? Most certainly, with the presence of a Divinely-inspired Reformer among them in these times, the Truth-seeking Ahmadis have clear guidance on offer for their questions and concerns around the doctrine and practice of Ahmadiyya Islam, Alhamdulillah, Soumma Alhamdulillah.