“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 table. Inquisitive 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 2009, Imam-
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:
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.