The Divine Favour of Ahmadiyya Khilafat

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community takes pride in the Khilafat system which they have instituted among themselves. They elect their Khalifa from among themselves once a vacancy arises within the leadership. Both literally and in fact, that is the practice. Yet, Ahmadi leaders delude themselves to believe that they did not elect their Khalifa and that the electoral process in the International Majlis Shuura, is simply and merely a method for the implementation of the Divine Will, as their minds conceive it. And the Ahmadiyya theology would have us believe that the Khalifa or the man-elected-man enjoys the shadow of Divine favour and protection. 

With such theological technologies at hand, the leadership practices sophistry with élan: common folks in the Jamaat have been hoodwinked into vain desires of Divine nearness by their leaders for too long. Yet when you question Ahmadis about the Divine connection of their Khalifa, honest among them will admit: they have no sure knowledge on it, and they are merely following conjectures within the Jamaat and they never applied their reasoning power on their beliefs. It is instructive for Ahmadis to remember the admonition of the Holy Qur’an which provides a simple method to test the veracity of claims: And they say, ‘None shall enter Heaven unless he be a Jew or a Christian.’ These are their vain desires. Say, ‘Produce your proof, if you truthful.’ [Surah Al Baqarah, 2:112].

Unfortunately for the Jamaat –e- Ahmadiyya, the deep waters of Divine favour seem to have been dried up in our times. The present Khalifa Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad Sahib seems to have been deprived of the great and august blessing of Divine revelations. There is damning evidence that corroborates the assertion that Masroor Sahib does seem to have been stripped of this great Divine favour: for he completes almost a decade on the high seat of Khalifa, without ever presenting a Divine Message.

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.

Celebrating ‘Christmas’

The very basis of modern Christianity and its foundational theological concepts are shrouded in mythical haze. No less a festival than the ‘Christmas’- celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ (as)- itself reminds one about the extraordinary theological engineering that underpins and sustains the constructed belief systems of contemporary Christians. In his Friday Sermon of December 23, 2011 Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib (atba) spoke about the dimensions of mystery surrounding the faith and the futility of Christmas when viewed through the prism of pristine spirituality. As the Divinely-raised Warner of this (spiritually) empty age, Hadhrat Sahib reminds Muslims-including Ahmadis and their leader- against indulging in vain pursuits-such as celebration of Christmas- that takes one away from the true path of Allah.

Read the extracts from the Friday Sermon:     

”…That Jesus is the central figure and the very soul of Christian theology is manifestly clear. Without some kind of belief in his Christhood, whichever way may it be defined by various denominations and scholarly theologians, the very foundations of Christianity are totally altered. Throughout the last two thousand years, hundreds of millions of Christians have been sustained in their beliefs through their deep faith in the life of Jesus. The miraculous character attributed to his birth, the stories of the miracles he performed, his encounters with the Romans, Israelites and other gentiles, and finally, his crucifixion provide the basic ingredients which have continued to nourish this leading religion of the western world not only today but through the centuries past.

Yet, it is rather strange, indeed ironic, that most important events of his life have always remained veiled in mystery. Was he born of a virgin mother? When was he born? Why is hardly anything known about his life from early infancy to the time when he proclaimed his ministry? How long did his ministry last? Who were really responsible for his being led to the cross – hostile Jewish leaders or the Roman rulers? Did he really die during the few hours that he was on the cross or was he only unconscious when he was taken off the cross with unusual haste? If there was a resurrection, then who were the eye-witnesses, if any? What is the significance of the blood stains of the shroud in which he was temporarily wrapped and which is now preserved in the Cathedral of Turin, Italy? [Inset: An image of Christ which corresponds exactly to the Shroud of Turin]. Did he leave Palestine for the eastern regions to accomplish his proclaimed mission of having come for the lost tribes of Israel? These and several other issues about the life of Jesus of Nazareth have continued to challenge the curiosity of the Christian as well as the non-Christian scholars.

Justice: Games Ahmadis Play

Respect for principles of natural justice and rule of law is a basic feature of even mundane legal systems that administer justice among people. [Inset: Statue of Lady Justice, by F. W. Pomeroy on top of the Old Bailey Central Criminal Court in London, England- She carries a sword and scales but is not blindfolded].

In all such systems, the following fundamental principles are central elements:

     1)      No one shall be a judge in his own cause.

     2)      No one shall be condemned unheard.

   3)  To ensure substantive justice, procedural fairness shall be adhered to.

Now, all of us know that justice is among the foremost Islamic values. And, Ahmadis claim to be the inheritors of the finest Islamic traditions. In any case, they swear by Islamic values of the highest order, including JUSTICE. But, then, the question is this: How do they do when it comes to the Administration of Justice?

What kind of justice does the Administration provide when they have to deal with issues that arise within the Community? How far does the system accommodate notions of fairness, transparency, objectivity and accountability within its power structures so as to ensure justice for its common members? Do common Ahmadis gain justice when they approach the Khulafa with the troubles they have with their leaders?

The plain fact is that injustice breeds and thrives under the Ahmadiyya system today. The system originally built on the foundations of implicit faith and trust of those who work under it has, time and again, been abused by vested interests operating under the mask of obedience to leadership and much injustice is flowing through the contaminated waters of the present Khilafat system and common Ahmadis are suffering due to the excesses of the administrators. There is a clearly perceived need to radically rethink the current premises of administration of justice within the Ahmadiyya Community in the light of the following Qur’anic verse:

“O David, We have made you a vicegerent on earth; so judge between men with justice, and follow not vain desire, lest it should lead you astray from the way of Allah. Surely, those who go astray from the way of Allah, will have a severe punishment, because they forgot the Day of Reckoning.” (38 : 27)

In an Open Letter written on February 20, 2011 and addressed to the current head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Mirza Masroor Ahmad Sahib, the Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib of Mauritius profoundly analyzed this question. The Messenger of Allah of our times- the Khalifatullah- describes justice as from the very “blood” of Allah. He points out that Allah detests unfairness among his creatures-be it in the Heavens or in the Earth. Pointing to the how and why of the decline in justice-oriented administrative values in the Ahmadiyya Community today, the Khalifatullah provides a profound explanation for the magnificent Will of Allah working behind the current Divine Manifestation.  

Read from the Extracts of the Letter:

A “Severe Warning” to an Ahmadi Maulana

How to prevent common Ahmadis from recognizing the Messenger of Allah of our times? That is the ‘concern’ troubling the minds of the Ahmadiyya leadership in Kerala today!

That Allah the Most High has sent a Messenger of His in order to revive Islam and to revitalise the faith of the Muslims (including Ahmadis) in this Era has come as a shocker to the mundane plans of the contemporary establishment in the Ahmadiyya Jamaat. The leadership in Kerala is thus deploying all plausible methods and means available at their disposal for the execution of this nefarious objective- to keep people away from the sublime message of Allah’s Messenger.

In the true Orwellian fashion, with the objective of discrediting the Divine Plan in the eyes of its common members, the Ahmadi leadership arrogantly and contemptuously describes the Divine Manifestation in Mauritius as the “Fitna” (Allah forbid) of our times! Had it not been for the tragic irony and grave doctrinal mistakes of the so-said inheritors of the teachings of Hadhrat Ahmad (as), these ludicrous pronouncements of the leadership could have been dismissed as the venality and survival tactics of a decadent elite trembling at the bleak prospect of its spiritual irrelevance.

Spiritual history tells us that God’s Messengers have generally been constrained to confront such forces whenever they appear and seek to point attention to Divine message and correct doctrinal mistakes of people. It is no accident, then, that the Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib of Mauritius has repeatedly counselled Ahmadi leaders to desist from their campaign of slander and vilification that they seem to relish against the Divine Manifestation. At a time when the Ahmadi leaders in Kerala deluded themselves of being capable of putting out the light of Allah shining forth in Mauritius, there came the stunning challenge of Mubahala from the Massih of Allah against no less a leader in stature than Maulvi Muhammad Ismail Sahib [ Inset: the Maulana with the Fifth Khalifa (c): Al Islam website]. 

For the Mubahala Challenge, see:   
         
http://sahih-al-islam.blogspot.com/2011/04/mubahala-challenge-to-ahmadi-maulana.html

In the aftermath of the Mubahala challenge declared by the Elect of Allah, the Ahmadi leadership strategically withdrew the impugned Maulana from the battle-front. As the Maulana was cooling his heels at home with those who sit at home, they advanced another pawn, Maulvi Mahmud Ahmad Sahib. The Maulana, in a desperate attempt to influence and deviate Ahmadis who are carefully studying the Divine Manifestation in Mauritius, is travelling around the State.

In his Friday Sermon of September 16, 2011 Hadhrat Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib has taken serious note of the activities of Maulvi Mahmud Ahmad Sahib of Kerala and has issued a “clear warning” to desist from playing with fire- waging war against the Light of Allah- or be ready to face a “great humiliation” coming his way. Read the Extracts from the sermon:

Fifth Khalifa and the Age of Ignorance

“He who dies without [recognizing] the Imam dies the death of ignorance”.

This is one of the authentic Hadiths recorded and reported by several distinguished Hadith scholars, including Musnad Ahmad, Ahmad, Tirmidhi, Ibn-e-Khuzaimah and Ibn-e- Habban.

According to the Promised Massih (as):  “This Hadith is enough to make the heart of a righteous man seek after the Imam of the age, for to die in ignorance is such a great misfortune that no evil or ill- luck lies outside its scope. Therefore, in keeping with this testament of the Holy Prophet (sa), it becomes incumbent upon every seeker after truth to persist in his quest for the true Imam”. [Darurat-ul-Imam, p. 2, Qadian: Nazarat Nashro Isha’at, (2007)]

In the same book, the Promised Massih (as) clearly identified the distinguishing qualities of the Imam and pointed out that Prophets, Messengers, Muhaddithin and Mujaddidin- all of whom invariably enjoyed divine converse-  are the Imam of the Age in their times (p.39).   By way of more clarity, the Promised Massih (as) further added: “But those who are not appointed by God to educate and guide God’s creatures, nor have they been vouchsafed such excellences, regardless of their being saints or seers, cannot be called the Imam of the Age” (p. 39). This is the express guidance left behind by the Promised Massih (as) through his eloquent commentary on the importance of accepting the Imam of the Age.

Yet, today Ahmadis have fallen into ignorant ways.  None other than the Fifth Khalifa Mirza Masroor Ahmad Sahib presides over this Age of Ignorance in the annals of Ahmadiyya Islam. Misguided ideas have come to be their theological doctrines and they virtually follow their fancies, instead of the teachings of the Promised Massih (as)

Look at this example. Today, Ahmadis offer an interesting excuse to reject an authentic Hadith of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa) and the guidance of the Promised Massih (as) regarding the raising of an Imam in every Age. In his blinkered spin, the Khalifa himself is suggesting that he is the Mujaddid of the Age without ever claiming that he is a recipient of divine revelations or that Allah has appointed him to this position. He also feels that every righteous person helping the work of the “Jamaat” is a “Mujaddid” in his own right!

Eclipse of Knowledge and the Fifth Khalifa

In a Hadith recorded in Sahih Al Bukhari, the Holy Prophet of Islam (sa) ruminates about the decline of scholarship and eclipse of spiritual knowledge and right understanding. And in another tradition, the Holy Prophet (sa) spoke about the emergence within the Ummah of misguided (and misguiding) leaders who will deviate people from the Straight Path through their ignorant pronouncements. The traditions are as follows: 

“One of the signs of the Hour is the disappearance of knowledge and the prevalence of ignorance".

"God Almighty does not take away the knowledge of Islamic Law and Faith by removing its books from His servants, but He takes it away through the death of scholars. When all scholars pass away, the public will make ignorant people their leaders; when they are asked about something, they answer without knowledge; they are misguided and they misguide others."

According to the Promised Massih (as), the traditions of the Holy Prophet (sa) are actually the profound commentary of the verses of the Holy Qur’an. These Ahadith could arguably be linked to what Allah says in the Holy Qur’an: “And among men is he who disputes concerning Allah without knowledge and without guidance and without an illuminating book.”(22:9)

In his book “The Victory of Islam”, Hadhrat Ahmad (as) confirms that within a century after the departure of a Divinely-raised Reformer, the community drifts away from the straight path of Sahih Al Islam. Through their grand theological discourses over satellite television and Internet, these leaders misguide the people when they seek guidance on spiritual matters. That is because they speak without knowledge and without divine guidance.

Truth be told, none has exceeded Mirza Masroor Ahmad Sahib, the Fifth Khalifa of the Ahmadiyya Community, in paying a greater tribute to the wisdom and truthfulness of these prescient prophecies about the state of spirituality in Islam over time! Through his ignorant pronouncements on Islamic Khilafat and the future of Mujaddidiyat in recent months (May 27 and June 10, 2011), Masroor Sahib is guilty of trampling upon the teachings of the Promised Massih (as) and worse, casting aspersions on the profound Divine Scheme of permanent Khilafat for Muslims.  

In order to perpetuate the mythical grandeur of the Ahmadiyya Khilafat and to preempt any doubts about its aura in the spiritual realm, the Fifth Khalifa has fed a very appealing story to the faithful: That Islamic Khilafat ended in 30 years, Islam was without its divinely-raised Khulafa for 1400 years and that the Khilafat was reestablished after the death of the Promised Massih (as).  A common Ahmadi hearing this story would be forced to bend before the Khalifa as the poor man (and woman) was told that the Divine system has come out of the world after a period of 14 centuries and all blessings originate from there!   

Ahmadis need to awake from their bliss of ignorance if they want to know the true conception of Khilafat and the real teachings of the Promised Massih (as) in this regard. The Promised Massih (as) literally frowned upon the idea of 30-year Khilafat in Islam, pointing out that Islam offers permanent Khilafat for all times.     

Noor'ul Islam Masjid- Mathra, Kerala

Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam, Kerala announced the historic inauguration of the Noor’ul Islam Mosque at Mathra in the south-Indian state of Kerala on Friday, July 22, 2011. The inauguration of the Mosque represents a giant step forward for the nascent Sahih Al Islam Community in Kerala, which came into existence only after October 2010. The Mosque is a 400 sq. feet building, situated on a modest 20 cents of land (1/5 of an acre of land in Kerala) gifted to the Kerala Jamaat by the Amir Jamaluddin Sahib and his respected wife Shareefa Beevi Sahiba. 

Interestingly, the Mosque building itself has a rich history that is inextricably intertwined with all that is good and bad in the Ahmadiyya Jamaat. If we observe, all the present members of the Kerala Jamaat originally belonged to the Ahmadiyya Jamaat before recognizing and accepting the Divine Manifestation in the person of Hadhrat Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib (atba) of Mauritius. Likewise, the present Mosque at Mathra was originally constructed by the Ahmadis of Kerala in 1990 and it used to be the local Ahmadiyya Centre for years. 

Fifth Khalifa on Khilafat and Mujaddidiyat

[This is the second and final part of the official response issued by Dr. E. Thahir Sahib of the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam, Kerala (India) in the aftermath of the Friday sermon of the present Ahmadiyya Khalifa Mirza Masroor Ahmad Sahib on the subject of Khilafat and Mujaddidiyat. The first part appeared on July 11, 2011 and can be accessed here].   

After stating that “each Khalifa is a Mujaddid during his era”, Mirza Masroor Ahmad Sahib says:  “If God so wills, He can give the status of Mujaddid to a Khalifa of the time at the turn of a century, and enable him to declare this”.

So, now he says that at the turn of a century “If Allah so wills” a Mujaddid is raised. Even then, the assembly of the faithful will elect a Khalifa first and then, Allah will have no choice other than to ask the so-elected Khalifa to declare himself as Mujaddid! Why is it that there is no proclamation of Mujaddidiyat from Mirza Masroor Ahmad Sahib in spite of his being ‘qualified’ in terms of the time?  He further states: “Being a Mujaddid does not alter the station of Khilafat; the status of Khilafat comes before that of a Mujaddid”. 

Hadhrat Ahmad (as) says in every century Mujaddidin will come to revive the faith. Now, Mirza Masroor Ahmad Sahib states that the assembly- elected Khulafa has more importance than the divinely sent Mujaddidin. He also stated that every Ahmadiyya Khalifa is also a Mujaddid only to clarify later that “if Allah so wills” at the turn of a century. In short, the divine office of Mujaddidiyat is exclusively reserved for Ahmadiyya Khulafa and nobody outside this circle including common Ahmadis can be Mujaddidin in future.  

Ahmadis usually employ two arguments to oppose the coming of Mujaddidin: Khilafat is on the precept of Nubuwwat and there is no need for “Tayammum” when water is at hand. But then, can the water be utilized even when it is muddy and impure? Has Mirza Masroor Ahmad Sahib any claim to Nubuwwat? Is he a recipient of divine revelations? If there is nothing, is the “water” pure or impure? 

'The Khalifa is Wrong on Mujaddidiyat'

Dr. E. Thahir Sahib, secretary of the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam, Kerala issued a response to a recent Friday Sermon delivered by Mirza Masroor Ahmad Sahib, the Fifth Khalifa of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community wherein he spoke on the question of Mujaddidiyat. Reproduced below is an English translation of the first part of the Public Notice originally published in the Malayalam language of Kerala (India): 

The head of the Ahmadiyya Jamaat Mirza Masroor Ahmad Sahib on June 10, 2011 delivered a Friday sermon on the subject of Khilafat and Mujaddidiyat. This notice is in response to certain observations which form the core part of that address. The Khutba itself was occasioned by, and in response to, a question raised by a child in a study session: “Can a Mujaddid come now”?  He describes:“this kind of question arises when it is discussed in families because a child could not come up with a question like this or some, who wish to create uneasiness among children and the youth pose such questions”.

Whether asked by a child or the child was set up by elders to raise it, can the question of Mujaddid create uneasiness? Why the Ahmadiyya Khalifa is so anxious about a question based on the glad tiding of the coming of Mujaddidin in every century given by the Holy Prophet of Islam (sa) and is endorsed by the Promised Massih Hadhrat Ahmad (as)?

The Khalifa characterizes everyone who asks about it as hypocrites. He states:  “Questions relating to this have arisen in the Jama’at at different times, not by sincere members but by those who wish to create discord”. About 1400 years ago, a promise was given by the Holy Prophet of Islam (sa) to the Muslims of every age. When the issue is being raised, the Khalifa feels it creates discord in the Ahmadiyya Jamaat. Why is it so? Does it not indicate that inside the Ahmadiyya Khilafat elected by the assembly of the faithful, the prophecy touches a raw nerve? He states further: “In the era of Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih III (may Allah have mercy on him) this issue was raised quite forcefully.” If the issue is alive from the time of the Third Caliph, is it not natural to suspect that there is something rotten inside?  If someone asks about the Mujaddidin who are divinely raised reformers, every attempt is made to keep their mouths shut and they are being condemned as hypocrites. Does it not indicate a tendency for despotic thought control and intolerance?

Justice and Fairness under Khilafat-e-Ahmadiyya

In an Open Letter addressed to the current head of the Ahmadiyya Community Mirza Masroor Ahmad Sahib in February 2011, Hadhrat Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib of Mauritius called the attention of the Khalifa and the Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya to the recurring instances of injustice within and the deeper structural malice that underwrites and perpetuates it. “Justice is from the “blood” of Allah. Allah detests unfairness. Therefore He likes that justice pervades His kingdom, be it in the Heavens and Earth, especially so on earth, for the earth is filled with satanic forces which attract men towards doom with their chaotic evil plans”, reminds the Khalifatullah.

Read the Extracts from the Open Letter:

“For now more than ten years, the Jamaat Ahmadiyya has lost its credibility in the eyes of people, and I dare say in the eyes of the Ahmadi people themselves. The teachings preached by the Promised Messiah (as) were foremost to enable the Ahmadi Muslims to inculcate the richness of Islamic faith in themselves and to become role models for other people, be them the rest of the Muslim Ummah or humanity at large. Unfortunately all these teachings have been trampled under the feet of Ahmadi people, through the wrong decisions which their Khulafa-tul-Massih have taken.

You have always based yourselves on the report of your Amirs, missionaries-in-charge and especially the Pakistani people working in close collaboration with you. You have always listened to only one side of matters of high importance and based yourselves on the so-called reports which your Amirs or missionaries-in-charge have sent you. I tried to analyse all these situations profoundly to understand the why of all your decisions as Khulafa-tul-Massih. Very often, you take such decisions which are aimed to humiliate people, send curse upon them, expel them from the Nizam-e-Jamaat Ahmadiyya or order that a social boycott be applied upon them, without realising that the sanction and judgement you took were never based on Taqwa (and I am saying this as from the period which Islam Ahmadiyya has taken the route of decline).

The Sign of Sahih Al Islam

“And as for the bounty of your Lord, do relate it to others” (93:12). 

Based on this Qur'anic criteria, the Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib (atba) of Mauritius is a frequent recipient of divine revelations and he keeps relating it to others, every now and then, the highest bounty any human being can have from his Lord, Alhamdulillahi Rabb'l Aalameen. 


On the other hand, Khalifatul Massih V Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad Sahib is NOT a recipient of divine revelations.

DOES IT MATTER?

Read up the following extracts from the writings of the Promised Massih (as) and judge for yourself:

“The sign of a true religion is that through its teaching such righteous ones should continue to arise who should arrive at the stage of a Muhaddath to whom God Almighty should speak face to face. The first and foremost sign of the truth of Islam is that at all times it produces such righteous ones with whom God Almighty talks:

Divine Blessings in the New Century

“The principal quality of Islam is that its blessings always accompany it. It does not speak only of the past but offers present blessings as well. The world is always in need of blessings and heavenly signs. It is not as if it needed them in the past and does not need them now".

"A weak and helpless human being who is born like a blind is in need of knowing something of the heavenly kingdom and needs to see some sign of the existence and power of God in Whom he believes. The signs of a past age cannot suffice for a subsequent age, for hearing is not the same as seeing and, by the passage of time, past events become like stories.”

           -Hadhrat Ahmad (as)

                          [A’ina-e-Kamalat-e-Islam,  Ruhani Khazain, Vol.5, pp.245].  

As per the Divine Plan and prophecies vouchsafed to the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa), Allah, the Most High raised Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) of Qadian in the Fourteenth century of Islamic Calendar as Al Imam Al Mahdi to raise the flag of true spirituality. After his death, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community that he founded, successfully carried the message of true spirituality and took it to the corners of the earth.

Abu Baker Siddique: First Sermon as Khalifa

The Islamic Khilafat of the past began with Hadhrat Abu Baker Siddique (ra) and continued during the time of the other rightly guided Khulafa, Hadhrat Omar Ibn Khattab (ra), Hadhrat Usman (ra) and Hadhrat Ali (ra). These devout companions of the Holy Prophet (sa) were intensely conscious about their material and spiritual mandates as the head of the Muslim community when they were thrust with the mantle of leadership. And also the inherent limitations attached to their specific situation as leaders because of the lack of divine revelations in guiding the community at a time when an Elect of Allah was not among them.

Devout Ahmadis consider that the Ahmadiyya Khilafat is established in the best tradition of the Islamic Khilafat of the early days. Yet, the Ahmadis today are guilty of blurring the subtle and profound distinction that separates the true spiritual and material condition between a Divine servant in communion with Allah (swa), and the actual leaders they elect as Khulafa. For instance, most Ahmadis assume and believe without any shred of evidence that the present Khalifatul Massih Mirza Masroor Ahmad Sahib is a recipient of Divine revelations and that there can never arise anyone with Divine revelations so long as they have the Khulafa elected by the community of people.

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.

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.