The Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam, founded by Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) of Qadian, originated in British India in the latter half of the 19th century. At a time when the spiritual crises of the Muslim world was graphically reflecting in the dismal political fortunes of the Muslim Ummah everywhere, Hadhrat Ahmad (as) announced his Divinely-ordained mission as the promised Massih of the Later Days and as the Al Imam Al Mahdi of the Fourteenth century of the Islamic Era, to rejuvenate the Faith.
Muslims, who accepted his spiritual claims and enrolled themselves in the Anjuman, have come to be known as the Ahmadi Muslims. Although they constitute a miniscule minority within the larger Muslim population of 1.7 Billion, the different denominations of Ahmadis- including the Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya Qadian and the Lahore Ahmadiyya Anjuman- are now found in almost all parts of the world.
Ahmadiyyat expanded and revitalized the spiritual horizon of Muslims and others through its very outlook on important spiritual questions that troubles modern minds. By bringing Divine Revelations back to the realm of individual spiritual experience and to the agenda of religious debates as an enduring, unstoppable path to the Divine, Hadhrat Ahmad (as) unveiled spiritual treasures long considered closed and forbidden. Islam’s original call of “Laa Ilaah Illallah” -(There is no deity, but Allah)- get revitalized every time Allah (swt) raises His Messenger with the Message and to be a practical model to the people of his times.
In an illuminating essay, published as a special Book by the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam International to commemorate the
centennial of the Silsila Ahmadiyya in
Mauritius, Hadhrat Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim Saheb (atba), provides a
fascinating glimpse into the early days of Ahmadiyyat in the Mauritius island located
far away (from India), in the vast Indian Ocean. He portraits the devout souls
of the Island who, despite all the hurdles of time and space, searched out for the
vital signs of a living faith in the message of Ahmadiyyat and embraced it without
hesitation, when they recognized the
veracity of the promised Massih (as).