Khalifa Sani and the limits of Social Boycott

In a previous article in the Blog we have noted some of the outstanding allegations against Hadhrat Khalifa Sani (ra) (click here) from his critics– including the imposition of social boycott against rebels in Qadian and even a murder case involving  an Ahmadi alleged to have been “ordered” by the second Khalifa. From our examination of some of the public records and court judgements, what is apparent is that there was a religious, social and political context in which the unfortunate events have occurred in the 1930’s in Qadian under Hadhrat Khalifa Sani (ra).

As we have shown in the article, while the towering Majlis-i-Ahrar leader Maulana Ataullah Shah Bukhari was prosecuted and punished by the Lahore High Court for his hate speech and incitement to violence against the Ahmadis in a single public sermon in Qadian, the same High Court in the same period absolved the second Khalifa of the allegation of incitement to murder his “Muslim” enemies/ Ahmadi rebels, even after examining several of his speeches printed and published in the Ahmadi Press, including the “AL FAZL” of the 1930’s. The Hon’ble High Court had before it those very sermons and it reached its conclusions after forensically analysing the contents thereof and that too in the context of a murder case which took place in Qadian itself.

Flawed Perception of a Complex Legacy

Let truth be told. It is not just the Lahori-fellow travellers who are guilty of a flawed perception of a complex legacy of the past. Put differently, members of both the mainstream Jamaats- Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya Qadian and the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement are wrong in their ‘blames’ and ‘accusations’ against Hadhrat Khalifa Sani (ra). If there is visceral hatred on the part of the enemies of Hadhrat Khalifa Sani (ra) to implicate and consider that he “ordered” murders and violence against his opponents, the people who claim they are his followers in the “mainstream” Jamaat are equally guilty of the sin of deification, unexamined adulation and uncritical implementation of his policies even for a new age.

Behind the ‘Expulsion’: A web of Lies

Why and how did the Ahmadiyya Community expel Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib (atba) of Mauritius from its ranks? It is a question that still baffles most common Ahmadis and remains hazy and unclear to many others even today, some 12 years after the dark episode.

Anyone who examines the record of the incident will point a finger at the arrogance and hubris at work in the Nizam-i-Jamaat. The nizami mandarins never had the humility, nor basic courage to face the truth, nor the simple decency to place the record in public: in black and white, before the Jamaat and the common Ahmadis, so that everyone may know what really happened behind the scenes. After all, justice demands fairness, credibility and transparency: a decision taken in the name of the Jamaat and in the name of the collective interest of the common Ahmadis, the record should have been available for scrutiny.

Before the official expulsion in 2001, Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib (atba) was falsely charged with the grave offence of pretending to be a recipient of Divine Revelations. He was accused of being a “drug addict” and “mentally-sick person” (“Bimaari”). Within the Nizam-e- Jamaat, those in the corridors of powers plotted a web of intrigues in support of these wild and irresponsible allegations. False testimonials of self-serving sycophants were lifted from the trash-cans to ‘grease’ the case. The ‘slippery’ basis of the evidence did not deter the Fourth Khalifa from his chosen course of hubris and ‘curse’: only to fall-flat on the dustbin of history.  The failure to see through transparent lies, intrigues and false testimonials- all planted and facilitated in the official channels- will remain a blot on the record of the Fourth Khalifa.

The humiliation of those who facilitated the crime of expulsion was a chronicle of events foretold at the very court of Allah (twa). Thus, in a Divine Revelation received on 09 April 2002 & many other times also, Hadhrat Sahib (atba) was informed: “I Shall Humiliate Him Who Designs To Humiliate Thee”. 

We record below the Divine vengeance for one of the culprits for his despicable crime of complicity- one who sought to humiliate the Divine Messenger for our times meets with his day of public humiliation among his people.

A Warning to Khalifatul Massih V

Recent Bai’at of some Ahmadis in Kerala, India at the hands of the Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib (atba) of Mauritius has unsettled the mercenaries and officials of the Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya. So much so that they used all channels possible and methods feasible to deviate these devout Muslims from their chosen path of recognizing and accepting the Imam of the Age! 

Family pressure, society pressure, money pressure and employment pressure-nothing could deter these courageous young men from following the path of Allah and moving away from the ‘comfort zone’ of all they knew as common Ahmadis coping with the trials and tribulations of everyday life. Those young men have patiently and bravely put up with all the mental torture, harassment, intimidation and satanic curses showered on them by people who call themselves ‘Ahmadis’. The egregious misconduct of the so-called mainstream is nothing but the satanic manifestations of the extent of their deviance and polar-drifting from the original teachings of the Promised Massih (as). As the Holy Qur'an indicates, it is indeed the youth who will begin to listen to a Divine Messenger when such a one arrives in a society where the Pharaohs and the great men will only seek to doubt and ridicule!     

For thoughtful Ahmadis, there is little doubt. Khalifatul Massih V Mirza Masroor Ahmad Sahib presides over the age of spiritual darkness and blatant idol-worship in Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya. Unfortunately for him, the Khalifa does not enjoy the Divine converse despite the pretentions of office and the protestations of the faithful, nor could he produce any shred of evidence of being a recipient of Divine revelations in the last 10 years of his temporal “Khilafat”. It is manifestly apparent and reasonably obvious that Allah (twa) has never appointed him to convey any Divine message to the world in His name and whatever he says and writes is purely what his inner self prompts him to do and everything he says is nothing but the product of his own mind and deliberation (if not that of his advisors)! In short, his ‘ideas’ are as good or as bad as any other human mind could conceive it. 

In an age in which Ahmadis have taken their Caliph as “the calf” (Idol), the ‘Samiri’ will suggest only what his mind conceive of (Holy Qur’an, 20:85-97), the Caliph cannot speak with the authority and conviction of an Elect of Allah, a Khalifatullah. When the Prophet Moses (as) went for a few days to his Lord to do his obeisance and seek Divine blessings, the Samiris of the day digressed back the people into idol-worship. When Allah raises a Moses (Divine Elect) in a new age and that too, a century after the last Elect, he will warn the Samiris of the age. Taking serious note of the mind-games and psychological warfare by the Ahmadi leadership in India, in a special Speech on August 14, 2013, the Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib (atba) of Mauritius commented upon the incidents against the larger backdrop of the terminal decline of spirituality among the Ahmadis of today.

Read the Extracts from the Sermons:    

Remembering Asghar Ali Engineer (1939 – 2013)

One of India’s leading Muslim scholars, Asghar Ali Engineer, passed away on Tuesday, May 14, 2013. Innaa Lillahi Wa Innaa Ilaihi Raajiuun...As a reformist scholar, Engineer’s was an important voice in the debates on issues concerning Muslims in India in the last couple decades.

In the post-partition India, the Muslims became a vulnerable minority in a sea of Hindus. While the country’s secular Constitution and the Laws professed equality before law and the equal protection of the laws in terms of status, rights and opportunities for Muslims, these were not borne out by the facts of their representation and visibility in the public sphere, including in education and employment avenues in the country. Issues of identity and personal law have taken an emotional dimension at a time when communal riots raised the physical security and safety and protection of Muslims under a shadow of uncertainty. The members of the community have ingrained a ‘siege’ mentality where by Muslims looked at with suspicion on any reform proposals aimed at the community. The governments in India were unable to bring about internal reforms to the Muslim personal law system because of a credibility-deficit and resistance within the community.

In the 1970’s, as a member of the Dawoodi Bohra (Shia Muslim) Community, Asghar Ali Engineer stood for internal reforms and democratic deliberations and resisted the authority of the Syedna Burhanuddin, the ‘Khalifa’ of the Community. In later years, Engineer worked on several aspects of “social engineering, dedicating himself to three things that defined his life — helping interpret and explain Islam from a modern perspective, emphasising gender justice within Islam, and working for inter-community harmony”. While Engineer resisted the views of the Hindu right wing in India, which sought to treat the Muslims as “second- class citizens”, as it were, he also stood up for reforms within the Muslim community, including for the freedom of conscience of the Ahmadis in Pakistan and elsewhere in the Muslim world.

Reproduced below is an Op-Ed Article by Meena Menon, published on May 15, 2013, in The Hindu, one of India’s leading newspapers, paying tribute to the memory of the departed soul.

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? 

Ahmadi Youth on Facebook

In the Friday Sermon of March 11, 2011 Hadhrat Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib (atba) of Mauritius called the attention of the Muslims, especially the Ahmadi youth, to the   moral dilemmas and ethical perils associated with the mindless usage of contemporary social networking sites, including the Facebook. Alarmed with verifiable and recurring reports about the  indulgence of Ahmadi persons in immoral practices over the social networking sites, the Messenger of Allah for our times reminded the current head of the Ahmadiyya Community on his patent and abject failure in reining in the erring members within the fold of his regulatory control and appealed to his better sense and moral consciousness: “...fear Allah O Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, fear Allah and wake up from your long sleep of ignorance before it is too late for you!” 

Read the Extracts from the Friday Sermon:

Since some time we are constantly witnessing the emergence of newer and so-said social networking which is to connect people all round the world with colleagues, friends, family etc. Facebook, being the major e-company to have the larger part of the social networking market has over 500 million people connected to it. Created in 2004, it has over the years become so popular that now all and sundry have access to it, and instead of doing good use of such internet and communication facilities, people are more and more sharing such vital information and personal photos, including intimate and even indecent ones which makes a fracas to morality and decency and it questions the purpose of religion and the responsibility of religious leaders to bar such en masse decadence.

It is a pity that the Ahmadiyya youths have fallen prey to such attractions, and it is even more a pity that their caliph cannot make them leave these sites and concentrate on more religious matters. As a matter of fact, religious matters have become secondary, while mundane attractions, such as chatting, involving oneself in illicit relationships, through public chats with Non-Mahram women and men; all these are the truth which have unfortunately seized the once pure Jamaat of the Promised Messiah (on him be peace) and the Muslim Community as a whole. The decadence of the Ahmadi people is ever on the front.

Munir A. Azim: Expulsion and After

Ahmadi Muslims believe that the door to prophethood is always open till the Day of Judgement. This is based on what the Promised Massih Hadhrat Ahmad (as) clearly stated: 

“I have never claimed that being Massih will terminate on me and no Massih will come in the future. On the contrary I admit and say repeatedly that not only one but more than 10,000 Maseeh can come”. (Azalah Auham, RK, vol. 3, p. 251).

“I do not deny this, that also some other "Maseel Massih" may also come in addition to me”. (Majmooa Ishteharat, vol. 1, p. 207)

“I cannot deny and I will not deny that perhaps there may be some other Massih Maoud”. (Majmooa Ishteharat, vol. 1, p. 208 )

In several other writings as well, the Promised Massih (as) clearly spelled out his understading of the continuity of Divine Revelations and the advent of noble souls with spiritually -infused messages even in future. Such persons will confirm the everacity and truthfulness of the larger message of Islam as explained by the Promised Massih (as) in our times. As per his prophecies, the Khilafat-e-Ahmadiyya was established to continue the good work of propagation of Islam. Yet, the theory of Khilafat as is being propagated by sincere followers of the Jamaat system has now come in conflict with a Divine prerogative. Most Ahmadis, however, today believe that only an elected Khalifa of the Jamaat has the "credentials" to such lofty Divine favour as Mujaddidiyat and because of this perception, they reject the Divine favour on offer from Allah (swa), without even extending the courtesy of spiritual humility, careful deliberation and deep contemplation that is the hall mark of true Muslims, when someone stands up, confirming the teachings they have with them. Hence, for the "grave crime" of claiming to be a recipient of revelations from Allah the Most High, Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib (atba) of Mauritius was expelled from the Nizam-e-Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya on 01 January, 2001. 

When the Nizam-e- Jamaat abandoned him, Allah took care of him and elevated him with a position of nearness to Him. In January 2003, Allah gave him the titles of “Hazrat” and “Amir’ul Mu’mineen”, and blessed him with a Jamaat whose name was revealed to him, Jamaat-e Ahmadiyya Al Muslimeen. On December 06, 2003, announcing the mission of being the Muhyiuddin of the Era, Hazrat Sahib famously declared:

“I want neither pelf nor power. I have been commissioned by Allah as a warner unto mankind, to deliver His Message to you. Should you accept it, you shall have felicity in this life as well as in the life to come. Should you reject the word of Allah, surely Allah will decide between you and me. As from today, I take Allah as my witness that I am the Muhyi-ud-Din of this era.”

JUSAI: Public Meeting in Kerala-II

At a special Programme organized to mark the successful, historic, first public meeting of the Sahih Al Islam Community in Kerala, Hadhrat Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib offered some insightful comments throwing light on the fortunes of believers in the time of a Divine Manifestation. 

Read the Extracts from the Speech:

And that those who have been given the knowledge may know that it is the truth from your Lord, so they may believe in it and their hearts may be lowly before it; and most surely Allah is the Guide of those who believe into a right path. (22:55) 

Who are those who believe in it (and submit to this divine commandment)? They are those who recognise the advent of a Messenger of Allah. By the grace of Allah, the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam members, those who have not seen the Khalifatullah of this age have believed in this humble self, and despite not seeing me in flesh and blood, yet they believed in the veracity of Allah and His Messenger and they are foremost to do exceptional works for the progress of Deen-i-Islam. They have recognized the instructions (the knowledge) bestowed upon them by Allah, to be the truth and they have believed in it, and their hearts also are convinced on this truth.

Munir A. Azim: Expulsion for Revelations

Common Ahmadis are surprised. They are intrigued when they come to know that Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib of Mauritius was outsted from the Jamaat merely on the ground of his being a recipient of divine revelations.

They refuse to believe that the Jamaat establishment will excommunicate someone for being blessed by the divine favour of revelations. They feel that since the teaching of the Promised Massih (as) clearly foretold the continuity of revelations, it is simply impossible that any one would be expelled on that ground.

Sometime back, an Ahmadi brother who simply believes that the present Ahmadiyya Khalifa is appointed by Allah the Most High wrote to us explaining his position on the appearance of an Elect of Allah in the Jamaat. He was of the opinion that the Ahmadiyya Khilafat need not and will not be in conflict with the advent of a new Mujaddid/Khalifatullah and that they could co-“exist in perfect harmony” given the fact that the Promised Massih (as) taught us about the continuity of revelations in the Jamaat and that there are historical precedents for it. He wrote:

   

“As (I have stated that) the present system of which I am part of at the moment is Allah’s system, supported by the Holy Quran and foretold by Holy Prophet of Islam, the question is what should be done when someone arrives from Allah, when there exists a divine system already???

The answer is quite simple for an ahmadi. When we look into history we have witnessed the prophethood of Hazrath Haroon (as) at the same time of that of Hazrath Musa (as). Both were raised for the same cause. But they never challenged each other. There wasn’t any clash between them….

If a Mujaddid/reformer/caliph/ prophet of Allah come, they would exist in perfect harmony with the already present divine system just as we witnessed in the past history even in  case of two prophets at the same time. So why should be there any doubt regarding more than one divine appointees at the same time?”

Expulsion by the Nizam-e-Jamaat: True Facts

What ails Ahmadiyyat today? Who can explain what is wrong with the Jamaat better than the one who comes in the mantle of a Prophet from Allah, the Most High? What better way is there to explain what is wrong in the Community than by narrating the personal experiences which a man of God has had to undergo at the hands of the Pharaohs of the day?

Hadhrat Khalifathullah Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib (atba) of Mauritius has now written profoundly on the circumstances surrounding his expulsion from the Jamaat of the Promised Massih (as) in a new booklet entitled: “A Background Story of the Predominance of Truth over Falsehood”.

Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib was expelled from the mainstream Ahmadiyya Jamaat in December 2000. The expulsion order was issued by the Fourth Khalifa Mirza Tahir Ahmad Sahib who simply relied on a report of Mr. Amine Jowahir, the unfortunate Amir of Mauritius.  The order (reproduced in page no.43 of the Book) is evidently an absolute act of unbelievable hubris on the part of those who issued it.

Mr. Amine Jowahir, the man whose report was relied upon by the fourth Khalifa, was recently dismissed from his position by the fifth Khalifa Mirza Masroor Ahmad Sahib on charges of corruption, nepotism and moral irresponsibility after a lengthy enquiry by his special representative who visited Mauritius for the purpose of investigating the glaring charges against him.

Think about it. A report filed by a man of questionable integrity was used by the then Khalifa to expel some one who claimed he received revelations from Allah the Most High. Now that his true colours have been revealed, will the Jamaat show the decency to respect principles of natural justice? Even secular courts show minimum respect for evidence and notions of justice by reinvestigating cases where new evidence or suppressed facts are unearthed and become available even if it happens after decades. For instance, in Kerala recently, a criminal case was reinvestigated after 43 years and justice served. Will the Jamaat which swear by spiritual notions of absolute justice, reinvestigate the case and give a fair hearing to the cause of the Khalifathullah?