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Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad

Claims and position of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad:
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1. Mujaddid of 14th century hijra
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1. Mujaddid of 14th century hijra

  • He was a mujaddid like the mujaddids who appeared in Islamic history (Ref)

  • He reaffirmed claim of being mujaddid:

    • In last major book, one year before death (Ref)

    • In statement made just one day before death (Ref)

  • Promised Messiah is no more than a mujaddid (Ref)


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    Slide References
    Extracts from statements of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad

    RK = Ruhani Khaza’in, the 23 volume collection of books of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad
    MI = Majuma Ishtiharat, collection of published announcements of Hazrat Mirza.
    Rabwah editions.

    1. “Then, when the thirteenth century came to a close and the fourteenth century was about to dawn, God the Most High informed me by revelation:

    You are the Mujaddid of this century.”

    Kitab al-Bariyya, 1898, p. 183. RK 13: 201. [TOP]

    Promised Messiah is a Mujaddid

    2. “The question remains as to what is the evidence in support of this claim of mine to be the Messiah? Let it be clear that it is confirmed by the authentic reports that, at the time of the mischief spread by Christianity, the man who would appear as the Mujaddid at the head of the century, in order to uproot the evil of the worship of Jesus, he is the Mujaddid who has been called ‘Messiah’. Afterwards, by misunderstanding the Hadith reports, people came to believe that Jesus himself would descend from heaven to become the Mujaddid of the century, and would come at the head of the century, the majority of the Ulama holding that it would be the fourteenth century [Hijra]. But the error of this view is that the real intent of the Holy Prophet Muhammad was that the Mujaddid, from among the mujaddids of this Umma, who would have to come to the aid of Islam to defend it against the Christian onslaughts, shall have the name ‘Messiah’ because of his work of the reformation of the Christian religion.”
    Kitab al-Bariyya, 1898, p. 198. RK 13: 216. [TOP]

    3. “Among the arguments in decisive Hadith reports which confirm the authenticity and truth of the claim of this writer is also the report regarding the appearance of mujaddids which finds a place in Abu Daud and Mustadrik, i.e. for this Umma a mujaddid would appear at the head of every century, and would reform the faith according to the needs of the Muslims. The words ‘he will reform for them’ in this report show clearly that at the head of every century a mujaddid will come who will reform the prevailing evils.

    Now when a fair-minded man ponders carefully as to what were the most dangerous evils prevailing at the head of the fourteenth century, for whose reform the Mujaddid had to have the powers, then it is clearly found that the very great evil which destroyed hundreds of thousands of people is the evil of the Christian preachers. No intelligent man and sympathiser of Islam will deny that it should be the main duty of the Mujaddid of this century to break the cross and destroy the arguments of the Christians. When the breaking of the cross is the duty and work of the Mujaddid of the fourteenth century, then it has to be admitted that he himself is the Promised Messiah, for according to the Hadith reports it is also the sign of the Promised Messiah that he will be the Mujaddid of the century and his work would be to break the cross. In any case, if the present-day Muslim religious leaders reflect, while adhering to honesty and religion, then they will most certainly have to admit that the work of the Mujaddid of the fourteenth century is the breaking of the cross. And since this is the work which is reserved for the Promised Messiah, hence it follows, of necessity, that the Mujaddid of the fourteenth century must be the Promised Messiah.
    Kitab al-Bariyya, 1898, p. 263-264. RK 13:302, 303. [TOP]

    4. “At this point, the critic also writes that God has stated, ‘This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favour to you’ (5:3), and he raises the objection that since religion has reached perfection and the favour has been completed, there is then no need of a mujaddid, or of a prophet. But it is regrettable that, by believing this, the critic has raised an objection against the Holy Quran itself, for the Quran has promised the appearance of khalifas among the Muslims, as has just been mentioned, and said that in their times the faith shall be consolidated, uncertainty and trepidation shall depart, and security shall be established after fear. ...

    When have we said that mujaddids and saints (muhaddases) come into the world to remove something from the religion or to add to it? On the contrary, we say that when, after the passage of a period of time, the dust of corrupted notions settles upon the holy teachings, and the face of the pure truth is hidden, then to show that beautiful face there come mujaddids, Divinely inspired saints and spiritual khalifas. ... they do not come to abrogate the religion, but to display its shine and brilliance.”
    Shahadat-ul-Quran, 1893, p. 43-44. RK 6: 339-340. [TOP]

    5. “The Quran is certainly a reservoir of all knowledge, but that does not imply that all the knowledge in it should be disclosed in just one age. On the contrary, corresponding to the kinds of problems that are faced the appropriate Quranic knowledge is disclosed, and corresponding to the issues of every age, for the resolving of those issues spiritual teachers are sent who are the heirs of the messengers and who attain the qualities of the messengers by way of image (zill). And the mujaddid whose work bears striking similarity to the appointed task of one of the messengers (rasul), is called by the name of that messenger (rasul) in the sight of Allah.”
    Shahadat-ul-Quran, 1893, p. 52. RK 6: 348. [TOP]

    6. “The fact is that God Almighty sends a prophet or a mujaddid according to the nature of every prevailing trouble. Thus, just as in the time of Jesus the Jews had lost all their qualities, and had nothing left but cunning, deceit and mere verbosity, and had come under the sway of the Roman empire due to their own wickedness and disorganisation, the Romans not being blamable for conquering the country, precisely this is the condition of the Promised Messiah’s time given in the Holy Quran. ... For this reason, the mujaddid of this century came in the likeness of Jesus, and was called the Promised Messiah because of intense similarity. This title is not a fabrication, but was required because it was so appropriate in the prevailing circumstances.”
    Shahadat-ul-Quran, 1893, p. 64-65. RK 6: 360-361. [TOP]

    7. “Secondly, the perfect and complete likeness between the khilafat to the Holy Prophet Muhammad and the successorship to Moses renders imperative the coming of the Promised Messiah, as is understood from the following verse: ‘God has promised to those of you who believe and do good that He will surely make them successors (khalifas) in the earth as He made those before them to be successors’ (24:55). This clearly conveys that a mujaddid must come bearing the name of the Messiah in the fourteenth century (Hijra), ... the coming of a mujaddid at such a time, who has the name Promised Messiah and who restores the original state of faith.”
    Shahadat-ul-Quran, 1893, p. 67-68. RK 6: 364-365. [TOP]

    8. “Besides this, all the characteristics of the present age are loudly proclaiming that the mujaddid of this century should be the Promised Messiah because all the signs of his age, as fixed by the holy word of God, have been fulfilled in this time.”
    Shahadat-ul-Quran, 1893, p. 77. RK 6: 373. [TOP]


    9. In Haqiqat-ul-Wahy, written and published one year before his death he wrote:

    “First sign: [Having quoted hadith about mujaddids], God will raise for this umma at the head of every century a man who will revive for it its religion. The 24th year of this century is now passing and it is not possible that the saying of the Holy Prophet Muhammad should fail. If someone says that if this hadith is true then tell us the names of the mujaddids of 12 centuries, the answer is that this hadith has always been accepted by the learned men (ulama) of the umma. and if it is declared fabricated at the time of my claim then these Maulvis should be asked that it is true that many of the great scholars of hadith have themselves claimed to be mujaddid in their times, and many have declared someone else as mujaddid, so if this hadith is not true then they were not being honest. It is not necessary for us to know the names of all the mujaddids. That comprehensive knowledge belongs only to God the Most High. ... Tell us how many prophets have come in every nation from Adam to the Holy Prophet Muhammad. If you can tell us that, we will tell you about the mujaddids.  ... So until, in the face of my claim, another claimant can be presented fulfilling the same characteristics, my claim stands proved that the Promised Messiah who is the Mujaddid of the Last Days is none other than myself.”
    Haqiqat-ul-Wahy, May 1907, pp. 193-194; RK 22: 200-201. [TOP]


    Claims to be mujaddid one day before death.

    10. This statement was reported in the Ahmadiyya newspaper Badr under the title: “Need for a Mujaddid”.

    “A man from the North West Frontier Province asked the question: ‘What shortcoming had remained in the religion [of Islam] which you came to complete?’ Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad replied:

    ‘There is no shortcoming in the commandments. Prayer, Qibla, Zakaat, and Kalima are the same. After the lapse of some time, laxity creeps into the fulfilling of these commandments. Many people become oblivious of the perfect Unity of Allah. So He raises a servant who makes the people adhere to the Shari‘ah anew. Listlessness sets in after a hundred years. About a hundred thousand Muslims have already turned apostate, and you think no one [i.e. a Reformer] is needed yet? People are forsaking the Holy Quran. They have nothing to do with the Sunna of the Prophet. They consider their customs to be their religion. Still you think, nobody is needed’.”

    Then, answering a later question by him, as to what reformation he had brought about, he said in his answer:

    “To correct these errors and to draw attention towards Allah, it has been promised that a mujaddid will arise at the head of every century. If a mujaddid was not required in every century, but, as you think, the Holy Quran and the Ulama were enough, then this is an objection upon the Holy Prophet Muhammad. People perform hajj, give zakat, keep fasts, yet despite this the Holy Prophet still said that a mujaddid will come after a hundred years. Even my opponents admit this. If there was no need in my time, then this prophecy becomes false.”

    — 25 May 1908; RK no. 2, 10: 451-453. [TOP]

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