Maudoodi’s letter saying
Lahore Ahmadiyya is a Muslim Group
Maulana Maudoodi wrote a letter in Urdu
in his own hand, dated 23 Muharram 1357 A.H. (which would
be about 25 March 1938), in which he wrote the words:
“… the [Lahore] Ahmadi group is included within
Islam … we cannot issue any fatwa against them on the
basis of the Shari‘ah …”
The English translation of the first half of
this letter, this being the part in which he deals with the subject
of Ahmadis, is given below.
The Urdu text, in printed format, corresponding
to the translated part of the letter, is given following the translation.
A scanned image of the full, original
4-page Urdu letter, can be viewed here.
The translation:
Note that Maudoodi uses the term Ahmadi to mean the Lahore Ahmadis, and the terms Qadiani and Qadianism to refer to the group then headed by Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmud
Ahmad from Qadian.
Tarjuman-ul-Quran
Darus Salaam (Pathankot)
Punjab
Dated: 23 Muharram 1357
My respected and honoured,
assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh
I have been here for only one week. After my arrival here,
the correspondence that Sayyid Muhammad Shah has shown me
included three letters from you, and I confess that it was
your letters that made the greatest impression upon me. The
earlier replies from the Shah sahib to you still stand valid,
but I myself wish to write a brief reply to the three letters.
Regarding the views you have expressed about takfir, I have myself written much more about it earlier. As you have
not seen the Tarjuman-ul-Quran before this, you are
not fully aware of my views. If you had been reading this
paper from the outset, then probably not only about takfir, but also regarding the other issues that you have mentioned,
you would not have needed to ask anything and you would also
have known what my policy is.
From among the followers of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad sahib, I also
do not consider Qadianis and Ahmadis to be in the same category.
In my opinion the Qadiani group is excluded from Islam, but
the Ahmadi group is included within Islam. However, I consider
it inadvisable to co-operate with this group or to encourage
them because after becoming Ahmadi a man becomes very close
to Qadianism. There can only be two reasonable attitudes in
the matter of Mirza sahib. If a man believes him to be true
then he should accept him as a prophet because a true person's
claim to prophethood cannot be false. And if a man does not
accept his claim to prophethood then it becomes obligatory
for him, far from accepting him to be a mujaddid, not
even to consider him as a gentleman because the person who
is guilty of such a serious fabrication cannot be accorded
any position of respect. The middle position taken by Ahmadis
is untenable. When a man accepts someone as mujaddid and the Promised Mahdi, he would necessarily confirm his truth
and honour him. Then when he finds in his unambiguous writings
a claim to prophethood and to receiving revelation, he will
not be able to take any position short of Qadianism. As to
the educated people from among the Ahmadis who are adhering
to this unreasonable position, we cannot issue any fatwa (ruling) against them on the basis of the Shari‘ah because they are denying the prophethood of Mirza. But
we are bound to conclude either that they are adhering to
their past errors and are guilty of obstinacy, or that they
are denying the prophethood of Mirza with some reservation
of mind, or lastly there is some flaw in their minds making
them unable to realize the contradiction in their position.
In any case, although we appreciate the work they are doing
in support of Islam, we consider it the expedient policy not
to encourage them because it is a path to assisting Qadianism.
As to the wrong beliefs prevailing among the various sects
and parties of the Muslims, I have my own opinion about almost
each one of them. However, I have never expressed those opinions
nor taken part in fighting against them because I consider
it to be merely a waste of time. The defect in the branches
is due to a defect in the root. To allow the root to remain
in the same condition while devoting effort to reforming the
branches is foolishness. If we are to do something for the
Muslims then we must devote all efforts to removing the weaknesses
in the foundations. Then, Allah willing, the branches will
by themselves become good.
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Why have we quoted this opinion of Maudoodi?
We are citing this opinion of Maudoodi in our support because of
his statement that: “… the [Lahore] Ahmadi group is included
within Islam … we cannot issue any fatwa against them
on the basis of the Shari‘ah …”. It means
that according to Maudoodi, writing in 1938, the Lahore Ahmadis
cannot be expelled from the Muslim community by means of any law
based on Islam, and they are in fact included within Muslims. Whatever
he thinks of the rightness or wrongness of our beliefs, whether
he considers Lahore Ahmadis to be bad, obstinate and unreasonable,
whatever dangers he perceives from our beliefs, all that is an entirely
separate issue. What we are pointing out is that according to the
view Maudoodi has expressed here, in terms of Islamic Shari‘ah the Lahore Ahmadis are Muslims and cannot be declared as non-Muslim.
The Urdu text of the above section of
Maudoodi’s letter, in printed format, is given below:
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