Ahmadiyya

• 1. Introduction

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  Ahmadiyya, officially the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at, reported members in 210 countries and territories by 2017. In some countries, Pakistan among them, it is practically illegal to be an Ahmadi. The movement is an Islamic messianic movement that began in British India in the late 19th century. Its founder was Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, who lived from 1835 to 1908. He said he had been divinely appointed as both the promised Messiah and the Mahdi, two figures that Muslims expect near the end times. His followers hold that he came to bring the final triumph of Islam by peaceful means. Today the community is estimated at between 15 and 20 million people, and it is led by a caliph.

  How did a small circle of followers in colonial India become an organisation spread across the world? What do its members believe that other Muslims do not? And why do governments and religious bodies insist that they stand outside Islam?

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• 2. Ludhiana and the Name

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  On the 23rd of March 1889, a number of companions swore an oath of allegiance to Mirza Ghulam Ahmad at a home in Ludhiana, India. That ceremony is counted as the formal start of the Community. His claims had come in stages. In 1882, without publicity, he said he was the Mujaddid, or centennial reformer, of the fourteenth Islamic century. In 1890 he announced that he was the Promised Messiah and the Imam Mahdi of the latter days.

  Christian missionaries and the Arya Samaj were both busy across 19th-century India when Ahmad began to draw followers. The movement emerged partly as an answer to that activity. He gathered a considerable following, especially in the United Provinces, the Punjab and Sindh. He and his followers believe that Muhammad, and many other scriptures of the world, had foretold his coming. Ahmadis also trace their history back to his early life, when he reportedly began receiving revelations about his future.

  For about a decade the movement had no distinctive label. That changed in a manifesto dated the 4th of November 1900. Ahmad chose a name drawn from Muhammad's alternative name, Aḥmad, and he called his followers "Muslims of the Aḥmadīyah Section". He also allowed "Muslims of the Aḥmadī school". He considered it a blameworthy innovation, a bid'ah, to name an Islamic school after anyone other than Muhammad.

  His reasoning turned on meaning. Muḥammad means "the most praised", which he linked to glory and to the triumphant career that followed the migration to Medina. Aḥmad means "highly praised" and also "one who praises the most". He tied that to the beauty of Muhammad's sermons and to the perseverance and forbearance of his earlier life at Mecca. In later times, he said, this second aspect was destined to mark the progress of Islam.

  The Arabic suffix -īya(t), comparable to the English -ness, turns Aḥmad into the abstract name of the movement. An adherent, male or female, is an Aḥmadī. Some Sunni Muslims, especially in the Indian subcontinent, prefer other terms. They say Qādiyānī, after Qadian, Ahmad's home town, or Mirzaī, after his title Mirza. Both are pejorative, and the Community never uses either one.

  Ahmad died in Lahore in 1908, and the question of who would lead his followers came immediately.

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• 3. Five Caliphs and a Split

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  Hakeem Noor-ud-Din was unanimously elected the first Caliph, and his term ran for six years, from 1908 to 1914. During it, an English translation of the Quran was completed and newspapers and magazines were introduced. An official treasury was set up to meet growing financial needs. His hardest task was internal. A number of high-ranking office bearers of the Ahmadiyya Council disagreed with some administrative concepts and with the authority of the Caliph.

  In 1914, Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad was elected second Caliph, in accordance with the will of his predecessor. A faction led by Maulana Muhammad Ali and Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din strongly opposed him and refused to accept his succession. That refusal led to the formation of the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement. The stated disputes concerned the nature of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad's prophethood and of succession. It has also been theorised that personalities played a part, because the new Caliph had a relatively poor academic background.

  The Community calls the episode The Split, and it sometimes links the event to a prophecy of the founder. The breakaway group settled in Lahore and never attracted a sizeable following. It has unofficially claimed 30,000 adherents, including 5,000-10,000 in Pakistan.

  Mahmood Ahmad was elected at a young age, and his Caliphate lasted almost 52 years, from 1914 to 1965. He built the Community's organisational structure. Several weeks after his election, he invited delegates from all over India to discuss the propagation of Islam. He also wrote many works, and the most significant is a ten volume commentary on the Quran.

  Mirza Nasir Ahmad was elected on the 8th of November 1965 and served until 1982. He founded the Fazl-e-Umar Foundation in honour of his predecessor. He oversaw compilations of the founder's dialogues and sayings, and he directed a complete collection of the founder's dreams, visions and verbal revelations. He also coined the motto love for all, hatred for none.

  Mirza Tahir Ahmad was elected on the 10th of June 1982, a day after his predecessor died. He remained Caliph until his death in 2003. He held regular question and answer sessions in Urdu and English with people of various faiths, professions and cultural backgrounds. His books include Murder in the name of Allah, Absolute Justice, Kindness and Kinship, and his magnum opus, Revelation, Rationality, Knowledge and Truth.

  After his death in 2003, the Electoral College convened in London for the first time in the Community's history. It elected Mirza Masroor Ahmad as the fifth and current Caliph. The faith he guides rests on a creed that looks, at first glance, very familiar to Sunni Muslims.

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• 4. Six Articles, Five Pillars

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  Six articles of faith and five pillars of practice form the base of Ahmadi belief, and both lists match those of Sunni Islam. Ahmadis accept the Quran as their holy text and face the Kaaba in prayer. They follow the sunnah and accept the authority of the ahadith. They also accept the four Rightly Guided caliphs as legitimate leaders, hold that a caliph need not descend from Muhammad, and use the Kutub al-Sittah. These choices align them with the Sunni tradition rather than the Shi'a.

  In matters of fiqh, or jurisprudence, Ahmadis reject strict adherence, called taqlid, to any single school, or madhhab. They give foremost place to the Quran and sunnah. Where those sources lack clear detail, they usually base rulings on the Hanafi methodology.

  The Unity of God comes first, and Ahmadis call it the cardinal principle of Islam from which every other belief springs. They read the Quranic verse "There is no all-encompassing power except God" as removing every fear except the fear of God. Ahmad wrote that "The Unity of God is a light which illumines the heart" once all other deities are negated. Ahmadis also believe that the principle supports the oneness of the human species, so the diversity of races, ethnicities and colours is worthy of acceptance.

  Angels, in Ahmadi teaching, have no free will. They are spiritual beings created to obey God and carry out his commandments. They bring revelations to the prophets, bring punishment on the prophets' enemies, glorify God, and keep records of human deeds. They cannot be seen by the physical eye. When they do appear to people, Ahmadis say the appearance is a spiritual manifestation and not a physical one.

  Five named scriptures stand on the Ahmadi list: the Torah, the Gospel, the Psalms, the scrolls of Abraham, and the Quran. The Vedas and the Avesta are also regarded as of divine origin. Every scripture except the Quran is thought to be open to human interpolation. The Quran is considered the final scripture, and its teachings are held to be timeless.

  God, Ahmadis believe, sent prophets to every nation. Beyond the prophets of the Quran and the Old Testament, the Community also regards Zoroaster, Krishna, Buddha and Confucius as prophets. It distinguishes law-bearing prophets, such as Moses with the Torah and Muhammad with the Quran, from non-law-bearing prophets who appear within an existing dispensation. Adam is counted as the first prophet but not the first human on earth, contrary to traditional Islamic, Jewish and Christian readings.

  On the Day of Judgement, the dead will be resurrected and their deeds weighed. Ahmadis describe Hell as temporary. It lasts an extremely long time but not forever. They compare it to a hospital where souls are cleansed of sin, much like in mainstream Judaism. Divine decree, they believe, controls the final outcome of all actions, yet within its boundaries a person has free will to choose a course.

  The five pillars are shahadah, the creed, and salat, the daily prayers. The others are zakah, almsgiving, fasting during Ramadan, and hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca, to be made at least once in a lifetime. All are obligatory for Ahmadi Muslims.

  Ahmad summed up the whole faith in a single line: "There are only two complete parts of faith." One is love of God. The other is love of humankind to such a degree that one treats the suffering of others as one's own and prays for them.

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• 5. Jesus, Jihad and Science

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  Four hours on a cross did not kill Jesus, according to Ahmadi belief, which departs here from mainstream Islam. Ahmadis hold that he was crucified, survived, and later died of old age in Kashmir while seeking the Lost Tribes of Israel. They also read their founder as the Mahdi who bears the qualities of Jesus, in line with their reading of scriptural prophecies.

  The title Khatam an-Nabiyyin, the Seal of the Prophets, is the one place where Ahmadis openly differ in meaning from the Muslim majority. They believe the Quran is God's final message to humankind. They also believe God still communicates with chosen individuals, as in the past. Muhammad, they say, brought prophethood to perfection and was the last law-bearing prophet. New prophets may come, but they must be completely subordinate to him, and they cannot exceed him, alter his teaching or bring a new law. Such figures are thought of as reflections of Muhammad.

  Ahmadi teaching also gives the founder a role that reaches past Islam. All major world religions are said to have divine origins, and their founders brought essentially the same message, though incomplete. Muhammad completed that development. The global acceptance of his message was destined to come with the Mahdi. Ahmadis therefore regard Mirza Ghulam Ahmad as the Promised One of every religion. They find fulfilled prophecies in the Abrahamic scriptures, in Zoroastrianism, in the Indian religions, in Native American traditions and in others.

  Unlike most scholars of other Islamic sects, Ahmadis do not believe that any verse of the Quran abrogates another. Every verse has equal validity. Apparently conflicting rulings are resolved by treating each as fitted to the situation for which it was revealed. A ruling takes effect because it suits the situation at hand, not because it was revealed last.

  Jihad is divided into three categories. The highest, Jihad al-Akbar, is the struggle against the self and its tendencies to anger, lust and hatred. Major jihad, jihad al-kabīr, is the peaceful propagation of Islam, with special emphasis on spreading its message by the pen. Jihad of the lower order, jihad al-asghar, is armed struggle. It is allowed only in self-defence against extreme persecution. That persecution must threaten both life and the ability to practise religion, and the order must come directly from the Caliph.

  Ahmad taught that military action was unnecessary in his age, because Islam was being attacked through literature and other media, not by armies. The response, he said, should take the same form. Ahmadis believe that hatred should be answered with love. In 1989 the fourth Caliph wrote that Islam "categorically rejects and condemns every form of terrorism."

  The Nobel laureate Abdus Salam, a devout Ahmadi, observed that 750 verses of the Quran, almost one eighth of the book, urge believers to study nature and to use reason. The second Caliph argued that understanding God's revelation requires study of his work, and grasping the significance of his work requires study of his word. For Ahmadis there can be no conflict between the two.

  One final teaching concerns time. The history of religion, Ahmadis believe, is cyclic and renews itself every seven millennia. The present cycle, counted from the Biblical Adam, is split into seven ages. These parallel the seven days of the week, with periods of light and darkness. Mirza Ghulam Ahmad appeared as the promised Messiah in the sixth epoch, heralding the seventh and final age. Who guides the Community through that age is the work of an office Ahmadis call the Caliphate.

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• 6. A Caliph Chosen by God

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  No campaigning, speeches or speculation of any kind are permitted when Ahmadis choose a Caliph. They believe the Caliphate can be established only by God. He places in believers' hearts, through visions, dreams and spiritual guidance, whom to elect. The Ahmadiyya Caliphate is seen as the resumption of the Rightly Guided Caliphate, revived with the appearance of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. A Caliph is therefore designated primarily by God, and not merely by right or by vote.

  The office is spiritual before it is political. Its purpose is to uphold and spread the teachings of Islam. It also keeps up the spiritual and moral standards that Muhammad set for the global community. If a Caliph also holds governmental power, that is incidental. Ahmadis also call him Amir al-Mu'minin, the Leader of the Faithful.

  The Majlis-ash-Shura, or Consultative Council, was established in 1922 by the second Caliph. After the Caliphate, it is the highest-ranking institution in the Community. It meets formally at least once a year, and the Caliph presides over it at the international level. It advises on finance, projects, education and other matters. The Caliph must consult it, but he need not accept its advice. He may decide on a proposal during the proceedings or postpone it for further reflection. In most cases he accepts the majority's view.

  Wherever the Caliph resides is, in principle, the principal headquarters. Since 2019 that has been Islamabad, in Tilford, England, on land the Community bought in 1985. Before that it was the Fazl Mosque in London, the first mosque in the city. Qadian, the birthplace of the founder, is regarded as the spiritual headquarters. Ahmadis believe, and say it is prophesied, that the Caliphate will return there. Mecca and Medina are acknowledged as more sacred.

  The city of Rabwah in Pakistan was founded on the 20th of September 1948 by the second Caliph, after the partition of India. It coordinates most of the organisation's activity around the world. Two central bodies work from there under the Caliph's direction. The Sadr Anjuman Ahmadiyya, or Central Ahmadiyya Council, was first set up by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad in 1906. Today it runs Community activities in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The Anjuman Tehrik-i-Jadid, the council for The New Scheme, was created by the second Caliph and handles missions outside the subcontinent. Each council is divided into directorates, such as Financial Affairs, Publications, Education, External Affairs and Foreign Missions.

  The Anjuman Waqf-i-Jadid, the council for The New Dedication, is also an initiative of the second Caliph. It trains and coordinates religious teachers in rural communities around the world.

  Five auxiliary organisations handle spiritual and moral training by age and gender. The Lajna Ima'illah is the largest and takes women over 15. Majlis Khuddamul Ahmadiyya is for men from 15 to 40, and Majlis Ansarullah is for men over 40. Nasiratul Ahmadiyya is for girls from 7 to 15, and Atfalul Ahmadiyya is for boys of the same ages.

  The same pattern repeats downward. Each national community has its own headquarters and is divided into regional and then local communities, many with their own mosque, centre or mission house. A national president, the Amir, directs an executive body with secretaries for finance, preaching, moral training, education and more.

  The Jalsa Salana, the Annual Convention, is the most important religious function. Ahmad first initiated it as a yearly gathering to deepen religious knowledge and promote friendship and solidarity. Other observances include Life of the Holy Prophet Day, Promised Messiah Day, Promised Reformer Day and Caliphate Day. They are not religious holidays, so they need not be held on a set day.

  Jāmi'ah al-Ahmadīyya, sometimes called the Ahmadiyya University of Theology and Languages, began in 1906 as a section of Madrassa Talim ul Islam. Mirza Ghulam Ahmad founded it, and it now has campuses in Africa, Asia, Europe and North America. It trains missionaries, and the Caliph appoints graduates as missionaries, known as Murrabi, Imam or Mawlana, or as Qadis and Muftis. As of 2008, more than 1,300 of its graduates were working as missionaries around the world.

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• 7. Missions Across Continents

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  By 1913, the Ahmadiyya Community had begun organised work overseas, and one early example was a mission in Putney, London. The first Ahmadiyya Muslim mission in England was established during the first Caliph's term. The Community formed the first Muslim missionary organisation to arrive in Britain and other Western countries. For many modern nations, Ahmadiyya was their first contact with proclaimants from the Muslim world.

  According to Richard Brent Turner, "until the mid-1950s the Ahmadiyyah was arguably the most influential community in African-American Islam". In Africa the Community is credited with much of the spread of Islam in the post-colonial era, and it is particularly large there.

  About two decades into his Caliphate, the second Caliph launched a twofold scheme. The Tehrik-e-Jadid, the new scheme, aimed at foreign missions. The Waqf-e-Jadid, the new dedication, aimed at the moral upbringing of Ahmadis. Initially seen as a spiritual battle against the oppressors of the Community, the scheme asked members to dedicate time and money for their faith. It produced a vast body of literature defending Islam in general and Ahmadiyya beliefs in particular. The funds also trained and sent out missionaries beyond the Indian subcontinent.

  During the second Caliph's time, missions were set up in 46 countries. Mosques were built in many foreign countries, and the Quran was published in several major languages. Under the Anjuman Tehrik-i-Jadid, the Community has built over 15,000 mosques, over 500 schools and over 30 hospitals. It has also translated the Quran into over 70 languages.

  In 1970, the third Caliph toured West Africa, the first visit to Africa by an Ahmadi Caliph. Afterwards he established the Nusrat Jehan Scheme, which now operates numerous medical facilities and schools in Africa.

  The fourth Caliph used new media and new funds. He launched Muslim Television Ahmadiyya, the first Muslim satellite television network. He also set up the Waqfe Nau Scheme, a program to dedicate Ahmadi children to the service of the Community. His humanitarian funds included the Maryum Shaadi Fund and the disaster relief charity Humanity First. Another, the Syedna Bilal Fund, exists for victims of persecution.

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• 8. Rejection and Exile

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  In 1973, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation officially declared that the Ahmadiyya was not linked to Islam. Many mainstream Muslims regard the Ahmadi recognition of Ahmad as a prophet as heretical, because they believe Muhammad was the final prophet. The movement has faced non-recognition, takfir, which is the declaration that someone is no longer a Muslim, and persecution in many parts of the world. At times the opposition has been violent. The Community says persecution has accompanied it since its inception in 1889.

  In Pakistan, the government has officially declared Ahmadis to be non-Muslims. The term Qādiānī is often used pejoratively there and also appears in Pakistani documents. Ahmadis see the third Caliph as having given great leadership and guidance while a constitutional amendment declared the Community non-Muslim.

  Ordinance XX, promulgated by the government of Pakistan in 1984, put the Community's safety at risk. It made it impossible for the fourth Caliph to perform his duties, so he left for London. The Community describes that move as a forced exile and as the start of a new era in its history.

  Pakistani Ahmadis have boycotted the census since 1974, which makes counting them hard. Pakistan officially claims only 290,000 Ahmadis. Independent estimates run from 2 million to 5 million, and 4 million is the most quoted figure, about 2.2% of the population. For India, estimates swing from 60,000 to 1 million. Worldwide, independent sources put Ahmadis at 0.6-1.3% of all Muslims, and the Community itself speaks of tens of millions.

  In 2001, the World Christian Encyclopedia estimated that Ahmadiyya was the fastest growing group within Islam. That claim sits beside a census boycott and a gap of millions between an official count and the independent estimates.

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