73 SECTS IN ISLAM - THE AHMADIYYA PERSPECTIVE

Abdullah bin Amar (ra) relates that the Holy Prophet (saw) said: "Surely things will happen to my people as happened earlier to Israelites, they will resemble each other like one shoe in a pair resembles the other to the extent that if anyone among the Israelites has openly committed adultery to his mother there will be some who will do this in my Ummah as well, verily the Israelites were divided into 72 sections but my people will be divided into 73 sections, all of them will be in the fire except one." The companions asked, 'Who are they O Messenger of Allah,' Holy Prophet (saw) said, "They are those who will be like me and my companions."

 

In this video, the question being answered is in regards to the 73 Sects in Islam...

 

THE AHMADIYYA MUSLIM JAMA‘AT

Jama‘at-e-Ahmadiyya occupies a unique position in the world of Islam. It is not just like one of the 72 other sects. To understand the Ahmadiyya position in relation to the rest of the Muslim sects and in relation to Islam as a whole, we suggest that the whole scenario should be observed from different vantage points.

AHMADIYYAT AS VIEWED BY OTHER MUSLIM CLERICS

To begin with, let us examine the position of Jama‘at-eAhmadiyya in relation to the other 72 sects from the vantage point of the scholars of the most predominant sects and the leaders of some powerful Muslim states. To an observer from this angle, the Jama‘at-e-Ahmadiyya would appear to be the blackest of the black and the ugliest of the ugly. It will appear to have no relation whatsoever with Islam—an outcast which was implanted in the world of Islam only to create rift and disorder and to play the most damaging role of a western spy in the world of Islam. Members of such a Community as this, the great clerics of the predominant groups will tell you, are not only non-believers in the true sense of the word pukka kafir, but also they must be considered by every Muslim as worse than Christians, Jews and idolaters—even atheists! No wonder, the ulema would tell their followers that the great Muslim states of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia and their camp-followers have officially declared this Jama‘at to be a non-Muslim Community which deserves to be uprooted and tossed out of the pale of Islam. Such roundly-condemning statements would always be followed by intriguing tales of the so-called Ahmadiyya beliefs. It would be difficult to exhaust the catalogue of these alleged beliefs in a brief space, but a sample of them is presented below.

ALLEGATIONS AGAINST AHMADIS

It is alleged that Ahmadis do not believe in the Khatm-eNabuwwat of Hadrat Muhammadsa and do not accept him as Khatamun Nabiyyin. That they consider the claimed "revelations" of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad as equal in rank to the Holy Qur’an and believe it to be a Book of Sharia. That Ahmadis have a different Kalimah from that of all Muslims (La ilaha Illallahu Muhammad-ur-Rasulullah). That the mode of worship of Ahmadis is different from the Islamic mode of worship. That their founder, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian, by claiming to be a prophet after the Holy Founder of Islamsa, committed an unpardonable sin, so much so that he and his followers, according to Islamic Sharia, have forfeited their right to live. That Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, not only insulted the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa by claiming to be his equal, but he also claimed to be his superior and freely insulted other prophets like Jesus Christas as well.

That his attitude to the holy progeny of the Holy Prophetsa was also insulting to the extent of being intolerable. That he also insulted and abused all ulema of Islam. That he did not stop short at abusing the ulema but also abused the whole Muslim umma. The list of allegations is not exhausted, of course; but enough is enough. The blood of the reader may be boiling already and seething with rage: What a man and what a Jama‘at! No wonder, one may observe, that ulema had declared this Jama‘at to be the worst of communities ever founded. So, the reader can well imagine how, looking at the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama‘at from this vantage point of utter hatred and mad hostility, this Jama‘at appears to be a manifestation of the devil himself.

AHMADIYYAT FROM A DIFFERENT VANTAGE POINT

Now let us change the vantage point and observe the Jama‘at from a different angle and try to understand Ahmadiyyat from the point of view of Ahmadis themselves. First of all, it is surprising to note that all the above allegations are emphatically denied and rejected by the members of this rapidly growing international Jama‘at. This denial does not bring the matter to a close, however; because other questions are immediately raised. For instance, one may ask, if all the above-mentioned allegations are totally false, then why should the ulema hate the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama‘at as they do and what do they gain by concocting such false stories about Ahmadiyya beliefs? The matter becomes more complicated and incomprehensible when one recalls that it is not the ulema alone who have joined forces to make this community a target of this most incriminating propaganda but many Muslim states as well support and finance anti-Ahmadiyya campaigns throughout the world, foremost among them being Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.

THE AHMADIYYA RESPONSE

In response to the questions raised above, the following is the Ahmadiyya position: It is the fundamental human right of every person to declare his own beliefs or to deny any. No man, nor any government for that matter, is empowered to attribute to a person and/or to a community, any beliefs which they fervently and vehemently deny. Hence, just the denial by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama‘at should be considered valid enough to absolve them of these accusations. Ahmadis point out that the biggest crime that a man has ever committed to turn both foes and friends against him has always been the crime of falsely claiming to have been raised by God as an Imam and divine representative.

ALL PROPHETS WERE PERSECUTED

Ahmadis support this statement by pointing to the history of religions so accurately preserved by the Holy Qur’an. Turning to the question put to them, they in their turn, ask, what crimes were committed by Adam, Noah, Abraham.

Moses or Jesus (peace be on them) and, above all, by the greatest of Prophets, the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa? Were they not abused, were they not insulted, were they not persecuted and tortured, were they not deprived of all their fundamental rights and even declared to have forfeited their right to live? All sorts of allegations were hurled at them. They were accused of crimes they had never dreamt of. They were alleged to hold beliefs which they never held. Many among them were treated as foreign spies and were compelled to leave their homelands. The atrocities committed against these claimants and their adherents are innumerable but the one and only ''crime'' they committed was none other than their belief in One God and in the fact that He had raised a Messenger to reform society. This is the ''crime'' which prophet after prophet and their adherents are alleged to have committed!

QUOTATIONS OUT OF CONTEXT

To adjudge the truth or falsity of these allegations and their denials by the Ahmadis, the latter claim that the most sensible thing to do is to read the entire text of the writings of the Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama‘at from which some out of context passages are selectively quoted by the anti-Ahmadiyya ulema. Ahmadis claim that anyone who could find time and patience to investigate the truth in the prescribed manner would immediately reach the conclusion that the short excerpts picked and presented by the anti-Ahmadiyya ulema from the writings of Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad are always quoted out of context and are twisted and distorted to a degree that they lose all bearing to the intent and purpose of the writer.

On the contrary, the profound writings of Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian bear incontrovertible testimony that the allegations are all false and that rather the opposite is true. Some relevant passages are quoted below for the reader to form his own judgement.

BASIC BELIEFS OF THE AHMADIYYA JAMA‘AT

"We do believe that there is none worthy of worship except God Almighty and Sayyidna2 Hadrat Muhammadsa, the Chosen One, is His Messenger and the Khatamul Anbiya’. We believe that Angels are a reality, that Resurrection is a reality and that the Day of Judgement is a reality; that Heaven is a reality and so is Hell. We do believe that whatever the Glorious and Majestic God has stated in the Holy Qur’an and whatever our Prophetsa, has stated is all, according to the aforementioned statement, the truth. We do believe that the person who subtracts an iota from the Islamic law or adds to it as much, or lays the foundation in any manner for the rejection of Islamic injunctions, or attempts to declare unlawful what has been made lawful in Islam, is an infidel and a renegade. We admonish our Jama‘at that they must adhere tenaciously to the fundamental article of Islamic faith: "There is no God but Allah; Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah," and that as long as they live they shall die holding fast to this belief. Also, they must have firm faith in all the Messengers of Allah and revealed Books authenticated by the Holy Qur’an. They should strictly abide by the Quranic injunctions, observe Prayers, keep Fast, pay the Zakat and perform the Hajj. They should practice Islam by fully complying with all the injunctions, obligations and prohibitions prescribed by God and His Messenger. In short, all such matters on which there is consensus of belief and practice among our righteous predecessors, and all those matters which are considered Islamic on account of the collective judgement of the umma should be accepted, as a matter of course, to be a part of faith. We call to witness the Heaven and the Earth that this is exactly our faith.'' (Ayyamus Sulha, Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 14, p. 323)  

"We are Muslims, we believe in God Who is One, and we also believe in the Kalimah. We believe that the Qur’an is the Book of Allah and Muhammadsa is His Prophet and Khatamul Anbiya’. We believe in the existence of the Angels, in the Day of Judgement, and in the existence of Heaven and Hell. We say our daily prayers, keep fast during Ramadan and turn towards Ka‘bah to pray.  

"We consider it our duty to refrain from whatever Allah and His Prophet forbid us to do and do whatever they command us to do. We have no authority to add or detract anything from the Islamic Sharia. We accept as part of Islam all that has come to us from the Holy Prophetsa, whether or not we understand its raison d’etre. By the Grace of Allah, we are true believers, Muslims and believers in the Oneness of God." (Nur-ul-Haq, Part I, Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 8, p.7) 

 Jesus Christ (as)

"We would like to inform our readers that we hold Jesus Christas in high esteem and genuinely believe that he was a true prophet and beloved of God." (Nur-ul-Qur’an, Part II, Ruhani Khaza’in, vol.9, p.374)

The Holy Qur’an

"Of all the revealed Books which we find today, it is only the Holy Qur’an whose claim to be the Word of God is established on the basis of irrefutable arguments. The principles it lays down regarding salvation correspond exactly with the dictates of truth and human nature. The doctrines it propounds are so perfect and well founded that they are supported by powerful and irrefutable evidence. Its injunctions are based on absolute justice and its teachings are completely free from the contamination of Shirk—associating partners with God and innovative deviations. It is a Book in which there is great eagerness to manifest the Oneness and Greatness of God and to emphasize the perfection of the attributes of the One and Only God. It is a Book which has this outstanding quality that it is filled entirely and purely with the Unity of God and does not permit any blemish or defect or shortcoming or aspersion to be ascribed to God Almighty. Also, it does not impose any doctrine perforce.  

"On the contrary, it establishes in advance the truth of what it teaches. 

"It proves its aims and objectives with reasons and explains every principle it enunciates, it leads man to firm belief and absolute understanding of realities. Thus it removes, with the help of self-evident signs, all defects, impurities and irregularities which infest human beliefs, practices, words and deeds. It also teaches all etiquettes which are essential to actualize human potentialities.  

"It resists every evil current today with equal force. Its teachings are straight, powerful and well-balanced as if they were a reflective mirror of nature itself and a true copy of the law of nature. It is like an enlightening sun for the inner eye and perceptive faculty of the heart.'' (Brahin-e-Ahmadiyya, Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 1 pp.81-82)

 Superiority of the Holy Prophet (saw)

"There have been millions of pure-hearted people in the world and there will be many more in future, but we have found the best of them all and the choicest man of God, whose name is Muhammadsa.  

‘Allah and His angels send blessings on the Prophet. O ye who believe! you also should invoke blessings on him and salute him with the salutation of peace’ (Qur’an 33:57) [Translator]  

Leave aside any mention of the holy ones from among those whose circumstances have not been described in detail in the Holy Qur’an, we shall speak of only those Prophets who are mentioned in the Holy Qur’an like Moses, David, Jesus and others, peace be on them. "We affirm it on oath, calling God to witness, that if the Holy Prophet (may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), had not come into the world, and the Holy Qur’an had not been revealed, and we had not seen with our own eyes the blessings that we have witnessed, the truth of all past Prophets would have remained doubtful to us. No truth can be attained from mere stories, for it is quite possible that they may not be true and it is also possible that the miracles that are attributed to these Prophets might be exaggerations, for no sign of them is visible today. We cannot even ascertain from the Scriptures revealed in the past that God does exist, because we are not assured that God speaks to man. But with the advent of the Holy Prophet, peace be on him, the truth of all these stories was confirmed. We now realize not merely as a statement, but as a matter of experience, what converse with God means and how God's signs are manifested and how prayers are answered. All this we have discovered by following the Holy Prophet (may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). What others relate as stories we have witnessed it all. We have attached ourselves to a Prophet who actually shows God to us." (Chashmah-e-Ma‘rifat Part II, Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 23 pp. 301-302)  

"All ulema are not the same: Some of them are God-fearing while others are wrongdoers. Those who fear Allah, we always think well of them; Allah will soon guide them and they shall perceive the truth. When they are told to declare this man a kafir who is claiming to be the Messiah, they say 'We will not say anything without full knowledge, and we fear Allah'." (Al-Huda, Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 18 pp. 320)

The foregoing quotations from the writings of Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the Promised Messiah are so self-explanatory, so powerful and convincing that it is impossible for an honest man not to be deeply influenced by their sincerity and devotion. With that we rest our case regarding the real faith of Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama‘at and leave it to the readers to draw their own conclusions. We hope and pray that Allah may lead them to the truth.

Extract from: With Love to the Muslims of the World

THE AHMADIYYA PERSPECTIVE

Written by HADRAT MIRZA TAHIR AHMAD

(Khalifatul Masih IV)

The Fourth Successor of the Promised Messiah