HAZRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMADAS

THE PROMISED MESSIAH & IMAM MAHDI

The Promised Messiahas wrote over 80 books in Arabic, Urdu, and Persian. Excerpts of his collected works have been translated into English and organised by topic. The Review of Religions is pleased to present these excerpts as part of a monthly feature. Here, the Promised Messiahas elaborates on the mission of the Promised Messiahas

Extracts from The Essence of Islam, Vol. IV, pp. 36 – 45.

The Mission of the Promised Messiahas

The reason for calling the reformer of this age by the name of the Promised Messiah appears to be that his great task would be to put an end to the supremacy of Christianity and to repel the attacks of the Christians and to demolish their philosophy – which is opposed to the Holy Qur’an – with strong arguments and to convey to them fully the truth of Islam. The greatest calamity for Islam in this age consists of the philosophical attacks and religious criticism by the Christians, which cannot be repelled without divine support. It was necessary that someone should come from God Almighty to combat them.

—A’ina-e-Kamalat-e-Islam, Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 5, p. 341

Both Muslims and Christians, with some variations, believe that Jesus son of Maryas was raised to heaven in his physical body and would descend from heaven sometime in the latter days. I have expounded on the error of this belief in this booklet and have also explained that the descent of Jesus son of Maryas does not mean his bodily descent, but the advent of one who is spiritually and metaphorically like Jesusas and this humble one fulfills that prophecy, both according to the pronounced criteria and according to the divine revelation.

—Taudih-e-Maram, Ruhani Khaza’in vol. 3, p. 51

I believe in all that which is contained in the Holy Qur’an and in true Ahadith [oral traditions of the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa]. I do not claim that I am Jesus son of Maryas nor do I believe in the transmigration of souls. I only claim that I have been sent in the likeness of Jesusas . As muhaddathiyyat resembles prophethood, in the same way my spiritual condition very closely resembles the spiritual condition of Jesus son of Maryas , and I am truly a Muslim.

In short, I am a muhaddath from God and have been commissioned by Him. And at the same time I am a Muslim who has come in the fourteenth century as a reformer of the faith from the Lord of the heavens and earth in the character and spirit of Jesus son of Maryas . I am not an impostor.

God Almighty looked at the world and found it in darkness and singularized His humble servant for the reform of His creatures. Do you then wonder that according to the divine promise a reformer has been sent at the turn of the century? God created him in the image of whichever prophet He chose. Was it not necessary that the prophecy of the Holy Prophetsa should be fulfilled?

Once you have proved that Jesusas has joined the dead and have impressed this fact upon the hearts of the Christians, then do believe that that will be the day of the departure of the Christian faith from the world. Bear firmly in mind that so long as their god does not die, their religion will also not die, and it is futile to indulge in any other argument with them.

Their doctrine stands on just one pillar, which is the belief that Jesus son of Maryas is alive in heaven. Demolish this pillar and you will not find the Christian faith anywhere in the world. As God Almighty desires to crush this pillar and to establish His Unity in Europe and Asia, He has sent me and disclosed to me through His own revelation that Jesus son of Maryas has died. His revelation is:

In this book, I have established the death of Jesusas and his having joined the dead with very strong arguments. I have established it as a clear fact that Jesusas was never resurrected, nor taken up to heaven in his physical body, but died just as all other prophetsas have died. He has left this world forever. He who worships Jesusas should realize that he has died and has joined the company of the dead for all times to come. You should take advantage of this book for the support of the truth and should stand firm against the Christian clergy. This question should always be the subject of your attention and you should have full trust that Jesus son of Maryas has certainly joined the company of the dead.

—lzala-e-Auham, Ruhani Khaza’in, vol.3, pp. 402-403

Our exalted Prophetsa is forever alive. To keep him alive forever, God Almighty has ordained that his spiritual and lawgiving blessings should be extended to the Day of Judgement. Finally, as a continuation of his spiritual blessings, God has sent into the world the Promised Messiah – whose advent was essential for the completion of the edifice of Islam. It was necessary that the world should not come to an end until the dispensation of Muhammadsa had been provided with a spiritual Messiah as had been provided for the Mosaic dispensation. This is indicated in the verse:

Mosesas was provided with bounties which the earlier generations had lost, and Muhammadsa was provided with such bounties which the Mosaic dispensation had lost. Now the dispensation of Muhammadsa has replaced the Mosaic dispensation, but it is thousands of times higher in status. The ‘Like of Moses’sa is more exalted than Mosesas and the ‘Like of the Son of Mary’ is more exalted than the Son of Maryas . Not only did the Promised Messiah appear in the fourteenth century after the Holy Prophetsa as Jesus son of Maryas had appeared in the fourteenth century after Mosesas , but he appeared at a time when the condition of the Muslims was similar to the condition of the Jews at the time of the advent of Jesus son of Maryas. I am that person. God does what He wills. Foolish is the person who fights Him and ignorant is the one who asserts in opposition to Him that He should have done thus and thus and not so and so. He has sent me with bright signs which are in excess of ten thousand.

—Kashti-e-Nuh, Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 19, p.14

If it is asked, what is the characteristic and spiritual power in which Jesus son of Maryas and I resemble each other, the answer is that it is an overall characteristic with which our spiritual capacities have been especially invested, one aspect of which proceeds downwards and the other climbs upwards. The characteristic proceeding downward means the deep and burning sympathy for God’s creatures which, having established a strong relationship between a caller towards God and his eager disciples, spreads the illuminating power inherent in the holy being of the caller towards God, throughout his living branches. By the upward proceeding, the characteristic is meant that higher quality of love that is compounded with firm faith and which, taking its birth by divine design in the heart of the servant, draws the love of God Almighty towards itself. By the combination of these two loves – which are, in a sense, related to each other like male and female – a strong relationship is established between the Creator and His creatures, and the bright fire of divine love captures the fuel-like love of the creature, giving rise to a the third characteristic – the Holy Spirit.

—Taudih-e-Maram, Ruhani Khaza’in, vol 3, pp. 61-62

There is no God beside the One God, but there is another Messiah, who is now speaking to you. God’s jealousy brooks no second, but man’s second is there. God has sent me so that I should bestow sight upon the blind who have been sightless, not just for a few years, but for over nineteen hundred years!

—Majmu‘ah Ishtiharat, vol. 2, p 305

Fighting the Satanic Forces of the Age

In this age, the Holy Prophetsa and Islam have been reviled in abusive writings to a degree which has no parallel among any other prophet in any age… In this age, Satan, along with all his followers, is trying his utmost to destroy Islam. Without a doubt, this is the final battle between truth and falsehood. Thus, this age deserves the advent of a divinely commissioned one for its reformation. And he is the Promised Messiah, who is present among you. This age required that, at this delicate moment in time, God should provide a conclusive argument with heavenly signs. These heavenly signs are now being exhibited. Heaven is eager to exhibit so many signs as would blow the trumpet of the victory of Islam in every country and every part of world. O Mighty Lord, hasten Thou the day which Thou hast willed to be made manifest. Let Thy glory shine forth in the world and let the victory of Thy faith and Thy Messenger be proclaimed. Amen.

—Chashma-e-Ma‘rifat, Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 23, pp. 94-95

I have been commanded to nurture the moral qualities of people. Since all this endeavour possesses a Messianic character, God Almighty has named me the Promised Messiah. Having proclaimed this, I realise that Christians would also oppose me. But how can I be afraid of opposition when I have been commissioned by God! If I had forged this claim, even slight opposition would have vanquished me. But I have not put forward this claim on my own. I am ready to explain my claim to any right-minded person and to use all lawful and recognised means to satisfy him. I speak the truth that this is the age in which Muslims, according to their belief, and Christians, according to their ideology, were waiting for someone to come. This is the promised time. He who had to come has come, whether anyone accepts him or not. God Almighty always manifests mighty signs in support of those whom He sends to the world. He inclines the hearts so that they should accept him. Whatever had been Divinely determined in respect of the Promised Messiah has come to pass. Whether anyone believes or not, the Promised Messiah has arrived, and I am he.

—Malfuzat, vol, 2, p. 285

I have no wish to be worshipped as an idol. I desire only the Glory of God, Who has commissioned me. He who looks upon me with disrespect dishonours God Who has appointed me. He who accepts me, accepts God Who has sent me. Nothing can be better for a person than to tread the path of righteousness, and not to hasten to deny him who claims to have been appointed by God for the revival of the faith at the turn of the century. A righteous person can understand that at the turn of the fourteenth century, in which thousands of objections have been raised against Islam from all sides, a reformer was needed to prove the truth of Islam.

This reformer has been named Messiah, Son of Mary, because he has come to break the cross. God desires that as in the ancient days He delivered the Messiahas from the cross of the Jews, He should now deliver him from the cross of the Christians as well. As the Christians have been guilty of great imposture in deifying a human being, the honour of God demanded that one bearing the name of Messiah should be appointed to demolish this imposture. This is God’s doing though it appears strange to the eyes of these people.

—Anjam-e-Atham, Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 11, pp. 320-321

Endnotes

1. O ye Muslims, I am one of you and am your Imam from among you by Allah’s command. [Publisher]

2. ‘And surely, he who forges a lie shall perish.’ The Holy Qur’an, 20:62. [Publisher]

3. Jesus son of Maryas , Messenger of Allah, has died and you have come in this place and his spirit according to God’s promise, which was bound to be fulfilled. You are with Me and you have your stand upon truth and you are the helper and sup- porter of the truth. [Publisher]

4. ‘Guide us in the right path – The path of those on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy blessings.’ The Holy Qur’an, 1:6-7. [Publisher]