1. Mujaddid of 14th
century hijra
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He was a mujaddid like the mujaddids who appeared
in Islamic history (Ref)
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He reaffirmed claim of being mujaddid:
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In last major book, one year before death (Ref)
-
In statement made just one day before death (Ref)
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Promised Messiah is no more than a mujaddid (Ref)
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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