Causes of the Internal Dissensions in the Ahmadiyya Movement (Part 1)
English Translation of ‘Ikhtilafat-e Silsilah-e Ahmadiyya ke Asbab’
by Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din (Translated by Dr. Zahid Aziz)
The Light (UK), April 2009 Issue (pp. 1–4)
Note by the Translator: At the request of an impartial researcher into Ahmadiyya history, I am starting to translate an Urdu booklet of the above name, written by Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din (d. 1932). It was published in December 1914, the year that the split took place and the Ahmadiyya Anjuman Ishaat Islam Lahore came into being.
Statement of Beliefs:
I believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Day of Judgment and Gathering, and destiny from Allah, whether of good or evil. I truly believe the Holy Quran to be the word of God and the Holy Prophet Muhammad Mustafa, Ahmad Mujtaba, may peace and the blessings of Allah be upon him, to be the true and perfect messenger of God, the best and most excellent of all messengers, the khātam [seal] of messengers, and my guide and leader.
I hold the following beliefs as expressed in the words of my mentor Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the Promised Messiah, which he announced on 2nd October 1891 in Delhi in refutation of some false allegations against him:
“After the Holy Prophet Muhammad, the khatam-ul-mursalīn, I consider anyone who claims prophethood and messengership to be a liar and kafir [non-Muslim]. It is my belief that revelation received by prophets (wahy risalat) began with Adam and ended with the Holy Prophet Muhammad.”
Similarly, I hold the following beliefs as expressed in the words of the Promised Messiah in his book Nishan Asmani:
“I firmly believe that our Holy Prophet Muhammad is the Khātam-ul-anbiya, and after him no prophet shall come for this Ummah [Muslim nation], neither new nor old. Not a jot or iota of the Holy Quran shall be abrogated. Of course, muhaddases [inspired saints] will come who will be spoken to by God, and possess some attributes of full prophethood by way of reflection (zill), and in some ways be coloured with the colour of prophethood. I am one of these.” (Nishan Asmani, May 1892, p. 28)
I believe that from among these great men, one was my master Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the Promised Messiah. This is a kind of prophethood by reflection (zilli nubuwwat), the door to which is open only in the Ummah of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, namely, the prophethood that is attained by perfectly following the Holy Prophet. Similarly, he writes in his book Chashma-i Marifat, pages 324–325:
“He who makes the Holy Quran his guide and considers the Holy Prophet as really the khātam-un-nabiyyin, and knows that he depends upon grace from the Holy Prophet, such a person becomes the beloved of God. And the love of God is that God draws him towards Himself, grants him the privilege of His communication, and manifests Divine signs in his support. When he reaches the stage of perfectly following the Holy Prophet he is granted a prophethood by reflection, which is a reflection of the prophethood of the Holy Prophet. This is so that Islam should always remain fresh by the existence of such persons and dominant over its opponents.”
To fulfil this aim, persons of the greatest status arose in this Ummah, such as Abdul Qadir Jilani, Junaid of Baghdad, and other holy people. From among them, the greatest of the great was my mentor who, because of the needs of the time, was called ‘Messiah’. It was in the sense given above that the Holy Prophet Muhammad called him ‘prophet of God’, and it was in that sense that I accepted the mission of my master. I believe that his mission is true and that he was appointed by God and was a manifestation of the ‘Ahmad’ attribute of the Holy Prophet Muhammad. Of course, I do not regard Mirza sahib as the equal of the Holy Prophet Muhammad. As he himself wrote in Ainah Kamalat Islam:
“God the Most High knows well that I am a lover of Islam, a ghulam (servant) of Ahmad, and a devotee of the Holy Prophet.”
It is my belief and conviction that my master, Hazrat Mirza sahib, came only for the reform of the Muslims and the support and propagation of Islam. If Islam were to be broadcast in the world in its real sense and Muslims adopt a truly Islamic way of life, then I believe that the mission of Hazrat sahib would be complete. These are my beliefs which I regarded as necessary to declare. Now I turn to the real subject.
Connection with the Founder [Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian]:
Do I bear animosity towards anyone? Towards Hazrat Mian Mahmud Ahmad? He is the offspring of that holy body whose servant I am. How can I bear animosity towards the family of that holy one through whom I was rescued from Christianity, to which I was getting nearer day by day, and in 1892 I became a Muslim anew. Not only did I become a Muslim, but through his guidance and prayers I was able to make amends for the sin which had been taking me towards Christianity by showing Christians the right path today. It was the most auspicious and blessed day of my life in 1893 when I took the pledge, at the hand of the Messiah sent by God, to hold religion above the world. I would give anything for those times which I spent in the company and service of that spiritually perfect man, which enabled me to fulfil my pledge as best as I could. How can I forget those favours and that love which he bestowed on me, especially on me! Even if I spent my whole life working for the aims and objects of the Divine mission of this Muslim Messiah, it would be little recompense for the continuous prayers he said for me.
Is it possible that I repay all this affection, favour and attention by fighting against his offspring? If we have a difference with the son of our mentor, it is on points of principle. Where we agree with him, it is also on points of principle. Differences too, according to the Holy Prophet Muhammad’s saying, can be a source of mercy provided that people are not irresponsible and they put aside their egos. Regrettably, it has always been the case that most human beings are unable to distinguish between principle and personality. By construing differences which are based on principle as being opposition to persons, they draw wrong conclusions and descend to a personal level.
This is the real basis of the breach and dissension which has now assumed a most dangerous form in the Ahmadiyya community, and has, it seems, shaken the very foundations of the Movement. This Movement is, in fact, like that strong tree whose roots are firmly embedded in rock, but whose branches and leaves are sometimes shaken so violently by storms and gales that a short-sighted person thinks it will be uprooted. However, storms come and gales blow but at the end the tree remains standing as before. At this time we are overtaken by a storm. Most of us are unable to think and ponder rationally to reach the right conclusion. But, O you Ahmadiyya community, remember the lesson you learnt from the Promised Messiah over a period of a quarter of a century. It is the lesson of perseverance, of patience, tolerance and forbearance. It is the lesson of thinking and reflecting and prayer. We have seen with our own eyes how non-Ahmadis treated us for long. That should have provided us with the lesson not to resort to the same means in our affairs which certain non-Ahmadis employed against us.
This Jamaat [Movement] has been created through much hard work and labour. It has been taught those matters of true knowledge that had vanished from the face of the earth. Our master held debates with his opponents. He taught us, in many different ways, to follow the principles that apply to the institution of prophethood. To comprehend some of the issues in relation to this Movement requires a fine understanding. That depth of understanding was produced in us by our master at times of trials and tribulations. Today you could have disagreements in certain matters if the affair of Atham and that of Mubarak had not been before us. Why did those events take place? So that you would acquire true knowledge, so that you would distinguish between revelation itself and (the human judgment of) the man who receives revelation, and so that you realise the difference between God Who sends revelation and the man who receives revelation.
Thus if there are issues of difference between us, resolve them by referring to the matters of knowledge that our master has taught us with much effort and exertion. It is contrary to reason and sense to determine subtle issues on the basis of events that take place or are created, and it is to sell yourself to mere emotion.
Today there are two parties among you. If the only difference was on the question of who should be leader, then I believe it would be the easiest possible dispute to settle. As far as I know, our Imam has removed egotism from the hearts at least of those people who are considered responsible for the present differences. If those highly-placed followers of Hazrat Mirza sahib who were close to him and under his care, and benefitted from his prayers, were to fight for the leadership of the Jamaat, it would mean that his mission failed. It is not only my faith but I know as well that no elder in the Jamaat has the desire to be leader. If we are not able to prefer holding the position of servant to holding the position of leader, then tell me, what has this true Movement achieved? Alas, the Jamaat is so overcome by needless, heated emotion that it has lost the ability to consider how detrimental our objections against one another will be to the cause of proving the truth of this Movement. When men arise in the world with a mission from God, their real object is not to perform miracles and make prophecies, but to reform mankind. Just think, for God’s sake, by making accusations against one another, are you not proving that the mission of my master was unsuccessful? Leaving aside the question of which party is in the wrong, when some leading persons are making accusations against others, both sides will be considered as guilty in the view of a non-Ahmadi. What will you then say about the achievements of Mirza sahib?
Foresight of Hazrat Maulana Nur-ud-Din:
What a far-sighted man was he whose name was Nur-ud-Din! Did he not warn you all his life about the dangers of the Shia attitude? Do not the Shias believe that all those around the Holy Prophet Muhammad were hypocrites except his relatives and a small number from among the companions? Did not Hazrat Hakim sahib (Maulana Nur-ud-Din) repeatedly relate to us that an unworthy Shia commentator of the Quran has explained the verse
وَ اِذَا خَلَوۡا اِلٰی شَیٰطِیۡنِہِمۡ
“when they are alone with their devils” (The Holy Quran, 2:14)
as meaning that those around the Holy Prophet were hypocrites and their leader was Umar? Why did Hazrat Hakim sahib tell us this again and again? It was because a time was to come over our Jamaat when that history was to repeat itself. It was going to be alleged: Hazrat Mirza sahib was surrounded by a group of hypocrites whose leader was Muhammad Ali. That time came as soon as Nur-ud-Din died.
Today, those people are being called hypocrites who were close to the Promised Messiah. O you people who call the faithful as hypocrites, is it not true that the Promised Messiah especially favoured the members from Lahore? Look at any of the times when the Promised Messiah faced some tribulation. Did he specially consult anyone at all except the members from Lahore? Can you think of any great work of this Movement in which our Imam did not specially turn to the members from Lahore to involve them in its execution?
The mission of my master was spiritual. His wars were by the pen and the tongue. For these wars, whom did he himself, with his kindness, appoint as his commanders? Whom but me did he want to send as his emissary to the emperor of Japan with a book written by him? God willing, this wish of his will be fulfilled. While he himself fulfilled in a spiritual sense the prophecy of the Quran that God will make Islam prevail over all other religions, did not Hazrat Sayyid [Syed] Muhammad Ahsan [of Amroha] declare in a speech in December 1911, in my presence, Maulvi Muhammad Ali to be the manifestation of this promise? Is it untrue that it is the pen of Maulvi Muhammad Ali through which Allah has shown the glory of Islam? Can you undo all these events?
That man is accursed who wishes to make a show of his services. The question for you is only this. If some servants of the Movement differ with Mirza Mahmud Ahmad on certain points of principle, and they are also unable to accept his view that a person differing with him on those points can still enter into baiat [pledge], and they hold their beliefs sincerely, then even assuming that they are wrong, how can they be called disloyal, immoral and treacherous for this mistake which is being made out of sincerity? Let us suppose that your views are right. What has the teaching and the benefit of the company of the Promised Messiah done for you? Is this how you treat those who acted on the command:
کُوۡنُوۡا مَعَ الصّٰدِقِیۡنَ
“O you who believe, be with the truthful” (The Holy Quran, 9:119)?
This is why Hazrat Mirza sahib used to exhort people to come and stay with him, to leave their native places and come and live under his eye. Did many of us not leave our homes, in effect or actually, during his life? Did we not do everything to please him? Did he not express his happiness and pleasure with us by his actions, deeds and words, directly and indirectly, and by his treatment and practice?
Leaving that aside, ponder over the views which you yourself entertained till the last day of the life of Hazrat Mirza sahib about those whom you are now calling hypocrites, reprobates and traitors. My question is directed at the Jamaat as a whole, not at any individual whose affairs may have developed a personal colouring since long ago. If we are what we are being called today, or if we became so after the death of Hazrat Mirza sahib, what significance is left of his messiahship, and how ineffective was his company! As I have just said, these spiritual men do not come to perform miracles and make prophecies. Their real aim is the reform of people.