Intro
In a rare essay critical of his brothers (Mirza Basheer ud Din Mahmud Ahmad) Khilafat. Mirza Bashir Ahmad seems to have written many derogatory statements about the future of the Ahmadiyya Khilafat. This book or essay seems to have been lost in Ahmadiyya history. It seems to have been written in the late 1950’s. At that time, the Khalifa, (his elder brother) was incapacitated and was rarely seen in public. The Ahmadiyya editing team worked fast to make this essay/book disappear, however, in 2005, an ex-Ahmadi found the essay and mailed it out to all Ahmadi’s in the USA and Canada and maybe the UK. He also wrote the very controversial Seeratul Mahdi in 1923. He seemed to be disgruntled.
In 1982, Mirza Tahir Ahmad said that the Ahmadiyya Khilafat would last 1000 years. The Qadiani-Ahmadi discord troll team is alleging that Mirza Tahir Ahmad claimed in 1982 that the Ahmadiyya Khilafat would last for 1000 years. They quote the friday sermon of Friday Sermon, June 18th, 1982 (see at the 27:42 timestamp) by Mirza Tahir Ahmad, which was his 2nd Friday Sermon after becoming the 4th Khalifa. Nevertheless, this proves that Ahmadi’s believe in MGA as the final prophet (the Khatam ul Khulafa) and that there Khilafat will last forever.
On May-27-2005, Mirza Masroor Ahmad addressed all of this in a Friday sermon. Mirza Masroor Ahmad brought additional info from his own father, Mirza Mansoor Ahmad which clarified the statements of Mirza Bashir Ahmad, via the 2nd Qadiani-Ahmadi Khalifa, however, no references were given.
Mirza Masroor Ahmad says that MGA’s era is 1000 years, 1000 years of Khilafat, the final 1000 years of life on Earth.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________Mirza Masroor Ahmad mentions it in 2005
Friday khutba in London on 27 May 2005
“The khilafat in the Jama‘at will not remain in its pure form forever, but will degenerate into a hereditary institution after the first four khalifas. Apparently, Mirza Bashir Ahmad drew a parallel with the history of the early khalifas of Islam, when after the first four khalifas, who were truly worthy of holding this office, the headship deteriorated into a worldly monarchy in which succession was by descent, and not by the true Islamic worth of a person.” (Translation and quotation directly to the statement of Zahid Aziz, who is a Lahori-Ahmadi top scholar).
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Mirza Masroor Ahmad’s khutba on the “ever
lasting” Qadiani khilafat
Misrepresents Promised Messiah’s writings
Worried by his own elder’s view that khilafat will
decline after four khalifas
by Dr. Zahid Aziz
Mirza Masroor Ahmad, the Khalifa of the Qadian/Rabwah Section of
the Ahmadiyya Movement, delivered a Friday khutba in London on 27
May 2005 on the topic of their concept of khilafat. This is the day
every year when they celebrate the establishment of their khilafat. The
original Urdu text of the khutba is published in their weekly Urdu
organ Al-Fazl International for its issue dated 10 June, available on
their website http://www.alislam.org.
The main thrust of his speech was that their khilafat is an
institution that will last forever. He informs us at the outset that a
specific reason for delivering this khutba is that some unknown person
in their movement has been circulating an article written some years
ago by Mirza Bashir Ahmad, younger brother of the second khalifa
Mirza Mahmud Ahmad, in which the author argued that the khilafat in
their Jama‘at will not remain in its pure form forever, but will
degenerate into a hereditary institution after the first four khalifas.
Apparently, Mirza Bashir Ahmad drew a parallel with the history of
the early khalifas of Islam, when after the first four khalifas, who were
truly worthy of holding this office, the headship deteriorated into a
worldly monarchy in which succession was by descent, and not by the
true Islamic worth of a person.
As Mirza Masroor Ahmad is the fifth khalifa of his movement, he
is naturally anxious to dispel any such suggestion about the decay of
their khilafat. He says that this was a personal view of Mirza Bashir
Ahmad, and that Mirza Mahmud Ahmad had, at the time this article
was published, issued a clarification that there is no Divine law that a
khilafat must always suffer the same fate that befell the early Islamic
1
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MIRZA MASROOR AHMAD’S KHUTBA ON KHILAFAT, MAY 2005
khilafat after the four righteous khalifas. Whatever explanation of the
comments of Mirza Bashir Ahmad may be given, the fact remains that
a senior-most figure in the Qadian/Rabwah Jama‘at believed that their
khilafat institution would not endure in an uncorrupted form beyond
four khalifas.
According to Mirza Masroor Ahmad, and also according to the
clarification by Mirza Mahmud Ahmad as quoted in this khutba, the
decline of the early Islamic khilafat after four khalifas is not a general
law but was particular to the circumstances and conditions of that time.
Otherwise, true khilafat continues to exist as long as the community
remains on the right path. Explaining the meaning of the verse 24:55 of
the Holy Quran, Mirza Masroor Ahmad declares:
“God’s promise of establishing a khilafat is with those people
who are strong in faith and are doing good deeds. When
believers are setting such a standard, Allah will continue the
institution of khilafat according to His promises. Through a
khalifa after the death of a prophet, and through the next khalifa
after the death of every khalifa, the state of fear will be changed
into a state of security. We have been witnessing this for the
past one hundred years. But the condition is that the people
must be worshippers of the One God and must not be involved
in shirk due to the lure of the attractions of this world. If they
are ungrateful, neglectful of worship, and prefer materialistic
considerations over the commands of Allah, then due to this
disobedience they will be deprived of this blessing.” (pages 5
6, Al-Fazl International, 10 June 2005)
Later, after giving examples of the devotion shown towards the
institution of khilafat by his followers in Africa, Masroor sahib says:
“Inshallah, these good deeds and this sincerity will always be
the basis for the establishment of the khilafat in the Ahmadiyya
community. … Inshallah, those who do good deeds will always
continue to be produced and the institution of khilafat shall go
on forever. … It is a misgiving to say that, because there have
been four khalifas as there were four khalifas in the early
khilafat, therefore this has come to an end, and that Allah had
only this much power that after bestowing the blessing of
MIRZA MASROOR AHMAD’S KHUTBA ON KHILAFAT, MAY 2005 3
khilafat for a period three times longer than that of the early
righteous khilafat, His powers have been exhausted.” (page 7,
col. 1)
According to Mirza Masroor Ahmad’s interpretation, his present
day community of followers is adhering to such a high standard of
religious faith and practice that khilafat continues to be bestowed upon
them as a reward, but the early Muslims had fallen below the same
standard just thirty years after the Holy Prophet Muhammad’s death so
that Allah withdrew from them the blessings of the institution of
khilafat. Thirty years after the Holy Prophet’s death many of his
distinguished companions were still alive, eminent persons such as his
wife Aisha were still alive, and the highly-esteemed tabi‘in (those
belonging to the next generation after the companions) were yet
reaching their prime. But according to the Qadiani stance, those people
were not a good enough Muslim community as compared to today’s
Qadiani Jama‘at and hence they were punished by having the blessing
of khilafat withdrawn from them, the same blessing which is still with
the Qadiani Jama‘at and will continue with it forever! In terms of verse
24:55, the Muslim community thirty years after the Holy Prophet had
degenerated into a group of ungrateful sinners (fasiqs) while today’s
Qadiani Jama‘at has true faith and does good deeds. Nothing could be
further from the truth than this patently absurd, false and outrageous
claim.
Misrepresentation of the Promised Messiah
Just before the extract quoted above, Mirza Masroor Ahmad puts
forward the following statement from the Promised Messiah’s book
Shahadat-ul-Quran to claim that he had written that the khilafat in the
Ahmadiyya Movement will last forever:
“Now it should be remembered that although there are many
verses of this kind in the Holy Quran, giving the glad tidings of
an ever-lasting khilafat in this Umma, and Hadith is full of
reports about this as well, for the moment this much will suffice
for those who accept proven facts like a great treasure. There
could be no worse misgiving about Islam than to consider it to
be a dead religion and to believe its blessings to be limited only
to the first generation.” (Ruhani Khaza’in, v. 6, p. 355).
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MIRZA MASROOR AHMAD’S KHUTBA ON KHILAFAT, MAY 2005
A reading of the book Shahadat-ul-Quran will show that to present the
words “an ever-lasting khilafat in this Umma” as referring to the so
called khilafat in the Ahmadiyya Movement after the Promised
Messiah is nothing but deceit and distortion. What he is discussing at
length in this book is that the khilafat of the Holy Prophet Muhammad
did not end after the four righteous khalifas, as believed by many
Muslims, but that it continued throughout the history of Islam in the
form of the appearance of mujaddids and saints, and that he is one of
those mujaddids and saints. Leaving aside the rest of the book, if we
simply continue the above statement, it reads as follows:
“Does the Book (i.e. the Quran) which opens the door to ever
lasting blessings teach the disheartening lesson that there is no
blessing or khilafat to look forward to, but that all has been left
behind? Prophets certainly cannot arise in this Umma, but if
khalifas of the Holy Prophet do not come either, showing the
marvels of spiritual life from time to time, then the spirituality
of Islam comes to an end. In that case, such a faith can bear no
comparison to the spiritual power and glory of the Mosaic
religion in which thousands of spiritual khalifas continued to
arise over a period of fourteen centuries.” (p. 355–356)
He says that because “prophets certainly cannot arise in this Umma”,
hence in their place khalifas to the Holy Prophet have been coming
throughout all the centuries of Islam, not just for the first thirty years,
and he himself is the khalifa of his time. But Mirza Masroor Ahmad
says the opposite: that the institution of khilafat of the Holy Prophet
Muhammad was closed after the first thirty years, and it was restarted
only after the appearance of the next prophet, namely, Mirza Ghulam
Ahmad.
Similarly, only a few lines before the statement quoted by Mirza
Masroor Ahmad, the Promised Messiah writes:
“Given that God had explained by use of an analogy that He
would raise khalifas in this Umma in the same manner as He
raised khalifas after Moses, one should see what course did
God follow after the death of Moses: did He send khalifas for
only thirty years, or did He extend this series for fourteen
hundred years? The grace of God upon our Holy Prophet, may
MIRZA MASROOR AHMAD’S KHUTBA ON KHILAFAT, MAY 2005 5
peace and the blessings of God be upon him, was far greater
than that which was upon Moses … how could it be that the
series of successors of Moses should be continued for fourteen
hundred years, but here the khilafat terminate after a mere
thirty years?” (p. 354–355)
It is absolutely crystal clear from a reading of Shahadat-ul-Quran,
without the least doubt whatsoever, that the ever-lasting khilafat that
the Promised Messiah is writing about is the coming of the mujaddids
and auliya throughout the history of Islam, of which he himself is one,
and there is no mention whatsoever in this book that it refers to a
khilafat to be established after the alleged prophet Mirza Ghulam
Ahmad.
Mirza Masroor Ahmad, explaining the meaning of a hadith, says:
“The Holy Prophet Muhammad has declared the institution of
khilafat after the Promised Messiah to be forever” (p. 6, col. 1).
But the position outlined in the book Shahadat-ul-Quran can be
expressed as follows:
The Promised Messiah
has declared the institution of khilafat
after the Holy Prophet Muhammad
to be forever.
Observe the contrast between these positions.
In this book Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad has discussed at length
the khilafat verse of the Quran (24:55), the verse ever being repeated
by Mirza Masroor Ahmad and his Jama‘at. The explanation given by
the Promised Messiah is that in this verse it is promised that just as
after Moses God instituted “a long chain of temporal as well as
spiritual khilafat, by way of reward and favour, which continued for
about fourteen hundred years, and ended with Jesus” (p. 322), by
analogy the same would happen after the Holy Prophet Muhammad:
“For fourteen hundred years, Moses was granted servants of the
law who were messengers of God and His inspired ones; and
this series ended with a messenger who invited to the truth, not
with the sword, but merely by mercy and good morals.
Therefore, so it was that our Holy Prophet was also granted
servants of the law who, in accordance with the hadith ‘The
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MIRZA MASROOR AHMAD’S KHUTBA ON KHILAFAT, MAY 2005
learned ones among my followers are like the prophets of the
Israelites’, were Divinely inspired (mulham) and recipients of
Divine communication (muhaddas). And just as in the last era
of the Mosaic law was sent Jesus who, not with the sword, but
with good morals and mercy invited to the truth, likewise for
this law God sent the Promised Messiah so that he too should
invite to the right path only by good morals, mercy and
heavenly lights. … thus the dispensation of Muhammad
attained complete analogy with the dispensation of Moses.
If it is said that in the Mosaic order those who were raised for
the advocacy of the faith were prophets, and Jesus was also a
prophet, the reply is that the prophet (nabi) and the saint
(muhaddas) are on a par in terms of being sent (mursal). Just as
God has called prophets as mursal, so has He termed saints as
mursal. … As our Master and Messenger, may peace and the
blessings of God be upon him, is the Khatam-ul-anbiya, and
after him no prophet can come, for this reason saints
(muhaddas) have been substituted for prophets in this religious
system. … it is proved conclusively that the saints (muhaddas)
of this Umma, in terms of their number and the length of their
order, are equal to the apostles of the Israelites. In fact, another
verse to the same effect is as follows.” (p. 323–324)
Then he quotes the khilafat verse, 24:55, indicating that this is the
explanation of that verse.
The Promised Messiah claims that he himself has come as a
muhaddas and a mujaddid in fulfilment of the promise in the above
verse to raise khalifas to the Holy Prophet Muhammad:
“Now it has been proved from the Holy Quran that in this
blessed Umma a system of ever-lasting khilafat has been
established in the manner and likeness of the one which was
established in the dispensation of Moses, and there is merely a
verbal difference to the effect that at that time, for the support
of the Mosaic religion, there used to arise prophets, but now
saints (muhaddas) come. This proof implies the acceptance of
the proposition that just as in the last days of the Mosaic law a
prophet arose named Jesus, … similarly it is necessary that in
MIRZA MASROOR AHMAD’S KHUTBA ON KHILAFAT, MAY 2005 7
this Umma too there should arise a muhaddas, in the likeness of
that prophet and of his time …” (p. 356–357)
“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 khalifas in the earth as He made those before
them to be khalifa’ (24:55). This clearly conveys that a
mujaddid must come bearing the name of the Messiah in the
fourteenth century, because the Muhammadi khilafat can only
attain the most complete and total likeness to the Mosaic
successorship if the first and the last respective phases have a
high degree of mutual conformity.” (p. 363–364)
Thus it is Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad who was raised as khalifa
according to the promise in verse 24:55, and not the so-called ‘khalifas
of the Messiah’ after him.
Qadiani Jama‘at disagrees with beliefs in Shahadat-ul-Quran
While Mirza Masroor Ahmad quotes from Shahadat-ul-Quran, yet he
and his Jama‘at hold totally the opposite beliefs to the beliefs
expressed by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad in this book about his
claims. We list these differences below:
1. Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad writes that the Holy Prophet
Muhammad being the Khatam-ul-anbiya means that no prophet
can come after him (p. 323–324), and “prophets certainly cannot
arise in this Umma” (p. 355). The Qadiani Jama‘at holds that
prophets can most certainly arise in this Umma despite the Holy
Prophet Muhammad being the Khatam-ul-anbiya.
2. Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad writes that the khilafat of the
Holy Prophet Muhammad has continued throughout the history
of Islam after the righteous khilafat of the first thirty years (p.
323). The Qadiani Jama‘at holds that the khilafat of the Holy
Prophet Muhammad came to an end after the righteous khilafat
of the first thirty years, and was only re-established after Hazrat
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad in the form of khilafat to the Promised
Messiah.
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MIRZA MASROOR AHMAD’S KHUTBA ON KHILAFAT, MAY 2005
3. Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad writes that the Messiah to arise
among Muslims should be a saint (muhaddas) and reformer
(mujaddid) of this Umma, and not a prophet. The Qadiani
Jama‘at holds that muhaddas and mujaddid is not a sufficiently
high rank for the Promised Messiah and he must be a prophet.
4. Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad writes that he has come in
fulfilment of the khilafat verse of the Holy Quran as a khalifa of
the Holy Prophet. The Qadiani Jama‘at holds that he is not a
part of the khilafat of the Holy Prophet but is himself a prophet
who establishes a khilafat after him.
If Qadiani khilafat is ever-lasting, no prophet can come in future
If the so-called Qadiani khilafat is considered by its adherents as ever
lasting, then this contradicts their own vociferous belief that the door
of prophethood is open for all time after the Holy Prophet Muhammad.
For, if a prophet arose in future his own khilafat would be established
after him. On the other hand, the same Qadiani Jama‘at has been
vigorously proclaiming for ninety years that, according to the Quran
and Hadith, prophethood continues after the Holy Prophet Muhammad
and prophets will always be arising among Muslims. In his book
Anwar-i Khilafat, published in 1916, Mirza Mahmud Ahmad argued as
follows against those who believe in the finality of prophethood:
“Likewise they say that however much a person may advance
in virtue and goodness, … but God will never make him a
prophet, never raise him to that dignity. Their thinking thus is
due to not assigning to Allah the attributes due to Him;
otherwise, to say nothing of one prophet, I say there shall be
thousands of prophets … They question the prophethood of
the Promised Messiah, but I say, even now there can be a
prophet.” (p. 62; p. 124 of the online edition; emphasis is ours)
“I ask, Is prophethood a mercy or a curse? If it is a mercy, then
why has it come to an end after the Holy Prophet Muhammad?
It should have increased all the more after him. He was a
prophet of a very great status. Therefore a prophet who comes
after him must also be of a great status, not that no one could at
all become a prophet.” (p. 64; p. 126 of the online edition)
MIRZA MASROOR AHMAD’S KHUTBA ON KHILAFAT, MAY 2005 9
“Even if someone placed a sword on my neck and told me to
say that no prophet can come after the Holy Prophet, I would
say to him: you are a liar, a great liar, prophets can come after
the Holy Prophet, most certainly they can.” (p. 65; p. 127 of the
online edition)
(The online edition of Anwar-i Khilafat is on the Qadiani Jama‘at
website at the address: http://www.alislam.org/urdu/au/AU3-5.pdf .
The page numbers for that edition have been indicated above.)
Mirza Masroor Ahmad needs to explain what would happen to the
khilafat in his Jama‘at if one of these many prophets arose, who can
come according to Mirza Mahmud Ahmad.
Does a khalifa know beforehand that he will be elected?
Mirza Masroor Ahmad answers an objection of someone who wrote to
him saying: “you have become a khalifa by a great deal of pre
planning”. Within his reply he also mentions:
“Often outsiders ask me this question. I always give them the
reply given by the third khalifa. Someone also asked him: Did
you know that you would be chosen as khalifa? His reply was:
Even the thought of that would not occur to any person having
any sense.” (page 6, col. 1)
According to Mirza Nasir Ahmad’s reply, even the thought of
becoming khalifa had not occurred to him. For the interest of our
readers, I refer to an article in Paigham Sulh by the Lahore Ahmadi
missionary Sayyid Akhtar Husain Gilani, published in 1944, some 21
years before Mirza Nasir Ahmad became khalifa. It is written in it:
“Mirza Mahmud Ahmad has prepared his son Nasir Ahmad for
the khilafat. … Mirza Nasir Ahmad is the president of
Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya etc. The young are being instructed to
render obedience to him, and in every way he is being put
forward for the khilafat in various ways. It is definite that the
khilafat will pass down as an inheritance in the family of Mirza
Mahmud Ahmad. Its foundation is being laid on concepts such
as the ‘promised progeny’, and it is impossible now that a non
related person could become khalifa.” (Paigham Sulh, 31 May
1944, p. 13)
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MIRZA MASROOR AHMAD’S KHUTBA ON KHILAFAT, MAY 2005
It appears that it was being publicly discussed for years before Mirza
Nasir Ahmad became khalifa that he was being prepared for this office,
and yet it is claimed that even this thought had never occurred to him!
In connection with whether a “non-related person” would be
eligible for becoming khalifa, Mirza Masroor Ahmad seems to have
given an indication of this in his khutba:
“So, instead of being crafty and cunning, you should become
righteous and remain engaged in prayer so that this gift of
khilafat continues among you forever. To preserve this honour,
which for the past 97 years has been bestowed upon people of a
certain country or upon the family of the Promised Messiah,
what is required is prayers and good deeds. Whichever nation
excels in sincerity, devotion and piety, will be the one which
holds aloft this banner because it is the promise of God with the
Promised Messiah that this power is eternal.” (p. 6–7).
Mirza Masroor Ahmad should clarify more explicitly whether he
means by this statement that any person belonging to any nation, and
far from being related to the Promised Messiah’s family, is eligible for
becoming khalifa on the sole basis of righteousness, sincerity and
doing of good deeds.
Whose fear?
We are repeatedly told, as Mirza Masroor Ahmad also says in his
khutba, that a khalifa arises when the community is in a state of
desperate fear and anxiety, and he changes their fear into security.
However, from his khutba the reverse appears to be the case. Here it is
the khalifa who is in a state of deep apprehension about his position
and he appeals to his community to change his fear into security by
stopping criticising him and accepting him as worthy of his office.
Those who are truly appointed by Allah, whether a prophet or a
mujaddid such as Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, do not rely on, or ask
for, or even care for, the support of any human beings in order to
remain in their Divinely-appointed office.
6 July 2005.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________Links and Related Essays
http://ahmadiyya.org/qadis/rep-khilafat-speech.pdf
https://www.alislam.org/friday-sermon/2005-05-27.html
Seeratul-Mahdi’s 1st edition is missing, it was published on Dec 10th-1923
Mirza Bashir Ahmad did Takfir on all Muslims and Lahori-Ahmadis (1915)
“Kalimatal Fasl” by Mirza Bashir Ahmad (1916) quotes and background info
Ahmadiyya and 24:55 of the Quran and their Spiritual Khilafat
The 1923 edition of Seeratul Mahdi – ahmadiyyafactcheckblog
Divine Promise of establishment of Khilafat (Prayer Tehrik)
https://www.alislam.org/friday-sermon/2005-05-27.html
Mirza Tahir Ahmad said in 1982, that the Ahmadiyya Khilafat would last 1000 years
Who is Mirza Mansoor Ahmad? – ahmadiyyafactcheckblog
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Tags
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