The Religions Book

284

THE LATTER DAYS

HAVE BROUGHT FORTH

A NEW PROPHET

THE ORIGINS OF AHMADIYYA

I

n 1882, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad

declared himself to be a minor

prophet, or divinely appointed

reformer, of Islam. He had come, so

he claimed, to rejuvenate Islam and

to return it to its pure foundations.

The movement that formed around

him came to be called Ahmadiyya.

In orthodox Muslim thinking,

the Prophet Muhammad is the

final prophet of Islam, and anyone

else claiming the status of prophet

should therefore be denounced. But

Ghulam Ahmad did not claim to

bring a new revelation beyond the

Qur’an. Rather, he simply offered a

new interpretation, with the aim of

bringing the Muslim community

back to its roots. As such he was

comparable with other, minor

prophets who did not bring the law,

but restored it: Aaron, for example,

who is thought by Muslims to

have been sent by God to revitalize

the message given to Musa (Moses).

Ghulam Ahmad had previously

developed some unorthodox

teachings. Part of his message was

that Isa (Jesus) did not die on the

cross, nor was he—as Muslims

traditionally believed—saved from

death on the cross by being raised

up to heaven by God. Ghulam

Ahmad claimed that Jesus merely

IN CONTEXT

KEY FIGURE

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad

WHEN AND WHERE

Late 19th century, India

BEFORE

632 The Prophet Muhammad,

the final prophet of Islam,

dies in Medina.

872 The Mahdi, the Hidden

One of Shi‘a Islam, disappears,

supposedly not to return until

the end of the world.

19th century The anti-

British Indian independence

movement grows in strength,

with some militant elements.

AFTER

1908 Hakim Noor-ud-Din

assumes Ahmadiyya leadership.

1973 Ahmadiyya splits into

Qadiani and Lahori groups.

1983 A Qadiani Ahmadiyya

conference attracts 200,000

participants; the following

year, restrictions are placed

on the group in Pakistan.

There can be no prophet

after Muhammad.

But Islam’s followers have

lost the pure message

from God that he brought.

A new message is needed

to steer Muslims back to the

pure path of the faith.

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, as

renewer and minor prophet,

brings that message.