A Brief Sketch of the Ahmadiyya Movement

by Maulana Mohmmad Ali

Early life of the Founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement

It was probably in the year 1935 C.E. that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the Founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement, was born. He was the son of Mirza Ghulam Murtaza. His ancestors had emigrated from Samarqand to India in 1530 C.E. during the reign of Mughal Emperor Babur and settled down in the Gurdaspur district, Punjab, India. Here they founded the present town of Qadian , which was originally named Islam Pur Qadi. This was shortened to Qadi and then to Kadi and finally it became Qadian. His family belonged to the Mughals and descended from Haji Barlas. On this account the Founder and his ancestors were called Mirza and for this reason, too, he was reputed as Mirza Gulham Ahmad of Qadian.

He received his primary education in his own village and then in the town of Batala, about ten miles away from Qadian. In his youth, under the instructions of his father, he was occupied with the management of agricultural lands. In this connection he had to conduct law-suits relating to his family estate which were quite repulsive to his nature. He did it only in obedience to his father’s advice. To fulfil his wishes, too, be accepted a Government job at Sialkot and remained there from 1864 C.E. to 1886 C.E. Besides his day’s work during this period he would spend his time alone in reading the Holy Qur’an. Nevertheless, he entered into many controversies with Christian missionaries during his stay at Sialkot. In 1868 C.E. he was called back to Qadian to attend to the cultivation of land under the instruction of his father. But his heart was not in this work ; so he spent most of his time in studying the Holy Qur’an. He loved solitude and disliked worldly pursuits. To this effect he wrote to his father once mentioning that he would like to spend the rest of his life in solitude.

A new phase in his life and his claim of being a mujaddid

His father died in 1876 C.E. and a new era dawned upon him. He devoted himself completely to the cause of Islam. About that time a new movement, known as Arya Samaj (founded in 1875 C.E. at Bombay, India), had started among the Hindus. This movement attracted his attention in particular. Articles on religious subjects were published by him in various papers in 1878 C.E. Some of them were in refutation of the beliefs of the Arya Samaj. In his controversies with Swami Dayananda Sarasvati (1842-83 C.E.), the founder of the Arya Samaj and some other Arya Samaj leaders, we observe his great enthusiasm and deep scholarship about Islam.

In 1880 C.E. he started his first and renowned book Barahin Ahmadiyya, the first four volumes of which were published by 1884 C.E. In his work the truth of the teachings of Islam was established by forceful arguments, and the objections against Islam by Arya Samaj, Brahmo Samaj and Christians, the three great movements of that age, were thoroughly dealt with and their basically wrong principles were powerfully refuted. He emphasised in this book the necessity of Divine Revelation, throwing light on its different aspects. He further showed that relevation was not simply a phenomenon of the past but God also spoke to His chosen ones in this nation. In this connection he refferd to his own visions and inspirations and mentioned the fulfilment of some of these. It was in 1880 C.E. while writing this book that the truth shone upon him that he was the mujaddid (renewer of faith) of the fourteenth century of Hijrah and was appointed to defend the cause of Islam. This announcement was made in the book Barahin Ahmadiyya but he did not form any organisation immediately, and continued his defence of Islam against the Arya Samaj, which was imitating the Christian missionaries in its vitusperation against Islam. The announcement of his being a mujaddid, was not only published in Barahin Ahmadiyya but was also issued in a separate manifesto, 20,000 in number, in which after referring to the publication of Barahin Ahmadiyya he states:

"This servant of Allah has given a manifest proof by the grace of Allah the Almighty that many of the true inspirations and signs and wonders and news of the unseen and Divine secrets and visions and prayers that have been accepted are a part of the religious experience of this servant of the faith, the truth of these being borne witness to by many of the religious opponents (the Aryas for instance). All these matters have been stated in this book, and the author has been given the knowledge that he is the mujaddid of this time and that spiritually his excellences resemble those of Messiah, the son of Mary, and one of them bears a very strong resemblance and a close affinity to the other." (Ishtihar, published 1885 C.E.)

The admittance of his piety and righteousness and his unique service to the cause of Islam.

The publication of Barahin Ahmadiyya made a deep impression on the Muslims. They loved its author for his righteousness and piety, for his service to the cause of Islam, for his scholarly writings and for his bold stand against the opponents of Islam. How greatly he was respected by the Muslims of India is evident from a review of the Barahin Ahmadiyya by the Maulawi Muhammad Hussain of Batala, the leader of the sect Ahl Hadith. The nature of this review is enhanced when it is borne in mind that there were differences between the Ahl Hadith and the Hanafi school of thought and it was to the latter group to which the author of the book belonged. I quote below a part of the review:

" In our opinion, this book in this age and in the view of the present circumstances, in such that the like if it has not been written up to this time in Islam, and nothing can be said about the future ; "Allah may bring about another affair after this". Its author, too, has proved himself firm in helping the cause of Islam, with his property, with his pen and tongue and with his personal religious experience, to such an extent that an example of it is rarely met with among the Muslims who have gone before. If any one looks upon these words of ours as an Asiatic exaggeration, let him point out to us at least one such book as has in it such forceful refutation of all classes of opponents of Islam, especially the Arya Samaj and let him give us the addresses of two or three persons, the helpers of the cause of Islam, who, besides helping Islam with their properties and their persons and their pens and their tongues, have also come forward with their religious experience and have proclaimed, as against the opponents of Islam and the deniers of revelation, the manly challenge, that whoever doubted the truth of revelation might come to them and witness the truth thereof, and who have made non-Muslims taste of the same." (Isha’at al-Sunnah, Vol. 7, June-November, 1884 C.E., Batala, India.).