Mirza Ghulam Ahmad: Why he was not a true Prophet.
The Ahmadiyya religion appears to be in a state of crisis.
There is a steady stream of people leaving it, and this is fast threatening to become a flood.
Accordingly an Ex-Ahmadi turned Atheist describes the current state of worry amongst the Qadiani leadership as follows:
.…non-belief within their own ranks appears to be a rising priority for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community to contend with—at least here in the West.
Drifting away (apathy) as well as doubting the faith (apostasy) appear to be the next frontier. We can easily infer that this is so by observing the growth in this community’s social media initiatives aimed at addressing doubts…
Sohail Ahmed @ https://reasononfaith.org/the-pigott-prophecy/
I believe, the primary driver of this change is a second generation born and educated in the West.
It seems that they are no longer willing to simply tow the official Jamaat line out of loyalty. They are turning to Mirza Ghulam Ahmad’s writings first hand.
In doing so, they are discovering just how baseless his claim of being sent by God, really is.
With regards to my stance, I believe it is important to engage with Ahmadis with humanity, compassion and respect.
Many are good people, and I hope this article will help in bringing more of them to the truth of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, and Insha Allah to Islam.
Reason 1:
False Prophecies of A False Prophet
Prophecies Are The Best Test
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad rightly accepted that the best test of his truthfulness are his prophecies:
To Judge my truthfulness or lies, there is no better test then my prophecies.
Ruhani Khazain, Vol. 19, P. 288
Failed Prophecies
Thus, it is worth observing that a stunning number of his prophecies failed to materialise.
Whether it was the death of opponents (Abdullah Atham, Abdul Hakim), his marriages to further women (Muhammadi Begum, an anonymous widow) or the birth of more children ( further boys after his four from wife two) Mirza Ghulam Ahmad repeatedly and clearly got it wrong. See here for details.
In each and every case, Mirza insisted that the prophecy had in fact been fulfilled in some vague manner or provided laboured excuses for the failure.
One instance of this was the failure of Abdullah Atham (a Christian opponent) to die at the time he predicted.
When he came up with an unconvincing excuse to wriggle out of this embarrassment, his son-in-law showed him the mirror saying:
…It, however, sounds very ugly that every prophecy is misunderstood and had to be elaborately interpreted to be rightly understood. At the birth of a child, for instance, it was named Bashir (harbinger of good tidings) for good omen, and when it died, you said the matter was misunderstood. As for the prophecy concerning Atham, it has given birth to the very master piece of distortion and interpretation.”
Muhammad Ali Khan, Aina e Haq Numa
Shifting the goalposts
Indeed, Mirza and his defenders have proved most creative in contriving elaborate excuses to disguise his failures.
This is possible because he allowed himself plenty of wiggle room to get out of failed prophecies.
Consequently he would punctuate would be prophecies with ‘this could mean this or this or this’.
This ‘hedged his bets’ meaning he could claim any one of several scenarios as a potential ‘hit’.
Secondly he would advance the same claim in different ways and would happily move the goalposts to ‘score’ a hit.
For example, Mirza indicated that a prophecy might be changed if the other party repented or retracted.
At other times he claimed it would surely happen whatever the case.
I believe this too was a face-saving device. The intention being to give himself a wide-berth whatever the final outcome.
In cases such as that of Atham he would even engineer a claim of repentance, even as the other party denied it!
Finally he would claim that his prophecy had come true in some vague ‘symbolic manner’ even as it blatantly failed to happen as he had predicted it!
What I struggle to understand is how can a Prophecy be seen as a ‘sign’ of the truth, unless it so obviously true that it doesn’t need explaining!
The Definitive Failed Prophecy – Pigott vs Mirza
Ahmadis have no ‘wriggle room’ at all when it comes to the failed Piggott Prophecy.
This more than any other conclusively establishes Mirza’s falsehood.
Ahmadiyya apologists have attempted a post-hoc rationalisation, but without success.
I, strongly urge readers to read these excellent articles here, for the full evidence. Here are some highlights:
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad claimed in 1902 that John Hugh Smyth-Pigott would die during his lifetime due to Pigott’s claim to be Messiah&God. This did not occur. Pigott died in 1927, while Mirza died in 1908.
Ahmadis say this was because Pigott repented of his claim and stopped. This argument can easily be shown false.
I have proof that Pigott was claiming to be God in 1904, 1905, 1906, 1908 (3 months before Mirza died), and in 1909, after Mirza died….It’s clear Pigott did not repent. Pigott claimed to be God after Mirza’s 1902 letter. In 1904, 1905, 1908 (3 months before Mirza’s death), and after’s Mirza’s death. His followers said he was Jesus Christ who come again to this world and they openly worshipped Pigott in front of him throughout this period.
A reminder that at the beginning of this article, Mirza’s 1902 letter said:
If I die before Mr. Pigott, I am not the true Messiah nor am I from God
This is pretty clear cut.
Mirza gave us a clear objective test and has told us if he fails this, he is not the true Messaih nor is he from God.
He failed.
Reason 2:
Stealing the Seal of Prophethood
The Quran clearly announces that Muhammad (peace be upon him) has sealed Prophethood.
There is but one obvious meaning to this – he is the last Prophet:
Muhammad is not the father of [any] one of your men, but [he is] the Messenger of Allah and seal of the prophets. And ever is Allah, of all things, Knowing.
Quran 33:40
Mirza had to find a means of somehow unsealing Prophethood. How else could he claim to be a Prophet himself?
The multiple contradictory positions he took are a good indication of his own confusion.
Check this reference from an Ahmadi website for some idea of what I mean:
In no way has this ayah even hinted to the end of prophethood rather it illustrates the great status of our Master, Muhammadsaw…
… This means that after him the blessings of independent Prophethood would be terminated, and henceforth the excellence of Prophethood would only be bestowed on such a person whose deeds were testified to by the seal of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and this person would thus become his spiritual son and heir…In short, the meaning of this verse is that independent Prophethood, even of a non law-bearing kind, has come to an end. But, this does not prohibit the possibility of Prophethood that is illuminated by the lamp of Muhammad….
The word khatam itself is used to show the rank of someone and their superiority. This word does not mean last or someone who brings something to an end…
Ahmadi Answers @ https://ahmadianswers.com/prophethood/allegationsquran/33-41/
Ok, from the above it seems:
*’Seal of the Prophets’ does not even hint Prophethood has been terminated.
*It means that Independent Prophethood has been terminated.
*Seal of the Prophets shows the rank of the Prophet, does not mean one who terminates Prophethood.
*Ahmadis have no idea what it means, but it means whatever Mirza wants it to mean!
The ‘Second Muhammad‘- An Arbitary Test of Prophethood
Mirza himself claimed that as he was ‘One with the Prophet’ his Prophethood was a continuation of that of the Prophet and so did not contradict the finality of the prophet:
..and twenty years ago in Barahin Ahmadiyya God named me Muhammad and Ahmad and declared me to be the very embodiment of the Holy Prophet. Hence, in this way, the Holy Prophet’s being the Khatam al-anbiya does not suffer at all by my prophethood because a reflection is not separate from its original. And as, in the sense of reflection (zill), I am Muhammad, the seal of Khatam an-nabiyyin does not break because the prophethood of Muhammad remained limited to Muhammad.
Correction of An Error
Such an arbitrary test of Prophethood is so subjective as to be utterly meaningless.
Anyone and their grandmother could make the same claim as Mirza did.
Such an obviously contrived and self serving argument is a good indicator of Mirza’s insincerity, for a thinking person.
Reason 3:
Not the ‘Promised Messiah’
Mirza claimed to be the Messiah Promised, to return before the end of days, by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
Unfortunately, he didn’t actually seem very much like the Messiah mentioned in the Ahadith.
This was not a problem for him.. Evidently, everyone but he had failed to understand the symbolic nature of those narrations.
Those predictions would be made to fit, by hook or by crook:
*Prophet Muhammad (saw) said Jesus the Son of Mary would return. Not Mirza son of Chiragh Bi! Obviously this was metaphorical.
*The Hadith said he would descend on white minaret in the Eastern part of Damascus…no problemo…Mirza would build a white minaret in Qadian…which is East of Damascus…
*The Hadith said he would break the cross…he argued his writings criticising Christianity had broken the cross…
A Closer Look
The reframing of every tradition continued apace until it could be applied to him.
Nevertheless, I am less than convinced by his strenous efforts.
For instance, why would The Prophet Muhammad describe a Jesus like Messiah as the Son of Mary? Surely this description might be apt if he was conceived of a virgin, but alas he was not.
There is a white minaret in the East of Damascus where people believe, Christ will descend.
Why would I ignore this altogether and go along with the absurd logic that Qadian is to the east of Damuscus, and descending now means erecting a minaret.
Why would the Messenger describe a town in India as ‘East of Damascus’ when it thousands of miles away from the city?
As for breaking the cross, Ahmed Deedat, Zakir Naik and Shabbir Ally have a better claim to this than Mirza, according to his strange definition.
However if ‘breaking the Cross’ means anything, it is that Christians will accept Islam in huge numbers.
Over a century after Mirza, Christianity remains the largest world religion.
Mirza’s followers are minuscule in number compared to Muslims, let alone Christians.
The Cross is not broken.
Mirza is not the Promised Messiah.
Reason 4:
The Quran vs Mirza
The Quran is clear that the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is the last Prophet, as we have seen.
It also is clear that the Messenger of Allah, is the Prophet to all of mankind:
“And We have not sent you (O Muhammad) except as a giver of glad tidings and a warner to all mankind, but most men know not.”
Al QURAN 34:28
Moreover it makes it clear that after the Prophet, his followers will be charged to convey the message to the rest of mankind. No further Prophet therefore needs to be appointed:
And thus we have made you a just community that you will be witnesses to mankind and the Messenger will be a witness over you…
AL QURAN 2:143
The Missing Messiah
The Quran is a clear revelation and explains all divine truths (16:89). Allah also tells us that the Prophet was as recognisable to the People of the Book as their own sons (6:20). This indicates he was clearly described and foretold in previous scriptures.
If God was going to raise a new Prophet or Messiah for Muslims, we should find him in the Quran. His coming should be so clearly foretold that when he arrives, we can recognise him like we do our own family.
Alas, no such Messianic figure is to be found anywhere in the Quran. Indeed the Quran does not ever ask us to believe in any future revelation.
Rather it asks us to believe in previous scriptures and the Quran (3:84).
That’s it.
The supposed verses describing the Prophet’s ‘second advent’ as Mirza Ghulam Ahmad are no such thing.
Quran 62:2-3 simply states that others would join those who were Muslim at that time. How this becomes a Prophecy of the Prophet’s second coming is mysterious in the extreme.
Reason 5:
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad’s Survival: Evident Falsehood
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad’s followers offer a defence of his claim to Prophethood that cannot be accepted.
They claim that the Quran says a false claimant of revelation will die and not be allowed to fabricate against God:
If he had fabricated any saying and attributed it to Us, We would surely have seized him by the right hand, then surely We would have severed his large artery, and not one of you could have kept Us from it. (69:45-48)
This means that if the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, had (God save us) been guilty of inventing a falsehood against God, he would have been destroyed by God. In other words, an impostor is frustrated in his purposes and is soon destroyed and suffers torment. On the same basis of these verses there has been a consensus in Islam that an impostor cannot survive for twenty-three years after putting forward his claim of being a recipient of revelation. When we apply this criterion to the life of the Promised Messiah we find that he was a prophet of high resolve and was highly successful and that the Movement founded by him has flourished continuously in the world.
Al-Islam Website
The first part of the above paragraph is the truth. Allah refers to a True Messenger and says they would be punished if they were to fabricate against God. It does not mention imposters at all.
As for the 23 year rule, Baha’ullah the founder of the Bahai Faith declared his Messengership in 1863. He died in 1892. His followers today outnumber those of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad by a country mile, with around 6 million followers.
The fact that Mirza presented this poor argument as evidence for his claim, actually counts as a reason to not believe in him.
Reason 6:
Revelations In Foreign Languages
Revelations Are Always in the Language of the people
The Quran makes it clear that Messengers always receive revelations in the language of their people, so that first recipients can understand them:
And We sent not a Messenger except with the language of his people, in order that he might make [the Message] clear for them...
Al Quran 14:4
Allah never changes his practices when it comes to his Messengers (48:23).
Yet Mirza’s ‘revelations’ were in Arabic, Persian and English in addition to his people’s Urdu.
The Messenger who understands not
Worse, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad boasted that he himself did not understand some of the languages he received revelations in! :
…sometimes the revelation is being received in a foreign tongue, of which this humble one is wholly unacquainted,
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad here
The Qadiani Claimant has clearly failed the ‘Own Language‘ test of Prophethood set by the Quran.
His ‘revelations’ cannot be from Allah.
Reason 7:
Revelations in Poor English
Allah knows all things. The same is not true of Mirza Sahib.
This is why we find glaring mistakes in his alleged English revelations.
You can find the full list and some good commentary here. Just to give you a little taste:
“He is with you to kill enemy“ : He omits the definite article before enemy, just as many Indian speakers of English do.
“We can what we will do“: He means ‘We can do what we will’!
“None can exchange his words” : This a typical Indian mistake. He has confused ‘change’ with exchange!
“He halts in the Zillah Peshawar“: He is directly translating from Urdu with disastrous results!
In Urdu the words Qiyaam karna mean both to live somewhere and to stop moving. Mirza uses the word ‘halt’ when he means ‘reside’.
All these mistakes show the author is an Indian with a poor understanding of English grammar. Not the Omniscient Creator of the world.
Poor Excuses Offered
Mirza was obviously conscious that he might mess up with foreign language revelations, so presented the following excuse:
…sometimes the revelation is being received in a foreign tongue, of which this humble one is wholly unacquainted… Although all the words of a foreign tongue are not preserved, and because of the speed of the revelation, and being unaware of the speed of the revelation, and being unaware of the language and dialect, some deviation occurs, but there is usually less deviance in the sentences which are clear and uncomplicated. It also so happens that because of the swiftness of the revelation being received, some of the words are not preserved in memory, but when a sentence is repeated twice or thrice, then the words become well remembered
Ruhani Khazain, Volume 18, Page 436, Nuzulul Masih, page 58
Let us accept this argument for a moment. The following questions still apply:
*If the words are well remembered after being repeated twice or thrice, why are there still mistakes in the ‘revelations’?
*Why did God reveal his words in a language that the Messenger does not even know?
*Surely God would never allow his words to reach the world with mistakes. So why did he not correct the errors for Mirza, ever?
Occam’s Razor prefers this explanation: Mirza couldn’t correct errors he didn’t recognise himself.
His revelations were not from God
Reason 8:
Prophet or Plagiariser?
It seems that Mirza blatantly plaigairised the writings of famous Arabic authors and passed them off as a divine miracle.
You can read about his ripping off Al-Hareeri’s Maqamat here in some detail. Please note that when he tried altering the text he made gratitious errors:
MGAQ copied all the sentences which are marked by red lines, however when he copied the sentence which is highlighted in yellow, he couldn’t use it correctly in his Ilhami paragraphs.
The original sentence by al-Hareeri
((I became a brother of AYLAH, and didn’t own a place to stay in for one night)) – Maqamat ul Hareeri, page 7
MGAQ sentence
((They would become a brother of AYLAH and would not own a place to stay in for one night)) – Rouhani Khaza’in, vol 12, Hujjatullah, page 190.
MGAQ copied (a brother / AKHAA) as it is, while he should use (brothers / IKHWAT). Oh MGAQ! You are too honest when it comes to plagiarism.
Mirza and Plaigairism (thecult.info)
Worse he copied whole entries from Arabic dictionaries and claimed a divine origin for them:
MGAQ wrote: ((A few weeks ago I received the following: [Arabic Wahi]: “Ghatham Ghathama: Ghathama to him, He paid to him from his money a Dofaah [partial payment])) – Tadhkirah, page 319
As you are now aware, you can find this complete Qadiani revelation in the Lisan al-Arab dictionary:
Ghathama: Ghathama to him, He paid to him a Dofaah [partial payment] from his money)) – Lisan al-Arab, Ghain section, page 288
Fuad Al Attar @ http://thecult.info/blog/2012/05/04/lisan-al-arab-or-the-wahi-database/
Reason 9:
Absurd Revelations
Some of Mirza’s supposed revelations seem to be random and utterly meaningless statements.
What possible purpose would be served by these gems?
For those who want some light relief, please download Tadhkirah here which contains all the absurd revelations Mirza concocted such as the patient screams out a lot!…(bimaar bahut cheekhay marta hai!) and ‘Khaaksaar Peppermint!’
Reason 10:
Final Failure
According to the Quran a true Messenger always succeeds, and his opponents are always humiliated
See this article for a full explanation of the divine law of itmam al hujjah, which applies to every Messenger.
In short, if Mirza Ghulam Ahmad were a true Messenger his rejectors would have been punished, and his followers rewarded.
Mirza himself referred to this unalterable practice of God in his final testament ‘Al Wasiyyah’ written in 1905, three years before his death:
It should be remembered here that the statement of God the
Al wasiyyah
Most High, that He will not leave behind any mention of me
which should be a source of disgrace and dishonour for me, has
two connotations. Firstly, that He shall clear away all those
allegations which are published with the intention of bringing
disgrace upon me, and no trace shall remain of such allegations.
Secondly, that those objectors who do not desist from their
mischief and evil talk, He shall remove them from the world
and obliterate them out of existence. Then, by their destruction,
their senseless allegations will also be destroyed...
As regards catastrophes, the knowledge I have been given
about them is that death will bring havoc all over the world; and
there shall come earthquakes so severe as to give a glimpse of
Doomsday, turning the earth over and making life hard for
many. Then those who repent and give up sinful ways, on them
God shall have mercy.
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad made three distinct prophecies above.
- All allegations against him will be destroyed: This article is proof that this never happened.
- Those who make those allegations will be obliterated, and those allegations will die with them. Such that no ‘trace’ shall remain of them: The first generation of objectors died around a century ago. Yet the opposition to Mirza has not been obliterated and the allegations against him still exist. Moreover his followers remain a tiny and much despised minority, while his opponents dominate the world of Islam.
- Earthquakes will come making life difficult for sinners until they repent: There have been many disasters natural and man-made. Yet none that have caused people to repent from opposing Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. This too, is a failed prophecy.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad’s coming was indeed foretold by the Prophet Muhammad, Peace Be Upon Him. He is clearly described in the following Hadith:
“The Hour shall not be established until nearly thirty imposters, Dajjal appear, each of them claiming that he is the Messenger of Allah.”
Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2218