At a time when it was India It lives in political and religious transformations under British colonialism.
He is a man from the village of Qadian who talked about spiritual visions, and adopted a religious call that he said is a renewal of reform, amid a climate in which there are many voices and sects.
With the passage of years, Ghulam Ahmad’s statements turned into an organized movement, which a number of followers have turned around, and the features of a new religious group, known today, are known as the Qadianiya and called itself the “Ahmadiyya Islamic Group”.
People differed in looking at her from its inception, while her followers saw a religious renewal within the Islamic framework, Muslim scholars issued their various references to many fatwas stipulating that the followers of this doctrine are “out of Islam.”
With its spread, the dispute not only remained intellectually, but social and legal manifestations appeared in more than one place.
This group exceeded the boundaries of geography, and reached different countries, but the questions remained accompanying: Who are they? What do they say? And why do this amount of controversy surround them? Although time has changed, their image is still reading with different eyes, among those who see a religious group with their privacy, and who puts them outside the circle of nodal affiliation.
Who are the Ahmadis?
In one of the villages of the Indian Punjab, during a sensitive period of the history of India, Mirza Ghulam Ahmed was born in 1835, according to what his followers say, and Ghulam Ahmed belongs to a family whose origins dating back to the Mongols of Khurasan, and she was known for her social status, was not only traditional religious origin, but was accompanied by intellectual and visible reflections that crystallized later in an invitation that raised attention, then controversy.
By 1889, Ghulam Ahmed announced the establishment of a new religious group, in which he defined himself as the expected Mahdi and the promised Christ, and attracted those around him who believed in his message.
Out Al Jazeera Net Encyclopedia Mirza Ghulam Ahmad claimed the prophethood and claimed that God Almighty revealed to him the “clear book” that contains “ten thousand verses”, and at the same time he admitted – but in his way – that the Prophet Muhammad (may God bless him and grant him peace) “is the Seal of the Prophets, but he is not the last of them”, as he says that the Prophet Muhammad (may God bless him and grant him peace) was a “legitimate prophet”, but he is “an unattended prophet.”
He also claimed that “the revelation” came from God by establishing his group to “renew Islam after what he had been stagnant and closed to the door of ijtihad,” considering that he is the promised Christ and the expected Imam Al -Mahdi and the renewed head of the fourteenth century AH.
In explaining his ideas, dozens of literature, including the book “The Ticket”, which included “revelation and inspiration”, which he claimed to fall on it from heaven.
After the death of Mirza Ghulam, the founder of the group in 1908, the group was divided in 1914 into two main branches.Kibera“Which represents the majority, and the” Ahmadiyya Movement in Lahore “, due to ideological and organizational differences, where the Ahmadiyya Al -Lawbiyah group rejects the prophecy of Mirza Ghulam and considers it again and a religious reformer only.
The “Ahmadiyya Caliphate” regime, which was punished by five successors, continued, the last of which was Mirza Masroor, the resident of London, which confirms the continuity of the organization and the group’s central leadership to this day, according to their website.
The seal of the prophets, not the last of them
The group presents itself as a renewal reform movement within Islam, which believes that Islam is still alive and needs to be renewed to its first purity, relying on the Holy Qur’an as a higher reference above every interpretation or imitation.
In their belief, the Prophet Muhammad (may God bless him and grant him peace) is the “Seal of the Prophets” in the sense that he is the most complete and better, or in other words the prophets who came with Sharia, where they believe in the possibility of a prophecy dependent under the rule of his law.
As for Christ bin Mary, who promised the Prophet Muhammad to his descent at the end of time, the congregation believes that he will not return physically as it is believed by Muslims in general, but died a natural dead and was buried in Kashmir, and that his grave is already there, and that the prophecy of the coming of the east of the end of time was achieved in the person of Mirza Ghulam Ahmed who came to renew religion and correct misconceptions.
In practice, the Ahmadiyya group stresses the peace of its call and its rejection of violence, and that its declared slogan is “love for all and no hatred for anyone”, and refuses to leave the governments, as it believes in the freedom of belief and considers that changing religion does not require killing except in cases of hostility and incitement.
The founder of the sect in one of his messages to the English ruler in India in 1898 said, “Since the modernity of my age – I have now approximately sixty – struggled with my tongue and my pen to distract the hearts of Muslims to loyalty to the English government and advise them and sympathy for it, and I deny the idea of jihad with which some Muslim ignorance condemns them, which prevents them from loyalty to the English,” says the founder of the sect in one of his letters to the English ruler in India in 1898.
He added, “I believe that the more many followers, the less like jihad, as it is necessary to believe in me and that I am a Christian or Mahdi denial of jihad, and I have a lot in the prohibition of jihad against the British who have done well for us, and those who must obey them with sincerity.”
According to the organization’s estimatesHuman Rights WatchThe number of followers of the Ahmadiyya community in the world is estimated at about 20 million people, most of them in India And Pakistan West African countries such as Ghana, Burkina Faso and Gambia.
On their presence in the Arab world, the expert in Islamic movements, Hassan Abu Haniyeh, says that its spread remains largely limited, and its appearance is often done in a hidden and non -public way, which reflects the nature of the continuous controversy and its lack of acceptance among Arab Muslims, and this limited spread contributes to the continuation of the controversy and the lack of clarity of the position of Arab societies towards the group.
Why the Ahmadis raise the controversy?
Since its foundation in the late nineteenth century, the sect has sparked widespread controversy within the Islamic world, especially because of its various ideological positions in some basic concepts, such as sealing prophecy, the return of Christ, and some social and religious rulings related to marriage and worship.
The dispute over the concept of “sealing prophecy” is one of the most prominent points of contrast. This interpretation led to a wide dispute with Islamic institutions, such as Al -Azhar, the Islamic Fiqh Academy, and the bodies of senior scholars, which see that this position contradicts the Islamic faith, and fatwas of which were issued that the group is removed from the religion of Islam.
On the other hand, the Ahmadis believe that these positions are due to what they described as “misunderstanding”, and they assert that they are Muslims who adhere to the essence of belief, but they provide a discretionary reading of some concepts, based on a special interpretation of the Qur’an and hadith, explaining the seal of the prophecy as a seal of perfection and law, and not a time seal.
In an interview with the Arab BBC, Rafik Ahmed Hayat, the Emir of the Ahmadiyya Group in the United Kingdom, explained that the group does not deny jihad, but rather understands that it is essentially the jihad of the soul, and refuses to use violence or fighting except in the case of defense.
He also emphasized their faith in God, the Prophet Muhammad and the Holy Qur’an, and considering them Mecca and Medina, holy places, denying what is rumored about the “sanctity of the Rabwah region” in Pakistan, describing it as just an urban center developed by the group.
On the other hand, a number of researchers in Islamic thought, including Dr. Ibrahim Badawi, believes that some Ahmadiyya beliefs, especially related to prophecy, are a departure from the peremptory texts in the Qur’an and Sunnah.
It is considered that the belief in the existence of a prophet after Muhammad, even if he is not legitimate, contradicts what the nation’s consensus has, and makes the group a separate entity from traditional Islam.
In turn, the expert in Islamic groups, Hassan Abu Haniyeh, says, in an interview with Al -Jazeera Net, that the conflict between the teams and groups within Islam is not new, as there are teams and groups that are historically and recognized, despite the differences between them. But Ahmadiyya differs from these groups because they have emerged recently and lack the historical roots that characterize traditional Islamic groups, which increased doubts about their legitimacy and their affiliation with Islam.
He adds that Ahmadiyya adopts a clear position rejecting jihad, contrary to what is known in the doctrines of Sunnis and Shiites who see jihad really and a duty in certain cases, which sparked widespread controversy and many considered it a departure from Islam.
How do ideological differences in prayer and marriage translate?
In addition to the ideological dispute, the difference in religious practices is also highlighted, including those related to prayer and marriage, which are practices that express the extent of overlap or separation between the Ahmadis and the rest of the Muslims in daily life, in the words of Abu Haniyeh.
With regard to prayer, the documents published on the official website of the group show that the Ahmadis do not pray behind the imams other than Ahmadis, considering that the prayer is behind those who do not believe in Mirza Ghulam Ahmed “invalid and unacceptable”, according to fatwas issued by their scholars.
Also, the group prohibits its followers to pray for the dead Muslims who are not Ahmadis, which deepens the spiritual and ritual gap between them and the rest of the Muslims in the societies in which they live.
As for marriage, the group allows the marriage of the Ahmadis to the theoretical, but it restricts it with accurate conditions, such as the requirement of the approval of the religious leadership center (caliphate), and encourages marriage within the sect in order to preserve the ideological harmony.
Texts issued by Ahmadiyya scholars in the book “Jurisprudence of Christ” indicate a strict position on the issue of marrying girls to people who are not from within the group, stressing that marrying the girl to non -Ahmadi is rejected, and it is seen as being away from the ideological and social harmony within the group, and is considered a violation of the official guidance.
Dr. Ibrahim Badawi, a researcher who specializes in Islamic thought, comments on these practical aspects in the lives of the Ahmadis, saying that the difference in the issues of prayer and marriage reflects the depth of the doctrinal gap between the group and the rest of the Muslims, and confirms that this is not just a difference in rituals, but rather an extension of a fundamental dispute in the definition of who is the “Muslim” in the eyes of the group.
He adds that the prohibition of prayer is behind the non -Ahmadis, or refraining from praying for their dead, indicating a clear contractual position that separates the group from its Islamic surroundings, due to their atonement for non -Ahmadi even if it is Muslim, and not only a regulatory or administrative position.
However, he stresses that dealing with this reality requires accurate religious and legal awareness, which distinguishes between ideological rule and civil and human rights that must be guaranteed to every human being, regardless of his belief.
A different legal and social reality between states
The contractual dispute exceeded that it is an intellectual discussion until it becomes a factor that stimulates official legislation and applications that set a legal framework for the presence of individuals belonging to this sect in several societies, which directly affects their daily lives and basic freedoms.
In Pakistan, it is the most clear model for the conversion of the ideological dispute into a constitutional and legal rule for discrimination, as a constitutional amendment was made in 1974 that the Ahmadis formally come out from the circle of Muslims, then followed by criminal laws prohibiting them to pretend Islam, and forcing them to disavow their beliefs to obtain official documents such as identity cards or passports.
The scene differs in India. The Ahmadis are legally protected by a judicial recognition that Muslims (several sentences of courts confirmed this), which allows them to formally free to worship. But they face social rejection from some traditional Islamic currents, as their activities or their general meetings are prevented under protest, and isolated violent incidents that take advantage of sectarian differences, despite the available legal protection.
This contradiction between official recognition and social pressure, according to experts, makes many of them avoid public appearances or reduce their collective activities despite the legal right to practice it.
Internationally in the countries of the Diaspora, the group benefits from the frameworks of religious freedoms in countries that adopt the right to organize mosques and educational and charitable institutions. Its leaders are active in addressing organizations human rights To document the violations that its members are exposed to, and work to build mosques, cultural centers, schools and sometimes open hospitals for all, with the aim of enhancing understanding and breaking stereotypes.
Ahmadiyya remains one of the groups that raise controversy in the Islamic world, among those who see it as a reformist current seeking a new reading of heritage, and who considers it a clear departure from the constants of belief.
Despite the multiplicity of positions towards it, the reality of the group raises deeper questions about the limits of religious affiliation, the position of difference in Islamic societies, and how to balance religious convictions and civil rights.
Among the ideological constants and political and social pressures, Ahmadiyya remains a complex model for testing the relationship between religion, interpretation and belonging.