Qadianiyyah

QADIANIYYAH:

Founder

Born in the city of Qadian in the district of Punjab, India in the year 1835, a young man who would change the face of faith in the Indian Subcontinent would be born. Mirza Ghulam Ahmad came from a family of land-owning nobles and received an education from various teachers in the subjects of Persian, reading Arabic as well as the basic sciences. In the year 1868/69, he claimed that Allah, the Glorified and Exalted, began to carry on a conversation with him, the substance of it being that he had been chosen to be a messenger of Allah. Form that day; he went proclaiming his experience to the people.

As expected, he was met with scorn and ridicule, in addition to being presented with the verses in the Qur’an that state that prophethood has ceased. Ahmad claimed that these verses were metaphorical and were referring to only prophethood and not to being a messenger, as he was. Many of the Orthodox scholars of his time challenged him and set forth proofs to show his imposture and deception, yet he continued in his charade.

One of the constant comments about his station of prophethood is why a prophet should always be ill with typhoid, incontinence as well as other diseases. In all of his preaching, he was able to gather a small band of devotees around himself so that by the time he died on 26 May, 1908, his movement had become a well groomed organisation, with deputies, ministers and varying official posts, ready to carry his ideas into greater India and beyond.

Key beliefs

1. Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian is the greatest of all the Messengers. This is of course a denial of the primordial nature of the Prophet Muhammad as well as the finality of the office of prophethood.

2. There was no Virgin Birth for Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

3. There will be no second coming of the Messiah at the end of ages.

4. Qadianis do not believe in the Mahdi.

5. The False Messiah is a myth or a metaphorical reality.

6. The miracles of the other prophets are not necessarily true.

7. Muslims who refuse to follow him are apostates and will fall under eternal judgement.

8. The Sunna of the Prophet Muhammad SAW is rejected as a source of law.

Extent

Due to their inability to successfully proselytise with the same zeal as their Ahmadiyyah opponents, most of the Qadianis remain in Pakistan and parts of India at a number of about 10,000-25,000.