Movement

From Promised Messiah to a full prophet Mirza’s claim to be the promised Messiah lasted for about 10 years. Thereafter, in November 1901, he went a step further, and, repudiating the unanimous Muslim belief in the finality of prophet-hood of Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) for all time to come, to which he himself had categorically subscribed as shown earlier, put forward an unequivocal claim to be a full-fledged prophet of Allah. The occasion for this arose initially in August 1901 when the khatib (leader of congregational prayers) of Mirza’s mosque in Qadian referred to Mirza in his Friday khutbah (sermon) as a prophet and messenger of Allah. Despite a strong objection raised to this remark by one of those present in the congregation, the khatib repeated the statement in the next Friday khutbah and the objector raised his objection once again. On being requested by the khatib to adjudicate, and to correct him if he was in the wrong, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, who hitherto had been hesitant to venture a direct claim to prophet-hood, and had confined himself to claiming to be “God’s deputed one”, “His appointed one”, “His trusted one”, and the “Masil” of Messiah etc. decided to take the final plunge and confirmed the statement made concerning him by the khatib. This greatly infuriated that person (Syed Muhammad Ahsan Qadyani), who started arguing loudly with the khatib. Thereupon, Mirza himself appeared on the scene and chided both of them by reciting the following Quranic verse, which had in fact been revealed in relation to Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) (O believers! Raise not your voices above the voice of Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H)) (Cf. Al Fadl, official Qadyani newspaper, Qadian, 4 January 1923, and journal Furqan-e-Qadianiyat, October 1942 issue). His former hesitancy in the matter having thus been removed, Mirza followed up the aforesaid incident by making clear and written assertions to the same effect. For example: “How can I deny being a prophet or a messenger when Allah Himself has conferred these titles upon me? Why should I reject them or fear anyone besides Him”?                                                                                                                                      Eik Ghalati Ka Izalah (Removal of an error)   “ God has endorsed my prophethood through thousands of ‘signs’ in a manner no other apostle’s prophethood was endorsed in past______ I swear by God (who holds my life in His hands) that He alone has sent me and named me prophet as well as the Promised Messiah, and He has manifested as many as three hundred thousand ‘signs’ in my favour”.                                     Epilogue to “Haqiqat-ul-Wahi (The Reality of Revelation), 1907. Bizarre arguments against Holy Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) Finality of Prophethood In his earlier books (e.g., Barahin-e-Ahmadiyah, Vol. IV, and Izalatul Awham, etc.), Mirza had stated categorically that the coming of any prophet after Muhammad (P.B.U.H) was “impossible and contrary to the promise of God”. However, when he decided to become a prophet himself, he put forward all sorts of arguments contrary to confirmed Muslim beliefs on this point.  In Barahin-e-Ahmadiyah (Vol. V, published 1905), for example, he wrote thus: …………. “ How wrong and absurd it is to believe that the door to Divine revelation has been closed for all time to come after Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H), and that there is no hope of its resumption until the Day of Judgment. This means that future generations of humanity have been left to worship and believe in ancient tales only, and that even if someone (implying Mirza himself) strives in path of Allah with such devotion as to sacrifice everything including his life for His sake, he will have no direct opportunity to learn about Him or to be addressed by Him at a personal level……..What is the value of religion that does not provide any direct knowledge about God but relies instead on stories and legends only? I swear by Allah that regard such a religion as the religion of Satan, and one which leads its followers straight to hell. Claim to be a shadow prophet For sometime after making his prophetic claim, Mirza projected himself as a zilli nabi (shadow prophet), implying that even though the door to prophet-hood was still open, no one could be invested with it directly as in the past but only through endorsement and certification by Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H), whom God had called Khatim-un-Nabiyyin in the Quran. He interpreted this appellation to mean, not “the last of all Prophets” as universally believed by the Muslim Ummah on the basis of undisputed evidence from the Quran itself as well as numerous ahadith, but the “seal of prophets” which was intended to endorse or ratify the prophet-hood of others. Thus, in turn, also implied that persons could and in fact would appear after Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) whom the latter would certify with his “seal”. According to Mirza, the criterion for such certification was to be the concerned person’s strict and consistent adherence to the Prophet’s shariah, as he claimed to have done himself. Full prophet with a shariah After remaining a shadow prophet for some time, Mirza finally proceeded to take a step about which even the most accomplished ulama and Awlia (Saints) of the Ummah shuddered to think. He put forward a claim to be a full-fledged prophet of Allah with his own shariah (canonical code), and also Khatim-un-Nabiyyin (the last of the prophets). He thus ventured to transgress that most hallowed boundary which even Angel Gabriel had excused himself from crossing on the night of the Holy Prophet’s Miraj (Ascension) to the high heavens, and where the Mashaikh of the Ummah dared not to breath with ease.   In the words of a Persian poet,
	Translation:  "There exists a place commanding the highest respect below the sky (i.e., the tomb of Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H), which is holier that even the Throne of Allah;  Even (such sublime personalities as) Junaid (of Baghdad) and Bayazid (of Bastam) approach this place with held breath". In his book titled “Eik Ghalati Ka Izalah”, Mirza wrote: “Many a time have I told people that in consonance with the Quranic ayah (Surah Al-Juma-Ayah 3) (Translation: Along with others who have not yet joined them__ LXII, 3), I am symbolically the last of the prophets, that god named me Muhammad and Ahmad twenty years ago, and also that He pronounced me to be Prophet Muhammad himself. So when the Promised Messiah and Muhammad are one and the same in record of Allah, when they possess the same dignity, status, mission as well as name, and when there is no duality or difference between them except of a verbal nature only, how far removed from truth it would be for people to deny that the Promised Messiah is none but Muhammad himself”.  (Excerpt published in the journal Al-Fazl dated 16 September 1915).