The Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam believes that these claims have been fulfilled in our age in the person of its founder Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad(as) who was born in 1835 in the remote village of Qadian in India. He was enabled by Divine mercy to tread the path of piety and righteousness, and, strictly following the teachings of Islam, was blessed with intimate communion with the Almighty. He received Divine revelation, which also formed the basis of his many prophecies, whose unfailing fulfilment has continued beyond his life.
In accordance with Divine direction, he founded the Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam in the year 1889, and, leaving behind a dedicated and vibrant Community of disciples numbering several hundred thousands, he departed from this earthly abode in 1908. His mission continues, and the Community has all along been headed by elected successors.
While describing his mission, the founder of our Movement had said:
I have been sent that I should prove that Islam alone is a living religion. And I have been blessed with spiritual powers that render helpless those of other faiths, and also those from among us who are spiritually blind. I can demonstrate to every opponent that the Holy Quran is a miracle in its teachings, its enlightened knowledge, its deep and delicate insight, and in its perfect eloquence. It excels the miracles of Moses, and those of Jesus a hundred fold.1
He goes on to say:
I am the light in the darkness of this age. He who follows me, will be saved from the pits and ditches dug by the Devil to ensnare those straying in the dark. He has sent me so that I should lead the world, gently and in peace, to the One True God, and re-establish the moral excellences of Islam. And I have been given heavenly signs to satisfy those who seek the truth.2
I now end my address with another quotation from the writings of the founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement, which is a call to the whole of mankind:
The mirror which enables you to behold That Lofty Being, is His communion with man..........Let one whose heart yearns for the truth, stand up and search. I tell you in all truth, that if souls search honestly and hearts really thirst for the truth, then men should look for the right method and the right path. But how will this open, and how will this veil be lifted? I assure all seekers that Islam alone gives the glad tidings of this path, for others have long since placed a seal on God’s revelation. But, be assured that God has not placed this seal: this is a mere excuse conjured up by man in his deprivation. Verily, as it is not possible to see without our eyes, or hear without our ears, in exactly the same way, it is impossible to behold the countenance of That Beloved, without the help of the Holy Quran. I was a young man, and now I am grown old, but I have never found anyone who has drunk of the ultimate spiritual elixir, except from this holy spring.3
Doubtless, this call is a life-giving message for every soul that seeks the real truth.
1 Anjam-i-Atham, Ruhani Khaza’in Vol. 11. pp. 345, 346.
2 Masih Hindustan Mein, Ruhani Khaza’in Vol. 15 p. 13.
3 The Philosophy of the Teachings of Islam, Ruhani Khaza’in Vol. 10 pp. 442-443.