Born in 1835 in Qadian (India), Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the Promised Messiah and Mahdi(as), devoted himself to the study of the Holy Quran and to a life of prayer and devotion. Finding Islam the target of foul attacks from all directions and the fortunes of Muslims at a low ebb, he, as the Imam and the voice articulate of the age, undertook the task of vindicating Islam and presenting its teachings in their pristine purity. In his vast corpus of writings, lectures, discourses, religious debates etc., he argued that Islam was the only living faith, by following which, man could establish contact with his Creator and enter into communion with Him. He anounced that God had appointed him the Messiah and Mahdi, according to the prophecies of the Bible, the Holy Quran and Ahadith. In 1889 he began to accept initiation into his Jama'at, which is now established in over a hundred and eighty countries. He wrote more than eighty books in Urdu, Arabic and Persian.
After his demise in 1908, the Promised Messiah(as) was succeeded by Khulafa (Successors), who have continued his mission. Hadrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih V(at), is the present head of the Ahmadiyya Muslims Jama'at and the fifth Successor of the Promised Messia(as).
The Islamic concept of salvation differs from that of other religions, and from Christianity in particular, because Islam rejects the concept of Original Sin and declares man to be responsible only for his own sins. He, therefore, needs to free himself from his own sins in order to attain salvation. In this article, the Promised Messiah(as) answers the all-important question, why does man commits sin, and how can he free himself from it.
The Promised Messiah(as) writes that man is by his very nature averse to things he believes to be harmful, and if he commits sin it is only because he does not truly believe in the existence of God and in the Day of Reckoning. Had he possessed the same certainty about the accountability of sin, as he does, for instance, about the harmfulness of a poison or a snake, he would never even think of transgressing Divine commandments.
The Promised Messiah(as) also argues that a true religion must be judged by its ability to lead its followers to certainty about the existence of God. The holy author makes a detailed comparison between Islam and other major religions, and concludes that Islam alone can lead man to perfect awareness and, consequently, to freedom from sin.
The first English translation of this article was published under the title How to get rid of the Bondage of Sin, in the English edition of The Review of Religions, January 1902. The current translation has been prepared by Wakalat Tasnif, Rabwah.
I owe a debt of gratitude to the following for assisting me in the various stages of this translation: Raja Ata-ul Mannan, Syed Tanwir Mujtaba, Mirza Usman Ahmad Adam, and Tahir Mahmood Mubashar. I am also grateful to Munir-ud-Din Shams Sahib, Additional Wakil-ut-Tasnif, for his help and support, and for providing the vital link for seeking guidance from Hadrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih V(at).
Chaudhry Muhammad ‘Ali Wakilut Tasnif Tehrik Jadid Rabwah 12 February, 2008
Please note that words in the text in normal brackets ( ) and in between the long dashes—are the words of the Promised Messiahas. If any explanatory words or phrases are added by the translator for the purpose of clarification, they are put in square brackets [ ].
The name of Muhammad(sa), the Holy Prophet of Islam, has been followed by the symbol (sa), which is an abbreviation for the salutation Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wasallam (may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). The names of other Prophets and Messengers are followed by the symbol (as), an abbreviation for ‘Alaihissalam (on whom be peace). The actual salutations have not generally been set out in full, but they should nevertheless, be understood as being repeated in full in each case. The symbol (ra) is used with the name of the companions of the Holy Prophet(sa) and those of the Promised Messiah(as), and it stands for Radi Allahu ‘anhu/‘anha/‘anhum (May Allah be pleased with him/with her/with them). Likewise, the symbol (rh) stands for Rahimahullahu Ta‘ala (may Allah have mercy on him), and (at) stands for Ayyadahullahu Ta‘ala (May Allah, the Mighty help him).
In transliterating Arabic words we have followed the system adopted by the Royal Asiatic Society.