In the ‘White Paper,’ great importance is given to ‘Allama Iqbal. His views are considered superior to all. Let us see what he has to say about the Second Coming of the Messiah. It is the central point of difference between Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and other Muslims. We believe that the old Jesus(as) will not descend physically but his re-advent would take place in the form of another person who would bear the name Jesus(as). ‘Allama Iqbal writes:
As I understand the significance of the movement, the Ahmadi belief that Christ died the death of an ordinary mortal, and that his second advent means only the advent of a person who is spiritually like unto him, give the movement some sort of a rational appearance... (Islam and Ahmadism, with a reply to Questions raised by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, by Dr. Sir Muhammad Iqbal, printed at Brandreth Road Lahore on Feb. 17th 1936, p. 22–23)
That leaves no room for escape for those who oppose the Ahmadiyya perspective. All believe with absolute certainty that the awaited Messiah would be a Prophet of Allah. The only point of contention is, how will he come, will he be a new person in the spirit of the Jesus of old, or would it be the self-same Jesus. The thinkers of Islam, whom our opponents declare to be reliable, states that the coming of a new person in the spirit of Jesus is a rational doctrine. Indeed, Ibn-e-Khaldun has said so in very clear words and has expounded his reasons for its validity.
‘Allama Iqbal was actually raised under the influence of western civilization and he viewed Islamic teachings in the light of the Western philosophy. The fact is that he neither agreed with the Ahmadiyya perspective, nor with the perspective of our opposing clerics. All he says is that the Ahmadiyya doctrine is more rational and logical than the non-Ahmadi doctrine. But he does not go into his own belief.