EVERY TIME A terrorist attack is mentioned in the news, we Muslims undergo twice as much shock and grieving as compared to others. Firstly, we sympathize and grieve with the innocent people who are brutally attacked by the terrorists; and secondly, we grieve over the hijacking of Islam by a small but dangerous group of people. This second source of grief makes it all the more important for Muslims and non-Muslims alike to understand the true teachings of Islam.
We would argue that in this age, true Islam can only be found in the Aḥmadiyya Muslim Community. This Community is the most dynamic organization within the vast body of Islam today. Its teachings are firmly grounded in the two main sources of guidance in Islam, that is, the Holy Quran and the traditions (or Aḥādīth) of Prophet Muhammadsa. It was founded in March 1889 by His Holiness Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas (1835-1908) of Qādiān, India. Aḥmadī Muslims believe him to be the long awaited Promised Messiah and Imām Mahdī, whose advent was foretold by Prophet Muhammadsa. There are many narrations which speak about the coming of the Messiah. At one occasion, for instance, Prophet Muhammadsa said:
The Hour will not begin until ‘Īsā bin Mariamas [i.e. the Promised Messiah] comes down as a just judge and a just ruler…42
At other occasions, he used the title Ḥakam (Arbiter) and ‘Adal (Judge) for the Promised Imām Mahdī,43 and told people that his status is so great that even if they have to crawl over ice to reach him, they should do so and pledge allegiance to him, because he is the Khalīfa of Allah.44 Other prophecies speak about the time of the coming of the Messiah, the area in which he will appear, and the state of the world at his time. Yet other prophecies speak of signs for the appearance of the Messiah. A great example is that of the sign of the eclipses, as Prophet Muhammadsa declared:
There are two signs for the truthfulness of our Mahdī, which have not manifested for anyone since the creation of the heavens and the earth, that is, during Ramadhan the moon will be eclipsed on the first night (among the possible nights for lunar eclipse) and the sun will be eclipsed on the middle day (among the possible days for the eclipse of the sun).45
His Holiness Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas claimed to be the Messiah in 1890 and only four years had passed that the sign prophesied above manifested. During the month of Ramadhan in 1894, the moon eclipsed on the first of its three possible nights, that is, the 13th of Ramadhan, and the sun eclipsed on the second of its three possible days, that is, the 28th of Ramadhan.
Fast forward to today, the Aḥmadiyya Muslim community has completed 129 years since inception, during which time it has spread to more than 200 countries around the globe with tens of millions of followers. It is now acknowledged as the most vibrant living force within contemporary Islam. The number of its adherents and its significance in the world of religion are on the increase daily, almost hourly. No genuine student of religion can afford to neglect or ignore it.
This Movement is established at the very centre of Islam and represents the essence of Islam, shorn of all the veils that have, through the centuries, gradually been patched upon the body of Islam and have thus defaced and disfigured it. The Movement does not depart, even in the very least, from the original text of the Holy Quran, nor does it add one iota to the original doctrines and teachings of Islam. It is rather a revival of the real teachings of Islam, and more particularly of the wisdom and the philosophy that underlies its doctrines and teachings, based upon and derived entirely from the Holy Quran and the pronouncements and practice of Prophet Muhammadsa. It is not a new religion nor is it an innovation in religion. It sets forth only that which has been inherent in Islam from the beginning.