Nuzhat J. Haneef Recognizing the Messiah
Assessing Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qaadiyaan: His Claims, His Views, His Character, and His Movement


4   COUNTER QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS


In Chapter 3, “Mirza Ghulam Ahmad: The Evidence Examined”, I documented what I see as unresolved issues indicating the fallaciousness of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad’s claim of being a Divine apostle. Some of you might have found my analysis valid and might agree that there is no satisfactory resolution of the issues. And yet, due to some counter questions in your mind, you may not be willing or ready to conclude that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad’s claim was false. In this chapter I try to answer some questions of this sort. Many of these were important to me personally in my quest to arrive at the truth; I tried to find answers not just to record them in this document but for my own sake.

This chapter contains the following sections:

  • 4.1, Wasn’t His Coming Expected?
  • 4.2, Doesn’t His Success Prove His Truth?
  • 4.3, Summary of the Answers.

The table below summarizes the questions addressed in these sections. At the end of the chapter, in the last section, I provide a table summarizing the answers. You may want to review one of these tables to decide which sections and sub-sections may be of interest to you.

At several places in my answers to these questions I have included information on other claimants to Divine office, for example, Joseph Smith, the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In general, my objective in providing such information is to put Mirza Ghulam Ahmad and the Ahmadiyya Movement in perspective with other similar claimants and movements to show an essential similarity: Mirza Ghulam Ahmad is just one of many persons throughout history who have claimed Divine office, many of them asserting that their coming was expected and many of them successfully starting a religious movement. Generally, the followers of such claimants are oblivious of their flaws and falsities although these are usually obvious to their critics and opponents. In keeping with this, Ahmadees readily see the issues with the other claimants but do not (or do not wish to) see the issues with Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, even though his claims are just as tenuous.

Table 7 -- Questions Answered in Sections of Chapter 4

Sec. #Section NameQuestion(s) Answered
4.1Wasn’t His Coming Expected? 
4.1.1 Introduction to the Expectations (Introduction to the remaining sub-sections of Section 4.1.)
4.1.2 Expectations Inferred from the Quraan There are verses in the Quraan that indicate the coming of a Muslim apostle or reformer in the 14th century of the Hijree calendar, or in the Last Era, and/or the coming of a person with characteristics similar to those of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad.

If Mirza Ghulam Ahmad is false, how does one account for those verses?
4.1.3 Expectations from the Hadeeth There are many hadeeths that indicate the advent of a person, among the Muslims, with a mission similar to that proclaimed by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, viz., hadeeths regarding the Mahdee, the Messiah (second coming of Jesus), and the mujaddid (reformer) of the 14th century of the Hijree calendar.

Wasn’t Mirza Ghulam Ahmad’s advent a fulfillment of these hadeeths?

If Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was not the Mahdee/Messiah/mujaddid, who was expected to come in the 14th century of the Hijree calendar, then who was?
4.2Doesn’t His Success Prove His Truth? 
4.2.1 Introduction to Criteria of Success (Introduction to the remaining sub-sections of Section 4.2.)
4.2.2 His Fate as a Claimant If Mirza Ghulam Ahmad’s claims were false, why did he flourish? Are not those who attribute false statements to God expected to be humiliated or destroyed?
4.2.3 His Prophecies and Claims of Revelation If Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was false, how could he make true prophecies and predictions?

Also: If he was not actually in communication with God, how could he be so bold as to report revelations?
4.2.4 His Achievements If Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was not from God then how is it that he accomplished so much, including the writing of so much spiritual material and making so many contributions toward the progress of Islaam?

In particular, why is it that God chose him for correcting the erroneous belief, common among Muslims of his time, that Jesus had ascended alive to the heavens?
4.2.5 His Converts If Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was not true, how was it that so many decent, pious, and educated people became his followers and did not abandon him?

Why did God not guide them out of their error, given that they were pious?

Also: What about the dreams people have had about Mirza Ghulam Ahmad?
4.2.6 Persistence, Progress, and Persecution of the Ahmadiyya Movement If Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was false and his Movement is based on deceit, how come the Movement not only still exists but has made so much progress?

Also: Is it not the case that those who stand for the truth are persecuted? If so, doesn’t the persecution of the Ahmadiyya Movement prove its truth?
4.3Summary of the Answers(All the questions listed above, with summary answers.)