This document explains why, after having been a member of the Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam (also known as the Ahmadiyya Jama`at and the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community) for many years, I have decided to leave this organization.

Further elaboration of the purpose of this document, and how it came about, is available in Section 1.1, “Purpose of This Document”; I will not repeat here all I say there. The one point I want to mention here is that its purpose is not to invite debate. I only wish to inform, not to argue. You are, obviously, free to disagree with my reasoning and my conclusions and even with what I see as facts.

However, I bring this point up here to address the possibility that some readers may feel compelled to convince me that I am wrong. This may be due to concern for my spiritual welfare or to defend the honor of the Ahmadiyya Movement or it could be for some other reason. In any case, if you are very desirous of responding to my critique of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad and the Ahmadiyya Movement then, if you want me to read your response, you must fulfill some conditions. These conditions are described below.

• You must read my entire document.
  
  For example, you must read my current position regarding the Ahmadiyya Movement, described in Section 2.3. You will see there that I am not opposing the view that followers of Muhammad may be granted the rank of prophethood; therefore, it will be pointless to send me material to convince me of that. Similarly, if you read Chapter 4 you will realize, for example, that it is pointless to tell me that a proof of the truth of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad is that many noble people became his followers and that the Ahmadiyya Movement has made progress. You are welcome to believe in that proof but to convince me that I am wrong, you will have to show me why my arguments against that point are not correct.
• Your response must address, at a minimum, the issues I raise in the following sections:
  • 3.1.2, A Prophecy (with Several Variations) About His Life.
  • 3.1.3.2, Maulvee Sanaaullaah.
  • 3.1.3.3, Dr. `Abdul Hakeem.
  • 3.1.5, A Disciple with a “Firm Root” – Meer `Abbaas.
  • 3.1.7, A Couple of Simple Signs.
  • 3.2.1, His Prophethood.
  • 3.2.2, The Implications of Rejecting Him.
  • 3.2.4, Satanic Influence in “Revelation” to Divine Apostles.
  • 3.3.2, Personal Discipline During Youth.
  • 3.3.4, Foul/Abusive Language.
  • 3.3.7, Extolling Victoria’s Benevolent Embrace.
  • 3.3.8, The 50 Horses and Spying on Friday.
  • 4.2.4.1.4, Comparing the Mission Success of Jesus and Mirza Ghulam Ahmad.
  • 4.2.4.3.1, Sir Sayyad’s View That Jesus is Dead Predates Mirza Ghulam Ahmad’s “Revelation”.
  • 4.2.4.3.2. An Unresolved Issue in the Ahmadiyya Theory of Jesus’ Death.
  Please make sure that you actually respond to my criticism rather than simply send me the standard Ahmadiyya arguments that you think are related to the issue. For example, to respond to the issues I raise in Section 3.1.3.2, “Maulvee Sanaaullaah”, do not simply send me the standard Ahmadiyya defense of this case (which includes the argument that Maulvee Sanaaullaah did not accept Mirza Ghulam Ahmad’s challenge) since I have already refuted that. You are welcome to disagree with my refutation but if you want to convince me that I am wrong then you will have to refute my refutation. Similarly, to respond to Section 3.3.4, “Foul/Abusive Language”, for Page 16 of 423 example, do not just tell me that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad used some mildly harsh language and only in retaliation for vilification by his opponents. If you read the section you will see the numerous quotations I have provided of language used by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad that is truly foul and not just mildly harsh. More importantly, I have shown, with a detailed quotation and accompanying analysis, a case where he uses vile epithets for his opponents only because, as he himself states, they are not accepting his claim, not because they have used similar language for him.
• Please write in English and send me typed/printed material, not longhand.
• Please do not contact me on the telephone; I apologize that I cannot spend time discussing this in person. Mail your written response to me at the address shown at the end of this Preface.

Also please note that I am not at all promising to reply to your response; as I stated earlier, I have no desire to enter into a debate. If you send me material, it should be because you feel compelled to provide me some information. However, if it seems to fulfill the conditions listed above, I will try to take a look at it.

The other statement I want to make in this Preface is to thank those people who supported me during and in my study of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. In particular, I want to thank Dr. Syed Rashid Ali, the owner of the “Anti Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam” web site, and the managers of the “Idara Dawat-o-Irshad” web site, for providing me copies of some pages from a couple of Ahmadiyya books that I did not have access to. Also, these web sites helped me tremendously in locating relevant material in Mirza Ghulam Ahmad’s books.

I hope and pray that this document helps some readers understand the Ahmadiyya Movement better than they did before. In studying the issues and writing the document I have tried to be accurate and sincere in my pursuit of the truth. I hope that whatever shortcomings and errors exist in this work will not detract from the truth.

Lastly, I want to point out that I am not going to some known place; I am going away from the Ahmadiyya Movement -- because it is not from God but claims to be. Where I will find the truth is a different matter.

Nuzhat Haneef
355 West Side Drive, Apartment 201, Gaithersburg, MD 20878, USA

July 2004

• I have made a few minor changes to the July 2004 version of the document.
• The address given above, with the Preface written in July 2004, is no longer valid.
• A soft copy of the document has been provided to Ahmedi.org; it is expected to be available at the web site http://ahmedi.org. A short overview – that can easily be downloaded and printed – has also been provided to the web site.