Anti-Ahmadis raise an allegation on Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) from Tohfa-e-Golarhviyya and Arbain. I will first present the references:
“And it is clearly told in the Ahadith that the Messiah would be declared a disbeliever and that the scholars of that time will declare him to be a disbeliever and they will say that what kind of Messiah is this who has destroyed our religion” (Tohfa-e-Golarhviyya, Ruhani Khazain, vol. 17, p. 213)
Then similar is mentioned in the book Arbaeen. Hadrat Ahmad (as) writes:
“But it was necessary that the prophecies of the Qur’an and Ahadith are fulfilled in which it is written that when the Promised Messiah appears, he will suffer pain at the hands of the Muslim scholars. They will declare him a disbeliever and issue edicts for his killing and they will mock him and declare him to be outside the fold of Islam and consider him one who destroys the faith” (Arbaeen, Ruhani Khazain, vol. 17, p. 404)
The anti-Ahmadis claim that no such references exist. Had they read the books of the Promised Messiah (as), they would know exactly which verses he is quoting. Firstly, there is something in tafasir and fiqah known as the four usool of nass and how a text is understood. There is Ibaratun Nas (direct meaning taken from the sentence), Ishaaratun Nas (indirect meaning taken from the sentence), Dalalatun Nas (the literal meaning is not meant from the sentence), and Iqtidaaul Nas (an assumed particle within a sentence). Here isharatun nas is used where Hadrat Ahmad (as) is doing commentary of the Qur’an and showing how the Qur’an foretells the following and so do the Ahadith. One example I give for this is from Sahih al-Bukhari:
حَدَّثَنَا إِسْحَاقُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، أَخْبَرَنَا جَرِيرٌ، عَنْ مَنْصُورٍ، عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، عَنْ عَلْقَمَةَ، قَالَ لَعَنَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ الْوَاشِمَاتِ، وَالْمُتَنَمِّصَاتِ، وَالْمُتَفَلِّجَاتِ لِلْحُسْنِ، الْمُغَيِّرَاتِ خَلْقَ اللَّهِ. فَقَالَتْ أُمُّ يَعْقُوبَ مَا هَذَا قَالَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ وَمَا لِيَ لاَ أَلْعَنُ مَنْ لَعَنَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ، وَفِي كِتَابِ اللَّهِ. قَالَتْ وَاللَّهِ لَقَدْ قَرَأْتُ مَا بَيْنَ اللَّوْحَيْنِ فَمَا وَجَدْتُهُ. قَالَ وَاللَّهِ لَئِنْ قَرَأْتِيهِ لَقَدْ وَجَدْتِيهِ {وَمَا آتَاكُمُ الرَّسُولُ فَخُذُوهُ وَمَا نَهَاكُمْ عَنْهُ فَانْتَهُوا}.
Narrated ‘Alqama:`Abdullah cursed those women who practiced tattooing and those who removed hair from their faces and those who created spaces between their teeth artificially to look beautiful, such ladies as changed what Allah has created. Um Ya’qub said, “What is that?” `Abdullah said, “Why should I not curse those who were cursed by Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) and are referred to in Allah’s Book?” She said to him “By Allah, I have read the whole Qur’an but I have not found such a thing. `Abdullah said, “By Allah, if you had read it (carefully) you would have found it. (Allah says:) ‘And what the Apostle gives you take it and what he forbids you abstain (from it).’ (59.7) (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith #5939)
How unfortunate would it be if someone declares Hadrat Abdullah bin Masud (ra) to be a liar God forbid for giving commentary of a verse and saying the Qur’an says those who tattoo are accursed? Here isharatun nas is used and there is no room for allegation. In the same way, Hadrat Ahmad (as) is speaking based on isharatun nas.
In the famous book of Fiqh, Usul ash-Shashi, this principle is mentioned:
It doesn’t mean that we now start looking for the words “those who tattoo are accursed in the Qur’an” and then put a fatwa on Abdullah bin Masud (ra) for saying this. The verses clearly mention you must obey the Prophet Muhammad (sa) and he mentioned this in the Ahadith that those who tattoo are accused.
What Hadrat Ahmad (as) is saying is proven from the Qur’an, Ahadith, works of the auliya and even Shia Ahadith.
Firstly, Allah States:
مَا يُقَالُ لَكَ إِلَّا مَا قَدْ قِيلَ لِلرُّسُلِ مِنْ قَبْلِكَ ۚ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَذُو مَغْفِرَةٍ وَذُو عِقَابٍ أَلِيمٍ
Nothing is said to thee but what was said to the Messengers before thee. Thy Lord is indeed the Master of forgiveness; and also the Master of painful chastisement. (Chapter 41 verse 44)
The Ahle Hadith and Muslims of other sects accept that the Messiah will be a Messenger and Prophet when he descends. Allah States in the Qur’an:
يَا حَسْرَةً عَلَى الْعِبَادِ ۚ مَا يَأْتِيهِمْ مِنْ رَسُولٍ إِلَّا كَانُوا بِهِ يَسْتَهْزِئُونَ
Alas for My servants! there comes not a Messenger to them but they mock at him. (Chapter 36 verse 31)
Now this is the sunnah of Allah. If the Messiah comes, he also must be rejected. This is the Sunnah of Allah which will never change. Allah States:
سُنَّةَ اللَّهِ فِي الَّذِينَ خَلَوْا مِنْ قَبْلُ وَلَنْ تَجِدَ لِسُنَّةِ اللَّهِ تَبْدِيلًا
Such has been the way of Allah in the case of those who passed away before, and thou wilt never find a change in the way of Allah. (Chapter 33, verse 63)
This shows that every Prophet and Messenger is mocked. Surah Hud, Surah Hijr and the entire Qur’an mentions this phenomenon. Then Allah States that the leaders are made the wrongdoers:
وَكَذَٰلِكَ جَعَلْنَا فِي كُلِّ قَرْيَةٍ أَكَابِرَ مُجْرِمِيهَا لِيَمْكُرُوا فِيهَا وَمَا يَمْكُرُونَ إِلَّا بِأَنْفُسِهِمْ وَمَا يَشْعُرُونَ
And thus have We made in every town the great ones from among its sinners such as are in utter darkness with the result that they plot therein; and they plot not except against their own souls; but they perceive not. (Chapter 6 verse 124)
This refers to the leaders, which includes worldly and religious leaders. The commentators explain that this verse refers to the leaders. When we look at the life of the Prophet Muhammad (sa), Abu Jahl opposed him who was first known as Abu al-Hakam, father of the wise. Hadrat Isa (as) was also opposed by the Jewish scholars.
In The Qur’an, Allah Speaks of all prophets of the past. In Surah Hud, Surah Shuaraa, Surah Hijr and many verses and always mentions that these incidents of past prophets should be a lesson for those who understand. Despite these clear verses, they raise allegations? Allah States:
وَكَذَٰلِكَ جَعَلْنَا لِكُلِّ نَبِيٍّ عَدُوًّا شَيَاطِينَ الْإِنْسِ وَالْجِنِّ يُوحِي بَعْضُهُمْ إِلَىٰ بَعْضٍ زُخْرُفَ الْقَوْلِ غُرُورًا ۚ وَلَوْ شَاءَ رَبُّكَ مَا فَعَلُوهُ ۖ فَذَرْهُمْ وَمَا يَفْتَرُونَ
And in like manner have We made for every Prophet an enemy, evil ones from among men and Jinn. They suggest one to another gilded speech in order to deceive — and if thy Lord had enforced His will, they would not have done it; so, leave them alone with that which they fabricate — (6:113)
The elders have always opposed the Prophets of Allah. The scholars and general public were always made the opponents of the Prophets.
The Ahadith also support this. The Prophet Muhammad (sa) prophesied that the latter-day Ulama would be the worst of creatures:
وَعَنْ عَلِيٍّ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ: ««يُوشِكُ أَنْ يَأْتِيَ عَلَى النَّاسِ زَمَانٌ لَا يَبْقَى مِنَ الْإِسْلَامِ إِلَّا اسْمُهُ. وَلَا يَبْقَى مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ إِلَّا رَسْمُهُ، مَسَاجِدُهُمْ عَامِرَةٌ وَهِيَ خَرَابٌ مِنَ الْهُدَى، عُلَمَاؤُهُمْ شَرُّ مَنْ تَحْتَ أَدِيمِ السَّمَاءِ، مِنْ عِنْدِهِمْ تَخْرُجُ الْفِتْنَةُ، وَفِيهِمْ تَعُودُ
Hadrat Ali (ra) narrated that the Prophet Muhammad (sa) stated : “A time will come when nothing would be left of Islam except its name, and nothing would be left of the Qur’an except its script, their mosques would be full of worshipers but would be devoid of righteousness. Their religious scholars would be the worst of creatures under the canopy of the heavens. Evil plots will hatch from them and to them will they return” (Mishkat al-Masabih, vol. 1, p. 91)
Then the Ahadith show that the 72 sects would oppose the true sect. The Prophet Muhammad (sa) compares the Muslims to the Jews. The Jews opposed the Messiah when he came to them and in this hadith the Prophet (sa) makes it clear that the majority of the Muslims will treat their Messiah in the same way. This also shows majority of the scholars would be on the wrong path:
The Prophet Muhammad (sa) stated: “Surely things will happen to my ummah as happened earlier to the Israelites. They will resemble each other like one shoe in a pair resembles the other to the extent that if anyone among the Israelites openly committed adultery with his mother, there would be someone who would do this in my Ummah. Verily, the Israelites were divided into seventy two sects, but my people will be divided into seventy three sects. All of them will be in the fire except one. The companions asked ‘who are they, O Messenger of Allah?’ The Prophet (sa) said : ‘They are the people who adopt my practice and that of my companions” (Tirmidhi, Hadith #2641)
Their next allegation is where does it say the Messiah will be declared a disbeliever. Every Prophet was declared a disbeliever by his people. Allah States:
وَفَعَلْتَ فَعْلَتَكَ الَّتِي فَعَلْتَ وَأَنْتَ مِنَ الْكَافِرِينَ
‘And thou didst do thy deed which thou didst, and thou art of the ungrateful.’ (Chapter 26 verse 20)
The opponents of every Prophet argued with them based on falsehood. Allah States:
كَذَّبَتْ قَبْلَهُمْ قَوْمُ نُوحٍ وَالْأَحْزَابُ مِنْ بَعْدِهِمْ وَهَمَّتْ كُلُّ أُمَّةٍ بِرَسُولِهِمْ لِيَأْخُذُوهُ وَجَادَلُوا بِالْبَاطِلِ لِيُدْحِضُوا بِهِ الْحَقَّ فَأَخَذْتُهُمْ فَكَيْفَ كَانَ عِقَابِ
The people of Noah and other groups after them denied Our Signs before these people, and every nation strove to seize their Messenger, and disputed by means of false arguments that they might rebut the truth thereby. Then I seized them, and how terrible was My retribution (Chapter 40 verse 5)
Then the people plot against the Prophets and gave edicts for their killing. Allah States:
فَرِيقًا كَذَّبُوا وَفَرِيقًا يَقْتُلُونَ
they treated some as liars, and some they sought to kill. (Chapter 5 verse 71)
Whenever prophets came to the Jews whom they did not like, they wanted to be free and they rejected some and some they killed others. Its obvious they first gave fatwas and then planned for their killing. The entire society was involved. Allah States:
ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ كَانُوا يَكْفُرُونَ بِآيَاتِ اللَّهِ وَيَقْتُلُونَ النَّبِيِّينَ بِغَيْرِ الْحَقِّ
hat was because they rejected the Signs of Allah and would kill the Prophets unjustly; that was because they rebelled and transgressed. (Chapter 2 verse 62)
Then they ask where the Qur’an says he would be mocked. All Prophets are mocked as we proved from Surah Yasin. The people of Hadrat Nuh (as) were told:
وَمَا نَرَاكَ اتَّبَعَكَ إِلَّا الَّذِينَ هُمْ أَرَاذِلُنَا بَادِيَ الرَّأْيِ
‘We see in thee nothing but a man like ourselves, and we see that none have followed thee but those who, to all outward appearance, are the meanest of us (11:28)
Hadrat Musa (as) was also mocked and the disbelievers said:
إِنَّ هَٰؤُلَاءِ لَشِرْذِمَةٌ قَلِيلُونَ
‘These are a small party (Chapter 26 verse 55)
Then the Promised Messiah (as) will be seen as one who destroys the faith. Every Prophet went through this. The disbelievers would say should we leave our parents for you? Allah States:
قَالُوا أَجِئْتَنَا لِنَعْبُدَ اللَّهَ وَحْدَهُ وَنَذَرَ مَا كَانَ يَعْبُدُ آبَاؤُنَا ۖ فَأْتِنَا بِمَا تَعِدُنَا إِنْ كُنْتَ مِنَ الصَّادِقِينَ
They said, ‘Hast thou come to us that we may worship Allah alone and forsake what our fathers used to worship? Bring us, then, that which thou threatenest us with, if thou art of the truthful.’ (Chapter 7 verse 71)
The same happened to the Prophet Muhammad (sa), why would it not happen to his Messiah? It is narrated in Musnad Ahmad:
وَشَتَمَ آبَاءَنَا، وَعَابَ دِينَنَا، وَفَرَّقَ جَمَاعَتَنَا، وَسَبَّ آلِهَتَنَا
“He insulted our fathers, insulted our religion, divided our community and swore at our gods” (Musnad Ahmad, vol. 11, p. 610)
Then in Tohfa-e-Golarviyyah, the same book Hadrat Ahmad (as) explains:
“And in this prayer we pray that oh Allah do not make us the group which is called ‘those who caused thy displeasure’. In the form of a prayer, this is a prophecy which contains the news of two things. One is this that in this ummah, there will be a Promised Messiah born and the second is that some people from this ummah will declare him a disbeliever and mock him” (Tohfa-e-Golarhviyya, Ruhani Khazain, vol. 17, p. 213)
This is also proven in the Ahadith that the Prophet Muhammad (sa) said Muslims will become like Jews and Christians.
حَدَّثَنَا سَعِيدُ بْنُ أَبِي مَرْيَمَ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو غَسَّانَ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنِي زَيْدُ بْنُ أَسْلَمَ، عَنْ عَطَاءِ بْنِ يَسَارٍ، عَنْ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ ” لَتَتَّبِعُنَّ سَنَنَ مَنْ قَبْلَكُمْ شِبْرًا بِشِبْرٍ، وَذِرَاعًا بِذِرَاعٍ، حَتَّى لَوْ سَلَكُوا جُحْرَ ضَبٍّ لَسَلَكْتُمُوهُ ”. قُلْنَا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ، الْيَهُودَ وَالنَّصَارَى قَالَ ” فَمَنْ ”.
Narrated Abu Sa`id: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “You will follow the wrong ways, of your predecessors so completely and literally that if they should go into the hole of a mastigure, you too will go there.” We said, “O Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ)! Do you mean the Jews and the Christians?” He replied, “Whom else?” (Meaning, of course, the Jews and the Christians.) (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith #3456)
Hadrat Ahmad (as) states:
“The world does not recognize me, but He Who has sent me does know me.” (Tohfa-e-Golarviyyah, Ruhani Khazain Volume 17 page 12-13)
Even Surah Nur proves this in Ayat-e-Istikhlaaf. Allah States:
وَعَدَ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مِنْكُمْ وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ لَيَسْتَخْلِفَنَّهُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ كَمَا اسْتَخْلَفَ الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ وَلَيُمَكِّنَنَّ لَهُمْ دِينَهُمُ الَّذِي ارْتَضَىٰ لَهُمْ وَلَيُبَدِّلَنَّهُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ خَوْفِهِمْ أَمْنًا ۚ يَعْبُدُونَنِي لَا يُشْرِكُونَ بِي شَيْئًا ۚ وَمَنْ كَفَرَ بَعْدَ ذَٰلِكَ فَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْفَاسِقُونَ
Say, ‘Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger.’ But if you turn away, then upon him is his burden, and upon you is your burden. And if you obey him, you will be rightly guided. And the messenger is not responsible but for the plain delivery of the Message. (Chapter 24 verse 56)
Hadrat Ahmad (as) explains that this verse also shows that there would be takfir against the Messiah. Then Hadrat Ahmad (as) himself in Tohfa-e-Golarviyya presents another hadith that shows the Messiah would have edicts raised against him:
“But it was essential that those prophecies of the Holy Quran and ahadith be fulfilled, in which it was written that when the Promised Messiah would appear, he would face grief at the hands of the Muslim scholars. They would declare him to be a disbeliever and issue verdicts for his assassination and he would be severely disrespected and would be taken outside the pale of Islam and deemed to be the one who destroyed religion. So, in these days, these prophecies are fulfilled at the hands of these very maulvis [Muslim clerics]” (Tohfa-e-Golarhviyya, Ruhani Khazain, Vol. 17, p. 53)
According to the Holy Quran, the Messiah of this ummah was to face exactly what the Messiah sent to Bani Israel faced. Allah states:
إِنَّا أَرْسَلْنَا إِلَيْكُمْ رَسُولًا شَاهِدًا عَلَيْكُمْ كَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا إِلَىٰ فِرْعَوْنَ رَسُولًا
“Verily, We have sent to you a Messenger, who is a witness over you, even as We sent a Messenger to Pharaoh.” (Surah al-Muzzammil, Ch.73: V.16)
Hadrat Ahmad (as) writes:
“Meaning that, We sent this Messenger like the one who was sent to Pharaoh. Likewise, it was necessary that at the end of this dispensation its Khatamul-Khulafa’ should be the like of Isa and appear fourteen centuries after ‘the like of Musa’, in the same way as Isa, who was the last Khalifa of the Mosaic dispensation, appeared fourteen centuries after Musa. And then there were the Jews of the Israelite dispensation who did not accept Isa, and so God promised in His Word that in this ummah too people of such ‘Jewish’ character would also be born in the Latter Days when the Promised Messiah would appear.
“Now, when it is obvious that the ‘like of Musa’ is not Musa himself, and the ‘Jewish-natured’ people of the Latter Days are not the actual Jews, so what then is the reason that the Isa who was to come is the very same who had passed away before? To think in this way is contrary to the Book of Allah, for God Almighty has decided in Surah al-Fatihah that some people of this ummah will walk in the footsteps of the Israelite Prophets, and some will walk in the footsteps of the Jews who did not accept Hadrat Isa, sought to crucify him, and were declared as
The famous Allama Iqbal wrote:
وضع میں تم ہو نصاریٰ تو تمدّن میں ہنود
یہ مسلماں ہیں! جنھیں دیکھ کے شرمائیں یہود
“You are Christian by nature and Hindu by culture. These are Muslims who even Jews are ashamed to see”
Shia Ahadith also prove the Imam Mahdi would be opposed:
قال: أخبرنا أحمد بن محمّد بن سعيد عن محمّد بن المفضل عن محمّد بن عبد اللّه بن زرارة عن محمّد بن مروان عن الفضيل بن يسار قال: سمعت أبا جعفر عليه السّلام يقول: إن قائمنا إذا قام استقبل من جهل الناس أشدّ مما استقبله رسول اللّٰه صلى اللّٰه عليه و آله و سلم من جهّال الجاهلية، قلت: و كيف ذاك؟ قال: إن رسول اللّٰه صلى اللّٰه عليه و آله و سلّم أتى الناس و هم يعبدون الحجارة و الصخور و العيدان و الخشب المنحوتة، و إن قائمنا إذا قام أتى الناس و كلهم يتأول عليه كتاب اللّه و يحتج عليه به، ثم قال: أما و اللّٰه ليدخلن عليهم عدله جوف بيوتهم كما يدخل الحر و القر
“Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Saeed bin Uqda narrated from Muhammad bin al-Mufadhdhal bin Ibrahim from Muhammad bin Abdullah bin Zurara from Muhammad bin Marwan that al-Fudhayl bin Yasar had said: ‘I heard Abu Abdullah as-Sadiq saying: “When our Qa‘im appears, he will receive harm from the ignorant people more and bitterer than that of the Holy Prophetsa had received from the ignorant people of the pre-Islamic age.” I said: “How is that?” He said: “The Prophetsa came to people while they used to worship sculptured stone and wood whereas when al-Qa‘im comes to people, they will protest against him by interpreting the Book of Allah according to their fancies. By Allah, he [al-Qa‘im] will insert his justice into their houses like the entering of hot and cold.”’ (Bihar al-Anwar, Vol. 52, p. 362)
أخبرنا محمد بن همام قال: حدثنا حميد بن زياد الكوفي، قال: حدثنا الحسن بن محمد بن سماعة، قال: حدثنا أحمد بن الحسن الميثمي، عن محمد بن أبى حمزة عن بعض أصحابه، عن أبى عبداللّٰه (عليه السلام)، قال: سمعته يقول: القائم (عليه السلام) يلقى في حربه ما لم يلق رسول اللّٰه(صلى اللّٰه عليه واله وسلم)، إن رسول اللّٰه (صلى اللّٰه عليه واله) أتاهم وهم يعبدون حجارة منقورة وخشبا منحوتة، وإن القائم يخرجون عليه فيتأولون عليه كتاب اللّٰه، ويقاتلونه عليه
“Muhammad bin Hammam narrated from Hameed bin Ziyad al-Kufi from al-Hasan bin Muhammad bin Suma‘a from Ahmad bin al-Hasan al-Maythami from Muhammad bin Abu Hamza from some of his companions that Abu Abdullah as-Sadiqas had said: ‘Al-Qa‘imas will face [difficulties] in his wars, more than what the Prophetsa had faced. The Prophetsa came to people while they used to worship stone and wood whereas the people of al-Qa‘im will protest against him by the means of the Book of Allah and will fight him by the means of the Book of Allah.’” (Bihar al-Anwar, Vol. 52, p. 362)
أخبرنا عبد الواحد بن عبد اللّٰه بن يونس قال: حدثنا محمد بن جعفر القرشي، قال: حدثنا محمد بن الحسين بن أبي الخطاب، عن محمد بن سنان، عن الحسين بن المختار عن أبي حمزة الثمالي قال: سمعت أبا جعفر يقول: إن صاحب هذا الأمر لو قد ظهر لقي من الناس مثل ما لقي رسول الله وأكثر
“Abdul Wahid bin Abdullah bin Yunus narrated from Muhammad bin Ja‘far al-Qarashi from Muhammad bin al-Husayn bin Abul Khattab from Muhammad bin Sinan from al-Husayn bin Mukhtar from Abu Hamza ath-Thimali that Abu Ja‘far al-Baqir had said: ‘When the man of this matter [al-Qa‘im] appears, he will receive [harm] from people like the Holy Prophetsa had received, and more so than him.’” (Bihar al-Anwar, Vol. 52, p. 362)
Now I present some references of some saints who present also accepted that the Messiah and Mahdi would be opposed:
Hadrat Ibn Arabi (rh) writes:
“At the appearance of the Imam Mahdi, none would be his open enemy other than the divines – the religious scholars in particular” (Fatuhat-e-Makiyyah, vol. 3, p. 336)
Hadrat Imam Sirhindi (rh) writes:
“After the descent of Hadrat Isa (as), he will follow this shariah and obey the sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (sa) because no one can abrogate the shariah. The time is near when the scholars will reject his ijtihad and see him as someone against the Quran and sunnah” (Mujadidi Aqaid wa Nazariyyat, p. 172)
He writes the same in Maktubat Imam Rabani:
Nawab Siddiq Hassan Khan writes: “Because the Mahdi will come to revive the Sunnah and do jihad against innovations, the ulama of that time who will do taqleed of the fuqaha and shuyookh and will have a habit of following their forefathers will consider him as someone who destroys the religion and will oppose him and do his takfir and give edicts which say he is misguided” (Hijajul Kiramah, p. 363)