One of the most amazing aspects of Islamic history are the stages that the Muslim community passed through. It seems that in every generation a new issue arose that needed to be dealt with, and through Allah’s Lutf (subtle care) different personages and figures came to help stabilize the Ummah.

Such stages of Fitnah include:

• The shock and instability after the death of the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم;
• The four false prophets who arose in Arabia and subsequent wars with Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه;
• The crusaders versus the numerous Muslims generals;
• The Tatar invasion of Ghengis Khan when ‘Izz al-Din ibn ‘Abd al-Salam unified the Muslims;
• You see this pattern repeated…

But what about the fitnah of Sectarianism?

If you read ahadith about the 73-sects, you might get this impression that you need to ask yourself which of the 73-sects you are upon? Which is true? Which am I? How do I know which is correct? Lets have a debate and find out! But then ask yourself, is sectarianism really the main problem in our times?

Sectarianism is a fitnah that the Muslim world primarily experienced 100-300 years after the departure of the noble Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم. During this period is when the Muslims divided into literally hundreds of small theological, political and social groups, each claiming to be the “True Islam”. Compounding the problem, many of those new ideologies held extremely compelling arguments in their favor – don’t think they were flimsy!

It was during that time that the masses were engaged in debate over the technicalities and subtleties of the Deen. Confusion was wide-spread, father and son, student and teacher, governor and subject, even two highly ranked scholars all would vehemently argue. Many were influenced by outside ideologies without even realizing it. Others embraced invented ideas wholeheartedly. Some new groups gained prominence, one even took control of the Khilafah!

But as Allah says in the Qur’an, “Travel through the land; then observe how was the end of the deniers.” If we reflect on this ayah, Allah is not calling on us to see how a splinter-sect thrived during its glory days, but how it ended. The vast majority of those sects and groups are no longer in existence today. Some burned out, most fell into obscurity with only a few thousand scattered followers nowadays. Alhumdu lillah, our generation was largely saved from that Fitnah.

At this moment, the vast majority of the Muslims follow “regular Islam”, version 1.0, and are at little risk of joining the remnants of a break-away group. What does this tell us? This is not the era of sectarianism or schisms. ‘Aqidah problems are rarely the immediate issue with contemporary Muslims. The debates are over, that fitnah has come and gone. And just as we do not need to excessively concern ourselves with past issues, we do not need to re-engage ourselves in questions of dogmatic belief that have already been answered. Islam does not need to be re-invented. Newly created arguments are exactly how break-away sects are formed in the first place! Instead we stand on the shoulders of giants to face the current issues that that plague our modern community.

But the Ahmadiyya religion seeks to re-open questions that, not only were answered centuries ago, are not subjects of contemporary debate and have no relevance to our modern times. They went as far as to publish this ludicrous lists of the “72 sects”, many of whom have not even existed in hundreds of years, but somehow allegedly came back into existence, managed to unify, all condemn Ahmadiyya, and then went back into non-existence. Convenient.

You tell me:

• What is telling a woman who was raped by Qadaffi’s forces that, “by the way, the Mahdi came about 100 years ago, looks like everyone missed him”, going to do for her shattered self-esteem and self-respect?
• What is a Somali man who watched all of his children die from starvation in the droughts going to do if you tell him, “Jesus is dead”.
• What is a Chechen mother whose son “disappeared” going to do with your attempts to convince her that half of the Qur’an is a bunch of confusing metaphors whose correct understanding no one understood for 1300 years?

Clearly ‘Aqidah is not the primary issue of our times. But the “problems” Ahmadiyya attempts to solve are not on the minds of Muslims, nor are they even our concerns. No one is looking at a calendar thinking, “Man, so when is ‘Esa bin Maryam عليه السلام going to return?” My friends, you are dwelling on non-issues to a people who have more immediate concerns on their minds.

Just like every other break-away group that preceded it, Ahmadiyya has come, will run its course, and will eventually fade away.I am glad that our pious predecessors protected the religion from corruption during the era of sectarianism, and I pray for the forgiveness of those who were sincere but slipped into misguidance. May Allah guide us all to the Truth and keep us firm upon it.

و صلى الله على سيدنا محمد و على آله و سلم

1-     Their Mahdi was born in the 19^th Century, and died on a Tuesday.

2-     Their Mahdi claimed that he is from Persian origins.

3-     Their Mahdi claimed that he is also a descendant of Fatimah (ra) and Ahlulbait.

4-     Their Mahdi wrote many Arabic books, one of these books was Tafseer of Surat-ul-Fatiha.

5-     Their Mahdi plagiarized parts of some verses and Maqamat in his Arabic writings.

6-     A double eclipse happened in Ramadhan during the lifetime of their Mahdi.

7-     Their Mahdi was brought to a local court for trial.

8-     Their Mahdi used Hisab Al-Jummal (numerical values of the words / Arabic alphanumeric coding) to prove that he is the true Mahdi.

9-     Their Promised One was a Mirza who claimed that the signs mentioned by all Hadeeths and holy books about the Promised Messiah have been fulfilled by him.

10-  Their Promised One, the Mirza, was born in the 13th Hijri century and died in the 14th Hijri century during the last week of May.

11-  Their Promised One, the Mirza, sent a letter to Queen Victoria asking her to accept him and to follow his teachings.

12-  Their Promised One claimed that he did not study Arabic language, however he could write dozens of Arabic and Persian books. His followers consider this as a great sign that proves his truthfulness.

13-  They consider the prophecies of their Promised One as another sign that proves his truthfulness.

14-  Their Promised One said that Jihad is not allowed anymore.

15-  Their Promised One praised Mohammad (SAAW) many time in his writings.

16-  Their Promised One was considered – by his own followers only – to be the greatest writer ever (“Sultan Al-Qalam” or “Faris Al-Maani”)

17-  Their Promised One used Hisab Al-Jummal (numerical values of the words) to prove that Islam had died for 1000 years until the 19th century.

18-  Their Promised One claimed that he himself is the manifestation/appearance of God. However the official position of his followers today is that manifestation of God does not mean that he himself is a God.

19-  Their Promised One challenged all scholars to write a book that is equivalent to his book.

20-  Their Promised One claimed that he is an Avatar, i.e. the “reincarnation of Krishna”.

21-  Their Promised One claimed that he was sent by Allah (SWT) to the people of the world.

22-  Their Mujaddid claimed that upon the death of a human being, his soul will immediately be given a special body that has had special nature.

23-  Their Promised One claimed that sometimes the divine revelations do not follow human idiom and sometime does not even follow the rules of grammar.

24-  Their Promised One claimed that he had been given the qualities of many prophets: e.g. Mohammad (SAAW), Isa (as), Musa (as), etc.

25-  Their Promised One claimed that Yawm Al-Qiyamah will come after around 1000 years.

26-  Their Mujaddid believed that the Heaven and the Hell are spiritual places and not physical places.

27-  Their Promised One claimed that he had been receiving secret revelations for 10 years confirming that he is the promised one, however he waited 10 years before revealing this secret.

28-  Their Promised One had invented new names of God.

29-  They consider Quran as a Holy Book, however they also consider the Arabic Wahi of their Promised One as holy, divine and sacred.

30-  Their holy Arabic revelation said that their Promised One does not speak out of his own desire, it is all Wahi vouchsafed to him

31-  Their holy Arabic revelation instructed them not to worship any god but Allah.

32-  Many of their Promised One’s Arabic revelations are just meaningless distortion of some Quranic verses.

33-  Their promised Reformer was also a Mirza like his father, the Promised One

34-  Their promised Reformer died in the month of November at an age of around 77 years.

35-  Their promised Reformer introduced some interpretations that are different from the original teachings of the Promised One.  

36-  One of their Mirzas introduced a new special solar calendar. The months of the new calendar have had new Arabic names.

37-  Their message to the world is that ‘Glory not in love for your country, but in love for all mankind’.

38-  It is obligatory for them to pay to their leadership a specific amount of money that had been decided by their Promised One.

39-  They believe that the antichrist is not a specific evil individual or entity.

40-  Their leader claimed that the most important role for his followers is to show the true good image of Islam and the true Islamic teachings to the western people and the whole world.

41-  Their Mujaddid believed that the promised one should not descend from heaven but he would appear in the body of another person.

42-  They interpret many of the words “Jinn” mentioned in Quran to mean “human beings who are fiery natured”.

43-  Their Mujaddid did not believe that the moon was split up literally into two parts during the lifetime of Mohammad (SAAW).

44-  They teach that everyone must be loyal to the government that rules his country, whatever that government is.

45-  They believe that divine revelations have not been stopped and will always continue to descend.

46-  Their main center in the Middle East is located near to the city of Haifa, Palestine.

47-  The followers of their Promised One in Palestine receive very special treatment from the Israeli government. However, they face a sort of persecution in some Muslim countries.

48-  They are not allowed by the Saudi government to enter Mecca or Madinah.

49-  They believe that Mohammad (SAAW) is “Khatam-un-Nabiyyean”, however they claim that it does not mean “the last prophet”.

50-  Their women are not allowed to marry Muslims who do not believe in their Promised One.

51-  They use the Quranic verses 69:45/46 ((And if he had fabricated against Us some of the sayings * We would certainly have seized him by the right hand)) to prove that their Promised One was truthful as he was not killed.

52-  They claim that some kings/presidents had accepted the teachings of their Promised One.

53-  They consider most of the miracles – which were shown by the prophets in Quran and the holy books – as sort of metaphor.

54-  They believe that the body of Isa (as) was put on the cross.

55-  They believe that Isa (as) had died.

56-  They believe that Miraaj did not happen to the body of Rasulullah (saaw) but to his soul only.

57-  They believe that Surat At-Takweer mentions the signs of their Promised One, and not the signs of Yawm Al-Qiyamah.

58-  They translated some of the books of their Mahdi to some languages; however they still did not translate many of his Arabic books to any other language. Apparently they could not understand many of his odd, irrelevant and meaningless Arabic sentences

59-  They claim that they have millions of followers in more than 200 countries. However, my own estimation about their total number worldwide is less than 2 millions.

60-  Their promised Reformer caused the movement to split into two sects. Each sect says that the other sect is not on the right path.

However I would summarize the main differences between Ahmadis and Bahais as follows:

1-     The Mujaddid according to Ahmadis was Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani. The Mujaddid according to Bahais was Shaykh Ahmad bin Zayn-ud-Deen al-Ahsaai.

2-     The Mahdi according to Ahmadis was Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani. The Mahdi according to Bahais was Ali Mohammad Shirazi.

3-     The Promised One according to Ahmadis was Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani. The Promised One according to Bahais was Mirza Hussain Ali Nuri.

4-     The Promised Reformer according to Ahmadis was Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood.  The Promised Reformer according to Bahais was Mirza Abbas Effendi “Abdul-Baha”.

5-     The Ahmadi solar calendar was invented by Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood. The Bahai solar calendar was invented by Ali Mohammad Shirazi.

Can you find any other difference?

In 2008, the American Muslim community wept as Wallace Deen Muhammad returned to Allah. I’ve met many famous people in my life, but amongst the most memorable was meeting W. Deen Muhammad. It was Fall 2003, and I was a beardless 19 year old sophomore in college. I took a trip to North Carolina with some older African-American Muslim gentlemen to meet and schedule him to deliver a talk for our Muslim Students Association (MSA). He had striking blue eyes and a glow of wisdom that only comes with experience written on his face. He was glad to meet a member of the MSA, even a skinny 19 year old, happy we were continuing the tradition, and briefly mentioned how they helped him when his community had expelled him.

…But who was W. Deen Muhammad and why am I writing this on a blog about Ahmadiyya?

To understand who he was, you have to understand the history of the African-American community. By the early 1900s, in the throes of racial injustice and paradoxical increased freedom, the African-American community was searching for its identity. Knowing one’s lineage and ancestral customs is important to a person’s identity but the sharp lash of racial slavery eliminated all but a few remnants. To fill the void, many subcultures, movements and religions arose. Examples include the Moorish Science Temple and the Black Panthers. But the largest and one with the most profound impact on American culture was the Nation of Islam.

The Nation of Islam (NOI) was founded by Wallace Fard Muhammad (herein referred to as Fard). Fard was not an African-American. Even to this day his exact roots are clouded in mystery. But, what we do know is that he was the genesis of the “Nation of Islam”. The faith he created was a mixture of traditional Islam, Moorish Science Temple teachings and his own unique ideas. As I was personally told by a elderly African-American Muslim who used to follow his faith, the emphasis was not on specific beliefs. Instead, people were attracted to it because it was “not the religion of our slave masters” (Christianity) and gave them something to uplifting themselves through. The NOI preached morality, hard work  and community. It helped members stop the cycles of alcoholism, drug addiction, prostitution, gang violence, and other dysfunctional behavior.

One of the prominent early members was Elijah Muhammad (herein referred to as Elijah). Elijah joined the NOI in 1931 and rose to become the “Minster of Islam” for Detroit.

In 1934, while on a trip to Chicago, Fard completely disappeared. Though many theories exist, to this day no one knows what became of him. Following his disappearance, the movement found a new leader in Elijah. In the absence of Fard, Elijah became the de-facto leader of the Nation of Islam and led the movement forward from 1934 until his death in 1975.

Under Elijah, the movement grew many folds, including many new Temples, the newspaper Muhammad Speaks, a womens’ auxiliary organization, growing financial power and The Fruit of Islam, their security force. Malcolm X (El-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz رحمه الله) joined the movement during this early period and was instrumental in attracting new members. (Malcolm X would later departed from the NOI and converted to Islam, but was assassinated in 1965.) With a large membership base and increased national recognition, by the ’50s and ’60s the movement was a force to be reckoned with in African-American community.

They did great community work, but what were the beliefs of the NOI? This sums it up:

We believe there is no God but Allah (God) and Muhammad is the Messenger of God. We believe that Allah appeared in the Person of Master W. Fard Muhammad on July 4, 1930, the long awaited Messiah of the Christians and the Mahdi of the Muslims.

The faith shared many common terms with Islam, such as Allah, Qur’an, Islam, Muslim, Muhammad, etc, but the beliefs were radically different. Tenants included Black Supremacy, that white people were a creation of Yakub, an evil scientist 6,600 years ago and other such quackery. Congregational prayers were held on Sunday, and services resembled American Protestant churches. It had little to do with Islam, other than name.

As the movement grew and members increased, little by little, members became aware of Islam – not Nation of “Islam” – but Islam. This was likely due to early Arab immigration to the US, mostly from Syria, Egypt and Lebanon. To investigate the origins of the faith, Elijah sent his son, Wallace Deen Muhammad, to Egypt to study Islam. He returned to become a Minister but was twice kicked out (ex-communicated) of the NOI for his “Unorthodox beliefs” – or in reality – his orthodox beliefs, specifically, that he did not accept that Fard Muhammad was Allah, and that Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم was the last prophet. He was later strategically readmitted.

In 1975, Elijah Muhammad died. So taken back were the NOI members that some of them were literally waiting for the world to end. At the national NOI conference to decide on the future of the movement, Wallace son of the “prophet”, came on stage, dressed in the Fruit of Islam uniform, and assumed leadership. What the Ministers did not know was that Wallace was now firmly a mainstream Sunni Muslim. One by one, the national minsters pledged allegiance (bay’at) to Wallace, including Louis Farrakhan, the current leader of the NOI. For two years, from 1975 to 1977, Wallace taught Orthodox Islam as the official belief system of the Nation of Islam. He introduced the five pillars, promoted mainstream Islamic belief through the Muhammad Speaks newspaper, introduced ‘Eid al-Fitr as a religious holiday instead of Saviors Day, and even led a delegation on Hajj. None of this was part of the previous NOI. He was taking the NOI from the religion of his father to the religion of Saydinaa Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم.

But with any movement towards Truth there are those who oppose it, which manifested in the person of Louis Farrakhan. In 1981, he revived the roots of the NOI, abandoned Orthodox Sunni Islam, and led the movement back into its original beliefs. This created a split between the communities of Wallace and Louis, as Louis went on to re-found the modern Nation of Islam.

What about Wallace? Allah put Wallace in the right place at the right time for a specific purpose. Wallace founded The World Community of Islam in the West. It was through Wallace that large numbers of NOI members left the beliefs of the NOI and embraced mainstream Islam. He reached out to the immigrant Muslim communities to build bridges and ties, which was unthinkable in the NOI. Wallace took a community deeply entrenched in absolute disbelief, claiming a man was Allah and in a new prophet, and led them to real Islam. This could not have been done by anyone but the son of the “prophet”.

To this day, 10th of Muharram 1433, the largest racial contention of Muslims in the US are not Arab of Desi, but African-American. This is through the work of Wallace Deen Muhammad. Though there are still hard-line believers of original NOI teachings, they are slowly but surely being pulled in the direction of mainstream orthodox Sunni Islam. Louis Farrakhan publicly declared his Shahada, they introduced Salah (Namaz) as Muslims perform it, changed the Nation of Islam’s day of worship from Sunday to Friday, and many other advances. Alhumdu lillah, they are slowly coming our way.

So we thank Allah for his providence. He was very merciful when he guided Wallace to Islam, and through him, guided many others.

What does any of this have to do with the Ahmadiyya…?

In order to know where you are going, you have to know where you came from. When we look at the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم, though he accepted their Islam of the common person, he focused his energy on the leadership. When he went to Ta’if, he spoke to the leaders (which later led to Du’a al-Ta’if). It was the leaders of Aws and Khazraj who accepted Islam and through them the common folk followed suit. It was a leader, Wallace Deen Muhammad, who accepted Islam and through them other NOI members shifted towards the Sunnah.

This is in no way to belittle the commoners who embrace Islam. In the past few years, we have witnessed an increasing number of Ahmadis leaving Ahmadiyya to embrace mainstream Islam. The vast majority silently depart and tell me not to disclose who they are. We are also happy for the likes of Shahid Kamal Ahmad, who started this site, or Sr. “Findings” who manages Cult Girl Confessions. But what we need are more national leaders, more spokesmen, more murabbis, and more missionaries to revert to traditional Islam. They can use their authority and influence to guide their community, if not all at once, then slowly through small hints and suggestions. And this is not without precedent, notable reverts include:

• Hassan bin Mahmood Odeh, Former Director General of the Arabic Section in the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community;
• Miklos Molnar, General Secretary of the Ahmadi Jama’at in Hungary;
• Ismail Babatunde Jose, Former President of the Ahmadiyya movement in Nigeria;
• I personally know Jamia Ahmadiyya students and Waqf-e-Nau leaders who accepted mainstream Islam and are slowly and secretly working in their communities;
• And many others

Perhaps one day, even their “khalifah” will have departed from Ahmadiyya to lead his followers towards mainstream Islam, after the example of Wallace Deen Muhammad. Before ‘Umar bin al-Khattab رضى الله عنه accepted Islam, the Muslims were weak and scattered. His conversion gave them strength and courage. May Allah give us an ‘Umar from the Ahmadiyya community.

This takes patience, courage and conviction. Dealing with the stubborn “Desi uncle mentality” can be a challenge. It will start off slow, and be difficulty convincing others. But a breakthrough in a few will result in others joining the fold. And we ask Allah for success.

و صلى الله على سيدنا محمد و على آله و صحبه و سلم

Now Enjoy the Presentation

Lets start with two simple questions:

Was the Islam that the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم was upon “True Islam”? Undoubtedly Yes.

Is the Islam practiced by Muslims today the “True Islam”? Muslims would argue Yes, and the Ahmadiyya would argue No.

Assuming that the Islam practiced by the Muslims today is no longer “True Islam”, that would imply that somewhere in the last 1432 years separating us from the Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم all Muslims spontaneously and simultaneously went astray in belief, hence the need for Mirza Ghulam to create the Ahmadiyya faith. This is the standard Ahmadiyya narrative and it seems to make sense.

But lets take a closer look….turn back the clock 1300 years.

During the first few centuries, Islam spread into Persia, the former Byzantium Empire, India and Central Asia. When the people from these areas embraced Islam, they would often unintentionally bring with them their previous religious ideas. For example, one’s previous faith might hold God to be both good and evil, so when they embraced Islam, their view of Allah is that he is also part evil. Compounding this problem, some new Muslims would understand the Qur’an to conform to these types of previously held beliefs. It was not merely an issue of “Can you prove your beliefs from the Qur’an”, because everyone cited the Qur’an and made arguments for their side.

As these new ideas became more popular, especially in the outskirts of the Muslim lands, the Masters of Islamic Sacred Knowledge (‘Ulema) thought it prudent to document and codify the original interpretations of the faith, lest it be lost amongst the rising sea of new beliefs. It was not that the Qur’an was not sufficient, indeed it is! But if you presented an ayah negating one’s distorted version of Islam, he would simply re-interpret it. For the masses, the question arose “Whose understanding of the Qur’an the original, and hence the Truth?” It seemed that Islam would be lost to corruption.

But God willed otherwise for his Ummah…

With great hesitation and care, the Muslim scholars penned theological works to document the original beliefs of Islam. As Shaykh Hamza Yusuf put it, “at some point, it becomes absolutely necessary” to prevent a distortion of the faith. In general, they were written in a minimalism response format, such as “Regarding the disputed matter, we believe ABC” to only clarify a dispute, and leave the rest to the Qur’an. These documents represented the original understanding of Islam, as taught by the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم himself. For all practical purposes, they represent “True Islam”, as understood by the Prophet, Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Usman, ‘Ali, et al.

One of these texts is titled Al-Fiqh Al-Akbar, written by Imam Abu Hanifah رحمه الله.

Fast-Forward to present times: The dispute between Ahl al-Sunnah and Ahmadiyya. Who is following “True Islam” and who is following a distortion?

Would it not be wise to look back into our literary tradition and see what “True Islam” thought of the very dispute we have today? For example, with regards to the Last Days and ‘Esa bin Maryam عليه السلام, Imam Abu Hanifah wrote,

و خروج الدجال و ياجوج و ماجوج و طاوع الشمس من مغربها و نزول عيسى عليه السلام من السماء و سائر علامات يوم القيامة على ماوردت به اللأخبار الصحيحة حق كائن

The emergence of the Dajjal [anti-christ] and of Ya’joog and Ma’joog [Gog and Magog], the rising of the sun in the West, the descending of ‘Isa, alayhi assalam [Jesus], from heavens, are inevitable facts, so are all the other signs of the Day of Judgment, as narrated in authentic Ahaadeeth [Prophetic sayings]

If you are interested in what the Muslims of the 2nd century were saying, I suggest this text: http://www.masud.co.uk/ISLAM/misc/tahawi.htm. Start at point 29. For the 7th century, read this: http://www.marifah.net/articles/matnalnasafiyya.pdf

If we want to know what the “True Islam” of the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم is, we can look at these texts. And you will quickly realize that it was quite different from Ahmadiyya. The Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم taught that he was the Last Prophet and that towards the end of time, ‘Esa bin Maryam عليه و سلام would return. We invite our readers to click the links above and see for yourselves.

In closing, if you bring this article to the Murabbis (and please do!), they will likely respond with a series of isolated quotations in support of what they believe. Sadly, the average Ahmadi accepts them without verifying. Question what the Murabbis! Find the original source books and look it up yourselves. Do not simply take their statements at face value. I am confident that by merely double-checking them, you will realize how misleading they are. But few do….

May Allah guide us all to the “True Islam”

و صلى الله على محمد و على آله و سلم

Amongst the claims of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was that he was so close to the Prophet Muhammad صلى لله عليه و سلم that he became the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم. He wrote, “In short, my Prophethood and messengership is only by virtue of my being Muhammad and Ahmad, and not in my own right; and I have been given this name because of my complete devotion to the Holy Prophet.”

For those who might not know, this is loosely based on the Sufi concept of Fana’ (obliteration of the self in the personality of another), taken literally. In other words, Mirza Ghulam said that he was so much like the Prophet Muhammad صلى لله عليه و سلم that “no degree of estrangement” existed between the two.

But lets take a step back for a moment. What about Abu Bakr? Did he obliterate himself in the Prophet Muhammad صلى لله عليه و سلم? If so, why did he not “become” Muhammad صلى لله عليه و سلم, even more so than Mirza? Lets compare Abu Bakr رضى الله عنه to Mirza Ghulam.

Before the advent of Islam, Abu Bakr was a close friend of the Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم. ‘Aisha رضى الله عنها said not a day went by that the Prophet صلى لله عليه و سلم did not visit the house of Abu Bakr at least once.

Abu Bakr was the first adult male to accept Islam (before him was ‘Ali and Khadijah عليهما السلام). Everyone hesitated for a moment before accepting Islam, but Abu Bakr accepted immediately, without any hesitation or question.

When the persecution in Makkah became severe, many Muslims sought refuge in Ethiopia (the first migration). Abu Bakr initially refused, but eventually decided to go. On his way, he was approached by Ibn al-Dughanna, the leader of the tribe al-Qaara. Ibn al-Dughanna asked him where are you going. Abu Bakr responded, “My people have driven me out of the land, so I am going to travel around the world worshiping Allah.” Ibn al-Dughunna replied, “O Abu Bakr, it is not appropriate for a man like you to leave your land or be driven out. Because you assist the needy, kind to his family, generous to guests, support the poor, and you stand up for every good cause.” These are the exact qualities Khadijah the first wife of the Prophet said to him after his first revelation. Abu Bakr possessed the qualities of the Prophet.

Abu Bakr had the honor of marrying off his daughter ‘Aisha رضى الله عنها to the Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم. When he was asked who he loves the most, the Prophet said “‘Aisha”. When asked who amongst the men, he said “Her father [Abu Bakr]“. He was the most beloved man to the Prophet.

When the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم left Makkah, he took Abu Bakr رضى الله عنه as his companion. The daughter of Abu Bakr, Asma’ رضى الله عنه arranged to have food delivered to the Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم and her father. His son ‘Abdullah ibn Abi Bakr would gather intelligence and report it to the Prophet and Abu Bakr at night. During the journey, Abu Bakr had the opportunity to spend 11 days, night and day, drinking from the fountain of prophethood. All together, they were a blessed family!

Quraysh issued a manhunt to capture the Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم and Abu Bakr. At one point the trackers of Quraysh were directly above the Prophet and Abu Bakr. Abu Bakr said “O Messenger of Allah! If one of them were to look down below his feet, he would see us”. The Prophet said, “O Abu Bakr! What do you think of two whose third is Allah”. At this, the verse was revealed.

If you do not aid the Prophet – Allah has already aided him when those who disbelieved had driven him out [of Makkah] as one of two, when they were in the cave and he said to his companion [Abu Bakr], “Do not grieve; indeed Allah is with us.” And Allah sent down his tranquillity upon him and supported him with angels you did not see and made the word of those who disbelieved the lowest, while the word of Allah – that is the highest. And Allah is Exalted in Might and Wise. - Surah al-Tawbah, Verse 40

An ayah revealed mentioning Abu Bakr! In addition, Surah al-Nur Verse 22 was specifically about Abu Bakr.

When they reached Madinah in the migration, Abu Bakr resembled the Prophet so much that people mistook Abu Bakr as the Prophet! He even physically resembled his beloved!

We often hear of the closeness that happens between soldiers in times of battle. Abu Bakr experienced that closeness with the Prophet Muhammad by physically participating in numerous battles with the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم, including:

• Battle of Badr – The Sahaba considered the soldiers at Badr the best of the Muslims
• Battle of Uhud
• Battle of Khandaq (The Ditch)
• Battle of Al-Hudaybiyah
• Battle of Hunayn

This part might especially resonate with Ahmadis: After the Battle of Badr, the Muslims had captured many enemy soldiers. The Prophet asked for suggestions on what to do with them. Abu Bakr suggested that they ransom them off, while ‘Umar suggested killing them. Upon this, the Prophet said, “…And the analogy of [Abu Bakr] is like also like ‘Esa who said ‘If you should punish them, indeed they are your servants. But if you forgive them, indeed it is you who are exhaulted and wise.’” Here, we see the Prophet comparing Abu Bakr to ‘Esa عليه السلام. Isn’t this exactly what Mirza claimed for himself?

When the Prophet was approaching his final days, he was unable to perform the congregational prayers. In his stead, the Prophet personally appointed Abu Bakr as the Imam of prayer. When the Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم passed, Islam was at risk of rapid collapse, it was Abu Bakr who stabilized community by defeating the false prophets, subduing the apostasy movements, and he even sent a small army led by Osama bin Zayd against the Byzantium Empire.

The Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم died at the age of 63. Two years later, Abu Bakr also died at the age of 63 – the same age. The Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم died in the house of ‘Aisha, at what was then a room adjacent to Masjid al-Nabawi. Abu Bakr held the honor of being buried physically on the right side of the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم. They were united even in death.

It is the consensus of the Muslims for centuries that Abu Bakr is the greatest Muslim after the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم. There are 10 individuals who were uniquely granted knowledge that they would be in heaven while they were living. The first of them is Abu Bakr.

Much more can be said about Abu Bakr, but it would literally take years to mention them all….

Despite his countless virtues and merits, honors and valours, Abu Bakr never claimed to be anything more than a common Muslim. He was a humble Sahabi, ma sha Allah. He never claimed to have worked his way up to being a prophet, a “non-law-bearing” prophet, or any other invented spiritual state. And even though the Prophet himself said had the likeness of ‘Esa bin Maryam, Abu Bakr never self-claimed to be the “second coming” of ‘Esa or such nonsense.

So who then is Mirza Ghulam to dare self-declare himself to have become a prophet, or that he became ‘Esa bin Maryam? Who is he to say he had no degree between himself and the Prophet? Abu Bakr is buried next to the Prophet, while Mirza never bothered to perform Hajj to even visit his grave! If anyone would have had this honor, it would have been Abu Bakr.

May we all recognize Abu Bakr’s greatness, emulate his humility, and save ourselves from false prophets who were foretold by our Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم.

و صلى الله عليه سيدنا محمد و على آله و سلم

In one of his works, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani attributes a hadith to Imam al-Bukhari’s collection which does not exist in it. See Rohani Khazain vol.6 p.337 (هذا خليفة الله المهدى)

In their bid to defend Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, his followers take a lot of pain. Malik Abdul Rahman, author of the much celebrated Ahmadiyya Pocket Book, not only clutches at straws but goes even further to put doubt to the very fundamentals of Islam to justify the gimmicks of the false claimant of prophethood.

In the Ahmadiyya Pocket Book, pages 517-518, he comes up with various arguments to dilute the issue and presents the worst possible alternatives.

He alludes to two Ahadith of the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم:

Narrations about the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم erring about the number of raka’ahs:

Firstly, there is a narration in which the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم mistakenly said the final salaam of ritual prayers (salaah) at the end of two raka’ahs instead of four raka’ahs..

This much is true. Malik Abdul Rahman attempts to use this to show that prophets can make mistakes, therefore, it is acceptable that Mirza also made a mistake. But this story cannot be used to the end Malik Abdul Rahman attempts to use it. The reason is simple because the Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم did not err while preaching or putting forward an argument to those who failed to believe in the things sanctioned by the Almighty. Our scholars have discussed the issue of lapse of the Prophet عليه السلام in detail. The crux is quoted by Imam Badruddin al-’Ayni (d. 855 A.H.);

قَالَ القَاضِي عِيَاض: وَاخْتلفُوا فِي جَوَاز السَّهْو عَلَيْهِ فِي الْأُمُور الَّتِي لَا تتَعَلَّق بالبلاغ وَبَيَان أَحْكَام الشَّرْع من أَفعاله وعاداته وأذكار قلبه، فجوزه الْجُمْهُور. وَأما السَّهْو فِي الْأَقْوَال البلاغية فَأَجْمعُوا على مَنعه كَمَا أَجمعُوا على امْتنَاع تَعَمّده

“Qadi Iyad said: And scholars have differed about the possibility of a lapse for him (the Prophet) in matters that do not concern the propagation of the faith (directly). And (with regards to) explaining the Islamic rulings through his actions and habits and (in) thoughts of his heart, the majority recognizes the possibility. And as to a lapse in words during preaching they agree on its impossibility just as they agree on the impossibility of its deliberation.”  (‘Umdatul Qari 4/133-139)

A prophet cannot have a lapse while he is preaching the faith and is indulged in a dialogue with the people. No such example can be cited nor is a such a thing possible for if this is recognized the whole rubric of the faith is bulldozed. What else remains if a Prophet can even err while attempting to bring the people to truth?

Let us not forget Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was responding to points of the people with whom he differed and in his imagination sought to bring them to truth. He was clearly propagating his beliefs and he surely ‘had a lapse’- something which is not possible when it comes to the Prophets of Allah.

Did Holy Prophet add some words to Qur’an inadvertently?

His second point is the most filthy one. He quotes a hadith from Jami’ al-Tirmidhi and tries to argue that Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم erred even about the Qur’an and allegedly recited something as if from the Qur’an while it is not from Qur’an. Let’s send this blatant lie to the cemetery.

Below is the Hadith from Jami’ al-Tirmidhi.

عَنْ أُبَيِّ بْنِ كَعْبٍ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ لَهُ: «إِنَّ اللَّهَ أَمَرَنِي أَنْ أَقْرَأَ عَلَيْكَ القُرْآنَ» ، فَقَرَأَ عَلَيْهِ {لَمْ يَكُنِ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا} وَقَرَأَ فِيهَا: «إِنَّ ذَاتَ الدِّينِ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ الحَنِيفِيَّةُ المُسْلِمَةُ لَا اليَهُودِيَّةُ وَلَا النَّصْرَانِيَّةُ وَلَا المَجُوسِيَّةُ، مَنْ يَعْمَلْ خَيْرًا فَلَنْ يُكْفَرَهُ» وَقَرَأَ عَلَيْهِ: لَوْ أَنَّ لِابْنِ آدَمَ وَادِيًا مِنْ مَالٍ لَابْتَغَى إِلَيْهِ ثَانِيًا، وَلَوْ كَانَ لَهُ ثَانِيًا، لَابْتَغَى إِلَيْهِ ثَالِثًا، وَلَا يَمْلَأُ جَوْفَ ابْنِ آدَمَ إِلَّا التُّرَابُ، وَيَتُوبُ اللَّهُ عَلَى مَنْ تَابَ

Ubayy ibn Ka’b (RA) reported that Allah’ Messenger -peace and blessings of Allah be upon him- said to him, “Allah has commanded me that I should recite the Qur’an to you.” Then he recited to him, “Those who reject (Truth)…” (surah 98) He also recited: Surely, the essence of religion with Allah is upright Islam not Judaism and not Christianity and not Magianism. Whoever performs a good deed, it will not be neglected. He then said, “If the son of Adam has a valley full of wealth, he would crave for a second, and if he had a second, he would crave for a third. Nothing will fill the belly of the son of Adam but dust. And Allah relents to one who repents.” (Jami’ Tirmidhi, Hadith 3898)

He believes the following statement was recited by the Holy Prophet -peace and blessings of Allah be upon him- as a part of Surah Bayyinah.

إِنَّ ذَاتَ الدِّينِ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ الحَنِيفِيَّةُ المُسْلِمَةُ لَا اليَهُودِيَّةُ وَلَا النَّصْرَانِيَّةُ وَلَا المَجُوسِيَّةُ، مَنْ يَعْمَلْ خَيْرًا فَلَنْ يُكْفَرَهُ

“Surely, the essence of religion with Allah is upright Islam not Judaism and not Christianity and not Magianism.”

The Truth:

The truth, however, is simply that it was never a part of the Surah al-Bayyinah. And the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم only mentioned these as explanation to words within the surah.

This is clear for two reasons;

1. In Mustadrak al-Hakim, the wording of the same narration testifies to this. There it reads;

عَنْ أُبَيِّ بْنِ كَعْبٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ، قَالَ: قَالَ لِي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «إِنَّ اللَّهَ أَمَرَنِي أَنْ أَقْرَأَ عَلَيْكَ الْقُرْآنَ» فَقَرَأَ: {لَمْ يَكُنِ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ وَالْمُشْرِكِينَ} وَمِنْ نَعْتِهَا لَوْ أَنَّ ابْنَ آدَمَ سَأَلَ وَادِيًا مِنْ مَالٍ، فَأَعْطَيْتُهُ، سَأَلَ ثَانِيًا، وَإِنْ أَعْطَيْتُهُ ثَانِيًا، سَأَلَ ثَالِثًا، وَلَا يَمْلَأُ جَوْفَ ابْنِ آدَمَ إِلَّا التُّرَابُ، وَيَتُوبُ اللَّهُ عَلَى مَنْ تَابَ، وَإِنَّ الدِّينَ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ الْحَنِيفِيَّةُ غَيْرَ الْيَهُودِيَّةِ، وَلَا النَّصْرَانِيَّةِ، وَمَنْ يَعْمَلْ خَيْرًا فَلَنْ يُكْفَرَهُ

Ubayy ibn Ka’b (RA) reported that Allah’ Messenger -peace and blessings of Allah be upon him- said to him, “Allah has commanded me that I should recite the Qur’an to you.” Then he recited , “Those who reject (Truth) among the People of the Book and among the Polytheists … ” (surah 98) and in its description (he said), “If the son of Adam would ask for a valley of riches and is given, he would ask for the second, and if he is given the second, he would ask for the third and nothing fills the belly of son of Adam but dust. And Allah relents to one who repents.” And religion with Allah is uprightness (hanfiyya), not Judaism, and not Christianity and whoever performs a good deed, it will not be neglected.” (Mustadrak al-Hakim, Hadith 2889. Classified as Sahih by al-Hakim and al-Dhahbi)

This clearly states the statement under consideration was never read as a part of  Qur’an even by mistake but only a prophetic description and commentary of a certain point in the Surah.

2. Had the statement in question actually been part of the Qur’anic text, there would not have been any difference on its wording, as is the case with established text of the Qur’an. In the following lines I show variance in the words of the statement allegedly read as a part of the Qur’an.

In al-Tirmidhi’s narration, it reads;

إِنَّ ذَاتَ الدِّينِ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ الحَنِيفِيَّةُ المُسْلِمَةُ لَا اليَهُودِيَّةُ وَلَا النَّصْرَانِيَّةُ وَلَا المَجُوسِيَّةُ

“Surely, the essence of religion (dhaat al-deen) with Allah is upright Islam (al-hanfiyya al-muslimah) not Judaism and not Christianity and not Magianism.”

In a narration of Musnad Ahmad it is;

إِنَّ الدِّينَ عِنْدَ اللهِ الْحَنِيفِيَّةُ، غَيْرُ الْمُشْرِكَةِ، وَلَا الْيَهُودِيَّةِ، وَلَا النَّصْرَانِيَّةِ

“Verily the religion (inna al-deen) with Allah is the upright faith (hanfiyyah), not paganism and neither Judaism nor Christianity.” (Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 21203. Classified as Sahih by Shu’aib Arnaut)

At another place in Musnad Ahmad it goes as;

وَإِنَّ ذَلِكَ الدِّينَ الْقَيِّمَ عِنْدَ اللهِ الْحَنِيفِيَّةُ، غَيْرُ الْمُشْرِكَةِ، وَلَا الْيَهُودِيَّةِ، وَلَا النَّصْرَانِيَّةِ

“And verily this true religion (zalik al-deen al-qayyim) with Allah is the Upright Faith (hanfiyyah), neither paganism (ghayr al-mushrikah), not Judaism nor Christianity.” (Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 21202. Classified as Hasan by Shu’aib Arnaut)

In yet another collection the wording varies further;

إِنَّ ذَاتَ الدِّينِ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ الْحَنِيفِيَّةُ السَّمْحَةُ لَا الْمُشْرِكَةُ وَلا الْيَهُودِيَّةُ وَلا النَّصْرَانِيَّةُ

“Verily the essence of religion with Allah is pliable Uprightness (al-hanfiyyah al-samhah), not paganism (la al-mushrikah) , neither Judaism nor Christianity.” (al-Ahadith al-Mukhtarah, Hadith 1162. Classified as Sahih by the author)

In narration of Mustadrak, it is even different, with no mention of paganism;

وَإِنَّ الدِّينَ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ الْحَنِيفِيَّةُ غَيْرَ الْيَهُودِيَّةِ، وَلَا النَّصْرَانِيَّةِ

“Verily the religion with Allah is uprightness (al-hanfiyyah) not Judaism or Christianity.” (Mustadrak, Hadith 2889)

This variation shows it was not the Quranic text. The simple fact that verses found in established text of the Qur’an i.e. verses of Surah al-Bayyinah are always reported without variation in all these reports but there is variance in these words shows the statement was never a recited as a part of the Qur’an, not even by mistake.

In some narrations it is “inna al-deen”, in some it is “inna dhaat al-deen”, in some it is “inna dhalik al-deen al-qayyim.” In some narrations it is “al-hanfiyya al-muslimah”, in some it simply “al-hanfiyya”, in yet another variation it is “al-hanfiyya al-samha.” In one narration it says لَا المَجُوسِيَّةُ i.e. “not magianism” in others it is لَا الْمُشْرِكَةُ i.e. “not paganism” and in one narration there is no mention of either of these.

Also note the phrase ذَاتَ الدِّينِ “essence of religion” and the words الْيَهُودِيَّةِ “Judaism”, النَّصْرَانِيَّةِ “Christianity” and المَجُوسِيَّة i.e. “Magianism” have not been used in the Qur’an showing the style is non-Qur’anic.

What point is explained by the statement:

These words actually explain verse 5 of the surah;

وَمَا أُمِرُوا إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ مُخْلِصِينَ لَهُ الدِّينَ حُنَفَاءَ وَيُقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَيُؤْتُوا الزَّكَاةَ وَذَلِكَ دِينُ الْقَيِّمَةِ

“And they have been commanded no more than this: To worship Allah, offering Him sincere devotion, being true (in faith); to establish regular prayer; and to practise regular charity; and that is the Religion Right and Straight (deen al-qayyimah).” (Qur’an 98:6)

The statement is actually the explanation of  ‘deen al-qayyimah’ i.e. Right/Straight Religion.

Answering some possible queries:

1- If one says, that narrations clearly say i.e. “he recited in it” so how can it be an interpretation and commentary? the answer is in putting together all the various forms of the narration. Mustadrak’s version clearly says وَمِنْ نَعْتِهَا i.e. “and in its description.”

The words وَقَرَأَ فِيهَا i.e. “he recited in it” are the words of a later narrator as is evident from the fact that in the same narrations it also reads, وَقَرَأَ عَلَيْهِ i.e. “and he recited to him” i.e. Prophet recited to Ubayy. This shows these were not the words of Ubayy but a later narrator for Ubayy would not refer to himself in third person. In fact one narration (Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 21203) explicitly says these interjecting words are those of the narrator Shu’bah. Words of a later narrator which are not even consistently used cannot stand the above mentioned facts. And the Tawatur of the Qur’an is ultimate evidence against this.

2- One may say how this statement can be taken to explain verse 5 when it is mentioned just after initial few words of the surah. The answer is, initial few words are generally mentioned to point towards a surah instead of naming it. This is also evident from the fact that different narrations give different extent of wording to show the surah it refers to.

In al-Tirmidhi’s narration its simply, “Those who reject (Truth) …”

In Musnad Ahmad (No. 21202) it says, “Those who reject (Truth) among the People of the Book …”

In Mustadrak al-Hakim it is, “Those who reject (Truth) among the People of the Book and among the Polytheists …”

These are not even full quotes of verse 1.

In Musnad Ahmad (No. 21203), first 2 verses are given in full

And in al-Ahadith al-Mukhatara it just says, “They are not …”

This is just to show it was only a reference to the surah in general.

3- As regards the fact that in some narrations on the issue the report ends with the words, “And then he read the rest of the Surah” it may be about the verse 6 and 7 i.e. the explanation came after verse 5 and after the explanation the other verses were read.

Note: Here I have only dealt with the points raised by the author of Ahmadiyya Pocket Book. Elsewhere I have dealt the issue in more detail. You can find further details HERE.

What if the Prophet had had a lapse about the Qur’an?

If the Holy Prophet -may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him- had ever erred about the Holy Qur’an it would have put to question to veracity of the entire Qur’an and as Qur’an is the foundation of the Islamic faith, the whole corpus of Islamic belief system would have been strained by doubts. And here we see a well known Ahmadi author attacking the very foundations of Islam to defend a false claimant of Prophethood.

There is absolutely no authentic report saying that Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه و سلم ever termed anything not Qur’anic a part of the Qur’an even mistakenly, for that would have been fatal. But the Murabbis fail to understand the simple thing and little wonder they don’t for they did away with Islam the day they consciously believed in a Prophet after the Last of the Prophets of Allah – may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him.

Summary:

The fact of Malik Abdul Rahman, the infamous Ahmadi author trying to justify the lies of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad even at the cost of sowing the seeds of doubt about the Holy Prophet –may Allah bless him- and the stability of the Qur’anic text, is a clear evidence that Ahmadiyya religious elite has done away with the very fundamentals of Islam and how Murabbis don’t mind raising questions about the basics of Islam to justify the ‘lapses’ or lies of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. Is this a service to Islam?

I will urge common Ahmadis to take exception to such behavior and revert back to the Ummah of Muhammad, the Final Seal of Prophethood –may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

Indeed Allah knows the best!

This is the last installment in a series of articles on four of the early false prophets from the time of the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم and Abu Bakr رضى الله عنه. In it, we will discuss their rise, opposition by the Muslims, and eventual defeat.

I hope this one will be the most interesting and intense…

Of the four false prophets during the time of Abu Bakr, the most dangerous of them all was Musaylimah bin Habib, aka Musaylimah “The Liar” from the tribe of Banu Hanifah. Musaylimah was described as low in stature, fair skinned and with a flat nose. He started off early in his life learning tricks of deception, illusions and even getting actual assistance of the Shayateen (not just silly stories you hear at social gatherings).

When the Prophet Ahmad صلى الله عليه و سلم sent a letter to his tribe, Musaylimah was one of the delegates to responded to his call and at least outwardly accepted Islam. But, when he returned to his people, he went back to his old ways and eventually claimed prophethood for himself. His claim obviously put him at odds with the Prophet Ahmad صلى الله عليه و سلم, so he sent decided to bargain to gain more power and influence.

He sent a letter to the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم saying:

The Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم responded with the following letter:

Obviously Musaylimah did not like that response, and Islam’s rising power left Musaylimah jealous. When he would hear the Qur’an, he would try to produce his own competing “revelations”. Sometimes, he would literally copy the Qur’an and just change a few words. For example, Surah al-Kawthar says,

Indeed, We have given you Al-Kawthar [A river in Jannah]
So Pray and Sacrifice.

He would say:

Indeed, We have Given you the Keys [of Jannah]
So Pray and Rest

Other times, he had his own unique “revelations”, such as:

O Frog,
Croak as you Croak;
The Bottom of you is in Dirt;
And the top of you is in Water;

Years later, Abu Bakr called former followers of Musaylimah and asked them to recite some of the “revelation” Musaylimah would utter. After hearing it, Abu Bakr said “How can a mind ever believe such a thing?” This reminds us of Mirza Ghulam’s ungrammatical revelation such as “God is coming by his army, he is with you to kill enemy”, and “I can what I will do”. Mirza Ghulam also would take parts of the Qur’an, and alter a word or two such as when he claimed to be pregnant with ‘Esa عليه السلام and modified verses about Maryam عليها السلام to apply to himself.

Amongst Musaylimah’s lieutenants was Al-Rajjal ibn ‘Unfwa. Having spent a lot of time with the Prophet Ahmad صلى الله عليه و سلم and having memorized a lot of the Qur’an, the Prophet sent him to Musaylimah’s followers to convince them to come back to Islam. But when Al-Rajjal went to them, he defected and joined the army of Musaylimah. This was a great fitnah, because he had a lot of knowledge of Islam and was able to trick some Muslims.

Abu Bakr took the Caliphate when the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم died and sent ‘Ikrimah ibn Abu Jahl with a small army to contain, but not attack, Musaylimah’s amassing forces. Instead, ‘Ikrimah attacked and was soundly defeated. Again, Abu Bakr sent Shahrabil bin Hasana for the same purpose, but Shahrabil’s army also engaged and was also defeated. This gave Musaylimah’s forces the reputation of being invincible – after all, they just defeated two Muslim armies!

So the third time Abu Bakr sent the Sword of Allah, Khalid bin Waleed. Khalid’s forces met Musaylimah’s in a battleground called al-Yamamah. The two generals of Musaylimah were Al-Rajjal and Al-Muhakkam.

When the battle began, Musaylimah’s forces attacked with a wave so fierce it broke the Muslims lines and sent them into full retreat, so much so that Khalid’s personal camp was overrun. In the chaos, the tribes were blaming each other for having broken the lines, so someone suggested to separate them by tribe and by Mujahir and al-Ansar. This created a type of shame upon the tribe or unit which broke formation.

Afterwards the Muslim lines held, but so did Musaylimah’s army. The attacks came in powerful waves and pushes, with heavy causalities on both sides.

During moments of calm, speakers would deliver emotional speeches to raise their morale. Others would recite Surah al-Anfal. ‘Abbad bin Bishr stood in front of everyone and broke the sheath of his sword, committing himself to the battle. Zayd bin Al-Khattab, Brother of ‘Umar, told his troops, “Just grit your teeth and attack!” They did so and succeeded in killing Al-Rajjal.

At one point a battalion formed consisting exclusively of the Hufaz of the Qur’an – no one else. They said the Qur’an was in their hearts, so the responsibility upon them was greater. Imagine, an elite battalion of only the Hufaz! They delivered a fierce assault against Musaylimah’s forces, but many of them were killed (which later led to Abu Bakr compiling the Qur’an for the first time).

‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Abu Bakr was an excellent archer. While Al-Muhakkam was giving a speech to his army, ‘Abd al-Rahman caught him in his sights. He shot an arrow that hit Al-Muhakkam in his throat during his speech.

Musaylimah’s forces rallied around Musaylimah, protecting him from all sides. Historians describe this formation as a storm with Musaylimah as the eye. With so many dying on both sides, Khalid realized that the only way to end the battle would be to go after Musaylimah himself. So he, along with his Fursaan (Knights), made a direct charge, breaking the enemy lines and went straight after the eye of the storm!

Musaylimah saw the advancing knights and ordered a tactical retreat. The 10,000 remaining soldiers (1/4th of the original army) retreated into a nearby garden and locked the gates.

The Muslims circled the Garden, but could not get in. Then came Al-Bara’a ibn Malik…who is Al-Bara’a ibn Malik?

Before the battle, Abu Bakr sent a letter saying, “In your army is Al-Bara’a ibn Malik. Do not appoint him to any position of leadership, because he will perish anyone around him.” Too much bravado!

Al-Bara’a went to the walls and said “Throw me in the garden!” He was hoisted atop a shield and thrown. In the first throw, he saw Musaylimah’s army and hesitated. In the second throw, he went over the wall and fell in like a bird from the sky directly into the enemy. Fighting back the people around him, he was able to open the gates and let his fellow soldiers in, but not before receiving 80 injuries all over his body (not every cut or slash was fatal).

The Muslims spilled into this enclosed garden and with Musaylimah’s army unable to retreat, they fought to the end. The garden became known as Hadiqat al-Mawt (The garden of death).

Wahshi, the man who killed Hamza in the battle of Uhud, wanted to make up for that by killing Musaylimah. He said, “Just as I have killed the most beloved servant of Allah [Hamza], I am going to compensate for that by killing the enemy of Allah [Musaylimah].” With Musaylimah in his sights, he honed onto his target and launched his missle. At the same moment the spear hit him, Abu Dujanah (who, btw, is awesome. Can I say that?) struck Musaylimah. Whether Wahshi’s or Abu Dujanah’s, no one knows whose blow was the fatal one.

The death of Musaylimah meant the end of the battle. The Muslims were victorious at Al-Yamama, but not without heavy losses. 300 Sahaba were martyred. Ibn Katheer estimated 450 of the Hufaz were killed. Hundreds more were killed, and perhaps thousands injured.

After the battle, Khalid took a prisoner to find Musaylimah amongst the dead. He saw him and said, “This is the one who did to you what he did?” (ie, took you away from Islam through his false prophethood). The prisoner affirmed. Khalid said, “The way he looks does not reflect his evil.”

And with that, the last of the false prophets of Arabia was exterminated. Arabia became a launchpad for the rapid expansion of Islam over Persia, Rome and the rest is history…

May Allah save us from the corruption of following a false prophet, and keep us upon the Islam of the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم, the Sahaba, and those who followed them, and save us from joining fringe movements and false prophets. Ameen.

This is the third installment in a series of articles on four of the early false prophets from the time of the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم and Abu Bakr رضى الله عنه. In it, we will discuss their rise, opposition by the Muslims, and eventual defeat.

Sajjah bint Harith was from a Christian Iraqi tribe named Taghlib. She was beautiful, a master of oratory, poetry, ability to game prophecies (ie, phrasing prophecies in such a way that they always come true). Coincidentally, her tribe held a prophecy of a woman who would become a prophetess. When she heard about the death of the Prophet Ahmad صلى الله عليه و سلم and the rise of other false prophets, she decided to use her skills and claim the prophethood foretold in the prophecy of Banu Taghlib. She join forces with Tulayhah al-Azdi, Musaylimah al-Kaddhab and Malik bin Nuwayrah, an apostate.

A large number of people joined with Sajjah, believing her prophecies were a sign of Truth and she was the awaited prophetess. As she grew in power, Musaylimah, another claimant to prophethood, invited her to Arabia to consolidate their forces against Islam. According to some reports they were married, but after a dispute over leadership Sajjah returned to Iraq with her followers.

When news of Tulayhah al-Azdi’s defeat at the hands of Khalid bin Waleed reached Sajjah’s coalition, she realized her forces were the next target. Her followers completely lost the will to fight and returned to Iraq.

And interestingly, like Tulayhah, when Iraq was later conquered by the Muslims, Sajjah and her tribe accepted Islam and died as a Muslims. This shows that there is a path out for those who accept false prophets. May Allah prevent us all from following misguidance.

This is the first installment in a series of articles on four of the early false prophets from the time of the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم and Abu Bakr رضى الله عنه. In it, we will discuss their rise, opposition by the Muslims, and eventual defeat.

During the 12th year after the Hijrah, Al-Aswad al-’Ansi (الاسود العنسي) from ‘Ans, Yemen claimed to be a prophet. He started his movement slow and secretly, but later grew to engulf all of ‘Ans. At the time, Yemen was ruled by Persian Muslims, notably Shahr bin Badhaan, whose father Badhaan had accepted Islam after receiving a letter from the Prophet Ahmad صلى الله عليه و سلم. But Al-Aswad’s forces attacked the Muslims, killed Shahr, and his forcefully married his Shahr’s wife Azaad.

Azaad is reported to have said, “Allah has not created any human being more hated to me than al-Aswad Al-’Ansi. I never hated anyone in my life than I hated this man. He does not do any good, and all of his actions are evil.” That flies in the face of “Love for All, Hatred for None” slogan, doesn’t it? Maybe she was influenced by the “Mullahs”…? But I digress.

After the victory, Al-Aswad brutally suppressed the Muslims in Yemen. He would force them to accept him as a prophet, or cut them into pieces and let them bleed to death in the desert. He also attempted to form an alliance with the Persian empire, presumably to consolidate his new power in Yemen. He established a man named Qays, an apostate of Islam, as the head of his army, and he trusted his wife’s cousin Fayrooz.

Fayrooz was still a Muslim, and desired to see Yemen ruled by Islam. However, the armies of Al-Aswad were too powerful to fight him in open battle. Knowing that Al-Aswad’s death would mean the end of this fitnah, he devised a plan to assassinate Al-Aswad with Azaad, Qays and two other Muslims.

Azaad informed them that al-Aswad is constantly surrounded by body-guards except when he sleeps with his family in a particular room in his palace. Azaad gave them the directions to the room and arranged to have a torch and weapons placed in an adjacent room to be used by Fayrooz and the two Muslims.

At night, Fayrooz and the two Muslims broke into Al-Aswad’s palace. As Fayrooz went to check on Al-Aswad, Al-Aswad woke up and shouted, “Fayrooz, I know what you want to do!” Terrified, Fayrooz immediately jumped on Al-Aswad, broke his neck, and in a panic, ran out of the room. Azaad stopped him, and then joined by her and the two Muslims, Fayrooz returned to the room. They found that Al-Aswad still alive convulsing on the floor. The two men subdued him and Fayrooz finished the job.

As he was being killed, Al-Aswad screamed. When the guards came to ask what was happening, Azaad replied, “Do not worry, the prophet [Al-Aswad] is receiving revelation.”

The four of them waited in the room all night until Fajr. At Fajr, Fayrooz climbed atop the palace heights and called out the Adhaan, which had not been heard in Yemen in a long time. This was a sign to the secret Muslims in the city that it had been recaptured by Islam, and to the army of Fayrooz just outside to enter.

Thus ended a claimant of prophethood after Ahmad صلى الله عليه و سلم. The affair of Al-Aswad al-’Ansi goes to show that Ahmad صلى الله عليه و سلم and his followers rejected claimants to prophethood after him, for indeed, Ahmad عليه صلاة و سلام was the last person Allah ever made a prophet.

May Allah allow us to follow the way of Fayrooz and reject those who wish to pollute Islam through false prophets. Ameen!

In Islam’s 1400 year history, its gone through wax and wane. At some points in time, the Muslims divided into hundreds of micro-states only to be united a generation later. During the periods of down-turn, an interesting phenomena would occur. In the pain and hardship, some Muslims would be led to believe that they were the blessed generation that would see Imam Mahdi. They would become absolutely convinced of it, after all, were not the signs everywhere?

The belief in Imam Mahdi is often invoked by oppressed, down-trodden Muslims or during times of immense social change. Ahmadiyya is not the first to claim to have the Mahdi, nor will they be the last. In this short presentation, we will explore some of the groups, provide a short background, and list their modern manifestations.

In no specific order:

Movement of Juhayman - Perhaps the most dramatic of these movements was led by Juhayman ibn Muhammad ibn Sayf al-’Utaybi. Born in 1936 in Saudi Arabia, Juhayman witnessed the transformation of his country from traditional bedoin society to a 1st world modern country. Many of the social ills that crept into the birthplace of Islam deeply disturbed Juhayman. He convinced his brother-in-law, Muhammad ibn Abdullah, who bears the very name of the Mahdi mentioned in the Hadith, that he was the Mahdi. His movement started as a social reformation movement, but later developed a secret radical element. On November 20th, 1979, Juhayman ordered weapons to be brought into the Ka’bah, quickly overthrew the guards, and declared that his brother-in-law was the Mahdi. He took bay’ah (pledge) from his followers between the Rukun and Maqam of Ibrahim, the very spot foretold in the hadith. He setup sniper positions on the mimbars, killing the Saudi guards who came to stop the comotion.

Sadly, it took tanks, soldiers, and innocent bloodshed to put down the revolt. Ustadh Yasir Qadhi has an excellent talk on it available here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLAm8wSPVAo. (The talk itself is about religious extremism, but he talks about this movement.)

Mahdiyya - A Sudani-based order, the Mahdiyya was started by Muhammad Ahmad, a leader in the Samaniyya Sufi order. Born in 1884, he claimed to be the Mahdi, and led a successful military campaign against the Turkish, Egyptian, Italian, Belgium, and Ethiopian forces that were occupying Sudan. Following his victory, he established a short-lived Mahdist state. The overthrow of the oppressive foreign forces led many to believe that he truly was Imam Mahdi. The movement was subsequently led by his “Khalifah”. Because Mahdiyya was never antagonistic towards mainstream Islam, it was reabsorbed back into the Jama’ah. But to this day, many Muslims in Sudan consider themselves adherents of Mahdiyya and still consider Muhammad Ahmad to be the Mahdi.

Mahdaviyya - An Indian Mahdi-based faith which believes the Messiah is Muhamamd Jaunpuri. Born in 1443, from a young age, Jaunpuri was regarded for his knowledge and wisdom. He made a series of self-aggrandizing claims, including being the Lion of the Scholars and Master of the Saints. He claimed to be the Messiah during a trip to Hajj, where he was subsequently ignored, but managed to spread his teachings in India, mostly in Ahmedabad. Mahdavis still exist in India, with small communities in the US, specifically in Chicago.

Ahmadiyya - An Indian Mahdi-based faith which believes the Messiah is Mirza Ghulam. Born in 1883, Mirza was respected by a sizeable contention of Muslims of India. He made a series of self-aggrandizing claims, such as being Krishna, the Messiah, a Prophet and others. One claim of his many claims was that he was the Mahdi. He managed to spread his teachings in parts of India and Pakistan. Ahmadis still exist in India, Pakistan, and parts of the UK, Canada and West Africa.

Babism and the Baha’i Faith - Perhaps the most successful Mahdi-based off-shoot, Baha’ism was started by Ali Muhammad Shirazi from Persia. At the age of 25 he claimed to be the Bab (Gateway) to the Mahdi, the Mahdi himself, and eventually a prophet of Allah. The spread of his new religion would not have been possible had it not been for the Shaykhi branch of Twelver Shi’ism, which holds the belief in the coming of Imam Mahdi to be imminent. Many of the Shaykhis accepted Shirazi as the Mahdi and this led to the rise of the movement.

Ali Muhammad Shirazi was executed by firing squad in 1850 by the ruling authorities in Persia. Afterwards, Mirza Husayn Ali Nuri, a disciple of Shirazi, became his most influential believer. He declared himself as Baha’u'llah, a prophet foretold by Shirazi, and gained considerable prominence amongst early Baha’is. Threatened with imprisonment and immense persecution, he traveled around the Persian and Ottoman Empire to spread his new faith.

To this day, the Baha’i Faith has spread all around the world. Ahmadiyya and the Baha’i faith are twin religions, with many common characteristics and remarkably similar arguments. The Babi Faith, as distinct from the Baha’i faith, still exists, but in extremely small numbers. Adherents refer to themselves as “Orthodox Baha’i“.

Al-Harith ibn Surayj - From Khurasan, Al-Harith was an insurgent against the ruling Umayyad Dynasty. He accused the dynasty of of committing many public evils, much of which was true. But Al-Harith went to the extreme of claiming to be the Mahdi, who would fill the world with justice. He allied with the enemies of the Muslims and took refuge with the neighboring pagans of modern-day Turkmenistan to help them in their fight against Banu Umayyad.

Interestingly, he enlisted Jahm ibn Safwan, one of the first ones to mix Greek Philosophic elements with Islam, which led to many of the early heretical groups. The Muslims en masse rejected Al-Harith for many reasons, amongst which was that it is well-established that the name of Imam Mahdi will be Muhammad ibn Abdullah. He was killed in 128 AH in a battle with rival rebellion groups.

(There are dozens of other groups, but I hope this short list should suffice. For more Mahdi-claimants, read this or listen to Ustadh Yasir Qadhi’s excellent series of talks)

Muslims - But what about the Muslims? What do we believe? Reflect on the fact that Allah never disclosed to us an exact date of the coming of Imam Mahdi, nor is it a major point of ‘aqidah in most classical books, nor is it explicitly mentioned by name in the Qur’an, and only a handful of hadith on him exist. This was no accident. We certainly believe in him, but Muslims should not sit back and rely on Imam Mahdi to come and fix everything. Instead, we should be active in reforming the wrongs of our time. He will certainly come, but Allah is our focus, not a knight in shining armor.

These groups started because of legitimate anger and frustration, wide-spread social change and political chaos. It creates a feeling of immediacy, of “lets me do something!” Complainency leads to a sense that the Muslims are not good enough, that we need to join a new movement of change! But we Muslims must not allow ourselves to be led astray by joining fringe cults or political movements. We already have a Jama’ah! It it does not date back to a new leader or founder, it dates back to the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم! All of these groups began on legitimate concerns, but later went astray. Ahmadiyya is yet another one of them.

A man once came to the Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم and asked “When is the hour?” (ie, Day of Judgement). The Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم responded by asking him “What have you prepared for the day?” Our goal is not to bring about the end of times and search for the Mahdi, but to purify our hearts and connection to God through his noble prophet.

If you want to find signs for something, you will see them everywhere. On a person note, I personally believe his signs are everywhere that he will come soon. But I am not actively waiting for him, counting down days on a calendar or announcing it on the street. Instead, we should focus on increasing our tawakkul, yaqeen, sabr and love of the prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم. Rectify the problems in your community, help the poor, feed the hungry, the meat of Islam! This is what matters, not running away to join some false claimant to Imam Mahdi.

May Allah guide us all to what is true and keep us away from going astray.
Ameen.