What is the Ahmadiyya sect?
Ahmadiyya is a sect of Islam that was started in 1889, when the founder Mirza Ghulam Ahmad claimed to be the second coming of Jesus (AS) and a prophet sent by Allah with revelation.
What's wrong with the Ahmadiyya sect?
The main issue with this sect involves the fact that they think that Jesus’ (AS) second coming will not be done by Jesus (AS) himself. They also claim that Jesus (AS) did in fact die.
First, the Quran says that Jesus was raised up to Allah before his followers has a chance to kill him.
"[Mention] when Allah said, “O Jesus, indeed I will take you and raise you to Myself and purify you from those who disbelieve and make those who follow you [in submission to Allah alone] superior to those who disbelieve until the Day of Resurrection. Then to Me is your return, and I will judge between you concerning that in which you used to differ."
Second, in an authentic Hadith, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said that Jesus (AS) will descend during the end to times.
Abu Huraira reported that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "By Him in Whose hand is my life, the son of Mary (ﷺ) will soon descend among you as a just judge. He will break crosses, kill swine and abolish Jizya and the wealth will pour forth to such an extent that no one will accept it."
Third, many Ahmadis say that their believe is justified by a “contraction” of Hadiths in Sahih Bukhari 3438 and 3439 - 3440. Both Hadiths describe the complexion of Jesus (AS), but when translated it seems there is a contraction, but unfortunately the majority Ahmadis are not well versed or even know Arabic and rely of translation.
Narrated Ibn `Abbas: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "I saw Moses, Jesus and Abraham (on the night of my Ascension to the heavens). Jesus was of red complexion, curly hair and a broad chest. Moses was of brown complexion, straight hair and tall stature as if he was from the people of Az-Zutt."
Narrated `Abdullah: The Prophet (ﷺ) mentioned the Masih Ad-Dajjal in front of the people saying, Allah is not one-eyed while Masih Ad-Dajjal is blind in the right eye and his eye looks like a bulging out grape. While sleeping near the Ka`ba last night, I saw in my dream a man of brown color the best one can see amongst brown color and his hair was long that it fell between his shoulders. His hair was lank and water was dribbling from his head and he was placing his hands on the shoulders of two men while circumambulating the Ka`ba. I asked, 'Who is this?' They replied, 'This is Jesus, son of Mary.' Behind him I saw a man who had very curly hair and was blind in the right eye, resembling Ibn Qatan (i.e. an infidel) in appearance. He was placing his hands on the shoulders of a person while performing Tawaf around the Ka`ba. I asked, 'Who is this? 'They replied, 'The Masih, Ad-Dajjal.' "
In Sahih Bukhari 3438, Jesus is described as having a white reddish complexion, but in Sahih Bukhari 3439 - 3440, he is described as having “brown color the best one can see amongst brown color”.
Looking at the original arabic meaning of Sahih Bukhari 3439 - 3440, you can see the part saying “a man of brown complexion” is originally worded as “A man of Adam”, if you fix the translation it says “A man of Adam, the best of men you see.”.
Now with the translation issue corrected, the two Hadiths do not contradict one another.
Finally, the claim that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad is a prophet clearly contradicts the Quran, where it calls the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ the final prophet and the seal of the prophets.
"Muhammad is not the father of [any] one of your men, but [he is] the Messenger of Allah and last of the prophets. And ever is Allah , of all things, Knowing."
Many Ahmadis argue that because Jesus (AS) will come during the end of times, then there will be a prophet after the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. This is simply an ignorant interpretation, as you must consider the following:
- Jesus came before the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
- Jesus is still alive, but will descend, meaning no new prophet will be born.
- Jesus will not come with revelation or a new religion, as in Sahih Muslim 156, it says he will join the Muslims in prayer after returning to earth.
Jabir b. 'Abdullah reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: A section of my people will not cease fighting for the Truth and will prevail till the Day of Resurrection. He said: Jesus son of Mary would then descend and their (Muslims') commander would invite him to come and lead them in prayer, but he would say: No, some amongst you are commanders over some (amongst you). This is the honour from Allah for this Ummah.
Final Note
We’ve established that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad could not have been the second coming of Jesus (AS) and could not have been a prophet.
We are all Muslim, do not separate yourselves into sects and “do not commit excess in your religion” Quran 4:171. Keep it simple and follow in the footsteps of our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
A final note on this sect specifically. While many consider in this sects not Muslims, that does not allow anybody to persecute or attack these people. No matter you opinion, if we have disagreement we speak to and educate others, not use violence.