The True Nature of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad’s Claim of Prophethood

The primary contention between Muslims and Ahmadis is Mirza Ghulam Ahmad’s declaration of prophethood. Contemporary Ahamdis sometimes downplay this claim, saying he was a special type of prophet, somehow lower in stature than the prophets mentioned in the Quran. However, this is not what Mirza Ghulam Ahmad himself and his sons asserted. We explain the evolution of Mirza’s prophethood claims below.

Mirza’s claim of prophethood evolved and passed through different, contradictory stages. Initially, he used to profess that there can be no prophet after the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, but later he said he is a Muhaddath who can receive some divine inspiration, then claimed to be a full-fledged prophet, later elevating himself to be higher in stature than all earlier prophets of the Abrahamic chain, then declared himself as a second incarnation of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and finally even hinted at exceeding Prophet Muhammad’s ﷺ stature in some respects (نعوذ بالله ).

Up until 58 years of age, Mirza did not claim prophethood and used to preach the same belief regarding the finality of the prophethood of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ as all Muslims. There are multiple references to this in his writings, including this one:

Do you not know that the benevolent God has named our Prophet ﷺ Khaatam Al Anbiya (the seal of prophethood) and no one is exempt from this? The Prophet ﷺ has clarified this for his followers that there is no prophet after me. If we were to allow for a prophet after Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, this would necessitate that we allow for the resumption of divine revelation after it has been discontinued. This is absurd, as all Muslims know, and so how can there be a prophet after Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, when divine revelation has been discontinued and the chain of prophets has ended with Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.

Hamamat ul Bushra, Roohani Khazain, vol. 7, p. 200

Early Steps Towards Claiming Prophethood

Mirza’s first step towards claiming prophethood was that of being a muhaddath.

I am not a prophet, but a muhaddath sent by Allah. I can converse with Allah (Kaleem) so that I revive the religion of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, and He sent me at the advent of the new century.

Aainah e Kamalaat e Islam, Roohani Khazain, vol. 5, p. 383

After observing that he faced no significant backlash for this claim, he began to take more liberties with this idea.

There is no doubt that I have been sent as a muhaddath by Allah ﷻ, and in a sense, a muhaddath is also a type of prophet (Nabi)… because he has the privilege to converse with Allah ﷻ.

Tauzeeh Al Maram, Roohani Khazain, vol. 3, p. 60

Muslim scholars immediately called him out for his deviant belief, but apparently, because of the strong backlash, Mirza seemed to backtrack a bit:

…wherever I have stated that a muhaddath is also, in a sense, a prophet, or that he is a partial or imperfect prophet, it should not be taken in the literal sense of prophethood. It is only for simplicity that I used the word nabi in its original lexical sense. Otherwise, I have no claim of being a prophet in reality…. Allah ﷻ is aware of my intention, that I did not mean Nabi in the real sense of the word Nabi, but only as a muhaddath… Consider the word nabi expunged and replaced by muhaddath.

Majmooah Ishtiharaat, vol. 1, pp. 313 – 314, and Haqeeat An Nubuwwah, p. 91

At this stage, he even went so far as to say:

I am not a claimant of prophethood – rather I consider such a claimant to be excommunicated from Islam. 

Aasmani Faisalah, Roohani Khazain, vol. 4, p. 313

To explain his beliefs at this stage, he stated:

We believe in the finality of prophethood of the Prophet Muhmmad ﷺ. And the type of Wahi (revelation) that we are convinced of is not the wahi of prophethood, but the wahi of sainthood (walayat), within the ambit of the prophethood of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, which is granted to his pious followers.

Majmoah e Ishtiharat, vol. 2, pp. 297 – 298

Mirza published statements to placate the offended Muslim scholars. He thoroughly denied being a prophet and his statements amassed the following facts: he believed anyone claiming prophethood to be an imposter, accursed and automatically excommunicated from Islam; that his own claim of revelation was only of sainthood and of a muhaddath; and if he so claimed prophethood then he would be among the disbelievers.

Explicit Claims of Prophethood

Despite his firm assurances otherwise, in 1901, Mirza once again changed his decrees and declared himself a prophet. Some statements he made at the time are as follows:

Allah is He who sent his prophet (Mirza) with guidance and true religion.

Arba’een No. 3, Roohani Khazain, vol. 17, p. 416

I am a messenger as well as a prophet.

Mukhlasan Aik Ghalti Ka Azala, Roohani Khazain, vol. 18, p. 211

True God is He who sent His messenger in Qadian. 

Dafi’a al Bala’a, Roohani Khazain, vol. 18, p. 231

These claims negated his own earlier writings where he stated that anyone claiming prophethood would be outside the fold of Islam.

When confronted with these claims of prophethood by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the contemporary Ahmadis often take a lot of contradictory positions. It seems that they somehow try to downplay his prophethood status, saying that he is a prophet sans shariah, or a dhilli or buroozi prophet, or an ummati prophet – all terms coined by the Ahmadis that have no precedence in Islam. They imply some sort of lesser stature in prophethood, perhaps to make it more palatable to Muslims. However, Mirza’s own writings contradict these positions strongly.

Let us examine how Mirza and his sons (who were later prominent leaders of the Ahmadi Jama’at) understood his prophethood.

The Ahmadis sometimes claim that Mirza was a ‘Prophet sans Shariah’ meaning he did not make any new injunctions, claims, or prohibitions to the existing laws in Islam. Mirza himself contradicts this stance clearly:

You must also understand what is the nature of shariah. Whoever professes some commandments or prohibitions and frames the law for his followers, becomes the bearer of shariah. Thus, by this definition too, our opponents are incriminated, because, in my revelations, there are commandments as well as prohibitions…. And it has been so that my revelations contain both commandments and prohibitions. So if you say that shariah only means that law which contains new injunctions, then that is incorrect.

 Arbaeen No. 4, Roohani Khazain, vol. 17, pp. 435 – 436

He further wrote:

“Since my teachings contain commandments and prohibitions, and revival of necessary injunctions of Shariah, therefore Allah ﷻ has referred to my teachings and revelation as “Fulk” a boat… Now observe that Allah ﷻ has declared by revelation, my teachings, and my allegiance as Noah’s ark, and a means of salvation for mankind. He who has eyes should see, and who has ears should listen.”

Arbaeen No. 4, Roohani Khazain, vol. 17, p. 435 footnote

Mirza declared openly through these statements that he is a bringer of Shariah; that he has received revelations that contain commandments, prohibitions, and injunctions. These quotations aside, the system of donation, child dedication, inheritance, etc. set up by Mirza in the wake of his ‘prophethood’ have no corroboration with the Shariah brought by the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Therefore, this is a sound rebuttal to the argument that Mirza is only a claimant to prophethood sans shariah. Any Ahmadi who thus denies it should ponder that they are denying the words of the very ‘prophet’ they claim to follow.

Claim of Being an Exalted Prophet

Furthermore, with regard to the Ahmadis assertions that there can be Dhilli, Ummati and Buroozi prophets after the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and that Mirza’s claim is only of such a “lesser” type of prophet: that is easily negated as well because Mirza himself declared his prophethood to be of an exalted nature at the same level as that of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Quotes from his own writings include:

The different traits which are found in other prophets were present in the personage of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ in plenitude, and all those traits of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ were granted to me. Therefore, my name is Adam, Ibrahim, Musa, Nuh, Dawood, Yusuf, Sulieman, Yahya, Esa, etc… All previous prophets were dhil [lit. shadow], in some specific trait of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. I am his dhil in all his traits.

Malfoozat, vol. 2, p. 201 (New Edition)

Whereas I am the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ in appearance and emanation (buroozi) and as such, all perfections of the Prophet Muhammad’s ﷺ personality, along with his prophethood, are projected in my person. Then how can this be attributed to a separate person claiming prophethood?

Aik Ghalti ka Izala: Roohani Khazain, vol. 18, p. 212

Mirza Sahab’s son, Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood, who became the second caliph of the Ahmadiyya Jamaat, confirmed this high stature of Mirza’s prophethood further, writing:

An Ummati Prophet does not mean that he is inferior to the earlier prophets. It can be that he is more distinguished than some of the earlier prophets, or from all of them except for the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.

Haqeeqat un Nubuwwah: Anwaar ul Uloom, vol. 2, p. 382

His second son, Mirza Bashir, also considered a scholar of the Ahmadiyya movement, continued with:

Each prophet has been granted certain qualities of perfection, according to their ability – some more than others. However, the Promised Messiah [Mirza Qadiani] received prophethood when he had achieved all the qualities of perfection of the prophethood of Muhammad ﷺ, and became eligible to be termed a Dhilli prophet. Thus, Dhilli prophethood is not an inferior status but is actually a step forward and a more exalted, in the sense that it made him stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.

Kalimat ul Fasl, p. 113

From these statements, it becomes clear that Mirza and his sons did not consider the status of Dhilli, Ummati, or Buroozi prophet to be any less than the status of the earlier prophets. Rather, they claimed that Mirza’s status is as exalted as that of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ so that they are shoulder-to-shoulder and that Mirza is thus, even more, exalted than the earlier prophetsؑ.

Mirza claimed superiority over all the prophetsؑ not only through implication but through clear words as well. He has written:

Allah ﷻ has made me a manifestation of all the earlier prophets, and their names have been ascribed to me. Thus I am Adam, Sheesh, Noah, Ibrahim, Ishaq, Ismail, Yaqoub, Yusuf, Mosa, Esa, and I am the ultimate manifestation of the name of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, that is, I am reflectively (Dhilli) Muhammad ﷺ and Ahmad ﷺ.

Haqeeqat ul Wahi: Roohani Khazain, vol. 22, p. 76 (footnote)

Though there have been many prophets in the past, I am not inferior to any of them in my wisdom and status. 

Ibid, p. 477

Claim to be Prophet Muhammad ﷺ

Taking it a step further, not only did Mirza claim prophethood, but he also claimed to be the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ himself (نعوذ بالله) and claimed that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ will come again. Mirza claimed he first appeared in Makkah as the Prophet ﷺ and has reappeared once more as Mirza Ghulam Ahmad.

And know that as our Prophet ﷺ was sent in the 5th millennium, similarly the Promised Messiah manifested himself in appearance, at the end of the 6th millennium.

Khutbah Ilhamiyah: Roohani Khazain, vol. 16, p. 270.
Translator’s note: According to Mirza, the total age of the world is 7000 years. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ came in the five thousands, and Mirza Sahib himself came towards the end of six thousands. We have translated it as millennium here for the lack of a better word.

And Allah ﷻ bestowed upon me the grace of the Prophet ﷺ, and perfected it, and pulled the Prophet’s kindness and generosity towards me, till my being became his being. Thus, he who joins my Jama’at actually becomes one of the Sahabah of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, and this is the meaning in the verse اٰخَرِیْنَ مِنْھُمْ  as is evident to those who contemplate. The person who differentiates between me and the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is one who has neither seen nor recognized me.

Khutbah Ilhamiyah: Roohani Khazain, vol. 16, pp. 258 – 259

Mirza Ghulam Ahmed’s son wrote in his book:

…Is there any doubt left that Allah ﷻ sent Muhammad ﷺ once again to Qadian, to fulfill His promise that He had revealed in the verse  وَ اٰخَرِیْنَ مِنْھُمْ لَمَّا یَلْحَقُوْا بِھِمْ

Kalimat ul Fasl, pp. 104 – 105
Translator’s note: The verse mentioned here, Quran 62:3, “And (this Messenger is sent also) to others from them who did not join them so far”, is universally understood by Islamic scholars to mean all those Muslims who came after the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. The Qadianis came up with a novel interpretation to force a new meaning on this verse to support Mirza’s prophethood. This has no support whatsoever from the Quran, the Hadith, the understanding of the Companions and Islamic scholars throughout history, and even Mirza’s own understanding of this verse before he prophethood declaration.

He also wrote:

And he who does not perceive the apostleship of the Promised Messiah as a second coming of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ has disregarded the Quran, for the Quran is emphasizing again and again that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ will return once again to this world.

Kalimat ul Fasl, p. 105

The claims of being the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and his second coming as Mirza Ghulam Ahmad are not unknown to Jammat-e-Ahmaddiya and, therefore, are undeniable. In the Jammat’s newspaper, Al-Fadl, verses alluding to this have been printed. With reference to that creed, Mirza thus claimed that some of the verses revealed to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ had also been revealed to him.

that is We shall grant you plentitude of disciples and a large following. See, this prophecy was granted to me 20 years ago, and now I have that large following of not only seventy thousand, but close to a hundred thousand, whereas in those days, there was not even one.

(Nuzool Al Maseeh, Roohani Khazain, vol. 18, p. 509)

ھُوَ الَّذِیْ أَرْسَلَ رَسُوْلَەُ بِالْھُدٰی وَ دِیْنِ الْحَقِّ لِیُظْھِرَہُ عَلٰی الدِّیْنِ کُلَّەِ

This was published in Tazkira Majmuah Wahi wa Ilhamaat. 4th Printing, p. 538. This verse appears in Quran 9:33, “It is He who has sent His Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth to manifest it over all religion”.

وَمَا یَنْطِقُ عَنِ الْھَوٰی◎ إِنْ ھُوَ إِلَّا وَحْیٌ یُوْحٰی

Tazkira Majmuah Wahi wa Ilhamaat. 4th Printing, p. 321. These verses appear in Quran 53:3-4, “He does not speak out of (his own) desire. Nor does he speak from [his own] inclination.”

These are only a few of the many verses Mirza Ghulam Ahmed claimed to have been revealed upon him in an attempt to pretend he is a reincarnation (نعوذ بالله) of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.

The Ahmadis complain that they are excommunicated from Islam despite their recitation of the same Kalimah as the Muslims. However, despite the words being the same, the meanings behind the words of the Kalimah according to Qadianis are poles apart. By accepting Mirza’s claims, the Ahmadis change the context and condition by which they accept Islam.

Mirza Bashir Ahmad clarifies this for the Qadianis, when asked why they do not have a new kalimah to reflect the name of their ‘prophet’, unlike all earlier prophets:

The name of Muhammad ﷺ appeared in the kalimah because he is the foremost amongst the prophets and the seal of the prophethood. Mentioning his name encompasses all prophets and foregoes the need to mention them individually. However, with the advent of the Promised Messiah, one thing has changed, and that is that previously, mentioning Muhammad ﷺ included only the prophets who came before him, but now, after the advent of the Promised Messiah, the connotation of the name Muhammad in the kalimah has expanded to include one more prophet. Hence, even now, the same kalimah is sufficient to enter the fold of Islam – the difference is just that with the coming of the Promised Messiah, the meaning of محمد رسول اللہ has now included just one more prophet.

Kalimat ul Fasl, p. 158

Mirza Bashir also further declared, keeping in mind that the Qadianis believe the Prophet ﷺ and Mirza Ghulam Ahmad to be the same person reincarnated:

Even if we assume that the kalimah contains the name of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ because he is the last of the prophets, even then there are no grounds for objection, and we do not need a new kalimah. This is because the Promised Messiah and the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ are not two separate beings…

Kalimat ul Fasl, p. 158

In summation, the Qadiyanis believe that the Prophet ﷺ and Mirza Sahab are one and the same and therefore their conviction of the Kalimah and intention while reciting it includes this belief. The Muslims believe in no such blasphemous addition and recite the Kalimah with no additional meaning attached.

Claiming Superiority Over Prophet Muhammad ﷺ

The next level in Mirza Ghulam Ahmad’s prophethood claims was that he claimed to be even more esteemed (نعوذ بالله) than the ‘original’ Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.

He who denies that the apostleship of the Prophet ﷺ is in the sixth millennium [i.e. Mirza Ghulam Ahmad] as it was earlier in the fifth millennium has denied the truth and the Quranic law. The truth is that the spirituality of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ at the end of the sixth millennium, that is, in these days, is stronger, more perfect, and more robust, rather like a full moon, than his earlier incarnation.”

Khutbaat Ilhamiyyah: Roohani Khazain, vol. 16, pp. 271 – 272

Mirza also blasphemously declared through thinly veiled words that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is needless since he has arrived.

But pay full heed that now is not the time to reveal the brilliance of Muhammad’s ﷺ name. That is, now there is no need for majestic manifestations because the majesty and glory have been reasonably revealed earlier. The rays of the sun cannot be tolerated anymore. Now there is the need for the cool illumination of the moon, and that is me, in the form of Ahmad.

Arba’een No. 4: Roohani Khazain, Vol. 17, pp. 445 – 446

Through these words, Mirza is attempting to claim that the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ are too ‘heated’ and can thus no longer be tolerated. Is Mirza not openly advocating abrogating the “heated” teachings of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, in favor of propagating the “coolness” of his teachings?

Another reason that Mirza put forth to declare himself a prophet was that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was unable to complete the propagation of religion  (نعوذ بالله). Mirza claimed to have taken upon the mantle to finish the duty himself.

Since the second responsibility of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was the completion of the propagation of religion, and in the time of the Prophet, it was not possible to propagate the religion due to scarcity of resources, therefore, the Quranic verse وَ اٰخَرِیْنَ مِنْھُمْ لَمَّا یَلْحَقُوْا بِھِمْ promises a second coming of the Prophet. This promise was necessary to fulfill the second responsibility of the Prophet ﷺ, that is, of the propagation of Islam, which should have been completed by the Prophet ﷺ, but could not be completed at the time because of lack of resources. Thus, to fulfill this responsibility, the Prophet ﷺ came again projectively [i.e. as Mirza Ghulam Ahmad], in a time when the resources to propagate Islam to all the nations of the world are readily available.

Tuhfat al Golriya: Roohani Khazain, vol. 17, p. 263

Here, Mirza is unabashedly accusing the Prophet ﷺ of failing to complete his ﷺ responsibility of spreading Islam!

Mirza’s claims are rooted in the fact that there were fewer resources in the time of the Prophet ﷺ, therefore, Islam could not be spread properly. However, one must consider, which nation did Mirza bring Islam to that had never heard of Islam before? The truth is, Islam had spread through all corners of the world before Mirza was even born.

In a similar reign, Mirza also dared to claim that Islam was weak during the ‘first’ life of the Prophet ﷺ in Makkah, but is now strong in its brilliance and radiance like a full moon.

And Islam began as a new moon and it was destined that it will eventually become a full moon with the Will of Allah ﷻ. Thus, Allah ﷻ in His Wisdom chose to make Islam like a full moon in the century which has a numerical semblance to a full moon (i.e. the 14th century).

Khutbaat e Ilhamiya: Roohani Khazain, vol. 16, p. 275

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It is clear from the above references that Mirza’s beliefs are not that of Muslims. In fact, his claims of being the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ himself are highly despicable and blasphemous, and it should be no surprise why the Qadianis are excommunicated from Islam. Muslims revere the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ above anyone else, the greatest in humanity, the pride of all beings, the chief of the prophets, the noblest amongst the ancients and the moderns ﷺ. The personage of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is the aggregate of perfect attributes and qualities. Mirza not only claimed that he is a reincarnation of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺbut also implied that he came to cover some of the failings (نعوذ بالله) of the Prophet ﷺ.