Ahmadiyya Times | Articles | Part one of four
Source & Credit: The Muslim Sunrise | Issue 2/2008
By Fazil Jamal
The immediate cause for the split in the community was the question of leadership, occasioned by the death of Maulvi Hakim Nuruddin on March 13, 1914. The precedent set by the election of Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih I, at the time of the death of the Promised Messiah, clearly showed the path to be followed in the event of such extraordinary circumstances.
Part A - The darkest hour is before the dawn
By most accounts, the second half of the Nineteenth Century was one of the darkest hours in Islamic history: a time characterized by the decline and fall of the Great Muslim powers in Asia and Europe and general spiritual stagnation in the Islamic world. It was also a time of transition, with most parts of the world coming under colonial subjugation at the hands of the new European empires. The spiritual shine and intellectual appeal of Islam came under relentless attack at the hands of an ascendant Christianity, glittering with the zeal of the missionaries and the material power of the European empires. It was at this moment of despair and doom in the Muslim world that Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad rose on the religious horizon in defense of Islam, a religion that was under siege not just from unscrupulous enemies, but also from misguided adherents.
Hadhrat Ahmad claimed under divine guidance that he was indeed the Promised Messiah and Imam Mahdi and Divine Teacher as foretold in the traditions of many of the world’s great faiths, including Christianity and Islam. He expounded the profound beauty and deep meaning of the teachings of Islam, with incisive wisdom and consummate skill. Many prophesies of Hadhrat Muhammad regarding the revival of true spirituality and rejuvenation of the Islamic faith were fulfilled at the hands of Hadhrat Ahmad. The extraordinarily powerful claims and compelling arguments of Hadhrat Ahmad, coupled with his magnetic personality and charisma, attracted the attention of many seekers after Truth and assembled in its wake, a galaxy of eminent disciples in his Jama’at. Indeed, the founding of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community by Hadhrat Ahmad, in 1889, was one of the most remarkable events in the spiritual history of the Age.
In May 1908, the Ahmadiyya Community chose the illustrious Maulvi Hakim Nuruddin as Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih I to lead the Community out of the shattering impact of the death of the Promised Messiah. With his deep piety and profound learning, Hadhrat Hakim Nuruddin courageously led the Community at a time of transition and served it with distinction till his death in March 1914. The darkest hour in the history of the Community was yet to come: the split in its ranks following the death of Khalifatul Masih I shook the foundational beliefs and traditions of the community to its core.
This essay seeks to revisit this important event in the history of the Ahmadiyya Community with the objective of identifying the personalities involved and to understand the nature of debate on the central question of the authority of the Khalifa over the Anjuman, an issue that eventually led to the separation of ways. Part B of the essay provides a brief account of the main developments leading upto the split. Part C discusses the question of supremacy and the authority of Khalifa over the Anjuman as it evolved within the community at the time of split. Part D contains some reflections on the event from the subjective view of the writer.
Coming up next:
February 11, 2010 | 5:00 AM [PST] | Part B |The Split: A Moment Frozen in Time
February 12, 2010 | 5:00 AM [PST] | Part C | Anjuman v. Khalifa: The Debate Within
February 13, 2010 | 5:00 AM [PST] | Part D | In Lieu of Conclusion
-- Ahmadiyya Times staff selection
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