Source & Credit: Chowk.com | July 7, 2010
By Zainab Mahmood | Part 1
The man at the epicentre of one of the most turbulent controversies in Pakistan and other muslim countries’ ethno-religious society is one Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian. In his book titled “a muslim in Victorian America”, Dr Umar F Abd-Allah’s highlights the journey of Alexander Russell Webb, one of the earliest recorded American converts to Islam. In his book he mentions the correspondence between Webb and Ahmad in 1886-87, “one of the foremost muslim scholars of India, actively involved in making Islam known to the west” as instrumental in Webb’s eventual conversion as is evident in his subsequent books mentioning the natural death of Jesus, a distinguishing element of Ahmad’s faith.
On the other side of the world in New Zealand, there lived a British-born meteorologist by the name of Professor Clement Lindley Wragge, a theosophist by nature and discoverer by virtue he travelled the world over studying and imparting knowledge. He is also the man who is credited for the use of people’s names to label cyclones and for several other advances in the field of meteorology. During his travels to India in 1908 he met Mirza Ghulam Ahmad and had a thorough exchange with the scholar. He showed leanings towards the teachings and theories put forth by Ahmad even though his actual conversion is debatable.
The Ahmadis beleive he did accept Islam at the hands of Ahmad while his family maintains he remained a theosophist till the end of his days. Nonetheless one thing is irrefutable; he spent a great deal of time conversing with Ahmad and found his explanations on existence of God, of sin, of punishment, heaven and hell, extremely enlightening and incorporated them in later parts of his life. It must be said, muslims the world over also claim he was a convert, therefore due to a lack of evidence suggesting he converted under the tutelage of any other scholar, it is safe to assume that if he did convert, it was done after meeting with Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian.
Scholars, theologians and intellectuals, despite doctrinal differences, were drawn to a common ground upon the death of Ahmad in 1908, when they iterated immense admiration for the man and his contributions. Educationist Maulvi Bashiruddin of U.P. wrote “mirza sahib with his with his forceful speeches and magnificent writings, shattered the foul criticism of the opponents of Islam, justice requires that one should condole the untimely death of such a resolute defender of Islam and an eminent and irreplaceable scholar." Maulana Abdullah Al-Imadi of Amristar wrote, “The state of ecstasy created by reading his invaluable books...that uphold Islam.. still has not faded. As to his character, he lived a virtuous life of a righteous, God-fearing person”. Maulavi Siraj-ud-Din editor of the Zamindar of Lahore expressed, “We have often said...that even if his claims were the result of mental pre-occupation, he was innocent of pretense or fabrication. Scholarly figures are among his followers, we consider him to be a perfect Muslim." Mirza Hairat of Delhi, linguist and scholar, lauded his “services rendered to Islam in confrontation with the Christians and the Arya Samajists, deserve the highest praise. He completely changed the flow of the debate and laid the foundations of a new literature in India”. Dr Illama Iqbal, one of the founding fathers of our country is quoted to have commended Ahmad as “probably the profoundest theologian among modern Indian Muhammadans”, while Hazrat Khawaja Ghulam Farid of Chachran, a highly venerated saint in Pakistan even today conceded, “He has given his life for the progress of Islam. If he has claimed to be the Mahdi and Messiah, that too is permissible."
As for Ahmad’s relationship with the British rulers in India, Antonio Gualtieri draws a comparison between the political stances of Ahmad and those of Paul the apostle. In the first century, Paul in letters urged his followers in Rome to obey the pagan authority whose views were antithetical to their Christian beliefs, but he perceived a peaceful coexistence as a necessity for survival. Ahmad possessed similar viewpoints and declared that “my praises of British rule do not proceed from hypocrisy but it is my firm belief that the protection we enjoy nowadays by the grace of God, is a divine protection through the agency of the British”. Unfortunately at a time when anti-imperialist sentiments were taking root such counsel was mistakenly taken as ‘collaboratist’ behaviour which continues to inspire accusations levied against Ahmad till today. History on the other hand, documents Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, Maulvi Muhammad Hussain Batalvi, Deputy Nazir Ahmad, leaders of the Deobandi school, Anjuman Himayat-i-Islam as well as Muslim League expressing similar sentiments of loyalty to the British Government at around the same time as Ahmad. Sir Syed himself, later remembered as the father of two-nation theory that inspired partition of India, was also denounced as a kafir, apostate and enemy of Islam by the mullahs of the time and one Sheikh Abdullah, who had converted to Islam under the tutelage of Maulvi Nourddin a highly respected scholar and physician and follower of Ahmad, refuted these allegations by publishing countless pamphlets justifying Syed’s vision. The plethora of historical and socio-religious studies looking back at the 19th and 20th century reveal that Ahmad and his followers were not only considered torch-bearers of Islam by contemporaries but also their nationalism and the efforts to protect and guide the fate of Indian Muslims were neither un-Islamic nor the actions of defectors.
From as far and wide as Trinidad, seekers of truth came to learn from Mirza Ghulam Ahmad and impressed and inspired by his teachings and school of thought returned to thier countries to spread his message or simply to adapt thier own beliefs in conformity to his to present a more revised version of Islam. One such person was Maulvi Amir Ali, who was the first ever qualified Islamic scholar in Trinidad. He met Ahmad during his stay in India and after his return home in 1931, whilst giving a speech at Liberty hall, Port au Spain, mentioned Ahmad in a favourable light. This sparked allegations that he had converted to Qadianism, which he vociferously denied. Despite the controversy surrounding him, Ameer Ali ushered in a new kind of enquiry in the Muslims of his land. He advocated a kind of islam that embraced science and women's equal rights as well as presenting arguments that Jesus died a natural death as well as implying that the ascent of Prophet Muhammad to heaven (meeraj), one of the core beliefs of Islam, was spiritual and metaphorical, not literal, as was widely believed. Despite the fact his teachings were being considered atypical by some, he was appointed President of the Tackveeyatul Islamic Association in Trindidad, of which he had been a founding member. But when differences became too glaring, he along with some of his ardent supporters including the highly respected Mohammed Hakim Khan and Mohammed Rafeeq, resigned from the association. These three then became the founding fathers of the Trinidad Muslim League Incorporated on 15th August 1947. They conducted several pioneering activities in the coming years under the office of this organisation until the remarkable conversion of the founding members and a large number of other followers to Ahmadiyyat in the 1950s and 1960s.
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, prominent Muslim scholar and secular leader sets a place for Ahmad in Muslim history for centuries to come, “The literature and discourse produced by Mirza sahib in his confrontation with the Christians and the Aryas will place the coming generations under a debt of gratitude, in that he fulfilled his duty of the defence of Islam by joining the front rank of those engaged in the jihad by the pen”.
Thus, history shows no bias or discrimination when recounting the achievements and prevalent public opinion about the person Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. Modern day scholars subscribing to an intolerant and contaminated version of Islam armed with their prejudiced convictions are not so equitable about a man who not so long ago was respected as one of their own. As philosopher Neitszhe’s warned, “Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies”.
Read original post here: Mirza Ghulam Ahmad - Part I
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