بِسۡمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحۡمٰنِ الرَّحِیۡمِِ

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Hazrat Amirul Momineen Khalifatul Masih II

by Ali Mohammad Allahdin
The Review of Religions; 1941, Pg. 51 to 53

To estimate the greatness of a man it is essential to see how he meets situation when confronted by a crisis in his life, or in the life of the group or nation to which he belongs.

Keeping this principle in view, when we study the career of Hazrat Amirul-Momeneen we find that from a very early stage in his life he has been called upon to cope with problems which may well have dismayed a leader of lesser stamp.

One such crisis that Hazrat Amirul-Momeneen had to face in the very early part of his life is represented by the events which led up ultimately to the split in the Ahmadiyya Community. It was after the death of Promised Messiah that the seed of these dissensions first sprouted, but matters took nearly six years to come to a climax. It becomes manifestly clear to any one who dispassionately takes stock of the situation that existed in the Ahmadiyya Community during the years 1903-1914, that the persons responsible for bringing about this split were no other than the “Khwaja Kamaludin-Mohamed Ali clique.

The pivot on which these dissensions hinged was the fundamental issue as to who was the real and rightful successor of the Promised Messiah as per the Alwasiyat. Moulvi Mohamed Ali and his party maintained that the “Promised Messiah had given the status of finality to the decision of the Board of Trustees of Sadr Anjuman Ahmadiyya.” This issue, as time advanced became so paramount that Hazrat Khalifatul Massih I had to intervene to stem the rising tide of disruption. To this end he convened the historic meeting of 31st January 1909 in which delegates from all the branches of Jamaat India were invited to participate. This was the occasion which clearly convinced the Amirul-Momeneen that if the disruptive forces were not checked swiftly and thoroughly the entire edifice of Ahmadiyyat will in no time be in great danger of going to pieces. He therefore, with far-sighted acumen and indefatigable energy, and because of the extraordinary solicitude that he had for the welfare of the community, founded in the nick of time in the year 1911 the “Anjuman Ansarullah” which proved to be the bulwark against which all attempts to undermine the institution of Khilafat met with total failure. The successful tackling of the Khilafat issue was the first monumental achievement of Hazrat Amirul-Momeneen, of which the members of the Ahmadiyya Jamaat can justifiably be proud, and for which they cannot be sufficiently thankful to Almighty Allah for having granted them such an ulul-azm Khalifa.

Then again the consolidation of the community under his able leadership is another measure of his true greatness and his marvelous administrative ability. The cohesion and solidarity created by the efforts of the Promised Messiah and maintained vigorously during the time of Hazrat Khalifatul-Masih I, had to be maintained and reinforced after his death in order to fulfill the high mission for which the Promised Messiah was raised; and this, in view of the tendencies of some rebellious individuals and groups, was by no means an easy task. With singleness of purpose and unity of action, Hazrat Amirul-Momeneen concentrated his energies on the consolidation of the Jamaat. The system of Nazarats which he established in 1918 heralded the bewildering rapidity with which the Jamaat spread out in the four corners of the globe. In order to perfect the consolidation of the Jamaat to its highest pitch the Amirul-Momeneen inaugurated in the year 1934 the scheme known as Tahrik-i-Jadeed with its Nineteen Demands; and that of Khuddamul Ahmadiyya in the year 1938, and that Malis-i-Mushawarat as far back as 1922. As a result of these steps the organization of the Ahmadiyya Movement is at present in such a state as to be on the high way to accomplish the sublime purpose for which Allah raised the Promised Messiah in this age.

It has become indeed a world influence and it is the only influence that can mould the destiny of mankind into the right channels and create ultimately a new Heaven and a new Earth as was prophesized by the Promised Messiah.

To achieve this marvelous consolidation has been far from smooth sailing. He has had a series of crises to face to acquire this unparalleled success which in its magnitude and ultimate results can only be compared with that of Hazrat Omar’s brilliant career. Since Hazrat Amirul-Momeneen Khalifatul Masih II assumed the reins of Ahmadiyya Movement, the Jamaat has had to face a number of onslaughts from its enemies, of which four may be referred to here: two from within and two from without. The two attacks from within were those of the Mistri Party in 1925 and of the Misri Party in 1937, while those from outside were the Malkana wave of apostasy in 1923 and the Ahrar anti-Ahmadiyya agitation in 1934. To enumerate at length as to how these problems were tackled is beyond the scope of this short article, but suffice it to say that no man in the world could have handled these important issues so tactfully and successfully as did Hazrat Amirul-Momeneen Khalifatul Masih II .the secret of the marvelous genius of this great man is to be found in the following grand prophecy which the Promised Messiah gave out to the world long before the hero of this article was born:

“Glad tidings to thee, a righteous and handsome son shall be given to thee. He is given the Holy Spirit. He is the Light of God. With him is Fazal who shall come with his coming. Much greatness, grandeur and wealth shall belong to him. He shall come into the world and he shall cure for the people many of their diseases through his Messianic power and with the blessings of the Spirit of Truth. He is the Word of God, because the Mercy and Jealousy of God have sent him with the glorious word. He shall be extremely intelligent and gifted with wonderful understanding. His advent shall be most blessed and it shall be a manifestation of the Divine Glory. The Divine Light is coming. The Light Divine! God has anointed him with the scent of His pleasure. We shall put our own Spirit into him. He shall be under God’s protection. He shall grow up with amazing speed. Prisoners and slaves shall be released through him. His fame shall spread to the corners of the earth. Nations shall be blessed through him.”

The world is now in the throes of a mighty catastrophe. The united statesmanship of the world has been tried and found wanting. God who has created the universe knows better than we mortals as to how to lead the world aright; therefore in the fullness of time He sent His Messenger, but the world turned a deaf ear to his call. The mighty conflagration which has engulfed mankind is the just divine retribution on all those who have committed the heinous crime of associating other beings with the Almighty God. Only those who are the vicegerents of God are vouchsafed the wisdom to diagnose aright the ailments which undermine the frame work of civilization, and they alone are granted the requisite machinery to mobilise the forces of righteousness and to lay the foundation of true progress and prosperity for mankind.

After a prophet, the responsibility to guide humanity correctly lies on his successors who are called Khalifas in Islamic terminology. Mighty are the issues that are facing humanity today and will continue so to face it as long as the heart of humanity is not humbled to hearken to the Call of His Messenger. But blessed are those who accept the Truth and having accepted it gird up there loins to convey it to others.