Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Declared Jihad Haram to Protect British Government ?
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Declared Jihad Haram: His Own Words on the British Government
In Episode 118 of Seerat ul Mahdi we saw how Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani treated the question of "Ulil Amr". In Episode 119 we go one step further and ask the real question: why did he declare jihad haram, and who benefited from that declaration?
We are not going to answer with outside books or hostile writers. Every page in this post comes from Ahmadi literature itself: Ruhani Khazain and Majmua Ishtiharat. Read the pages, check the volume and page numbers at the bottom, and decide for yourself.
"Jihad Is Absolutely Haram in This Era"
The clearest statement comes from Government Angrezi aur Jihad (Ruhani Khazain, vol. 17, p. 28). Mirza Sahib first explains his claim to be both the Messiah and the Mahdi through the idea of buruz (spiritual reappearance). Then he describes what the Messiah's job is:
As the Messiah, my work is to stop Muslims from savage attacks and bloodshed, because the hadith state clearly that when the Messiah comes again he will end all religious wars.
Then comes the line that matters most for this series. He tells us that around thirty thousand people are with him, scattered across British India, and adds that every person who takes his bai'at and accepts him as the Promised Messiah must, from that day, believe that jihad is absolutely haram in this era ("is zamane mein jihad qata'an haram hai").
Ruhani Khazain vol. 17, p. 28, Government Angrezi aur Jihad Ruhani Khazain, vol. 17, p. 28: the bai'at is tied to the belief that jihad is haram.
Notice what has happened. This is not a scholarly opinion offered for debate. It is a condition of membership.
The Second Condition: Be a Sincere Friend of the Government
The sentence continues on the next page (p. 29), and it is where the political side becomes impossible to ignore. Because of his teaching, he says, a follower has to become a true well-wisher of this British government, "not merely out of hypocrisy."
Ruhani Khazain vol. 17, p. 29, Government Angrezi aur Jihad Ruhani Khazain, vol. 17, p. 29: loyalty to the government is part of the teaching.
He then makes a bold boast. If even a lakh maulvis tried to build a movement that could stop "savage jihad", he says, it would be impossible for them. He hopes that within a few years this "blessed, peace-loving community", which is erasing the ideas of jihad and ghazi-hood, will grow to several lakhs, and that those who wage savage jihad will "change their garb."
Put the three ideas side by side:
- Jihad is haram.
- Accepting that is a condition of joining.
- Loyalty to the British government is part of the same package.
A reader is entitled to ask whether these are three separate religious positions, or one political position wearing a religious coat.
A Loyalty Notice, Signed and Dated
If the bai'at conditions leave any doubt, Kitab-ul-Bariyyah removes it. At the end of a notice dated 20 September 1897, signed "Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian", he writes (Ruhani Khazain, vol. 13, p. 18):
- His followers are, without exception, well-wishers of the British government, peace-loving and of the first rank.
- "We have come to live in humility in this world," with sympathy for mankind and well-wishing for the government under which we are subjects.
- "We never like disturbance of peace, and we are ready to help the English government at every moment."
- He thanks God for keeping them under the shadow of such a government.
Ruhani Khazain vol. 13, p. 18, Kitab-ul-Bariyyah: "ready to help the English government at every moment", dated 20 September 1897.
Nobody forced this wording out of him in a courtroom. This is a public notice, issued under his own name.
Even His Biggest Opponent Had to Admit It
Earlier in the same book (vol. 13, p. 10) he describes an episode from the Dr. Henry Martyn Clarke case. His opponents, he says, abused him for preferring the English government over the Sultan of Rome, meaning the Ottoman Sultan, whom many Muslims of that time looked to as their caliph.
He points out that even Muhammad Hussain Batalvi, "the biggest of enemies", had to state before the Deputy Commissioner during his testimony that Mirza Sahib was a well-wisher of the British and opposed to the Roman sultanate.
Then he lays out his own position in plain words:
- He has proved this through seventeen years of continuous writings.
- He is a sincere friend of the English government, "in body and soul."
- Obedience to the government and sympathy for it is his principle, and it is part of the conditions of bai'at, a point he says is spelled out in clause four of the conditions.
Ruhani Khazain vol. 13, p. 10, Kitab-ul-Bariyyah: loyalty to the government as a principle of the bai'at.
Think about that for a moment. At a time when many Muslims looked to the Ottoman caliphate, the founder of this movement was proudly telling the British that he stood on their side.
Presenting the Community to the Government
Majmua Ishtiharat, vol. 3, p. 20, shows a different side of the same effort. Here the writing is aimed at the authorities, and the tone is that of a petition.
He lists the principles taught to his community, including loyalty to the government and sympathy for all mankind. He then assures the government that his people are not a group of ignorant or wild people: most of them, he says, are educated and hold respectable positions under the British government. He names the kinds of people in the community: officials, noblemen, lawyers, graduates, English-educated gentlemen, and families who have served the government.
Two phrases deserve attention:
- He calls the community one that is "nurtured on the salt of the English government" (namak-parwarda), has earned a good name, and enjoys the government's favours.
- He says he hopes that "at the time of trial" the British government will find them first-class well-wishers.
He also claims that a large body of ulama, following him, have used their sermons to plant the government's favours in thousands of hearts. Finally, he says he is sending the government the names of his followers.
Majmua Ishtiharat vol. 3, p. 20: the community presented to the government as "first-class well-wishers".
A religious leader introducing his followers to the state as reliable in a "time of trial" is making a political statement, whatever the intention.
"Forget the Habit of War"
The last reference ties everything together. In Tohfa Qaisariya (Ruhani Khazain, vol. 12, p. 264) he says the Muslims of India live in comfort under the British government, and that the very idea of jihad against such a peaceful, protecting government is cruelty and rebellion. He mentions that his books were printed at a cost of thousands of rupees and distributed across Muslim countries.
He then describes his followers:
- They are sincere well-wishers of the government.
- He claims no other Muslim group has an equal.
- They are "a faithful army for the government, whose outside and inside are filled with well-wishing for the British government."
And he states what he wants from the wider Muslim public. In his view, wide legal freedom to discuss religion will help Muslims "forget the habit of warfare" which, he says, some of them acquire through a misunderstanding of the Book of Allah.
Ruhani Khazain vol. 12, p. 264, Tohfa Qaisariya: the government as the beneficiary of his teaching.
The words "a faithful army for the government" are his, not ours.
What Would an Ahmadi Say?
An Ahmadi reader will say that he was stopping unjust, unorganised violence, and that the hadith about the Messiah ending religious wars gives the teaching a religious basis. That deserves to be stated fairly.
But the pages above raise questions that this answer does not settle:
- Why is loyalty to a specific government part of the bai'at? If the issue were only violence, there was no need to demand sincere friendship with the British.
- Why list officials and ask to be judged "at the time of trial"? That is the language of security, not theology.
- Why did he side against the Ottoman Sultan? The sources show him treating this as a point in his favour.
- Why does the benefit flow in one direction? The government is described as the one gaining a "faithful army", while the community is described as enjoying the government's favours.
These are questions arising from his own text. We leave the answer to the reader.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Mirza Ghulam Ahmad say jihad is haram? Yes. In Government Angrezi aur Jihad (Ruhani Khazain, vol. 17, p. 28) he says every person who takes his bai'at must believe that jihad is absolutely haram in this era.
Did he ask his followers to be loyal to the British government? Yes. On the following page (p. 29) he says a follower must be a true well-wisher of the British government, "not merely out of hypocrisy". In Kitab-ul-Bariyyah (vol. 13, p. 18) he writes that his community is ready to help the English government at every moment.
Where can I verify these references? All the pages are from Ruhani Khazain and Majmua Ishtiharat. Volume and page numbers are listed below.
References Discussed in This Episode
| # | Book | Volume / Page |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Government Angrezi aur Jihad, Ruhani Khazain | Vol. 17, pp. 28-29 |
| 2 | Kitab-ul-Bariyyah, Ruhani Khazain | Vol. 13, p. 18 (notice dated 20 Sept 1897) |
| 3 | Kitab-ul-Bariyyah, Ruhani Khazain | Vol. 13, p. 10 |
| 4 | Tohfa Qaisariya, Ruhani Khazain | Vol. 12, p. 264 |
| 5 | Majmua Ishtiharat | Vol. 3, p. 20 |
Translations are the author's own and summaries of the passages; please read the scanned originals above.
Watch the full discussion on the Zaitoon FM Live YouTube channel: Seerat ul Mahdi, Episode 119.
.heic)
Comments
Post a Comment