Someone from an Arab country claimed to be a prophet (nabi) and reformer (mujaddid). An Arab Ahmadi wrote a refutation of his claims. Some Ahmadi scholars from Rabwah, Pakistan, commented on his refutation. The person in charge of the Arabic Desk (UK) wrote to Hazrat Amirul Momineen, Khalifatul Masih Vaa, to seek guidance in this regard.
Huzoor-e-Anwaraa, in his letter dated 6 November 2021, provided the following guidance regarding this issue:
“The sending of a prophet or a reformer by Allah the Exalted to guide and reform the world is such a blessing, that it has no substitute in the world. Whenever Allah the Exalted felt the need to send a prophet or a reformer for the guidance of the world, out of mercy for humanity, He sent a prophet or a reformer to guide the world. This attribute of Allah the Exalted is ever-present and eternal and no human has the right to declare this sunnah [practice] of Allah the Exalted to be suspended, because there is no textual basis for this in the Quran or the sunnah [of the Holy Prophetsa]. In what way God’s sunnah will be manifested in the future, only God knows best. However, in the Holy Quran, the ahadith of the Holy Prophetsa and the scriptures of the previous prophets, after the Holy Prophetsa, we only find the glad tiding of one jariullah fi hulali l-anbiya’ [‘Champion of Allah in the mantle of the Prophets.’].
“Our lord and master, the Holy Prophet Muhammad, the chosen one, peace be upon him, has also given the glad tidings of the establishment of a caliphate on the precepts of prophethood [Khilafah ‘ala Minhaj an-Nubuwwah] twice in his ummah. He said that this blessing would be lifted after having been established for the first time, but after giving the glad tidings of this blessing’s re-establishment for the second time, he kept silent. It can be deduced from this, that this blessing shall then last until the Day of Resurrection. (Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Vol. 6, Musnad Nu‘man ibn Bashir, Hadith 18596, Beirut: ‘Alam Al Kotob, 1998, p. 285)
“Moreover, the Promised Messiahas, the most ardent devotee of the Holy Prophetsa and the Just Arbiter [Hakam ‘Adl] of the current age, on the one hand, declared himself Khatam as-Khulafa’ as per the the glad tiding he received from God Almighty and denied the coming of another Messiah after him. On the other hand, he has also mentioned the possibility of the appearance of thousands of the likes of the Messiah [mathil-e-masih] after him. He also argued from various verses of the Holy Quran, the ahadith of the Holy Prophetsa and the history of other religions, that the lifespan of the human race was seven thousand years; the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa was sent in the fifth millennium and we were passing through the seventh millennium of this dispensation. Hence, Huzooras states:
“‘We are now at the head of the seventh millennium and there is no room for any other Messiah to come after this, because there are only seven millennia that have all been divided into good and evil.’ (Lecture Lahore, Ruhani Khazain, Vol. 20, p. 186)
He further states:
“‘Since it is the last millennium, it was inevitable that the Imam of the Latter Days should be born at the turn of this millennium. After him, there is no Imam and no Messiah except the one who comes in his image, for in this millennium the world comes to an end, as all the Prophetsas have testified. This Imam, whom God has designated as the Promised Messiah, is the mujaddid [reformer] of this century as well as of the last millennium.’ (Lecture Sialkot, Ruhani Khazain, Vol. 20, p. 208)
“The Promised Messiahas is also the mujaddid [reformer] of the final millennium, one meaning of which is that his successors who were to appear as part of the caliphate established through him on the precepts of prophethood [Khilafah ‘ala Minhaj an-Nubuwwah], as per the glad tidings of the Holy Prophetsa, were also to be mujaddids of their respective eras, owing to the blessings of their following and complete obedience to the Promised Messiahas. Hence, it is impossible for a mujaddid to still; appear, who does not completely follow and obey him. Discussing the possibility of the coming of a mathil-e-masih after him, the Promised Messiahas states:
“‘We also want to make it clear that we do not deny that someone else may appear as the like [mathil] of the Messiah after us, because the likes of the prophets always appear in the world. Rather, God Almighty has already revealed to me by way of a categorical and certain prophecy that an individual shall be born from my progeny who shall resemble the Messiah in many ways, he shall descend from heaven and shall make the path of the people of the earth straight and shall grant release to those held in bondage and shall free those who are shackled by the chains of various doubts.’ (Izala-e-Auham, Ruhani Khazain, Vol. 3, pp. 179-180)
“He further states in this regard:
“‘I have only claimed to be the likeness [mathil] of the Messiah and I also do not claim that being only a mathil had ended with me. Rather, it is possible that ten thousand more mathil of the Messiah may appear like me. Nevertheless, I am the mathil of the Messiah for this age and waiting for another one is futile. And let it also be clear that this is not merely my idea that there can be many mathil-e-masih; rather, the same can be inferred from the ahadith of the Holy Prophetsa.’ (Izala-e-Auham, Ruhani Khazain, Vol. 3, p. 197)
“In another place, while elucidating this subject, the Promised Messiahsa states:
“‘This humble one also does not claim that messiahship has ended with me and that no messiah shall come in the future. Nay, I believe and I say repeatedly that, let alone one, more than ten thousand messiahs can come.’ (Izala-e-Auham, Ruhani Khazain, Vol. 3, p. 251)
“He further states:
“‘Jesusas son of Mary reached the age of 120 years when he died and joined his Creator. There in heaven, he stays in the company of John [the Baptist] because both had similar experiences. There is not the least doubt that he was an extremely righteous man and a prophet of God. However, to call him ‘god’ is tantamount to disbelief. Hundreds of thousands of people like him have passed away and will come in the future and God is never tired of exalting righteous people in the past or in the future.’ (Tazkirat-ush-Shahadatain, Ruhani Khazain, Vol. 20, p. 29)
“Thus, this is the last millennium of that dispensation during which God sent the spiritual son and the most ardent devotee of the Holy Prophetsa, in exact accordance with his prophecies as the Promised Messiah and the Khatam al-Khulafa’. It can be deduced from the prophecies of the Holy Prophetsa and the sayings of the Promised Messiahas that, by the grace of Allah the Exalted, since this is the era of the Islamic Ahmadiyya Caliphate, established through the Promised Messiahas in the last millennium, therefore, if ever there is a need for a reformer for the reformation of the world, Allah the Exalted will raise someone from among the followers of the Promised Messiahas for that reformation, who will be the Khalifa of the time and will also be granted the status of his like [mathil] and a reformer [musleh] in addition to being a caliph, as Allah the Exalted conferred this status on Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra in exact accordance with the glad tidings given to the Promised Messiahas. Hence, while elucidating the status of that promised caliphate, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra states:
“Moreover, it is not just a question of any caliphate, but a question of a promised caliphate. It is a question of a caliphate established by divine inspiration and revelation. One kind of caliphate is when God Almighty causes people to elect a caliph and then He endorses him, but this one is not only such a caliphate. That is, I am not only a caliph because, on the day after the demise of Hazrat Khalifah Ira, the members of the Ahmadiyya Community gathered together and agreed on my caliphate, rather, I am also a caliph, because, even before the caliphate of Khalifa Ira, the Promised Messiahas had also said, on the authority of divine inspiration [ilham], that I would become a caliph. Thus, I am not just a caliph but a promised caliph. I am not an appointee [ma’mur] but my voice is the voice of God Almighty because God Almighty gave this news through the Promised Messiahas. In other words, the position of my caliphate is between Ma’muriyyat and Khilafat. This is not an opportunity for the Ahmadiyya Community to let go and still be exonerated by God. Just as it is true that prophets do not appear every day, so it is also true that promised caliphs do not appear every day.’ (“Report Majlis-e-Mushawarat 1936” in Khitabat-e-Shura, Vol. 2, p. 18)”