Badmus Abdul Basit, Jamia Ahmadiyya Nigeria
Prophet Muhammadsa, the Messenger of Allah who was sent to the whole of mankind, has described the conditions that his followers would pass through in a hadith:
عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَمْرٍو، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم: لَيَأْتِيَنَّ عَلَى أُمَّتِي مَا أَتَى عَلَى بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ حَذْوَ النَّعْلِ بِالنَّعْلِ حَتَّى إِنْ كَانَ مِنْهُمْ مَنْ أَتَى أُمَّهُ عَلاَنِيَةً لَكَانَ فِي أُمَّتِي مَنْ يَصْنَعُ ذَلِكَ وَإِنَّ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ تَفَرَّقَتْ عَلَى ثِنْتَيْنِ وَسَبْعِينَ مِلَّةً وَتَفْتَرِقُ أُمَّتِي عَلَى ثَلاَثٍ وَسَبْعِينَ مِلَّةً كُلُّهُمْ فِي النَّارِ إِلاَّ مِلَّةً وَاحِدَةً قَالُوا وَمَنْ هِيَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ قَالَ مَا أَنَا عَلَيْهِ وَأَصْحَابِي.
Narrated ‘Abdullahra bin ‘Amr:
That the Messengersa of Allah said: “What befell the children of Isra’il will befall my Ummah, step by step, such that if there was one who had intercourse with his mother in the open, then there would be someone from my Ummah who would do that. Indeed the children of Isra’il split into seventy-two sects, and my Ummah will split into seventy-three sects. All of them are in the Fire except one sect.” He said: “And which is it O Messenger of Allah?” He said: “What I am upon and my Companions.” (Jami’ at-Tirmidhi, Kitabul Iman ‘an rasulillah sallalahu alayhi wa sallam, Hadith 2641)
In this narration, after pointing out the degradation that will occur among his ummah, the Holy Prophetsa specified that his ummah will be divided into 73 sects while only one will be heaven-bound. They are: مَا أَنَا عَلَيْهِ وأصحابي i.e. those who follow the pristine teachings of Islam and obey the injunctions of Allah, follow the injunctions and Sunnah of the Holy Prophetsa and will not deviate from the right course they were on.
A question may arise as to which sect will be the saved one? An explanation provided by Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa was that at a time when Muslims would forget the true principles of Islam, cease to act on the teachings of the Holy Quran, and their leaders would have their own views and opinions, causing division amongst the ummah, that is when the Promised Messiahas would appear to unite all the sects together under one banner.
“So, this is why there were 72 sects according to that prophecy and the 73rd one is the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community which is the right one and in line with the prophecy of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and the promises of Allah the Almighty.”
As depicted in the hadith, all sects have proved ethnocentric as stated in the Holy Quran:
مِنَ ٱلَّذِينَ فَرَّقُواْ دِينَهُمۡ وَكَانُواْ شِيَعٗا۔ كُلُّ حِزۡب بِمَا لَدَيۡهِمۡ فَرِحُونَ
“Of those who split up their religion and have become divided into sects; every party rejoicing in what they have.” (Surah ar-Rum, Ch.30: V.33)
All are following their ethos and are belligerent to each other. Their case is like that of a boat full of people and 72 sailors, each quarrelling and acting belligerent towards each other.
The ummah is fragmented. Discord, diversity and disagreement are found in every aspect. This discord has reached such a peak that a sect would declare another sect as kafir (disbeliever).
This is made quite evident in the various edicts of kufr (disbelief) that some Muslim sects have issued regarding others. The Barelvi sect, for example, has famously branded the founder of the Wahhabi movement to be a kafir:
“The Ahl’ul Sunnah have an ijma’ that Muhammad bin Abdul Wahab was a Khwaarijee and baghi (rebel) whoever holds this Najdee belief is an enemy of Islam.” (Al Bareylviyaath, Ehsan Ellahi, p. 182)
The Wahhabi aren’t the only ones to have been issued a fatwa (edict) of kufr, event the Deobandis were declared kafir:
“Deobadiyaat is a form of Wahabiyath their ideology is to disrespect the Saints […] They possess a great deal of kufr Beliefs […] under Islamic Law they are therefore both kaffir and should be punished accordingly.” (Tajhahib Ahl ul Sunnah, Naasir Sunniyath Abu Tahir Muhammad Thabib Siddiqui Dhana Purri)
It’s worth noting that these edicts of kufr aren’t one sided, most of these sects have declared each other to be kafir.
These are a few of the maladies afflicting the ummah despite the presence of a perfect teaching.
The only solution to this broken ummah is nothing but the establishment of the system of Khilafat among them. It is stated in the Holy Quran:
وَعَدَ اللّٰہُ الَّذِیۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡا مِنۡکُمۡ وَعَمِلُوا الصّٰلِحٰتِ لَیَسۡتَخۡلِفَنَّہُمۡ فِی الۡاَرۡضِ کَمَا اسۡتَخۡلَفَ الَّذِیۡنَ مِنۡ قَبۡلِہِمۡ ۪ وَلَیُمَکِّنَنَّ لَہُمۡ دِیۡنَہُمُ الَّذِی ارۡتَضٰی لَہُمۡ وَلَیُبَدِّلَنَّہُمۡ مِّنۡۢ بَعۡدِ خَوۡفِہِمۡ اَمۡنًا ؕ یَعۡبُدُوۡنَنِیۡ لَا یُشۡرِکُوۡنَ بِیۡ شَیۡئًا ؕ وَمَنۡ کَفَرَ بَعۡدَ ذٰلِکَ فَاُولٰٓئِکَ ہُمُ الۡفٰسِقُوۡنَ
“Allah has promised to those among you who believe and do good works that He will surely make them Successors in the earth, as He made Successors [from among] those who were before them; and that He will surely establish for them their religion which He has chosen for them; and that He will surely give them in exchange security [and peace] after their fear; They will worship Me, [and] they will not associate anything with Me. Then whoso is ungrateful after that, they will be the rebellious.” (Surah an-Nur, Ch.24: V.56)
Regarding this verse, the Promised Messiahas:
“This means that at the time of the demise of Hadrat Khatamul-Anbiya’ [the Seal of the Prophets], peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, the believers shall be in fear lest their religion should perish, but God Almighty in this state of fear and anxiety, by establishing khilafat-e-haqqah [the true succession], will alleviate their fear regarding the ruin of faith and free them from grief and grant them peace […] This means that in every state of fear, whereby the love of Allah has disappeared from people’s hearts, false creeds have spread all around, and people are infatuated with the world and it is feared that the faith will be lost.” (Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya Part III, pp. 167-168)
The Five Volume Commentary expounds on the last phrase of the verse “and whosoever disbelieve after this will surely be of the disobedient”:
“Khilafat is a great Divine Blessing, without it there can be no solidarity, cohesion and unity among Muslims and therefore they can make no progress without it. If Muslims do not show proper appreciation of Khilafat by giving unstinted support and obedience to their Khalifahs, they will forfeit this great Divine boon and in addition will draw the displeasure of God upon themselves.” (Five Volume Commentary, Vol. 4, p. 2290)
In an address, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa said:
“[…] other people are trying to establish Khilafat amongst themselves, and they feel the need for it, but it cannot be established amongst them because they want to define it according to their own liking; instead of the Khilafat of Allah, they want to impose their own Khilafat. So how can it be that their state of fear should change into that of peace and security? How can it be that the institution of Khilafat is established among them, whereas this is the bounty of Allah, the Almighty, appointed by Him? Where Almighty Allah changes the state of fear into one of peace, He removes all kinds of fear from the heart of His appointed Khalifa and gives him the strength to confront the state of fear. He offers him consolation in every difficult situation by His grace. Thus, it is upon the Khalifa of the time to console the community.” (Ahmadiyya Muslim Khilafat Centenary Jalsa held at Excel Centre on 27 May 2008)
Conclusion
The pitiable state of the Muslim ummah today is a sad one to watch, seeing the internal discords and mutual vilifications which has weakened the foothold of Islam in today’s world, are direct result of lack of leadership.
Khilafat-e-Ahmadiyya has come to fill this vacuum but the world has rejected it. Unity can only be achieved by accepting the one sent by Allah; the Promised Messiah and Imam Mahdias, however the world has rejected him.
Hence, the Muslim ummah, with our multitude and numbers, is weak and trampled upon, moving like a wandering lost ship with no sailor, sheepishly following the current of the sea with no direction and destination.
The solution to this malady is a leadership that joins us under one umbrella, and such an umbrella would be fittingly perfect to be called “The saved sect”; the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.