73 Divisions in Islam and One True Jama'at

The Prophecy
Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) among many of his prophecies has mentioned, in one hadith, a prophecy which many of us have seen fulfilled in our life time. More than 1400 years ago, our beloved master, Muhammad (peace be upon him) made a prophecy in the following words[1]:

Abdullah bin Amar (RA) relates that the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) said "Surely things will happen to my people as happened earlier to Israelites, they will resemble each other like one shoe in a pair resembles the other to the extent that if anyone among the Israelites has openly committed adultery to his mother there will be some who will do this in my Ummah as well, verily the Israelites were divided into 72 sections but my people will be divided into 73 sections, all of them will be in the fire except one." The companions asked, 'Who are they O Messenger of Allah,' Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "They are those who will be like me and my companions."

In this hadith there are quite a few things to be noted. Firstly, it mentions the resemblance of Muslim Ummah with the Israelites (i.e. Jews). In another hadith [2] this resemblance is mentioned in the words that as among the Jews a prophet was raised in every century among Muslims a reformer will be raised and as among the Jews at the end of the chain of prophets a Messiah was raised a Messiah will be raised among Muslims. Among Jews there were 12 tribes each divided into six sects making a total of 72 sects at the time when the Messiah (i.e. Jesus, AS) was sent to Israelites (A full list of the Jewish sects at the time of Jesus, peace be upon him, is included in Appendix I). After the appearance of the Messiah among Jewish people the list of sects increased considerably. So while talking about 73 divisions among Muslims and taking into account the resemblances of Muslim Ummah to the Jewish people mentioned in both of the above tradition, it appears that these two ahadith relate to the time of the Promised Messiah (AS).
Authenticity of the Hadith
Other than Tirmidhi, Ibne Maja [3] gives three independent narrations of the same hadith. Talking about the authenticity of this hadith Abu Mansur Abd al-Kahir ibn-Tahir Al-Baghdadi [4] says:

"There are many isnad (independent testimonies) for the tradition dealing with the division of the community. A number of following companions have handed it down as coming from the Prophet (peace be upon him): Anas ibn-Malik, Abu-Hurairah, Abu-l-Darda, Jabir, Abu-Sa'id al-Khidri, Ubai ibn-Ka'b, Abd-Allah ibn-Amr ibn-al-'As, abu-Imamah, Wathilah ibn-al-Aska' and others. It is also handed down that the pious Caliphs mentioned that the community would be divided after them, that one sect only would save itself, and the rest of them would be given to error in this world, and to destruction in the next."

So it becomes quite clear that there is no doubt about the authenticity of this hadith and great scholars of Islam like al-Baghdadi regarded this hadith to be an authentic one. While talking about the types of divisions to occur among the Muslim Ummah, Abu-Mansur al-Baghdadi [4] says:

"Every man of intelligence among the authors of the treatise has known that the Prophet (peace be upon him) in speaking of the divisions that were to be condemned and the members of which were destined for hell-fire, did not mean the various legal schools, who, though they disagreed as to the derivative Institutes of Law, agreed concerning the fundamentals of religion.......... And verily the Prophet (peace be upon him), in mentioning the sects condemned, had in mind only those holders of erring opinions who differ from the one sect which will be saved, in such matters as ethics and the unity, promises and threats (regarding future life), predestination and free-will, the determination of good and evil, right guidance and error, the Will and Wish of God, prophetic vision and understanding, the attributes of Allah, His Names and Qualities, any question concerning what is ordered and what is permitted, [signs for] prophecy and its conditions, and similar questions."
Literal Fulfillment of Prophecy: Existence of 73 Sections.
Having mentioned the resemblance of his Ummah with Jews, and division of the Ummah into 73 sections, Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) mentions that all will be in fire except one. Meaning 72 sects will be in fire while one will be safe. When asked who the safe ones will be, Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) replied "They are those who will be like me and my companions" indicating that remaining 72 will resemble Israelites while only one will resemble him and his companions. Having said that we have to understand that there ought to be a way to separate one Jama'at from 72. Thus there should be some method by which two sets of sections among Muslim Ummah will be formed and in one set there will be only one Jama'at (to which Holy Prophet, peace be upon him, referred to as resembling him and his companions) while the other set will contain 72 sects which will resemble Jews. To go any further we have to establish here three things. Firstly that there were at one time 73 sections of Muslims. Secondly they formed two sets on containing one Jama'at and the other one containing 72 sects. Thirdly the set containing one Jama'at consisted of the followers of a claimant of Messiahship. The third condition has to be fulfilled because, as I have established above, we are referring to the time of the Promised Messiah (AS), only the followers of Messiah can form a Jama'at which resembles Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) and his companions (RA). To establish that the above mentioned three conditions were fulfilled, I shall present here my translation of a portion of an editorial published in Urdu in Pakistani daily newspaper "Nawai Waqt" [5].

"One of the special importance of this decision has been that on it the consensus of Ummah has been in substantially correct manner. Throughout the history of Islam, such an overwhelming complete consensus has never been reached on any important topic. Other than the big religious scholars, holders of Shar'a, all the political leaders and political leaders of each group have agreed on this consensus. Other than these, all sufia karam, aarifeen Billah, the leaders of Tassawaf and practices had complete agreement. Excluding Qadianis all the rest of 72 sects which are considered to be of Muslims, agreed and are happy on the solution of this affair. Among the leaders of the nation and a'maideen, there does not appear to be any group which does not have a joyous attitude towards this decision. Nation should take a notice of this."

And that was not the only newspaper which testified the number to be 72 following is another testimony of an English newspaper published from U.K. [6].

"By a constitutional amendment the National Assembly has stripped half a million members of the Ahmadiyya community of their religious status as Moslems. The excommunication of such a large number claiming to be Moslems by a political institution is a unique event in the 1400 years of the history of Islam. The burden of taking the measure fell on the National Assembly because Islam rejects priesthood and the Moslems, although divided into 72 sects, do not have a church or a pope. Religious edicts handed down by muftis or religious scholars are not binding on any individual or body of Moslems."

Clearly, according to these newspapers there existed 73 sections in Islam, one Jama'at-e-Ahmadiyya and the rest of the 72 (A full list of the sects in Islam is included in Appendix II). The rest of the 72 sects were unanimous and happy and formed a party (a set) excluding the one (the other set) from Islam. Although they all had fatwas declaring one another to be kafirs, when it came to the question of Ahmadi Muslims they were all united so that there remains no doubt as to the identity of 72 and one making a total of 73. I have already established that Jews had 72 sects at the time of Messiah, so this hadith would be reflecting the time of Messiah among Muslim Ummah, which all Muslims today believe is also the time of the appearance of the Mahdi.
Opinions of Some Muslim Saints
Now I would like to present a few quotations from the writings and utterance of a few Muslim saints reflecting on the practices and the name of the Jama'at of the followers of Mahdi and Messiah. Hadhrat Ali (RA) said [7]:

"Mahdi Maoud will be colored with the glory of Muhammadiyya and will have the wealth of Ahmadiyya."

Hadhrat Muhammad bin Faris Misri wrote [8]:

"Our scholar will be prophet and from among those who call towards the truth he will have the station of messengership and our A'arif will be in the period of Ahmadi, will be from among oolulazm (those who have strong determination) and will receive greatness."

Hadhrat Mujaddid Alif Thani wrote[9]:

"Around one thousand and some years after the sad demise of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him), the Haqeeqate (truth) Muhammadiyya will ascend from its station and will unite with the place of Haqeeqate (Truth) Ka'aba. At that time Haqeeqate Muhammadi (Muhammadi Truth) will be called Haqeeqate Ahmadi (Ahmadi Truth)."

Hadhrat Imam Ali Al-Qari wrote[10]:

"so among seventy three sects all of them will be in fire and the firqah najiyya (sect deserving paradise) will be the one among ahle sunna (Sunnis) which will have the glory of Muhammadiyya and will be following the holy Tareeqatul (practices of) Ahmadiyya."

Hadhrat Abdur Raheem Grohri wrote [11]:

"Hadhrat Mahdi Maoud has the Muhammadi appearance and will descend like a leader, he will have a mole near one of his eyes. He will re-establish din-e Ahmadi (the Ahmadi practices), our sahib will be bright like the sun and beloved of all. He will be learned, wise, king of wisdom and an eternal saint. O mir Muhammad Sahah! Mahdi will be decorated with the turban of prophethood."

All the above Muslim saints and Sufis understood that at the time of Mahdi Tareeqatul Ahmadiyya will be re-established and thus the followers of the true Mahdi will be practicing the Ahmadiyya Glory of Islam or will be called Ahmadiyya Jamaat..
Resemblance of the 72 to Jews in Their Beliefs
According to the Hadith I have mentioned in the beginning, other than being 72 in number, this set will resemble Jews in their behavior as one shoe in a pair resembles the other. I shall not go into details of the behavior of 72 sects however, would just like to mention resemblance of these sects to the Jews of the time of Messiah (Jesus, AS) in their beliefs.

Jews of that time believed that a previous Israelite prophet Elijah (Ilyas, AS) had ascended to heaven in his chariot of fire and before the advent of the Messiah, he will descend from heavens in his chariot and prepare the grounds for the advent of Messiah and then the Messiah will appear. So when Jesus (AS) made a claim to Messiahship, they rejected him saying we did not see Elijah (Ilyas, AS) descending from heavens. When Jesus (AS), claimed that John the Baptist (Yahya, AS) is the Promised Elijah (Ilyas, AS), Jews insisted that he should have descended from heavens if he was Elijah (Ilyas, AS) and so they rejected both Jesus (AS) as well as John (Yahya, AS). These 72 sects of Islam, at the time of the Promised Messiah (AS) without any exception held the belief that Jesus (AS) ascended to heavens with his body and soul and it would be the same Jesus (AS) who will return as the Messiah for the Muslim Ummah. They insist on seeing him descend from heavens with his hand on the wings of two angles on the white Minaret.

Just like the Muslims of the present times, the Jews of the time of Jesus (AS) were waiting for two figures to appear, a priestly Messiah (equivalent of Islamic Mahdi) and a warrior Messiah, a king who would come and deliver Israelite from the bondage of slavery. Lawrence H. Schiffman in his article "Jewish Sectarianism in Second Temple Times" [12] says:

"They believed that the coming age would indeed begin with a great war and punishment, yet they saw the leadership of the people in the hands of two Messianic figures. A priestly Messiah would take precedence and re-establish Jerusalem sacrificial cult. Along with him a Dividic Messiah would rule over the re-established temporal kingdom."

Thus when Jesus (AS) preached peace and tolerance and non-violence, Jews mocked at him and rejected him. Today Muslim well aware of the mistakes Jews made, insist on the coming of a Mahdi (the guided one) for the religious reformation of the Ummah and a warrior Messiah. They await a Messiah whose sole job will be to lead Muslims in a holy war against all the other powers of the world and shed blood and kill Dajjal and that's how, most of the Muslims of the present time believe, Messiah will save them.
One Resembling Holy Prophet and His Companions
Now I would like to analyze the one Jama'at which was separated out by 72 collectively and is called Jama'ate Ahmadiyya to see if they had any resemblance with the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) and his companions (RA) as prophecized in the Hadith. I believe that the resemblance mentioned in the hadith should be reflected in all aspects of life of the followers of this one Jama'at. One could clearly see it in their Taqwa as well as in actual events surrounding their lives. As different personalities perceive characters differently and thus a solid proof of the resemblance of a character with another cannot be provided and can only be observed and judged by individuals, so I shall not discuss this. However, I would like to assure everyone, who associates with Ahmadi Muslims that if they observe keenly they will see reflections of Hadhrat Abu Bakr (RA) and Hadhrat Uthman Ghani (RA) among men and Hadhrat Khadija (RA) among women when it comes to financial sacrifices, they will see the character of Hadhrat Bilal (RA) when it comes to steadfastness and they will see reflections of Hadhrat Umar (RA) and Hadhrat Ali (RA) when it comes to bravery. As far Taqwa is concerned, I believe, Allah is the only Judge of Taqwa, so I shall leave that also and let the individuals decide for themselves what do they see in terms of Taqwa when they associate with Ahmadi Muslims.

There are some actual events which surrounded the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) and his companions and got recorded in the history as well as some in the Holy Qur'an, which I would like to discuss in this article and show to the readers how these events got repeated in the history of Ahmadiyyat with each and every resemblance with the event which occurred in the time of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him).

1. Stoning Because of Beliefs.

I am sure the readers would agree with me that persecution of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) and his companions (RA) was very severe. However, there is one event of the life of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) which did not escape any historian. Even the western, non-Muslim historians, like Sir William Muir [13] and W. Montgomery Watt [14], who did not believe the persecution to be that severe, have recorded this event and have testified to the authenticity of the event. This is the event when Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) went to Taif for preaching. Brutal treatment of our beloved master (peace be upon him) by people of Taif is described by many historians and biographers. I would like to quote Hadhrat Mirza Bashir-ud-din Mahmud Ahmad (RA) from his book "Life of Muhammad"[15].

"Reports of him had already reached Taif, and here he now was, without arms of following, a lone individual with only one companion, Zaid. The town folks thought him a nuisance which should be ended, if only to please their chiefs. They set vagabonds of the town and street boys at him who pelted him with stones and drove him out of town. Zaid was wounded and the prophet (peace be upon him) began to bleed profusely."

One thing is very clear in this event that our beloved master (peace be upon him) got pelted with stones just because of holding the beliefs which were against the popular beliefs of the people of that time. This kind of treatment has been received by several Ahmadi Muslims and the resemblance of Ahmadi Muslim to the holy prophet (peace be upon him) and his companion Hadhrat Zaid (RA) in regards to the event of stoning by opponents had been shown to every generation so far since the foundation of Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam. The very first time this resemblance was manifested for mankind was in the form of shahada by stoning of an Ahmadi Muslim in Afghanistan. The event is described in detail by Promised Messiah (AS) in his book "Tadhkiratush Shahaditain" [16]. Friedmann, an independent historian, has also recorded this event in the following words [17].

"Abdul Latif himself, who accepted Ghulam Ahmad's religious claims in 1900 after he read some of his books, came to Qadian in 1902 and stayed there for several months. Upon his return to Kabul in January 1903 he was arrested. A religious disputation was arranged between himself and several orthodox divines. Predictably enough, it was decided that the Ahmadi views were unacceptable, and that those who held them were unbelievers. When Abdul Latif repeatedly refused to renounce his faith, he was stoned to death in July 1903."

Then in India where the founder of this Jama'at resided resemblance to this event was manifested in 1905 when the Promised Messiah (AS) visited Amritsar and is recorded by Friedmann [18] as well as by Hadhrat Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmud Ahmad (RA) whom I shall quote from his book "Hadhrat Ahmad, The Promised Messiah" [19].

"The carriage was brought up to a side door of the apartment, and the Promised Messiah (AS) proceeded to occupy it. As he was going to seat himself, this became known to people, and such of them as were standing outside the lecture hall advanced towards him, and one of them struck at him with a thick heavy stuff. One of his disciples who was nearby at once placed himself between the Promised Messiah (AS) and the assailant to ward off the blow. Fortunately the carriage door was opened and the stuff stuck against it and the gentleman escaped with only a slight injury. As soon as the Promised Messiah had taken his seat the carriage started. The mob rained a shower of stones at it."

The next generation saw this event repeated in the time of Hadhrat Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmud Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih II (RA). After Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih II (RA) made a claim to be the promised son of the Promised Messiah (AS), he held several public lectures and gatherings in various cities of the Indian subcontinent in early 1940's and at several of these occasions public pelted Ahmadi Muslims with stones. The severest of them was in Delhi when a number of Ahmadi Muslims were injured due to stoning at the stage [20]. At one of these occasions, Sheikh Ijaz Ahmad Sahib (Nephew of Sir Muhammad Iqbal Sahib), also came to oppose the movement. However, when he saw opponents pelting Ahmadi Muslims with stones, he decided to confess his faith in Ahmadiyya Islam saying that this indeed is the way opponents treated our beloved Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) [21].

In our present time we again witnessed this resemblance with the holy prophet (peace be upon him) in the recent event of Shabqadar, Pakistan where three Ahmadis were pelted with stones just because of their beliefs. The event was reported by various human rights commissions and news agencies [22-24]. NETNEWS (News International) on April 10, 1995 reported [22].

"Supporter of 'infidel' stoned to death. From Abdullah Jan, PESHAWAR: An angry mob stoned a person to death and seriously injured another on Sunday for allegedly converting a Muslim to the Ahmedi faith, in Shabqadar, 45 kilometers from here. The third companion of the victims escaped."

Other than the above so far more than 100 Ahmadi Muslims have been murdered by opponents just because of their beliefs in the Messiah and Mahdi of the time.

2. Similarities in Other Forms of Persecutions.

Next I would like to discuss some of the collective persecution Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) and his companions received at the hands of opponents and show the same type of persecution extended towards Ahamdis by all the 72 sections of Islam.

One of the action which people of Mecca resorted to in order to put pressure on Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) and his companions to try and force them to denounce their faith and its preaching is recorded by Watt [25] as:

"With the formation of a grand alliance a boycott of clans of Hashim and al-Muttalib was instituted. None of the other clans was to have any business dealings with them, and there was to be no intermarriages."

Is this alliance and boycott any different than the one recorded by Munir Report [26] and Friedmann [27]. Friedmann states:

"All Pakistan Muslim Parties convention was held in Karachi in January 1953. The convention was attended by leading Muslim 'ulama'. Some of them represented organizations, such as the Jama'at-i Islami, the Jamiyyat al-ulama-i Islam and others. The convention resolved to resort to "direct action," demanded the resignation of the prime minister of Pakistan, and declared a total boycott of the Ahmadis."

A total social boycott of Ahmadi Muslims was also announced and implemented in 1974 throughout Pakistan [28]. The price Hadhrat Bilal (RA) paid for reciting the Kalimah is known to every Muslim. Sir William Muir records [29]:

"In the depth of his anguish, the persecutors could force from him but one expression, AHAD! AHAD! 'ONE, ONE (only God)!' On such an occasion Abu Bakr passed by, and secured liberty of conscience to the faithful slave by purchasing his freedom."

Following are a few of the independent opinions and accounts of the price Ahmadi Muslims are paying for reciting the Kalima.

"So far more than 100 people of this Jama'at have been killed in different parts of the world in the name of religion. Since 1984, during the Kalima wiping campaign this Jama'at has had the opportunity to offer sacrifices like the companions of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him). About 50 thousand Ahmadis live in Rabwah and a case has been registered against every one of them for the offense of reciting the Kalima." [30].

"Among different periods during the one and a half thousand years history of Islam, Muslims have been alleged to have forced non-believers into reciting the Kalima Tayyeba. However, no other example is found of an event where a person reciting Kalima was stopped by sword." [31].

"Once there was a time when Muslims spread all over the world to preach the Kalima Tayyiba and fasting and prayers and now is the time when a Qadiani cannot recite Kalima even if s/he wants to recite it with a true and pure heart. This is because they are stopped from doing so. Because for them doing so is an offense punishable by law." [32].

The Meccans did not like to call Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his companions Muslims but called them Sabians [33]. Today, it is illegal in Pakistan for an Ahmadi Muslim to claim to be a Muslim and Ahmadi Muslims are given the names like Mirzais, Qadianis etc. So far 729 cases had been registered against Ahmadi Muslims for calling Adhan, preaching and claiming to be Muslim [34].

It is well known that Meccans tried their best to stop Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) and his companions from preaching and practicing their religion. Every possible step was taken to stop them. They were prohibited from Praying and we find its mention even in the Qur'an which many commentators have said to be referring to the action of Abu Jihl.

"Hast thou seen him who forbids. A servant (of Ours) when he prays." [35].

Now a days it has been made illegal for Ahmadi Muslim to Pray as by doing that they would be 'pretending to be Muslim' which for an Ahmadi Muslim is a criminal offense and punishable by law in Pakistan. So far 19 cases had been registered against Ahmadi Muslims in Pakistan for Praying (saying Salat) [34].

3. A Glance at the Rainbow of Sacrifices

Between April 1984 and 31st October 1992 Jama'at-e-Ahmadiyya has had the honor of making the following sacrifices in the cause of Allah [34].

Number of Ahmadi Muslim Martyred because of their beliefs in Pakistan. 22
Number of Ahmadi Muslims who were attacked with the intention of killing 37
Incidents of digging the graves of dead Ahmadi Muslims 12
Incidences of causing hindrance in burials of Ahmadi Muslims in general graveyards 19
Ahmadi Muslims sentenced to death 7
Number of Ahmadi Muslims charged for putting a badge of Kalima 71
Charged for calling Adhan, Preaching and pretending to be Muslim 729
Charged for saying Assalam-o-alaikum (peace be upon you) 4
Charged for praying (saying Islamic Salat) 19
Charged for reciting the Holy Qur'an 10
Charged for publishing the verses of the Holy Qur'an on an invitation card 48
Charges against Ahmadi Muslim Magazines 103
Confiscated books, newspapers and magazines 462
Ahmadis convicted so far in above trials 112
Ahmadiyya Mosques which have been completely destroyed 11
Ahmadiyya Mosques which have been partially destroyed 7
Mosques which have been sealed 11
Ahmadiyya Mosques which have been seized 2
Mosques whose construction has been hindered 11
Mosques from where the Kalima has been wiped 66
Ahmadi Muslims fired from their jobs because of their beliefs 31
Total Ahmadiyya land seized by opponents from Rabwah 148,225 sq. yards.
4. Similar Allegations Against

Allegations raised against our beloved Master are recorded at many places in the Qur'an. I shall like to present and discuss only two of them. Holy Qur'an records [36]:

"And indeed we know that they say that it is only a man who teaches him. (But) the tongue of him towards whom (their minds) incline (in making this insinuation) is foreign while this is Arabic (tongue) plain and clear."

"And those who disbelieve say, 'It is naught but a lie which he has forged and other people have helped him with it.' Indeed they have perpetrated a (great) injustice and a (great) falsehood. And they say, '(These are) fables of the ancient; (and) he has got them written down, and they are read out to him morning and evening."

These verses are referring to the allegation of the disbelievers that the Christian and Jewish slaves who have been converted to Islam had secretly helped Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) in compiling the Qur'an and hence there is a foreign hand behind this conspiracy. Such allegations are raised even today by anti-Muslim forces against the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

Similar allegations have been raised against the Ahmadiyya Muslim community by the opponents. Firstly Ahmadi Muslims were alleged to have been helped by Hindus. Ehsan Elahi Zaheer, one of bitter enemies of the Ahmadiyya movement wrote [37]:

"Hindus supported the Ahmadi cause through pen, press and platform"

How much that help was could be understood by any person by the prophecies of Promised Messiah (AS) about Pundit Lekh Ram and the prayer duels as well as open debates held by Promised Messiah (AS) with Ariyya Smajists. Secondly an equally absurd and unsubstantiated charge against Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at is the theory of British sponsorship. Nearly every hostile witness alleges that the Ahmadiyya Jama'at owes its foundation, existence and success to the Imperial British Government [38]. While the message of the founder of this Jama'at to the British Queen is recorded in Ayenae Kamalat e Islam which ends in the following words [39]:

"O' Queen of the earth! accept Islam and thou wilt be safe. Be a Muslim. God will provide for thee till the last day and he will save thee and protect thee from thine enemy."

Thirdly Ahmadis are alleged to have been helped by Jews just as the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) was alleged [40]:

"Jews helped the Ahmadis academically and equipped them with arguments and self manufactured documents against the accepted principles of Islam"

Further allegation raised against Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) is recorded in the holy Qur'an as [41]:

"And those who disbelieve say, 'Why was not Qur'an revealed to him all at once? (We have revealed it) in this manner that We may strengthen thy heart therewith. And we have arranged it in the best form."

The above does not seem to be any different from the allegation raised against the Promised Messiah (AS) by the opponents by saying that why did Promised Messiah (AS) not advance all the claims at once? Why did he first claimed to be Mujaddid, then Muhadith then Mahdi and then Messiah. And a similar answer is given that it was necessary to strengthen the Promised Messiah's own heart about his mission and thus he laid claims to the status's whenever Allah informed him and commanded him to do that.

5. Hijra Because of Persecution.

It is well know in both Islamic as well as non-Islamic worlds that Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) and his companions had to migrate out of their homeland and seek asylum into various foreign lands because of intense persecution in Mecca (their homeland). First of this migration was to Abyssinia as recorded by Ibn-e-Hisham [42] and Sir William Muir [43]:

"To escape these indignities and danger of perversion, Muhammad (peace be upon him) now recommended such of his followers as were without protection to seek an asylum in a foreign land."

"This is termed the first Hijra or the flight to Abyssinia, as distinguished from the later more extensive emigration to the same quarter."

And then eventually the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) himself had to emigrate to Madina around April 622 [44]:

"Two or three weeks after the pledge of Akaba, that is, about the beginning of Muharram, the emigration commenced."

Many Ahmadi Muslims in our present time had to follow this sunnah of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) and his companions just because of the beliefs they held and because of the ever intensifying persecution in Pakistan. Following is what the human rights advocates had to say to the united nations [45].

"Ahmadi Muslims are being driven out of Pakistan. When seeking refuge in other countries, they have a prime facie showing of persecution based on religion. Asylum rights and the right of non-refoulement are involved. Any country that forcibly repatriates an Ahmadi Muslim to Pakistan while Ordinance XX is in effect is in violation of international law."

Those who persecute Ahmadi Musilms shamelessly admit that the aim of the persecution is to drive Ahmadi Muslims out of Pakistan or to exterminate them, as expressed by Dr. Karren Parker [46]:

"Leading pro-government Muslim clergy told the speaker that their aim is to drive the Ahmadis out of Pakistan, to arrest those who remain and to destroy or seize Ahmadi religious property."

And finally the migration of Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) himself was resembled by the migration of Hadhrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad Khalifatul Masih the 4th. The immigration of Hadhrat Ameerul Mo'maneen (may Allah be his helper) like Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) in the capacity of the leader of the faithful took place in 1984 after the announcement of the infamous ordinance XX in Pakistan. And just as at the time of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him), other than occasional individual migrations because of the persecution there were two major collective migrations before our beloved master (peace be upon him) migrated to Madina. Similarly, in the present time there were two mass migrations of Ahmadi Muslims out of Pakistan because of persecution before Hadhrat Ameerul Mo'maneen (may Allah be his helper) himself migrated. One of these mass migrations was in 1953 and the other one in 1974.

6. Independent Testimony of Resemblance

In the following I shall present some quotation from different sources where people have testified that Ahmadi Muslims resemble Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) and his companions in their character, their struggle, enthusiasm, love for their faith and in persecution they are subjected to.

"At the present time all the sects of Muslims are impressed one way or the other by English, Hindu or other nations. It is only Ahmadi Jama'at, which like the first Muslims are not influenced by any individual or a group and are carrying out purely Islamic works." [47].

"We still retain the truthfulness and Islamic Spirit in India because here the unveiled services of the spiritual leaders are constantly at work. And there have always been some scholars of such a stature who do not worship wealth. And if you ask the truth, in the present time, this work is carried out by the followers of Late Mirza Ghulam Ahmad on the same pattern as the first Muslims used to do it." [48].

"It is an accepted fact that the way Ahmadi Muslim are preaching their religion and practical vigorous efforts they have done in this endeavor has hardly been paralleled by any other Islamic Jama'at after the Arab Khulafa'a-i-Rashideen." [49].

Taj Muhammad Bhatti, Nazim-e-Aala (the highest regional office) Majlise Tahafze Khatme Nabuwwat (an organization established to and bent on persecuting Ahmadi Muslims) Quetta Pakistan gave the following testimony in a court trial [50]:

"It is true that at the time of Holy Prophet (peace be upon him), when people prayed (said Salat), called Adhan or recited Kalima, the disbelievers treated them in exactly the same way as we treat Ahmadis today."

7. Similarity in Rewards

Rewards for the sacrifices Muslims of the time of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) are countless and too many to be noted in this article, however major reward to which Allah has drawn the attention of all Muslims in Sura Nasr of the holy Qur'an in following words [51]:

"When the help of Allah comes and the Victory. And thou seest men entering the religion of Allah in troops."

And it is established fact of the history that after Hijra, Islam spread very fast and people entered the fold of Islam in big groups. Tribe after tribe joined the religion of Islam. Specially after the conquest of Mecca, numbers of people entering the fold of Islam was overwhelming. Indeed people entered the fold of Islam in troops at the time of Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) and his companions.

Following is a portion copied from a page on the world wide web site (see notes for explanation) of the anti-Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam. Just as at the time of Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) and his companion even the bitterest enemies of Islam bore witness to the success and the rewards Allah bestowed upon early Muslims, today even the bitterest enemies, such as the author of the above mentioned web site who have started an anti-Ahmadiyya Movement, bears witness to the Rewards bestowed by Allah on the Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam in the following words [52]:

"Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam is a Religio-Political Trading Corporation. It has branches in all countries and all major cities of the world under whose umbrella Qadianis/Ahmadis are systematically trapping Muslims, who are ignorant of their evil designs. Whether in America, Europe or Central Asia, or the underprivileged and displaced communities like Africans and Bosnian Refugees, all those who are not aware of the real motives of Ahmadiyya Movement get trapped by them in the name of Islam. 50,000 Muslims in Mali, 24,000 Muslims in Ivory Coast, 100,000 Bosnian Refugees in Europe and 45000 Albanians are just a few victims of Qadiani Onslaught."

Do we see the promise of Allah made in the words, "And thou seest men entering the religion of Allah in troops.", being fulfilled again in favor of Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam?

8. Closing Remarks

At the end I would like to leave the readers, who may see the resemblance of one Jama'at (out of 73 sects among Muslims) with the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) and his companions, with some Ahadith of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) to ponder at.

Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) is reported to have said:

"One who dies without accepting the Imam (Appointed by Allah) of the time, his death is a death in disbelief". [53]

Regarding Imam Mahdi, our beloved master said:

"When you see him (Imam Mahdi) then certainly perform bait to him even if you have to crawl over your knees through the mountains of snow because he (Imam Mahdi) will be the Khalifa of God." [54].

"One who obeyed Imam Mahdi obeyed me, one who disobeyed him disobeyed me" [55].

"One who rejected Imam Mahdi he did kufr" [56].