The part of the allegations against the movement of the Ahmadiyya sect is that they are very conservative, conservative. It was said that they normally refuse to pray behind any other imam, as in a mosque. Why? I’ve seen this mosque. It’s just like any other mosque. It faces the east. I wonder, if you claim that you are propagating the true faith, first, I wonder how you expect people to understand the point of view when you kind of… Don’t say prayer behind the imams. Yes, I’m just trying to mix together.
Thank you so much for this very pertinent question. I understand you belong to Hausa. Yes, sir. Although you are a Christian, you belong to the Hausa, the great Hausa tribe. No, I don’t. No, I belong to the Edu tribe. Which tribe? Edu. I see. I thought you belonged to the Hausa tribe, but most people in Bendel belong to Hausa tribe, don’t they? No. No? We have, you see, it’s a mix of the country. We have up to about 30 to 40 tribes there. But of course we have the Hausa tribe, that’s towards the northern part. Towards the northern part. Yes. And most of them are Muslims. They are Muslims, yes. So they would also hear this answer, won’t they? This is what I meant. They will.
The fact is, although this fact is not known to the common public, but the fact is fact, that all other sects except Ahmadiyya has forbidden the members of their respective sects to pray behind other sects. Officially. And there is no exception. The Shias categorically prevent Shias from saying prayers behind other Imams, and they are so strict on this edict that they say if somebody does it, even his marriage will be cancelled out. You know, he would face consequences like having his marriage nullified and things. And the same is the attitude of all other sects towards all other sects.
And by name they declare, the people belonging to our sect cannot say his prayer behind that and that and that and that. Not only that, they say the others are not permitted to say their prayer behind us. They are not even permitted to enter our mosques and so on and so forth. This is the scholarly edict of every sect. But not even once did Hazrat Masih Maud, the founder of Ahmadiyya community, prohibited Ahmadis from saying their prayers behind non-Ahmadis. And when I say that, I see surprise written on the faces of Ahmadis sitting over here. They are surprised why I am saying it, but I know what I am saying.
Nowhere has Hazrat Masih Maud A.S. written that Ahmadis are not permitted to say prayers behind Sunnis, behind Shias, behind this and behind that. What he has said that, that Mukaffir mukazzib ke peeche namaz padne ki ijazat nahi. No sectarian difference, pardon? Mutarradde this way. No sect is mentioned. In reality, for a long time after he founded the Ahmadiyya community, the Ahmadis said their prayers behind the non-Ahmadis. And Hazrat Masih Maud A.S., the founder of the Ahmadiyya community, repeatedly admonished the scholars, the Muslim clergy of other sects, to stop declaring him to be a non-believer and infidel and an aposter and things.
And repeatedly warned them that according to the edict of Hazrat Muhammad Mustafa S.A.W., if a Muslim declares another Muslim to be an infidel and a non-believer, his edict would return upon him. And in the sight of Allah, he would become an infidel and a non-believer. When he did that for a long time and they did not pay heed but went on opposing him, in the most filthiest language, in the foulest language, and declaring on the beat of drum to the rest of the world that he was a pakka kafir, no greater infidel could be searched in the entire world than he.
No greater disbeliever could be found than Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian. Then he told his community that after having given this warning to all these sects and having in view the edict of Hazrat Muhammad Mustafa S.A.W., I am left with no choice. After that he said that Ahmadis now are not permitted to say their prayers, not behind Shias or others, against those who deny me, call me an aposter, who say that he has concocted things from himself and Allah has never spoken to him, and who show any sort of hesitation in publicly declaring this, that I am right.
On such, behind such people you cannot say prayers. This is the most logical attitude that could be adopted anyway. And this is exactly the edict of all other sects of Islam and I’ll explain how. According to their edict, Ahmadis should not say prayer behind their Imams. How? I’ll explain further. They believe that when Imam Mahdi comes, they think Imam Mahdi has not come. Imam Mahdi is the reformer promised by the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him, under the title the guided one. Imam Mahdi means the leader who is guided by God.
So all the non-Ahmadi sects positively declare, without any hesitation, that when Imam Mahdi comes, whoever disbelieves in him or rejects him, he would go outside the pale of Islam. Not to speak of saying prayer behind him, he will be rejected by God. So if Ahmadis are honest and sincere in believing in a person as Imam Mahdi, how should they behave according to their edict? If they begin to say their prayers behind their Imams, they would say, see, you do not truly believe in him. Because if an Imam Mahdi is true and sent by God and appointed by God, those who reject him, how people who believe in him can still believe in him to be the Imam appointed by God and say their prayers behind the Imams who reject his spiritual leadership? So this is their edict.
They say that whenever Imam Mahdi comes or would come, the followers of Imam Mahdi would have nothing to do with those Imams who have rejected him and they should be right in this decision. So we are those. We believe that the founder of the Ahmadiyya community was really Imam Mahdi. So we are left with no choice whatsoever. Number one, they themselves declare that sects other than their sects are hellish sects.
They have declared for hundreds of times that members outside their sects are not permitted to say their prayers behind them even to enter their mosques. So forget everything else. Even by this declaration, we are not permitted even to go to their mosques. How to say our prayers behind them? And when we do not do that, they say, look here, you are not Muslims. You are not saying prayers behind us. Then when Hazrat Masih Maud A.S. warned them, I am making a summary of what I have already said. Hazrat Masih Maud A.S. warned them, cease calling me a kafir. Or according to the addict of Huzoor A.S. it would return to you.
They did not cease. They became even more daring in dubbing him with all sorts of bad names. And then what he said was that officially it is not the sects which are to be rejected as such. This is the attitude of rejection of someone who is pious and righteous which compels me to stop you from saying your prayers behind those who reject me and dub me as an infidel and as a non-believer and as an imposter.
Now can you imagine that an Ahmadi says his prayer behind someone who has this religious doctrine, this religious faith that the founder of Ahmadiyya community is an imposter, he is an atheist and he is worse than all the non-believers. And yet our prayer will be held good in the sight of Allah if we say our prayer behind that Imam. It is illogical. But in their case it is not illogical to say prayers behind other sects because they don’t claim that they believe in Imam Mahdi.
So if they take that illogical attitude of not permitting their followers to follow other sects’ Imams there is no reason behind that. If we do that there is an obvious reason. But still they object to us and do not object to others. You think I have clarified the issue? I hope so, yes. You know I took longer time knowing the sort of public I am addressing. There would be many Nigerians who are not well educated yet who would sit before the TV and try to understand our attitude.
So for their sake I took longer than I should have. You are an intelligent person to whom I could convince in a few words. But that is my main object. This is why I took longer. Thank you.
