Invitation to Ahmadiyyat — Page 15
15 What distinguishes Ahmadis from other Muslims The reader might wonder that if we do indeed adhere to all the Islamic doctrines, then what is the difference between us and oth - ers, why do some clerics oppose us so vehemently and harbour such prejudice towards us, and why do they issue Fatwas declaring us to be heretics? I will here outline the objections levelled against us, on whose basis we are said to be outside the pale of Islam. The first objection of our opponents is that we believe Jesus of Nazareth to have died a natural death, and they allege that, in so doing, we insult the Messiah, deny the Holy Quran, and reject the verdict of the Holy Prophet s as. While it is true that we believe Jesus to have died, it is wrong to say that we denigrate him in any way, or deny the Holy Quran, or reject the verdict of the Holy Prophet s as. In fact, the more we reflect upon the matter, the more convinced we become that these accusations do not arise from our belief that the Messiah is dead; in fact, they would only arise if we believed that he was still alive. We are Muslims and, as Muslims, our first concern is to uphold the glory of God and the honour of His Prophet. We believe in all the Prophets but our love and our zeal are naturally aroused to a greater extent for that Prophet s as who bore tremendous hard - ship for our sake; who took upon himself a heavy burden in order to lighten our loads; who, when he saw us perishing, grieved for us to the extent of almost bringing death upon himself; who, to bring us peace, gave up his own comfort; and who, in order to