Basics of Religious Education — Page 20
20 20 20 20 20 B ASICS OF R ELIGIOUS E DUCATION - F IFTH E DITION For all Ahmadi Muslims, i. e. the followers of the Promised Messiah as , it is very important to understand his mission as foretold by the Holy Prophet of Islam sa. This mission may be summarized as follows: ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ He would restore faith back to the earth even if it had ascended to the Pleiades ( Muslim ), i. e. he would re-establish faith by means of heavenly signs. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ In his capacity as hakam and adal ( Bukhari ) i. e. , a divine arbitrator and judge, he would decide what was right and what was wrong in the beliefs and practices of people. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ He would demonstrate the truth of Islam to the nations of the world by means of his personal examples, convincing arguments and heavenly signs. Accordingly, the Promised Messiah as himself described his mission: I have been sent that I should prove that Islam alone is the living religion. And I have been blessed with spiritual powers that render helpless the followers of other faiths, and also those from among us who are spiritually blind. I can demonstrate to every opponent that the Qur’an is a miracle in its teachings, its enlightened knowledge, its deep and delicate insight, and in its perfect eloquence. It excels the miracles of Moses, and those of Jesus a hundred-fold. (Translated from Urdu, Anjaam-i-Atham, Roohaani Khazaa’in vol. 11, pp. 345-346) (Adapted from an article by Hadrat Maulvi Sher Ali ra , published in The Review of Religions of April 1991) There is no doubt that Hadrat Ahmad, the Promised Messiah as , followed and taught the same religion which the rest of the Muslims profess to follow. One may, then, ask the following questions: 1. What is the difference between his followers and other Muslims? 2. Is the difference confined only to the fact that Ahmadi Muslims accepted the Promised Messiah and Mahdi as , while others did not, or does it go beyond that ? The Grand Mission of the Promised Messiah as Fundamental Points of Distinction of Ahmadi Muslims I I I I I SLAM SLAM SLAM SLAM SLAM — A — A — A — A — A HMADIYY HMADIYY HMADIYY HMADIYY HMADIYYA A A A AT T T T T - T - T - T - T - T HE HE HE HE HE R R R R R EVIV EVIV EVIV EVIV EVIVAL AL AL AL AL O F O F O F O F O F I I I I I SLAM SLAM SLAM SLAM SLAM 1. 6 1. 6 1. 6 1. 6 1. 6 Ahmadiyy Ahmadiyy Ahmadiyy Ahmadiyy Ahmadiyya a a a at — t — t — t — t — the R the R the R the R the Re e e e evi vi vi vi viv v v v val of al of al of al of al of Islam Islam Islam Islam Islam