Basics of Religious Education — Page 21
21 21 21 21 21 B ASICS OF R ELIGIOUS E DUCATION - F IFTH E DITION The answer to these questions is that mere acceptance of the Promised Messiah as , by the Ahmadi Muslims, is by no means the principle factor, which distinguishes them from other Muslims. They are in fact distinguished because through Hadrat Ahmad as , they became spiritually purified and they undertook the grand mission of the revival of Islam, associated with the advent of the Promised Messiah, as foretold by the Holy Prophet of Islam sa. In view of the above, the fundamental points of distinction between Ahmadis and non-Ahmadis may be summarized as follows: ♦ Ahmadi Muslims are distinguished from the non-Ahmadis because they submitted themselves to the holy influence of Hadrat Ahmad, Promised Messiah as and witnessed the heavenly signs which God showed to re-establish faith. As a result of this, they are spiritually transformed and their faith in God, the Holy Prophet sa and the Holy Qur’an is strengthened. ♦ They are distinguished because they have responded to the call of Hadrat Ahmad as to serve Islam and are devoting all their energies to its propagation, in the same manner in which the companions of the Holy Prophet of Islam had devoted themselves to the service of Islam. ♦ They are distinguished because they accepted what Hadrat Ahmad as judged, in his capacity of the divine arbitrator and judge, of the errors that had found their way into the beliefs and practices of people with the passage of time. But the non-Ahmadis refused to abandon their wrong beliefs. This has created a divergence between beliefs and practices of Ahmadis and non-Ahmadis. An overview of the most important differences in the beliefs of Ahmadi and non-Ahmadi Muslims is given below: The non-Ahmadis believe that the Holy Prophet of Islam sa was the last prophet with whom God Almighty spoke and that since then this attribute of God has been in abeyance. The Ahmadis regard such a belief to be irreverent towards God and hold that no attribute of God can be suspended. They believe that just as God used to have communication with His holy servants in the past, so does He do even now and will continue to do so up to the end of time. Spiritual Transformation Devotion to the Cause of Islam Reformation of Wrong Beliefs 1. 6 1. 6 1. 6 1. 6 1. 6 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 Overview of Differences Continuity of Divine Attributes