HAZRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD: SIGNS IN HIS FAVOUR


	Minaratul Masih, Qadian

Contents

The Quranic prophecy of a coming messenger
The Quran and ahadith on the age in which the reformer will appear
Ahadith prophecies of the location in which the messiah will appear
Bible’s prophecies of an Islamic messiah
Why do the prophecies mention ‘Jesus’ by name if they refer instead to Ahmad?
No other messiah has come to fulfil the prophecies
Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad died a natural death
Prophecy of the failure of the opponents of Ahmadiyya
Prophecy of large numbers joining Ahmadiyya
Prophecy of MTA
Prophecy of kings accepting Ahmadiyya
Prophecy on Afghanistan
Prophecy on Iran
Prophecy on John Alexander Dowie
Prophecy on Lekh Ram
Prophecy on the plague
Prophecy of World War One
Prophecy obout England

1- The Quranic prophecy of a coming messenger

He it is Who has raised among the unlettered people a Messenger from among themselves who recites unto them His Signs, and purifies them, and teaches them the Book and Wisdom though before that they were in manifest error and He will raise him among others of them who have not yet joined them. (Quran 62:3-4)

The first part of the verse above refers to the advent of Muhammadsa among the unlettered, or illiterate, Arabs of his era. The second part states That Allah will raise another messenger among another people. Muhammadsa explained:

Abu Huraira relates: "While we were sitting with the Holy Prophetsa surat al-Jumua was revealed to him. When the Prophet recited the verse: 'and he will raise him among others of them who have not yet joined them,' I said: 'Who are they, O Allah's Apostle?' The Prophet did not reply till I repeated my question thrice. At that time Salman the Persian was with us. Allah's Apostle put his hand on Salman, saying: 'If faith were at the Pleiades, even then some men from these people would attain it'." (Bukhari)

Muhammadsa stated if faith ascended to the Pleiades - a constellation of stars - even then a Persian would bring it back and fulfil the prophecy of the above verses. Ahmad descended from a tribe who had migrated to India from the Persian empire. Muhammadsa also said:

A man whose name is like my name from the family of my House will govern. (Tirmidhi)

I have several names: I am Muhammad and I am Ahmad. (Bukhari)

Salman belongs to us, the people of the house. (Ibn Ishaq & Bihar al Anwar)

Muhammadsa prophecised a coming governor would be from his house and would have his name. Ahmad was one of Muhammad’ssa names and Salman the Persian was, according to his own statement, an honourary member of his house. Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was called Ahmad and was from the same people as Salman the Persian, so also arguably an honourary member of the house of Muhammadsa. The only question remaining is when was the faith to ascend? The Quran says:

The revelation of the Book - there is no doubt about it - is from the Lord of the worlds. Do they say: "He has forged it?" Nay, it is the truth from thy Lord, that thou mayest warn a people to whom no Warner has come before thee, that they may be guided. Allah is He Who created the heavens and the earth, and that which is between them, in six periods, then He settled Himself on the Throne. You have no helper or intercessor beside Him. Will you not then reflect? He will plan His ordinance from the heaven unto the earth, then will it go up to Him in a day the duration of which is a thousand years according as you reckon. (Quran 32:3-6)

The Quran says its true teachings will ascend to the heavens for 1,000 years. Ahmadis believe Muhammadsa told us when they would ascend:

The best century is the one in which I live, then the next century, then the century after that. Then there will spread falsehood at the hands of people who will take pride in their wealth and riches and will grow fat on the earnings of others. (Tirmidhi)

Muhammadsa said the best period for Islam would be the 300 years after his birth, following which falsehood would spread. Adding 1,000 years to this, we arrive at 1,300 years after Muhammadsa or the year 1870, ten years before Ahmad published his first book.

2- The Quran and ahadith on the age in which the reformer will appear

Some Muslims may argue against the aforementioned argument from the Quran by saying faith never ascended to the Pleiades. However, the Quran also says:

Fight them, that Allah may punish them at your hands and humiliate them and help you to victory over them and relieve the minds of a people who believe. (Quran 9:14-15)

The Quran promises that when Muslims fight non-Muslims Allah will help them to 'victory'. Between the advent of Muhammadsa in 610 until defeat of the Muslims at the battle of Vienna in 1683, Muslims generally won the battles and wars they fought and ruled much of the known world. So consistent have the defeats been since that all of the Muslim empires have been destroyed and conquered and non-Muslim forces constantly defeat the Muslims. Muhammadsa perhaps described the conditions in which the promise of the verse above may be abandoned:

If fornication and adultery should become widespread, then you should know that this has never happened without new diseases befalling the people which their forefathers never suffered. If people should break their covenant with Allah and His Messenger, you should realise that this has never happened without Allah sending an enemy against them to take some of their possessions by force. If the leaders do not rule according to the book of Allah, you should realise that this has never happened without Allah making them into groups and making them fight one another. (Ibn Maja)

With the advent of pornography and the sexual revolution of the 1960s etc perhaps no age has seen fornication and adultery as ours has. Meanwhile, as prophecised, new diseases such as AIDS have appeared since the 1980s. For centuries, Muslim countries are being conquered and having their possessions taken by force, most recently in Iraq and Libya. Muslims have also divided into groups and fight one another constantly to this day in civil wars such as those of Syria, Somalia and Sudan while in Pakistan Sunni militants are busy killing Shias. Meanwhile, when the USA recently conquered Iraq it did so with the military aid of several Muslim countries including Saudi Arabia and Pakistan and the same applies to their recent conquests of Libya and Afgahnistan. According to the statement of Muhammadsa, the Muslims have broken their 'covenant with Allah and His Messenger' and 'do not rule according to the book of Allah'. Ahmadi Muslims believe this constitutes faith ascending to the Pleiades. In these circumstances, Muhammadsa informed the Muslims of the solution:

Huzaifa narrates that he once asked: "O Messenger of Allah, we were living in ignorance and evil, then Allah brought this good to us. So will there be any evil after this good?" He replied: "Yes." I then asked: "Will there be any good after this evil?" He replied: "Yes, but it will be tainted." So I asked: "What will be its taint?" He replied: "A people who guide others to other than my way, you will approve of some of their actions and disapprove of others." I further enquired: "Then is there any evil after this good?" He said: "Yes! Callers at the gates of Hell - whoever responds to their call, they will be thrown into the fire." I then said: " O Messenger of Allah! Describe them to us." He said: "They will be from our people and speak our language." I asked: "So what do you order me to do if that reaches me?" He said: "Stick to the JAMAAH of the Muslims and their Imam." (Bukhari)

"My umma will face the same conditions as the children of Israel have faced. The similarity will be so complete that it is like one shoe of a pair resembling the other. If someone among the children of Israel had committed adultery with his mother, there will also be a wretched one in my umma to do the same. The children of Israel were divided into 72 sects, but my umma will be divided into 73. All will be hell-bound except one." The Companions asked which sect this would be. Muhammadsa answered: "The sect that will follow me and my Companions." (Tirmidhi)

Muhammadsa described the conditions of the Muslims when their faith will ascend to the Pleiades and these conditions clearly apply to today. He also described the solution: "Stick to the JAMAAH of the Muslims and their Imam", who will be the only correct sect of Islam. Ahmadi Muslims believe the JAMAAH refers to Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya (Ahmadiyya Community) and the Imam refers to the Imam Mahdi. Evidence for this emerged in 1974. At the time, the Ahmadiyya Community global headquarters were in Rabwah, Pakistan. The jealousy of the opponents became so great that year that they began to indiscriminately kill peaceful and law-abiding Ahmadi Muslims in unprovoked attacks while declaring them non-Muslim and demanding the government do the same. When Pakistan's prime minister, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, made the declaration, one non-Ahmadi Pakistani newspaper celebrated as follows:

One special importance of this decision has been that on it the consensus of ummah has been in a substantially correct manner. Throughout the history of Islam, such an overwhelming, complete consensus has never been reached on any important topic. Other than the great religious scholars, holders of shariah, all the political leaders 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. (Nawa-e-Waqt, October 1974)

It was the greatest opponents of Ahmadiyya at the time who declared Ahmadiyya to be the 73rd sect. This sign was further corroborated by the divine punishment the leader of Ahmadiyya then faced.

With regard to the death of a certain person, God the Almighty revealed to me through the value of the letters of the alphabet, namely: ‘He is a dog and he will die according to the value of the letters in the word kalb [dog], which amounts to fifty-two.’ This means that his age will not exceed fifty-two years and that he will die within the course of his fifty second year. (Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, Izala-e-Auham)

Ahmad prophecised a great enemy of Ahmadiyya would appear and would die at the age of 51. Bhutto, was the prime minister who declared Ahamdis infidels according. At the time, no Pakistani leader in history had died an unnatural death. Yet Bhutto was arrested in a military coup, imprisoned and finally executed after several years at the age of 51. Further, three of his four children have been assassinated in the years since. Ahmadi Muslims take no pleasure in the deaths of anyone and could never support or endorse the murder of anyone, but in the fulfillment of these prophecies there are clear signs.

The greatest non-Ahmadi Muslim scholars of today also inadvertently admit this is the era prophecised by Muhammadsa in the aforementioned ahadith:

The Muslims have all left this world, but I wonder were there ever any Muslims in this world at all? In their style they have become Christians, in their culture Hindus. Even the Jews would be ashamed to be compared to these Muslims. (Sir Muhammad Alalma Iqbal, considered one of the greatest South Asian non-Ahmadi Muslim scholars in the modern era, Jawab-e-Shikwa, 1913)

The Muslims are asleep and because we have gone to sleep [evil doers] have taken over and that's why we find ourselves in the horrific condition we find ourselves in and until the Muslims wake up its going to be one nightmare to another. When we wake up then we can enter the light of day. Islam is a religion which is supposed to wake people up. (Sheikh Hamza Yusuf, considered the most influential non-Ahmadi Muslim scholar currently living in the west, 1995)

There's a serious crisis in the 1.3 billion umma straddling 55 nations, with one nuclear. Never before have Muslims been as helpless as today. There is not a single Muslim in the US Congress, nor is there a Muslim media mogul here who can plug for us, nor are there any Islamic scholars in the campuses to silence such tacky sanctimonious chatter. (Akber S. Ahmed, Chair of Islamic Studies, American University of Washington, 2002)

So the anti-Ahmadiyya movement itself confirmed that they are the 72 sects and Ahmadis are the one true sect prophecised by Muhammadsa, who also confirmed the mahdi will arrive in the latter days:

At the end of the time of my ummah the Mahdi will appear. (al Hakim)

So when were the end times/latter days? The Quran answers:

We said to the children of Israel: "Dwell ye in the land and when the promise of the latter days comes, We shall bring you together out of various peoples."(Quran 17:104-105)

The Israelis had been scattered around the world before movements such as Zionism began to regather the Israelis in Israel in the late 1800s - during the lifetime of Ahmad - culminating in the reestablishment of Israel in 1940s, confirming again the latter days have arrived.

3- Ahadith prophecies of the location in which the messiah will appear

Jesus son of Mary will descend near a white minaret to the east of Damascus. (Muslim)

Qadian, the village where Ahmad was born, is almost directly east of Damascus. A tall white minaret is in the middle of its mosque.

Damascus is found in Syria, near point A, while Qadian is found at point B, almost exactly in a straight line to the East

4- Bible’s prophecies of an Islamic messiah

The Book of Revelation is the last book of the Bible and contains the revelations received by the companions of Jesus:

I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees and the two lamp stands standing before the God of the earth and if anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies and if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this manner. These have power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy and they have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they desire. When they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. Then those from the peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations will see their dead bodies three-and-a-half days, and not allow their dead bodies to be put into graves and those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, make merry, and send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth. (Bible Revelation 11:3-10)

The prophecy states that two witnesses, will be sent. They will be prophets and their era will last for 1,260 days. They are also both olive trees and lamp stands and they will destroy their enemies with fire. When they arrive, the Earth will be struck with plague. They will fight the Beast - the Biblical term for a figure called the Dajjal in Islam - and they will be sent to all people, or in other words all of mankind. The Quran and ahadith confirm the truth of this prophecy:

O Prophet! truly We have sent thee as a Witness and a Bearer of glad tidings, and a Warner and as a Summoner unto Allah by His command, and as a light-giving lamp. (Quran 33:45-47)

Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth. His light is as if there were a lustrous niche, wherein is a lamp. The lamp is inside a glass-globe. The globe is, as it were, a glittering star. The lamp is lit from the oil of a blessed tree - an olive - neither of the East nor of the West, whose oil well-nigh would shine forth even though fire touched it not. Light upon light! Allah guides to His light whomsoever He pleases and Allah sets forth parables for men, and Allah knows all things full well. (Quran, 24:35-36)

The Dajjal would appear in my umma and he would stay (in the world) for forty - I cannot say whether he meant forty days, forty months or forty years - and Allah would then send Jesus son of Mary who would resemble Urwa bin Masud. He would chase him and kill him. (Muslim)

The Quran confirms the Biblical prophecies, recorded centuries before the revelation of the Quran, are true by stating the Muhammadsa is the first of the two prophecised prophets, a witness, a lamp from an olive tree and that he was sent to neither the east nor the west, but the whole of mankind. As for the identity of the second prophet foretold, the Bible said their period would be '1,260 days'. Biblical scholars agree that prophecies of days in the Bible often mean a year, according to the Bible itself:

I have appointed thee each day for a year. (Bible Ezekiel 4:6)

For each day you shall bear your guilt one year (Bible Numbers 14:34)

If we add 1,260 years to the end of Muhammad’ssa life we arrive in the early 1880s, or exactly when Ahmad was publishing his first book Baraheen-e-Ahmadiyya, filled with revelations and prophecies. Another prophecy made regarding the advent of the second messiah was made by Jesus as follows:

The disciples came to him privately saying, "Tell us, when will these things be and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?" and Jesus answered and said to them: "Take heed that no one deceives you, for many will come in my name saying: 'I am the Christ' and will deceive many and you will hear of wars and rumours of wars. See that you are not troubled for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom and there will be famines, pestilences and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake and then many will be offended, will betray one another and will hate one another...and because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold, but he who endures to the end shall be saved and this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations and then the end will come...unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved, but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened... For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the son of man be...For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together...Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from heaven and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the son of man will appear in heaven and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn and they will see the son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory and He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other..but of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but my father only but as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the son of man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the son of man be. (Bible Matthew 24)

The true divine source of the above prophecy has been confirmed by the Quran which repeats part of it as follows:

That which you are promised must come to pass. So when the stars are made to lose their light and when the heaven is rent asunder and when the mountains are blown away like dust and when the Messengers are made to appear at the appointed time. (Quran 77:7-12)

The Quran confirms the promises Jesus made in the Bible will be kept and then repeats the part of his prophecy about stars losing their light, the heavens being shaken, followed by the arrival of Allah's messengers - exactly the same order of events Jesus describes above.

Jesus' prophecy begins by warning against false prophets. Many false prophets followed Muhammadsa, but there were especially large numbers during the life of Ahmad including Joseph Smith, Bahaullah, Bab, Muhammad Ahmad, John Alexander Dowie, John Hugh Smyth Piggot. Jesus then warns of terrible wars, which perhaps refers to modern weapons. He warns people will be 'persecuted and put to death...by all nations'. This was fulfilled in 1974 when the World Muslim League, with representatives from every Muslim nation, declared Ahmadis to be non-Muslims. Further, in the 1980s Pakistan introduced legislation which included the death penalty for Ahmadis practicing their religion. Ahmadis have also been killed for their faith in many nations including Pakistan, Afghanistan, Syria and Indonesia.

Jesus goes on that his 'gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world'. In 1804, the British Foreign Bible Society was established and twelve years later its sister organisation, The American Bible Society came into being. By 1816, according to the records of these societies, 421 million copies were distributed amongst all nations, to countries in which the Bible had never been preached before. All continents were covered, even the interior of Africa.In 1842, Mr. Spicer stated in his book Our Day in the Light of Prophecy that the Gospel in his day had been spread to 95% of the inhabitants of the earth. These efforts occurred in the life of Ahmad.

Jesus goes on that the coming messiah would 'strike' in the east, but be seen in the west. Jesus was speaking in Jerusalem and Ahmad lived in Qadian, almost directly to Jerusalem's east. Normally it would have been impossible for Ahmad in the west. However, during his lifetime modern photography was developed allowing his photo to be published in an American (west of Jerusalem) newspaper during his life in 1907.

Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad in the Boston Herald, 1907

Jesus also foretold solar and lunar eclipses, which occurred during a single month of Ramadan in India during Ahmad's lifetime, and then mentions the fading of the stars. The meaning of fading stars is alluded to in the Quran and hadith:

By the star when it falls. You companion has neither erred, nor has he gone astray. (Quran 52:1-3)

Muhammadsa said: "The stars are a source of security for the sky and when the stars disappear there comes to the sky darkness. I am a source of safety and security to my companions and when I will go away there would fall to their lot to be a source of security for the Umma and as my companions will go away it will fall to the lot of my Umma. (Muslim)

The fading of the stars meant the Muslims would have erred and gone astray. The prophecy finishes by comparing the coming messiah to Noah. Ahmad received a revelation describing him as 'Noah' and also wrote a book called 'Noah's Ark'. These Biblical prophecies are again corroborated by Quran:

When the sun is folded up and when the stars are obscured and when the mountains are made to move and when the she-camels, ten-month pregnant are abandoned and when the wild beasts are gathered together and when the seas are drained away and when various people are brought together and when the female-infant buried alive is questioned about for what crime was she killed and when books are spread abroad and when the heaven is laid bare. (Quran 81:1-13)

The Quran repeats the Biblical prophecies regarding a solar eclipse and the darkening of the stars. It then foretells this era will occur when the mountains are made to move. Dynamite was invented in 1860, during the lifetime of Ahmad, and has allowed tunnels to be built through them. She camels being abandoned refers to the invention of cars and railways which also occurred in the 1800s, during the lifetime of Ahmad and meant for the first time since the era of Muhammadsa camels were outdated as a mode of transport. Animals being brought together refers to the modern concept of zoos, which can be traced back to the first zoo in Vienna in 1752. The draining of the seas refers to the building of canals, draining seas into one another. This occurred for the first time in 1869 with the Suez Canal, within the lifetime of Ahmad. Books being spread abroad seems again to reiterate the Bible's prophecy of the 'gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world'. Only the invention of the printing press in the 1500s and the development of Christian empires in the 1800s allowed books containing the gospels to be spread around the world. The heavens being laid bare refers to the development of telescopes (1600s) allowing us to view the secrets of the skies.

5- Why do the prophecies mention ‘Jesus’ by name if they refer instead to Ahmad?

One objection raised by the opponents of Ahmadiyya is that the prophecies regarding the arrival of Ahmad do not name him but name Jesus son of Mary. The reason for this is obvious. Had they named the coming prophet as 'Mirza Ghulam Ahmad', every Muslim mother would have named her son 'Mirza Ghulam Ahmad' in the hope he may become a prophet. This would make the name pointless as it could refer to any Muslim boy with the name. Moreover, it would have led to confusion as false prophets with that name would have claimed messiahship. Further, when Ahmad made his claim opponents would still have rejected by saying his parents had only given him this name so that he could falsely make this claim. Instead, Muhammadsa wisely gave us an indication of something much more useful in recognising the coming messiah; by calling him 'Jesus' Muhammadsa highlighted the astonishing similarity between the lives of Jesus and Ahmad. To understand this we must first refer to the Quran:

We have sent you a messenger who is a witness over you, even as we sent a messenger to Pharaoh. (Quran 73:15/16)

I will raise up for them a prophet like [Moses] among their brothers (Deuteronomy 18:18)

The Quran and Bible both confirm Moses and Muhammadsa would have similarities and one such similarity was that both of them would be followed by a messiah. History confirms Moses migrated out of Egypt 1,204 years before the birth of Jesus. Muhammadsa migrated from Mecca to Medina in 623 AD. 1,204 years after this would be 1827 or eight years before Ahmad was born in 1835. Both the Bible and Quran confirm Jesus followed the law revealed to Moses in the Torah:

Surely, We sent down the Torah wherein was guidance and light. By it did the Prophets, who were obedient to Us, judge for the Jews. (Quran 5:44-45)

Jesus said: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them" (Bible Matthew 5:17)

In the same way, Ahmad brought no new law but followed the law revealed to Muhammadsa in the Quran. Jesus was born in the rarest of births to a virgin mother. Ahmad was born a non-identical twin, a rare occurrence that happens in less than 1% of pregnancies. Jesus was born at a time when his Jewish nation had been completely conquered by the largest empire the world had yet seen, the Roman Empire. Meanwhile, Ahmad also came to India, which had previously belonged to the Muslims, but had been conquered by the largest empire the world has ever seen: the British Empire. More similarities between the two messiahs can be seen in the following analysis:

Jesus came to a people, the children of Israel, who had completely forgotten and abandoned God's true message. There was a group of them called the Pharisees and the Sadducees, which Jesus said were a 'murderous and adulterous generation'. They had become so entrapped in the law that they completely forgot about the spirit of the law and about having a connection with the creator and they actually turned religion into a way to get rich. They were using religion in a way to subjugate human beings. They were making themselves prestigious and using the law to subjugate everyone else and Jesus came to put that down, to knock them off of their pedestal and to put people back on a level footing with God and he himself even told them this, he brought this to them many times...This was the problem of the Jews, that Jesus was not the messiah they were hoping for. The Messiah they were looking for was going to come and sit on the throne and rule the world with an iron fist in the law of Judah. This was what they were looking for in a Messiah. But this was not Jesus. Jesus was trying to explain to them that he had not come to bring them the kingdom of the world, he had come to bring them the kingdom of hereafter, to take them to paradise. That was not the worst crime that Jesus committed. The worst crime that Jesus committed was that he challenged the status of those in authority. (Mr Yusha Evans, non-Ahmadi Muslim scholar of comparative religions who converted to Islam from Christianity after studying the Bible)

As Yusha Evans described the Jews of Jesus' time, religion is today being used by Muslims to get rich and subjugate human beings, for instance many current political rulers in the Muslim world who use religion to justify their positions while corruptly using public money for personal gain. One example of this is the royal family of Saudi Arabia who have given themselves the title of ‘Custodians of the Holy Places’ (Kaba in Mecca, Medina) while using public funds to build their lavish palaces. Then, just as the Jews rejected Jesus for not being a warrior messiah, some Muslims have rejected Ahmad for not being a political warrior.

The Jews of the time were awaiting two figures. The prophet Elijah who would usher in the time of the messiah and they recognised neither. Today Muslims await the mahdi to usher in the messiah and have recognised neither. The Jews at the time of Jesus had divided into sects. There was one extremist sect called the Zealots who wanted to fight a bloody war against the Romans. Today the Muslims are in sects including terrorist organisations. Jesus taught peace and to obey the law of the non-Jewish rulers:

[Jesus said:] "If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the left cheek also." (Bible Matthew 5.39).

[Jesus said:] "Render unto Ceaser what is Ceaser's" (Bible Mark 12.17)

Ahmad's teachings on loyalty to one's country and peacefulness were stunningly similar. Then, the Jewish clerics of Jesus' time opposed him and brought legal cases against him, while the Muslim clerics brought legal cases against Ahmad during their fierce opposition. Jesus' Jews were punished with diseases such as leprosy while the Indians of Ahmad's era suffered a plague which killed 12 million people. Jesus would heal his followers while Ahmad prophecised not a single Ahmadi would die of this plague - and none did. The Bible records Jesus was followed as head of the Christian church by his brother James. Ahmad was also followed by a direct relative, his son Khalifatul Masih II. Ahmadi Muslims believe Jesus died in Kashmir, a province of India, to which he had travelled from his home in Israel. Ahmad passed away in Lahore, then in India, to which he had travelled from his home in Qadian. Jesus, whose image was discovered with the aid of new technology on his burial cloth in 1898, in the same years Ahmad was having his photo taken. They are the only prophets whose photos have been taken.

Negative photograph thought to be of Jesus on his burial shroud, the Shroud of Turin

Another similarity between the two men were the punishments received by those who rejected them. Jesus lived under Roman rule and was allowed to be crucified by their government. In 79 years after Jesus' the Roman city of Pompei was destroyed following a volcanic eruption which killed 20,000 people. Meanwhile, Ahmad lived in India and in 1904 published a revelation in the magazine Badr stating 'shock of the earthquake'. The following year, 70 years after he had been born, in Kangra there was a volcano on which the Hindus had carved an idol goddess; this volcano was thought dead but an earthquake brought it suddenly into life and it erupted killing 20,000 people nearby.

6- No other messiah has come to fulfil the prophecies

If I am in error in claiming to be the Promised Messiah, then why don't you try to make the Promised Messiah you have in mind descend from heaven in these very days, for I am here and he for whom you are waiting is nowhere to be seen. My claim can only be effectively refuted if he descends from heaven and I am proved to be false. If you are indeed truthful, you should supplicate all together that the Messiah son of Mary should soon be seen descending from heaven. If you are indeed in the right, your prayer will be heard, for the prayers of the righteous are accepted in contrast to the prayers of the false, but you may be certain that this prayer of yours will not be accepted as you are in error. The Messiah has come but you have failed to recognise him. Your vain hope will never be fulfilled. This age will pass and no one from among you will see the Messiah descending from heaven. (Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, Izala-e-Auham)

7- Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad died a natural death

If he had forged and attributed any sayings to Us We would, surely, have seized him by the right hand and then, surely, We would have cut his life-vein and not one of you could have held Our punishment off from him. (Quran 69:44-48)

The prophet who presumes to speak in my name a word that I have not commanded him to speak or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet must die (Bible Deutoronomy 18:15-17)

The Quran and Bible both clearly state false prophets will be punished in this life and die a miserable death. This prophecy has been fulfilled regularly.

- Musaylimah claimed to be a prophet in Muhammad'ssa lifetime but was killed in a battle.

- Bab claimed mahdiship and was executed.

-Tanchelm was a Christian who in the 1100s claimed prophethood but was murdered by a priest.

-John Alexander Dowie claimed prophethood but died after becoming paralysed.

-Joseph Smith claimed prophethood and founded the Mormon sect before being killed while in prison.

-Arnold Potter claimed messiahship in the 1870s and developed a large band of followers, before jumping from a cliff and killing himself.

-Hong Xiuquan was a Chinese man who in the 1800s claimed to be a messiah and developed a large following, before committing suicide.

-Also in the 1800s, William W. Davies developed a large number of followers in America after claiming his two young sons were respectively Jesus and God. Shortly after his children died of illness and his followers left him.

-Again in the 1800s, Jacobina Mentz Maurer was hailed by her large number of Brazilian followers to be the reincarnation of Jesus before she was killed in a gun battle.

-In the 1800s Cyrus Teed claimed to be a messiah in America, before being killed by pistol whipping. His tomb was later destroyed by a hurricane.

-David Koresh was an American who in the 1990s claimed prophethood and founded a large sect, before being killed in a fire.

On the other hand, Ahmad lived for two decades after making his claim, living into his 70s and leading a relatively healthy and peaceful life before dying a natural death. Each of his successors have also lived into their 70s, had healthy and peaceful lives before dying natural deaths.

8- Prophecy of the failure of the opponents of Ahmadiyya

The opponents will try to put out the light of Allah. Say: Allah Himself is the Guardian of that light. Allah’s favour guards you. We have sent it down and We are the Guardian. Allah is the Best of guardians and He is the Most Merciful. They will try to frighten you of diverse things; they are the leaders of disbelief. Fear not, you will be on top. That is, you shall prevail in terms of clear proofs, arguments, acceptance and blessings. Allah will help you in many fields, that is, you will be on top in debates and religious discussions. My day will distinguish clearly between truth and falsehood. Allah has decreed: I and My messengers shall certainly prevail. And they will say: ‘This is a falsehood that he has invented. We have not heard of it from our forefathers, that is, from the past elders in faith.' (revelation received by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, Baraheen-e-Ahmadiyya)

They will ask: ‘Whence have you obtained this? This is all imposture.’ When Allah the Almighty helps a believer He makes many in the earth jealous of him. The Fire is the ultimate resort for those who persist in jealousy and do not reform themselves. Tell them: ‘All these works belong to God;’ and then leave them being beguiled by their sport. Deal kindly with people and be compassionate towards them. You are to them like Moses and be steadfast with regard to whatever they might say. (revelation received by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, Baraheen-e-Ahmadiyya)

A Warner came unto the world, but the world accepted him not; yet God shall manifest His favour and demonstrate his truth with powerful assaults. There is a trial here, then be steadfast as were the prophets of high resolve. (revelation received by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, Baraheen-e-Ahmadiyya)

The prophecies of opposition to Ahmadiyya were incredible because they were revealed before Ahmad had made any claim and while he was still greatly popular among the umma. Not only did they prophecise opposition, but also the failure of the opposition. Both of these prophecies were fulfilled. Opposition began in his lifetime and today is fuelled by almost all the Muslim governments who unite in condemning Ahmadiyya and many legislate against Ahmadis and threaten then with the death penalty, while terrorists in Pakistan kill Ahmadis regularly. However they have been unable to stop the spread of Ahmadiyya.

9- Prophecy of large numbers joining Ahmadiyya

Remember that a time is coming that people will come to you in large numbers. There will be people who will migrate from their homes to dwell in your quarters. They will be very strong of faith. You will see their eyes shedding tears. Write down all these prophecies for they will be fulfilled at their due time. (revelation received by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, Baraheen-e-Ahmadiyya)

I love you. I shall give you a large party of Islam. (revelation received by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, Baraheen-e-Ahmadiyya)

When Ahmad received the above prophecies, he did not have a single follower and lived in a backward third-world village with a population of a few hundred people. He was not rich or powerful and telephones were not available, television, radio, the internet, aeroplanes etc were not yet invented and people travelled and communicated by letter and horse. Few had heard Ahmad's name and he had no worldly qualifications. Yet just over a century on, his community is established in almost every country of the world, numbers millions and is one of the fastest growing sects of any religion.

10- Prophecy of MTA

I will convey thy message to reach the ends of the Earth. (revelation received by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, Baraheen-e-Ahmadiyya)

Since 1994, Muslim Television Ahmadiyya has been beaming the message of Ahmadiyya to every part of the world via satellite.

11- Prophecy of kings accepting Ahmadiyya

Thy God is well pleased with what thou hast done. He will bless thee greatly, so much so that Kings will seek blessings from that garments. (revelation received by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, Baraheen-e-Ahmadiyya)

During the 1990s, several African tribal kings accepted Ahmadiyya and were subsequently presented with Ahmad's garments.

12- Prophecy on Afghanistan

In the early 1900s Abdul Lateef, then the leading Muslim cleric of Afghanistan, travelled to India to meet Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad and accepted Ahmadiyya before returning home. A Christian Englishman who worked in the Afghanistan at the time wrote a memoir, describing the events that followed:

One of the chief and most influential of the mullahs in the country started on the Hajj in the beginning of that year and while going through India he heard of a holy man who preached the second coming of Christ. The mullah went to see this man, of whom many wonderful things were told by the natives. The words of the self-styled prophet were so convincing that the mullah was converted and came to believe in the man.

One day, it being known the mullah was going on the Hajj, 'the prophet' took the mullah into an inner room and there, the mullah afterwards stated the two visited Mecca and he saw himself one of the multitude of pilgrims at the holy shrine. Whether mesmeric or other influence would account for this hallucination of the mullah is a matter for conjecture, but even death could not shake the mullah's belief that he had been to Mecca and that his guide was a true prophet.

So the king, when he heard of all this, sent word to the mullah to return and the mullah did so, preaching the new religion as he came, and as soon as he was well within the boundaries of the country, he was made prisoner and brought to Kabul. Here he was examined by the king, but the king could find in the mullah's clever replies nothing against the true religion which would make him an infidel and therefore worthy of death, for a Muslim who becomes an apostate must be stoned to death.

He was then sent for examination to Nasrullah Khan, but the prince could not convict the man on his own, so a jury of twelve of the most learned mullahs was convened and even their examination of the accused could elicit nothing on which the man might be killed and they reported this to the King, but the King said the man must be convicted and so he was again sent to the mullahs, who were told that they must sign a paper, saying the man was an apostate and worthy of death. Again, the majority of the mullahs made the affirmation that he was innocent of anything against their religion, but two of the mullahs gave their verdict of death. The man was condemned by the King and stoned to death.

Before being led away from the king's presence to be killed, the mullah prophesied that a great calamity would overtake the country and that both the king and the prince would suffer. About nine o'clock at night the day the mullah was killed, a great storm of wind suddenly rose and raged with violence for half an hour and then stopped as suddenly as it came. Such a wind at night was altogether unusual so the people said that this was the passing of the soul of the mullah. Then cholera came and according to the former outbreaks another visitation was not due for four years to come and this was also regarded as part of the fulfillment of the mullah's prophecy, hence the great fear of the king and the prince and it accounts for the prince losing control of himself when his favourite wife died. (Frank A. Martin, Engineer in Chief to the government of Afghanistan, Under the Absolute Amir, 1907)

Abdul Lateef Shaheed's martyrdom occurred on July 14th 1903. An unusual fear-inducing storm occurred shorty after and in September 1903 cholera suddenly broke out. Ahmad wrote in response:

The land of Kabul shall suffer the consequences of this brutality. Prior to this tragedy there had also occurred the murder of Mian Abdul Rahman, one of my followers, on which God had kept quiet, but He will not overlook this brutality and the terrible consequences of this event shall be witnessed. It has been reported that after the killing of the deceased martyr by thousands of stones, an epidemic of cholera broke out in Kabul and a great number of people, including prominent men and dignitaries of the state and a number of the King's relatives, perished. But that is not all. This was a most merciless murder which has no parallel under heaven. Alas, what a pity! What has this ignorant King done? He has brutally killed such an incomparable, innocent and righteous man and has ensured his own ruin. O land of Kabul! you are a witness to the heinous crime committed on your soil. O miserable land! you have, in the sight of Allah, been condemned as you are the scene of this most atrocious crime. (Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, The Narrative of the Two Martyrdoms, 1903)

Following this prophecy, several members of the king's family died before he and his successors were assassinated one after another until the dynasty came to an end in the 1970s. However, Ahmad's curse on Afghanistan did not finish there and since that decade the country has remained in a perpetual state of war with millions of Afghans killed and the country's infrastructure remains ruined/non-existent.

13- Prophecy on Iran

'Shaking in the palace of Chosroes.' (Hazat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, Badr, 1906)

The Chosroes is a word meaning the king of Iran and at the time this prophecy was made this king was extremely powerful and extremely popular with his people and only 51 years old. Yet, a year later the king passed away and his unpopular son came to power. He too was removed from his position and replaced by another member of the family who remained in power until 1925 when he was overthrown and exiled and the family's dynasty came to an end altogether.

14- Prophecy on John Alexander Dowie

During the lifetime of Ahmad there was an American Christian who claimed to be a prophet named John Alexander Dowie. He had 100,000 followers in America and sent missionaries to other countries preaching vile abuse against Islam and converting people to his sect, Zion:

I pray to God that Islam will soon disappear from the world. O God, accept this prayer of mine. O God, destroy Islam (John Alexander Dowie)

The blackspot on the mantle of man [Islam] will meet its end at the hands of Zion. (John Alexander Dowie)

Ahmad sent Dowie a letter, also publicly distributed as a leaflet, in which he challenged him to a prayer duel. Ahmad stated that the true prophet would outlive the false one, finishing his leaflet as follows:

Be sure, calamity is due to befall Dowie's Zion. (Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, Prophecies about Dowie)

Dowie was asked about this prayer contest by his followers and responded:

There is a Muhammadan Messiah in India who has repeatedly written to me that Jesus Christ lies buried in Kashmir, and people ask me why I do not answer him. Do you imagine that I shall reply to such gnats and flies? If I were to put down my foot on them I would crush out their lives. I give them a chance to fly away and live. (John Alexander Dowie)

If I am not a messenger of God on this earth, then no one is. (John Alexander Dowie)

These insults towards Ahmad were enough for the punishment of Allah to come into effect. Dowie's feet, with which he had promised to destroy Ahmad, became paralysed. His wife and followers left him after he was found to have embezzled money from his sect. He died within the lifetime of Ahmad and several American newspapers acknowledged the fulfilment of the prophecy:

Ahmad and his adherents may be pardoned for taking some credit for the accuracy with which the prophecy was fulfilled a few months ago. (Dunville Gazette, June 7, 1904)

The Qadian man predicted that if Dowie accepted the challenge 'he shall leave the world before my eyes with great sorrow and torment. ' If Dowie declined, the Mirza said, 'the end would only be deferred; death awaited him just the same, and calamity will soon overtake Zion.' That was the grand prophecy: Zion should fall and Dowie die before Ahmad. It appeared to be a risky step for the Promised Messiah to defy the restored Elijah to an endurance test, for the challenger was by 15 years the older man of the two and probabilities in a land of plagues and famines were against him as a survivor, but he won out. (Truth Seeker, June l5, 1904)

It is quite true that Hazrat Mirza Sahib was much older than Dowie. So there were more chances for Dowie to survive Hazrat Mirza Sahib. Dowie died with his friends fallen away from him and his fortune dwindled. He suffered from paralysis and insanity. He died a miserable death, with Zion city torn and frayed by internal dissensions. Mirza comes forward frankly and states that he has won his challenge. (Boston Herald, June 23, 1904)

15- Prophecy on Lekh Ram

Lekh Ram was the leader of a Hindu sect who constantly published disgusting abuse of Muhammadsa. He also demanded Ahmad show some sign of his truthfulness. Ahmad prayed for guidance and received a revelation from Allah on which he wrote:

If within six years from today, February 20, 1893, this man does not meet with punishment from God, which is unusual in its poignancy and tragedy and which empresses all and sundry with the fear of the Lord, then let everybody think that I am not from God. (Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad)

And God gave me the tidings that I will witness a day of Eid, and this day will be close to the Eid. (Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad)

And among the graces of God which I have received is this that He has accepted my prayers relating to one Lekh Ram and that He has informed me that he will soon receive his just deserts. This man was foul in his abuse of the Holy Prophet. I prayed against him. So my God informed me that this man will die within six years. There are Signs in this for seekers after truth. (Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad)

Today, April 2, l893 A.D. (Ramadhan 14, 1310 A.H.), early in the morning, in semi-sleep, I saw myself sitting in a large house, some friends with me. Suddenly in front of me I saw a man, fearful looking with blood-shot eyes. As I saw, he seemed a strange creature, of a strange character. Not a human being, I thought, but a dreadful and dangerous angel. He struck terror into those who saw him. As I looked at him, he asked, 'Where is Lekh Ram?' Then he named another and asked me his whereabouts also. I then understood that this person had been appointed to punish Lekh Ram and this other man. (Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, Barakat-ul-Dua)

Foolish and misguided foe. Fear the sharp sword of Muhammad. Denier of the greatness of Muhammad and of the luminous light of Muhammad! Miracles may seem a thing of the past. Come yet and see one through the devotees of Muhammad. (Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad)

Five years passed and some ridiculed these prophecies. However, the following Eid-ul-Fitr they were exactly fulfilled when a man broke into the house of Lekh Ram and stabbed him to death.

16- Prophecy on the plague

When iniquity and ungodliness rose to a deadly height, even as flood reaches its dangerous level, I wished from God that a plague should come and destroy. For, according to the wise, it is better for people to die than to become involved in fatal disbelief and misguidance. (Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, 1894)

In 1896, two years after the above prayer, Ahmad's prayer was fulfilled when Bubonic plague broke out in India for the first time. The plague would last 30 years and kill almost 13 million people.

17- Prophecy of World War One

A sign will appear some days from now, which shall devastate country and town and meadow. So suddenly will people be seized by Divine wrath,An undressed person will have no time to secure his loincloth.They shall all be suddenly shaken by the earthquake; Be it men, or trees, or rocks, or oceans.In the twinkling of an eye the earth will be thrown upside down, Blood will flow like in streams. Those whose night garments were white as Jasmine, Will wake up in the morning clad in red. Men and animals will lose their senses, And pigeons and nightingales will forget their songs. That hour will be hard upon every traveler and every wayfarer will lose his way in agony. With the blood of the dead, Mountain streams will become red as red wine .Men high and low will be convulsed with fear; Even the Czar, at that hour, will be in a wretched state. This sign will be an example of Divine Wrath, And Heaven will attack with a drawn sword...I cannot say with certainty if it will in fact be an earthquake. It may not be an earthquake but some other dire calamity evoking the spectacle of doomsday, the like of which would not have been witnessed by this age, and which would bring about great destruction of life and property. However, if no such extraordinary sign appears and people do not openly reform themselves, then I shall prove to be a liar. (Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, Baraheen-e-Ahmadiyya Volume V, 1905)

Ahmad repeatedly told of this prophecy which would be like an earthquake. The fact he also described it as like a 'drawn sword' alludes to its being about a war and the Quran also describes war as being like an earthquake:

O ye who believe, remember the favour of Allah to you when there came against you hosts, and We sent against them a wind and hosts that you saw not. And Allah sees what you do. When they came upon you from above you, and from below you, and when your eyes became distracted, and your hearts reached up to your throats, and you thought diverse thoughts about Allah. Then were the believers sorely tried, and they were shaken with a violent shaking. (Quran 33:9-12)

The prophecy stated the sign would affect numerous countries, which was fulfilled by world war one. The prophecy goes on that great bloodshed will be caused and even animals will be affected. During the war tens of millions of people were killed and animals' habitat was destroyed. The prophecy states travel will be difficult. At the outbreak of world war one air travel had not been invented and so the world relied on ships however naval attacks on civilian ships made during the war made travel extremely dangerous. The prophecy's most specific aspect is the fate of the czar. During world war one the czar, the king of Russia, was overthrown, killed and his dynasty ended.

18- Prophecy obout England

I saw [in a vision] that I was standing on a pulpit in the city of London and was setting forth the truth of Islam in the English language, in a very well-reasoned address. Thereafter, I caught several birds who were sitting upon small trees and were of white colour and their bodies resembled the bodies of partridges. I interpreted this vision as meaning that though I would not be able to travel to that country, my writings will be published among them and many righteous English people will be attracted by the truth. Western countries have so far not been so conspicuous for their spiritual wisdom as God had bestowed greater spiritual wisdom on the East than the wisdom bestowed on Europe and the Americas. All the prophets from the first to the last have appeared in Asia and spiritual men other than the prophets, who attained nearness to God have also been confined to the Eastern people. But God wishes now to extend His beneficence to the West. History, beliefs, proofs, allegations, cross, khilafat, split, nizam, allegations, benefits. (Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, Izala-e-Auham)

This prophecy was fulfilled when a few years later the first Englishman accepted Ahmadiyya and his name was George Sparrow. Sparrow, of course, is a type of bird. Another way in which it was fulfilled is when Pakistan banned Ahmadis from practicing their religion in 1984, forcing our Khalifa and many other Ahmadis to migrate to the UK.