“Qadiani” is the name opponents use for members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, after the village of Qadian where its founder was born. If you have heard the word and wondered who these people are and what they really believe, here are the ten questions people ask most, answered plainly from the Quran, the hadith and the community’s own words.
1Who are the Qadianis?
The name “Qadiani” comes from Qadian, a small village in the Punjab, India. That is where Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) was born in 1835. The community he founded in 1889 calls itself the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. Opponents call its members “Qadianis” after the name of the place; the members themselves say they are Ahmadi Muslims.
2Are Ahmadis Muslims?
They recite the same kalimah: La ilaha illallahu Muhammadur Rasulullah. The same Quran, the same five daily prayers, the same qiblah, the fast of Ramadan, Zakat and Hajj. The Holy Prophet (sa) himself gave the definition of a Muslim: “Whoever prays as we pray, faces our qiblah and eats what we slaughter is a Muslim.” (Sahih Bukhari, Hadith 391) And the Quran commands:
3Do Ahmadis have a different kalimah, Quran, prayer or Hajj?
No. There is no separate kalimah, no separate Quran, no separate prayer and no separate qiblah. The book called “Tadhkirah” is a collection of the revelations of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as), printed long after his death; it is not a substitute for the Quran. And Ahmadi Muslims too accept Hajj as an obligatory act of worship in Islam.
4Do Ahmadis believe Muhammad (sa) is the last prophet?
Yes, they firmly believe that the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa) is Khatam an-Nabiyyin. After him no new law and no new book will come, and not a single letter of the Quran will change. The only question is the full meaning of the word “khatam”, which is in this verse:
5Who was Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani?
Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) (1835–1908) was a scholar of Qadian who became famous for taking up his pen in defence of Islam against Christian missionaries and the Arya Samaj. He claimed that he was the very person whose coming as the Promised Messiah and Imam Mahdi the Holy Prophet (sa) had foretold.
6Did Mirza Ghulam Ahmad claim to be a prophet?
He claimed to be an “ummati prophet” through complete obedience to the Holy Prophet (sa), not a prophet bringing a new law. The Holy Prophet (sa) himself called the coming Messiah “Nabiyyullah”, the Prophet of Allah (Sahih Muslim, Kitab al-Fitan, Hadith 2937). He said that everything he received, he received from the Holy Prophet (sa).
7Is Jesus (as) alive in heaven?
The Quran says that all the messengers before the Holy Prophet (sa) have passed away. On the day the Holy Prophet (sa) died, Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) recited this verse, and all the companions accepted it:
8Has the Imam Mahdi already come?
The hadith speaks of a unique sign of the Imam Mahdi: an eclipse of the moon and an eclipse of the sun on set dates in the month of Ramadan. In the Ramadan of 1894 exactly that happened, while a claimant was present. And according to the hadith, the coming Messiah and the Mahdi are not two separate people, but one and the same.
9Have Ahmadis abolished jihad?
No. He taught that jihad of the sword is permitted in the Quran only when war is forced on Muslims because of their faith. In that age, the attack on religion was being made with the pen, so he made the jihad of the pen and of reason the main one. And the jihad against one’s own self will go on in every age.
10How did Mirza Ghulam Ahmad die? In a toilet?
Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) passed away in Lahore on 26 May 1908 after an illness. The death certificate issued by the civil surgeon of the time gave the cause as a diarrhoeal illness (dysentery). There is no reliable document behind the story of a “death in the toilet”; the full account and evidence are at the links below.
Quran verse numbers count Bismillah as the first verse. Translation of the Quran: Maulawi Sher Ali.