How a Meeting with anti-Ahmadi Preachers Strengthened My Faith in Islam Ahmadiyya

By Missionary Shahzad Ahmad

How the Meeting Came About

Before I even begin to pen my thoughts on this rather interesting evening, it would be important to clarify lest anyone, even for a moment, infers from the title that perhaps prior to this chance meeting, I was ever in any doubt in my faith in the truthfulness of the Promised Messiah, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad عليه السلام or that my faith in Ahmadiyya ever waned in the slightest. But in fact, a believer is always yearning to experience the delight of faith in their spiritual journey, just as we find in the conversation between God and His beloved Prophet Abraham عليه السلام in the Holy Qur’an:

“And remember when Abraham said, ‘My Lord, show me how Thou givest life to the dead.’ He said, ‘Hast thou not believed?’ He said, ‘Yes, but I ask this that my heart may be at rest.’”

Holy Quran 2:261

Allah the Almighty can confer these wondrous signs in mysterious ways, and at times, from moments and occasions we least expect. Just like the chance meeting that took place with Adnan Rashid and Muhammad Imtiaz in London – and for many who don’t know them – two opponents of Islam Ahmadiyya, who have been particularly vocal in the past year on social media and on online streams.

Deception by Anti-Ahmadi Preachers

Opposition to Prophets and their communities is intrinsically linked and forms a crucial thread in the very fabric of the history of religious communities. Thus, these two individuals, and others alike, bring nothing new to the table other than the same century-old, baseless allegations and false accusations which have continued to be churned out by their predecessors.

Leaving aside the details of how this meeting came about it would suffice to say that a mutual acquaintance conveyed their desire to meet with us for an informal sitting to discuss some of our differences which have been the subject of intense debate on online streaming platforms of late. And so, as a community which has a history of always being open to meaningful and respectful dialogue and availing every opportunity to convey the true message of Islam, we obliged.

Admittedly, there was mutual respect and a civil and academic conversation took place, ranging from the Promised Messiah’s عليه السلام understanding of Jihad especially during the British colonial rule in India, the Promised Messiah’s عليه السلام revelations and writings as well as the truthfulness of his claim.

The discussion lasted several hours and just as it started with a spirit of mutual respect and courtesy, it also concluded in the same fashion with even hope that future discussions of a similar nature could take place, providing that they would not turn to their old habits of using disrespectful language towards the holy founder of the Community and ensuring to uphold decorum and civility, which they agreed to. 

However, much to our surprise, the very next day we read the following tweet by Mr Adnan Rashid:

“Myself and [Muhammad Imtiaz] met with the official murrabis of the Qadiani jamat. It was a pleasant meeting with many interesting discussions. Both parties mutually agreed that we are in a spiritual conflict and believe in different religions. The meeting was very civil. More coming.”

Firstly, to summarise an almost five hour detailed discussion into a single tweet was not only disingenuous on his part, but in fact, to suggest that we “agreed” on having a separate religion was completely untrue and blatantly dishonest and deceitful. 

For the record, Islam is our religion and our Master, the Holy Prophet ﷺ is the Seal of the Prophets. Let there be no doubt that this fundamental creed is the unshakeable and unwavering faith of every Ahmadi Muslim. 

But since Mr Adnan Rashid took the liberty of providing “insights” into our lengthy meeting, I thought I would also share a personal reflection and just as it reinforced my faith in Ahmadiyyat and Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad عليه السلام it may serve as an inspiration for others too.

Islam Ahmadiyya: Proof of its Truth

During the course of the discussion, Muhammad Imtiaz put forth a very interesting question and asked us for the single most powerful argument for the truthfulness of the Promised Messiah عليه السلام. Although we discussed this through various arguments and a lengthy debate ensued on this subject, but I also found it somewhat amusing that of all people he was asking this question, for he needn’t look any further than himself to find the answer.

For the record, Islam is our religion and our Master, the Holy Prophet ﷺ is the Seal of the Prophets. Let there be no doubt that this fundamental creed is the unshakeable and unwavering faith of every Ahmadi Muslim. 

His question reminded me of the account of a very simple yet devout companion of the Promised Messiah عليه السلام. He was so simple that he could not even read or write, but yet, he was fortunate enough to accept the Promised Messiah عليه السلام. He too once happened to meet a renowned and staunch opponent of the Promised Messiah عليه السلام, Muhammad Hussain Batalwi at the Batala railway station. Since Batala station was the closest station to Qadian, it was the practice of Muhammad Hussain Batalwi that he would stand at the station in a bid to dissuade those who had travelled from far and wide to meet the Promised Messiah عليه السلام.

Upon seeing this companion, Muhammad Hussain Batalwi asked what had convinced him to accept the Promised Messiah عليه السلام. Assuming that this simple and illiterate man would have no argument, he was left dumbfounded at his response. The companion stated to Muhammad Hussain Batalwi that whilst he would spend day on end and exhausted all his efforts to deter people from visiting Qadian to the extent that his shoes had become worn as a result, yet, people continued to flock to Qadian in their desire to the meet the Imam of the Age and pledge allegiance to him. This was a convincing enough sign for him of the truth of the Promised Messiah عليه السلام.

It has been over a century since the claim of the Promised Messiah عليه السلام with his community now established in over 200 countries of the world, and here we had Muhammad Imtiaz – disciple of the very same Muhammad Hussain Batalwi, who would stand at the railway station – who had come all the way from Australia to the UK, on a week-long campaign in support of his efforts to oppose the Community. This man had travelled thousands of miles, spent thousands of pounds, and prior to this, spent hours on end every week engaging in online videos to turn people away from the community of the Promised Messiah عليه السلام, and yet it was he who was still asking us for a sign; for me, he was himself a sign of the truth of the Promised Messiah عليه السلام!

“A pure heart does not require a profusion of miracles; One Sign is enough if there is fear of the Creator in the heart”.

Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad عليه السلام – The Promised Messiah & Imam Mahdi

I will not delve further into the details of our discussion and exchange lest I unintentionally misquote or misrepresent the view of the opposing party. However, I would like to conclude with a rather bizarre prediction of Adnan and Imtiaz, who both very confidently stated that in their estimation the Community will come to an end within a span of five years. Among the countless hilarities we were offered by these gentlemen that evening, this had to be on the top!

But in all seriousness, I posed a very genuine and simple question to this comment of theirs and failed to receive an answer that evening and still to this day. I simply asked, it’s been over a century since the claim of the Promised Messiah عليه السلام and the establishment of his community, and yet, in all these years, was God not able to bring about its end and that now it was down to these two individuals who seek to bring an end to it, and that too, within just five years?

I know the answer, and I am sure you have worked it out as well, but in any case, the clock is ticking…