Editorial

113 years ago, on 23 March 1889, the Ahmadiyya Muslim community commenced its nascent development at the hands of its Founder, Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian (1835-1908). He claimed that he had been commissioned by God Almighty as the Pr o m i s e d Messiah and the Promised World Reformer awaited by followers of all revealed religions of the world. The truth of his claim was to be found in the method prescribed from time immemorial and in the words of the Founder of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim community as follows: ‘If you doubt my claims and wish to know the truth, then it is very easy to remove any doubts because the truth of a prophet might be known in three ways: First, through reason i.e. when a Prophet or Messenger claims to have come, consider whether reason affirms that a Prophet or Reformer should appear at that time and whether or not the condition of mankind demands a Reformer. Second, prophecies of previous Prophets i.e. we should see whether or not any of the past Prophets had prophesied concerning his appearance or concerning the appearance of some Prophet at the time of his advent. Third, Divine help and heavenly support i.e. it should be considered whe- ther or not the claimant is accompanied by heavenly support. These three conditions have been laid down from ancient times for discerning the truth of the claims of one commissioned by God. God has had mercy upon you and has established all three conditions in my support and it is up to you to accept me or not. If you want to test from the point of view of reason, then reason is most 2 Review of Religions – March 2002 Editorial certainly pointing out that Muslims stand in need of a Reformer from on high. The state of affairs within and without are both dangerous. It is as if the Muslims stand on the precipice of a cliff or are caught up in an eddy. If you search past prophecies, Prophet Daniel, peace be upon him, has prophesied concerning me and this age and the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him has also said that the Promised Messiah would appear from amongst his followers. If somebody does not know this, he can study the Sahih Bukhari or Sahih Muslim and see the prophecy about the appearance of a Reformer at the beginning of each century. If you want to search for divine help with regards to me, then remember that thousands of signs have manifested themselves in support of my claims. Amongst those signs is the one written in the Barahini Ahmadiyya 24 years ago and was written when not a single person had any con- nection with me by having pledged allegiance to me nor did anyone undertake any journey to meet me. That sign is that Allah says that the time is coming when financial help would come towards me from all directions and thousands of people will flock to me. The He adds that people would come in such multitudes that you would be amazed by their numbers, so be not unkind to them nor tire in meeting them.’ (Lecture Sialkot, pp 50,51; Roohani Khazain Vo l . 2 0 pp.241,242) There are millions of people who join this growing community of true believers each year and one of the articles in this edition provides a brief introduction to this dynamic movement. We are privileged that Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad also initiated this magazine, in its centenary year of publication. We invite everyone to study his claims. 3 Editorial Review of Religions – March 2002