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Ahmadiyya, officially the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at (AMJ) is an Islamic messianic movement originating in British India in the late 19th century. It was founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835–1908), who said he had been divinely appointed as both the Promised Mahdi (Guided One) and Messiah expected by Muslims to appear towards the end times and bring about, by peaceful means, the final triumph of Islam; as well as to embody, in this capacity, the expected eschatological figure of other major religious traditions. Adherents of the Ahmadiyya—a term adopted expressly in reference to Muhammad's alternative name Aḥmad—are known as Ahmadi Muslims or simply Ahmadis. Ahmadi thought emphasizes the belief that Islam is the final dispensation for humanity as revealed to Muhammad and the necessity of restoring it to its true intent and pristine form, which had been lost through the centuries. Its adherents consider Ahmad to have appeared as the Mahdi—bearing the qualities of Jesus in accordance with their reading of scriptural prophecies—to revitalize Islam and set in motion its moral system that would bring about lasting peace. They believe that upon divine guidance he purged Islam of foreign accretions in belief and practice by championing what is, in their view, Islam's original precepts as practised by Muhammad and the early Muslim community. Ahmadis thus view themselves as leading the propagation and renaissance of Islam. Mirza Ghulam Ahmad established the Community (or Jamāʿat) on 23 March 1889 by formally accepting allegiance from his supporters. Since his death, the Community has been led by a succession of Caliphs. By 2017 it had spread to 210 countries and territories of the world with concentrations in South Asia, West Africa, East Africa, and Indonesia. The Ahmadis have a strong missionary tradition, having formed the first Muslim missionary organization to arrive in Britain and other Western countries. Currently, the community is led by its caliph, Mirza Masroor Ahmad, and is estimated to number between 10 and 20 million worldwide. The movement is almost entirely a single, highly organized group. However, in the early history of the community, some Ahmadis dissented over the nature of Ahmad's prophetic status and succession. They formed the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement, which has since dwindled to a small fraction of all Ahmadis. Ahmadiyya's recognition of Ahmad as a prophet has been characterized as heretical by mainstream Muslims, who believe that Muhammad was the final prophet, and the Ahmadi movement has faced non-recognition and persecution in many parts of the world. Some Sunni Muslims pejoratively use the term Qādiyānī to refer to the movement. Naming and etymology The Ahmadiyya movement was founded in 1889, but the name Aḥmadīyah was not adopted until about a decade later. In a manifesto dated 4 November 1900, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad announced that the name chosen to identify the movement from other Muslim groups would be in reference to Muhammad's alternative name Aḥmad. According to him, the meaning of the name Muḥammad—"the most praised one"—comported with the traits of glory and indicated the triumphant career of the Islamic prophet following his migration to Medina; but Aḥmad, an Arabic elative form meaning "highly praised" and also "one who praises the most", comported with the beauty of his sermons and conveyed the perseverance and forbearance that characterized his earlier life at Mecca. Accordingly, these two names reflected two aspects or modalities of Islam and in later times it was the latter aspect that was destined to be the chief characteristic of its progress. Ghulam Ahmad deemed it a blameworthy innovation (bid‘ah) to label an Islamic group or school after anyone other than Muhammad. The announcement of 1900 stated: The name which is appropriate for this Movement and which we prefer for ourselves and for our Jamā'at is Muslims of the Aḥmadīyah Section. And it is permissible that it also be referred to as Muslims of the Aḥmadī school. Lexicology The term Aḥmadīyah—formed by way of suffixation (nisba) from Aḥmad and the suffix -īya(t) (comparable to the English -ness)—is an abstract noun used in reference to the movement itself; while the term Aḥmadī (adjectivally denoting affiliation to Aḥmad) is a noun used in reference to an adherent of the movement, whether male or female. Despite Ahmadis dissociating the name from their founder, deriving it instead from Islamic prophecy and the name variant of Muhammad, some Sunni Muslims, especially in the Indian subcontinent from where the movement originated, refer to Ahmadis using the pejorative terms Qādiyānī—derived from Qadian, the home town of Ghulam Ahmad; or Mirzaī—from Mirza, one of his titles. Both are externally attributed names and are never used by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community itself. Summary of beliefs The Six articles of Islamic Faith and the Five Pillars of Islam constitute the basis of Ahmadi belief and practice. Likewise, Ahmadis accept the Quran as their holy text, face the Kaaba during prayer, follow the sunnah (normative practice of Muhammad) and accept the authority of the ahadith (sing. hadith; reported sayings of and narrations about Muhammad). In the derivation of Ahmadi doctrine and practice, the Quran has supreme authority followed by the sunnah and the ahadith. Quranic rulings cannot be overruled by any other secondary or explanatory source. If a hadith is found to be in manifest conflict with the Quran and defies all possible efforts at harmonization, it is rejected regardless of the classification of its authenticity. Their acceptance of the authority of the four Rightly Guided caliphs (successors) as legitimate leaders of the Muslim community following Muhammad's death, their belief that a caliph need not be a descendant of Muhammad, and use of the Kutub al-Sittah fundamentally aligns Ahmadis with the Sunni tradition of Islam rather than with the Shi'a tradition. In matters of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), Ahmadis reject strict adherence (taqlid) to any particular school of thought (madhhab), giving foremost precedence to the Quran and sunnah, but usually base their rulings on the Hanafi methodology in cases where these sources lack clear elaboration. What essentially distinguishes Ahmadi Muslims from other Muslims is their belief in Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of the movement, as both the promised Mahdi (Guided One) and Messiah foretold by Muhammad to appear in the end times. Summarising his position, Ahmad writes: The task for which God has appointed me is that I should remove the malaise that afflicts the relationship between God and His creatures and restore the relationship of love and sincerity between them. Through the proclamation of truth and by putting an end to religious conflicts, I should bring about peace and manifest the Divine verities that have become hidden from the eyes of the world. I am called upon to demonstrate spirituality which lies buried un.... Discover the Islam International Publications popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Islam International Publications books.