Romaan Basit, Ahmadiyya Archive and Research Centre
Saying Islam needs revival doesn’t mean the Quran needs to change or Prophet Muhammad’ssa teachings must be revised. Orthodox Islam is perfect as it is, but unfortunately, it has been hijacked.
The atrocities done in the name of Islam today – shootings, bombings, stabbings, killings of innocent people – are far from what Prophet Muhammadsa taught. Absurd beliefs are held by so many Muslims: Death penalty for apostates, awaiting a bloodthirsty Messiah, and more. This sad state of affairs has led to intolerance and extremism being rampant and now seen by the world as an Islamic norm.
However, studying Islamic theology from the original sources tells us that Islam does not teach any of this, which is why Islam – as we see it today with all these misinterpretations – definitely needs revival.
But not the same revival proposed by Ayaan Hirsi Ali in her book “Heretic: Why Islam Needs a Reformation Now”, that the Sharia law and Islamic jurisprudence must change. And that if Muslims continue to hold the Quran as the literal word of God, reform cannot take place. Well, we strongly disagree.
What needs to happen is that Muslims must go back to following the true message of the Quran. Tolerance, respect, love, humility, harmony – and sure, there are verses of warfare but with stringent guidelines and conditions. Muslim clerics – who unfortunately lead the masses and shape the narrative – have strayed far from the true essence of the Quran and paved the way for absurdities and misconceptions to seep in.
While this is deeply saddening, it is a fulfilment of Prophet Muhammad’ssa prophetic words: A time would come when Muslim scholars would be the worst of creation, and the true essence of the Quran would be lost. (Mishkat al-Masabih, Hadith 276)
But he did not leave his ummah to sit and despair over this warning. He also gave the solution: In every century a reformer will appear to revive Islam and guide Muslims back to the right path. Then, in the latter days, when the decadence of Islamic beliefs would be at an all-time high, the Messiah would be sent to save mankind. This prophesied emergence of the Messiah is seen as the final salvation in Islamic eschatology.
The need for such a Messiah is stronger today than ever before. All right-minded modern Muslims, scholars and thinkers unanimously seem to agree that “reforms are of course needed across the crisis-ridden Muslim-majority world: political, socio-economic and, yes, religious too”, to quote Mehdi Hasan as a specimen. (“Why Islam doesn’t need a reformation”, www.theguardian.com)
All symptoms of the diseased body of the Ummah point to the fact that this is surely the time for the advent of the Messiah. But has he come? If not, when will he come? When he comes, will the politically charged atmosphere of Islam even have any room for him? These disturbing questions just don’t end. Will he be a Salafi? Or a Shia? Or Barelvi or Deobandi? You continue to imagine, and the scene gets scarier and scarier.
This is precisely why the Messiah was needed – to dominate the opinionated split with a definitive and assertive verdict, based on not mere opinion or suggestion, but divinely granted knowledge.
Here are five beliefs, from the seemingly endless list of absurdities that have crept into Islam, that call for immediate reform:
1. Divinity ascribed to Jesusas
The majority of Muslims believe Jesusas did not pass away and his body was raised into the Heavens by Allah the Almighty. What they mean to say is that all prophets died a natural death here on earth, including Prophet Muhammadsa (who was the best of all prophets); yet Jesusas was an exception. How can this be the case? The Quran makes it clear that humans live a life on earth and pass away here too. There is no exception to this law, not even Prophet Muhammadsa, who was asked to ascend to Heaven to prove his truthfulness. He declined, saying he was a mere human being and a messenger of Allah.
To go into Heaven and be alive there for nearly 2000 years without food, water, or any necessities needed for human survival is not possible for any human being. Does this not ascribe divine attributes to Jesus?
This is an erroneous belief, and over 30 verses prove that Jesusas passed away just like all the prophets (such as Ch.3:V.145 and Ch.3:V.56). And besides, even if he did go to Heaven for argument’s sake. The Quran says that those who enter Heaven can never leave it. So how will he return?
To hold such a belief degrades Prophet Muhammadsa. If he was not able to ascend into the Heavens and had to face a natural death, why was Jesus given preferential treatment?
2. Awaiting a bloodthirsty Messiah and Mahdi
Then there is the belief that when Jesusas returns, he will cause bloodshed and warfare, killing all the disbelievers and anyone who refuses to accept Islam. The Mahdi will join him in this jihad.
This is a lesser-known belief that the laity may not be aware of. But ask your scholars. This belief goes directly against the Quran, which teaches there is no compulsion in religion whatsoever. No ifs, no buts. How could this ever be the case that the Messiah who comes to revive Islam goes against the Quran?
Also, Jesusas can only physically return and kill the disbelievers if he is alive. Which he isn’t.
3. Death penalty for apostasy
“There is no compulsion in religion”. This is a clear and fundamental commandment of Allah the Almighty which is often overlooked and outright disregarded.
It is generally believed that those who leave Islam must be killed. The Quran leaves the punishment for leaving Islam strictly in the hands of Allah alone, hence the numerous verses on complete freedom of religion in this life. Allah tells us that if he wanted the whole world to believe, he could have easily done so. But he didn’t and instead gave each person their own free will to decide for themselves. Also, a verse mentions that those who believe, then disbelieve, then believe, then disbelieve again, their punishment lies solely with Allah. (Surah an-Nisa, Ch.4: V.138)
If leaving Islam was punishable by death, such a person would have been killed the first time around.
Just think for yourself, how many people were killed during the life of the Holy Prophetsa purely for leaving Islam? Not a single person. Yes, perhaps for treason or other crimes, but never for apostasy.
4. Contradiction regarding prophethood
This one is a real quagmire. Sunni Muslims are adamant that all kinds of prophethood have ended. They believe no prophet whatsoever, old or new, can come after Prophet Muhammadsa. They say this whilst anxiously awaiting the return of Jesusas, son of Mary, who was a prophet!
Sure, he was an old prophet, but he was still a prophet (a rasul sent to the children of Israel, as mentioned in Ch.3: V.50). He will also remain a prophet when he returns, as found in the hadith of Sahih Muslim. (Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2937a) As soon as he comes back, the finality of prophethood breaks. Who will be the last prophet to walk the earth then? Surely, it will be Jesusas. Not to mention that if he returns for the whole world, the verse which states he was only sent for the Bani Israel would be rendered incorrect.
When asked about this blatant contradiction, some go so far as to say that Muslims are ready to throw logic into the sea and accept this contradiction. Is this really what Islam has come to?
There is no contradiction. The only issue is the understanding, or misunderstanding, of this whole concept. Only the Messiah can rectify this.
5. Revelation has ended
“Revelation has ended and God does not speak anymore as he did in the past” – This is what Muslim clerics have been teaching and promoting. This is the very reason for the darkness shrouding the Ummah.
The reality is that God still speaks today to his loved ones as he has always done in the past.
This is the only way Muslims can accept the saviour, the Messiah; if they understand that without the light of revelation, the darkness that has beset the ummah will never go. Would he only bring another set of opinions? If so who would accept his opinion? Hence there has to be divine communion.
Conclusion
This is definitely the time for the Messiah to appear, so where is he? He has indeed already arrived and revived the true Islamic beliefs as prophesied. Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas was born in Qadian in 1835, and was the spiritual second coming of Jesusas, who passed away in Kashmir.
He clarified that Jesusas is not alive, and proved through religious, historical and medical evidence that he travelled to Kashmir after surviving the crucifixion in search of the lost tribes of Israel (whom he was sent for). There, he died a natural death like all other prophets.
He rejected the notion of a bloodthirsty saviour as it goes against all Islamic sources, and championed intellectual jihad instead. He showed there is no death penalty for apostasy, fulfilled Prophet Muhammad’ssa prophecy of a subordinate prophet, and demonstrated that divine revelation continues.
This revival does not change the Quran or Prophet Muhammad’ssa teachings – it illuminates their true essence, guiding Muslims back to the path of tolerance, reason, and spiritual communion with Allah. The time for reform is now, not through abandoning orthodox Islam, but by embracing its authentic, revived form.