Allegation that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad claimed to be a law-giving prophet

Argument:

Qadiani propaganda material claims that Mirza Ghulam was subservient to Hazrat Muhammad may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and followed the Sharia of Islam!  Mirza Ghulam wrote the truth:

On top of it you must realize what Shariat (religious law) really is.  Simply it orders proper conduct and forbids indecency.  One who lays down certain commands and prohibitions (i.e. Amr bil Maroof and Nahi an-ilMunkar) is an ordinate of Shariat and I am the ordinate of Shariat, because my revelations contain both commandments (awamir) and prohibitions (Nawahi).  It is wrong that Shariat should decree totally new orders as there is much teaching in the Quran which is also found in the Torah.  That explains why, in the Qur’an, there is much reference to it in the following verse: ‘This has been revealed in the former books – those of Moses and Ibrahim.’
ArbainRoohani Khazain, Vol. 17, P. 435436

Rebuttal:  

We have made it clear that Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad may peace be upon him has always claimed to be a subservient of the Holy Prophet may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and a follower of the Holy Qur’an.  He is not a law-giving prophet and hasn’t brought any new laws.  He is a prophet and as with all prophets, it is his duty to inform Muslims of the teachings of Allah and encourage them to follow those teachings.  This is what he has done throughout his life.   As the Holy Qur’an contains commandments and prohibitions, therefore it is the duty of a Prophet to explain these.  Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad may peace be upon him was the Imam Mahdi – Guided One, Allah guided him to guide the Muslims.  Therefore Allah would inform him to explain the commandments and prohibitions that are already in the Holy Qur’an.  But he was not informed of any new commandments and prohibitions as they have already been mentioned in the Holy Qur’an.  But sadly, many Muslims were not following them, hence the need to be encouraged to follow the Holy Qur’an.  

Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad may peace be upon him has said:

This eminence has been granted to me because of following the Holy Prophet may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.  Had I not been one of his followers and had I not been following his teachings faithfully, I could never have achieved this high status of communion with Allah, even though my good deeds had piled up to the height of the mountains.  This is because all prophethoods have now come to an end.  Now no law-bearing prophet can ever be raised, but a non-law-bearing prophet can still appear.  But he must always be a follower of the Holy Prophet may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.  I am, therefore, a follower as well as a prophet.
Tajalliyti Ilahiyya, pg 19-20. Roohani Khazain, Vol 20, pg 411

As for the Holy Qur’an it is our understanding that it has come as a fulfilment of all previous teachings.  Of course, these teachings came from Allah, therefore you will find great similarity in them, but now Allah has sent His teachings for all mankind, for all time.  For instance, we find every one of the ‘Ten Commandments’ in the Holy Qur’an, but instead of being restricted to just one nation (the Jews), now they have been expanded to include all nations for all time.  When we look at the commandment ‘Thou shall not kill’, Hazrat Musa may peace be upon him brought an emphasis on retaliation, to make the Jews strong so that they could leave the captivity of the Egyptians and enter the ‘Promised Land’, so he emphasised ‘an eye for an eye’ (Exodus 21:24) – the law of retaliation.  Sadly, through following this hardness to the law, the Jews became so hard-hearted that they even tried to kill their Prophets, therefore, when Jesus came, he followed the same law and Ten Commandments, but laid more emphasis on a softer teaching ‘if someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek (Luke 6:29) – law of love and forgiveness. 

But this was only for the Jewish nation; if we apply it to all nations, then there are times when you should show forgiveness, therefore you can’t apply the ‘law of retaliation’ every time. Likewise there are times you should punish, so you can’t apply the ‘law of love and forgiveness’ every time.  So both these teachings can’t be universal teachings for all times.  But Islam teaches ‘Thou shall not kill’, but states that you should look into the condition, if you feel punishment is needed then use ‘the law of retaliation’ but if you think forgiveness is needed then use the ‘law of love and forgiveness’.  This is why with every punishment in the Holy Qur’an, the next verse always state, ‘but forgiveness is better’, giving you both options.  That is a universal law and this is what is being explained by Hazrat Ahmad, that whilst the teaching may be found in previous teachings, the Holy Qur’an has now come as a fulfilment of those teachings.  Therefore a Muslim is required to believe in all the previous Holy Books, as they have come from Allah, but we only follow the Holy Qur’an.

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