Was the founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat a prophet or a reformer?
Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as), the Promised Messiah, claimed to be the foretold Messiah and Imam Mahdi. He was a reformer with the rank of a prophet who brought no new law and was entirely subordinate to the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw).
Many Muslims ask why the founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat is not simply called a reformer. The answer begins with a question to all Muslims. What rank will the Messiah have whom the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) foretold for the latter days? Almost all agree that this Messiah will be a prophet. Yet, in their conviction, his coming does not violate the position of the Holy Prophet (saw), because he will be subordinate to him. That is exactly what is meant here too.
The first verse above calls the Holy Prophet (saw) “Khatam an-Nabiyyin”. The Arabic word khatam means seal, or signet ring. A seal stamps its image on whatever it touches. What is meant is the highest rank, against which every other prophet is measured, in the past as well as in the future. If the word only meant “the last”, the verse would make strange sense in its context. The opponents mocked the Holy Prophet (saw) because he had no grown son. The verse replies that, although he was not the physical father of any man, he was the spiritual father and Seal of the Prophets.
The second verse above shows the way. Whoever obeys God and the Holy Prophet (saw) perfectly can be counted among the prophets, the truthful, the martyrs and the righteous. Such a prophet brings no new law and changes nothing in Islam. His entire standing comes from obedience.
This is how Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) understood himself. He was a reformer whose message was addressed to the whole world. His rank as a prophet was a mark of honour for the Holy Prophet (saw), whose seal he bore. The hadith above shows that the awaited Messiah was to come from among the Muslims themselves. What is disputed, then, is not the rank of the Messiah, but only the question of who he is.