How does one become caliph of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat?

After the death of the previous caliph, an electoral body of God-fearing members comes together. It prays and chooses the person it considers best for the good of the community.

The caliphate is neither inherited nor an office one applies for. When the head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat passes away, an electoral body comes together. Its members are chosen so that they are God-fearing and righteous people.

Before they decide, they pray. Then they choose the man they consider best for the community. Because the members see their choice as a responsibility before God, it is not a difficult or divisive matter. It is not about factions or interests but about the question of to whom this trust can be handed.

The first verse above describes exactly this attitude. An office is a trust, and it belongs to the one who is worthy of it. The second verse shows the other side. People consult, pray and choose, but that the one chosen truly leads the community and holds it together is the work of God.

After the election, the members of the community pledge allegiance to the new caliph. That is also what happened after the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw), when the believers kept faith with his successors one after another, just as he himself had foretold.