The True Story of the Split

Truth About the Split

After refuting the misstatements which Maulawi Muhammad Ali has made in his account of the split I proceed next to give a true account of the events which led to it; so that, on the one hand Ahmadis who are not yet acquainted with the truth about the split may become acquainted with it and, on the other those who have been thrown into a state of indecision by this spectacle of dissensions in the Community, who therefore hesitate to join the Ahmadiyya Movement even though they entertain sympathy for it may become acquainted with the true story of the split, and be in a position to judge the Movement and make up their minds about it.

It is inevitable in the case of every spiritual movement, that among its followers there should be some who enter it because they believe in its truth but who nevertheless are very superficial in their judgement and convictions. The truth does not seem to go very deep into their hearts. In the first ebullition of their zeal they seem to go further than many a sincere follower. But as their faith strikes no deep root, they are always liable to cut themselves off from the main body of the movement, and to reject the truth at any time. A number of such persons joined the Ahmadiyya Movement founded by the Promised Messiah (as), and they brought about not only their own secession but the secession of many others from the ranks of the Movement.

In my opinion the person at the root of these dissensions is Khwaja Kamaluddin who has attained great fame because of his connection with the Woking Mission. Maulawi Muhammad Ali is only a disciple who joined Khwaja Sahib a long time after.

This view—that the story of Ahmadiyya dissensions goes back to Khwaja Kamaluddin—has often been expressed by our side. It was Khwaja Sahib, we have said, who first began to have doubts about the Promised Messiah (as), which doubts he communicated to Maulawi Muhammad Ali upsetting Maulawi Sahib in consequence. In view of this it seems to me that to Maulawi Muhammad Ali’s attempt to connect Ahmadiyya dissensions with Zahiruddin—this has been fully discussed by me in Part I of this book—is only a counterblast to our view which connects the dissensions with Kamaluddin.

There is no doubt that when Khwaja Kamaluddin entered the Movement he did so as a sincere believer in its truth. But this is quite different from saying that it was a deep conviction of the truth of the Movement which made him join its fold. The cause of his joining the Movement was that he had at that time begun to feel dissatisfaction with Islam, and to feel an attraction towards Christianity. But as it is hard to part with one’s family and friends, Khwaja Sahib fell a victim to a most intense mental conflict. It was therefore a great relief to him to see how the exponents of Christianity cowered and fled before the onslaughts of the Promised Messiah (as). He discovered that even within the fold of Islam it was possible for one to plant his feet firmly, and to resist the attacks of Western learning and science. As this release from a terrible mental conflict he owed to the Promised Messiah (as), he quickly joined the ranks of his followers. Considering his mental attitude at the time, it cannot but be said that he joined the Movement with a sincere heart. It is natural for one, who has been saved from a great disaster, to hold his saviour as high as he possibly can. It was, therefore, natural that Khwaja Sahib came to believe in the claims of the Promised Messiah (as). But it appears he never entered into a close study of those claims. His faith had its roots in gratitude to the Promised Messiah (as) who had saved him from becoming a Christian and from the pangs of separation from relatives and friends. It is clear that such a faith could not have lived for a very long time.

With the lapse of time and the consequent fading from his memory of the days when he stood between Christianity and Islam—when, on the one hand, the many captivating allurements of Christianity were tempting his mind, and, on the other, the fear of parting from everything dear was tearing his soul—his faith began to decay, so much so that at the time of the prophecy relating to Abdullah Atham he very nearly turned an apostate. In 1897 there was held at Lahore a Conference of Religions. The Promised Messiah (as) was invited to write a paper for this Conference. It was Khwaja Kamaluddin himself who brought the invitation. The Promised Messiah (as) in those days was suffering from an attack of diarrhoea, but, nevertheless, he undertook to write this paper. When, by the Grace of God, the paper was finished, the Promised Messiah (as) made it over to Khwaja Sahib. But Khwaja Sahib gave expression to a feeling of disappointment saying that the paper would not meet with appreciation at the Conference. In fact it would merely invite derision. But God revealed to the Promised Messiah (as) that his paper would prove the best of all the papers at the Conference. Accordingly, he wrote out a notice announcing the revelation. This notice also, the Promised Messiah (as) made over to Khwaja Sahib directing him to have it printed and posted in advance all over the city of Lahore. He also spoke many a word of comfort and encouragement to Khwaja Sahib. But as Khwaja Sahib had already decided that the paper was worthless, he gave no publicity to the notice nor did he let anybody else do this. At last when some people reminded him of the command of the Promised Messiah (as), and pressed him to publish the notice, he managed to have a few copies of the notice posted secretly on the walls of the city, and they were put so high that they could not easily come to the notice of the public.

But now that they had been put, the Promised Messiah (as) could be truthfully assured that his command had been carried out? For, in the opinion of Khwaja Sahib, the paper regarding which God had been pleased to foretell that it would prove the best in the Conference, was not good enough to be read at that great gathering. At last arrived the day which had been fixed for the reading of the paper. The reading commenced, and before many minutes had passed, a complete stillness prevailed and a spell fell upon the audience. The allotted time was over but the interest of the audience was unabated. More time was given but the addition proved inadequate. Then, at the request of the audience, the Conference was extended by one clear day to enable the reading of the paper to be concluded. Friend and foe declared with one voice that the paper by the Promised Messiah (as) was undoubtedly the best that had been read at the Conference, and thus what had been foretold by God was duly fulfilled. But this great prophecy was robbed of its effect through the lukewarm faith of Khwaja Sahib. For, now all we can do is to recount the history of those days, but all the difference in the world would have been made, had the prophecy been published duly and well before the time came for its fulfilment. The importance which such a publication would have given to the prophecy can easily be imagined by everybody. This and other incidents of a similar nature go to prove that Khwaja Kamaluddin had failed to realise the true inwardness of the Ahmadiyya Movement, and his adherence to the Movement was really due to gratitude for benefits derived from the Promised Messiah (as). For example, the opponents of the Promised Messiah (as) at various time brought law suits against the Promised Messiah (as), Khwaja Sahib used to look after these suits on behalf of the Promised Messiah (as).

During all these transactions he exhibited many a sign of weakness of faith, but a reiteration of those signs would not be appropriate at this place.