Background

I am a married with two sons. My husband converted to the Ahmadiyya sect which was founded in Qadyan, India. Their founder was Mirza Ghulam Ahmed Qadyan.

I learnt that [sometime after the death of its founder] this sect was split into the Ahmadiyya and the extremist Qadianiyya sects. The Muslim community and religious scholars unanimously agree that followers of the Qadianiyya are disbelievers due to their strange beliefs (they make their pilgrimage to Qadyan, pray facing Qadyan, and so forth).

I also learnt that the beliefs of the Ahmadiyya do not differ from ours. They pray facing Mecca, read the Qur`an, adhere to the sunna of prophet Mohammed [pbuh], and testify that there is no God but Allah and that Mohammed is His messenger. The only differences are: they do not pray in sunni mosques, they pray behind an imam from their own sect, they have a different viewpoint on the death of prophet 'Isa [pbuh] from ours, and that Ghulam Ahmed, the imam of the Ahmadiyya sect, is the Anticipated Mahdy resembling 'Isa. I read their pledge of allegiance and found that it contained the two testimonies of faith, the sunna of prophet Mohammed [pbuh], and the five pillars of Islam.

Questions

- What is the ruling for being married to a man who adheres to this sect?
- Is it permissible to remain married to him? If not, is it permissible for my husband to continue supporting me and my children and provide lodgings for us ?
- Is it permissible for him to take my sons after they reach the legal age when they must be in the custody of their father?
 

Who are the Qadianiyya?

Qadianiyya is a [religious] sect named after Qadian, one of the villages in the Punjab area, India. It was founded by Ghulam Ahmad al-Qadyani.

Birth and Lineage

Ghulam Ahmad was born in 1839 CE in the village of Qadian and died on 26 May 1908 in the city of Lahore. He is buried in Qadian. It was said that his parents came from Samarqand; his lineage can be traced back to Mogul or Persian descent.

He was born into a family loyal to their British colonialists; his father, Ghulam Murtada, forged close relations with the British government and occupied a position in the imperialist British government in India. In 1851, his father helped the British government against his country and fellow Muslims providing the colonialists with soldiers and horses.

Intellectual background and movement Ghulam Ahmad read extensively both in Urdu and Arabic. He occupied a job in Sialcot.
In 1877, Ghulam Ahmad embarked on his evil mission and published his book, Baraheen Ahmadiyya, in several volumes.

In 1885 he claimed that he was the mujaddid [En. divine reformer] and in 1891 claimed to be the Anticipated Mahdi and the Promised Messiah: "I am the Messiah, I am word of God and I am both Muhammad and Ahmad", claiming to be the best of all Prophets.

Ghulam Ahmad was cunning; he did not explicitly antagonize Islam but adopted the guise of reformation and development. He delivered his message in stages—first claiming to be the Anticipated Mahdi, then he claimed to have received Divine revelations, not as a law-bearing prophet, but as a deputy prophet like Haroun was to Musa. He distorted the meanings of the noble Qur'an to fulfill his ambitions.

His son and successor, Mahmud, continued propagating his father's [fraudulent] claims and course of disbelief. He said, "We consider anyone who does not believe in Qadianiyya a disbeliever because the Qur'an says whoever denies any of the Messengers, is a disbeliever. Based on this, whoever denies that Ghulam Ahmad is a prophet and messenger is a disbeliever?"

His second son complicated matters even more by saying, "Whoever believes in Musa but not in 'Isa, or believes in 'Isa but not in Muhammad is a disbeliever. The same is true for those who do not believe in Ghulam Ahmad, they are disbelievers."

Qadiani books claim that Allah sent a revelation to Ghulam Ahmad saying, "Whoever loves Me [i.e. Allah], must follow and believe in you [i.e. Ghulam Ahmad]; otherwise, he will be My enemy. We will reward those who deny and harm you with a grievous penalty—the abode of Hellfire."

Tenets and Beliefs

- The Qadyaniyya sect denies that Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is the seal of prophets: "We believe that Allah continues to send Messengers to reform this community and guide it whenever necessary." This claim is a declaration of disbelief in itself. It contradicts the words of Allah Almighty:

Muhammad is not the father of [any] one of your men, but [he is] the Messenger of Allah and last of the prophets. And ever is Allah , of all things, Knowing [Al-Ahzab, 40].

Moreover, it contradicts the words of the prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, who said; "There is no prophet after me" [Bukhari].