We have reviewed inquiry no. 2020 for the year 2008, which includes:

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

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 Qadian, pray facing Qadian, and so forth).

I also learnt that the beliefs of the Ahmadiyya do not differ from ours. They pray facing Mecca, read the Quran, adhere to the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), and testify that there is no deity but God and that Muhammad 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 (peace be upon him) 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 Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), 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 my children and me 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?
The Qadianiyya (also known as Ahmadiyya) is a (religious) sect named after Qadian, one of the villages in the Punjab area, India. It was founded by Ghulam Ahmad al-Qadiani.

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 (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 Quran 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 Quran 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 God sent a revelation to Ghulam Ahmad saying, "Whoever loves Me [i.e. God], 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 Qadianiyya sect denies that Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is the seal of prophets: "We believe that God 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 God Almighty: "Muhammad is not the father of [any] one of your men, but [he is] the Messenger of God and the last of the prophets. And ever is God, of all things, Knowing" (Quran 33:40).
Moreover, it contradicts the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who said; "There is no prophet after me" (Bukhari).

- The Qadianiyya sect attacks and disrespects the lofty status of the Prophets, Messengers, the rightly guided Caliphs and the pure Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). They dishonor the great Companions al-Hassan and al-Hussein. Ghulam Ahmad wrote, "They say that I claim that I am better than al-Hassan and al-Hussein. Indeed, I am better than them, and God will manifest this virtue of mine."

Distortion of Quranic verses
The Qadianis distorted the meanings of the Quran. These distortions are too numerous to mention. What follows are some examples to illustrate their reprehensible distortion of the Holy Quran:

The first verse
“Exalted is He Who took His servant by night from al- Masjid al-Haram (the sacred mosque in Mecca) to al-Masjid al-Aqsa (al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem), whose surrounds We have blessed, to show him of our signs. Indeed, He is the Hearing, The Seeing” (Quran 17:1).

In their interpretation of this verse, Qadianis claim that:
Masjid al-Aqsa mentioned in this verse does not refer to the Holy Mosque in Jerusalem as agreed by exegists and historians, but refers to the Masjid of Qadian. To substantiate their claim, they cite [erroneous] evidence—namely, that the destination of Prophet Muhammad's night journey was their mosque which lies in east Qadian. Ghulam Ahmad compares this mosque to the Sacred mosque in Mecca, and claims that the words of God "And whoever enters it shall be safe" (Quran 3:97) refers to it.

The second verse
“Muhammad is the Messenger of God; and those with him are forceful against the disbelievers, merciful among themselves” (Quran 48: 29).
Ghulam Ahmad claimed that to be the prophet mentioned in this verse: "Muhammad here [in this verse] refers to me, because God referred to me in this and many other places, as Muhammad and Messenger." He was not reluctant to write this in his book Tableegh al-Risalah.

The third verse
He also claimed that the following verses were addressed to him:
"And We have not sent you, [O Muhammad], except as a mercy to the worlds" (Quran 21:107) and
"…and bringing the good tidings of a messenger to come after me" (Quran 61: 6).

Introduction of new doctrines

- The Qadianis turned their devotees away from God, the Ka'ba, and the Sacred Mosque in Mecca. Instead, they took the city of Qadian as their qiblah (En. direction of prayer). They claim that their annual conference in Qadian is a pilgrimage. Their leader, Ghulam Ahmad, said, "Coming to Qadian is pilgrimage."

- The Qadianis established a small city "Rabwa" in Western Pakistan and made it the sacred center for their [false] call.

- They call themselves "al-Ahmadiyyah" to falsely attribute themselves to the Messenger of God (peace and blessing be upon him)—Ahmad being the alternative name of Prophet Muhammad . In fact, they attribute themselves to the liar "Ghulam Ahmad".

- Ghulam Ahmad claimed that it is impermissible to pray behind any Muslim. He said, "This is my well-known madhab; it is impermissible for you to pray behind anyone besides a Qadiani—whatever his status may be and no matter how much people praise him. This is the ruling of God and His will. Those who are dubious or weak of faith, are considered disbelievers. God wants to distinguish you from them."
- Qadianis unite piety with deception. They permit prayers behind a non-Qadiani to serve their interests, but stipulate the repetition of the prayer.

Books authored by Ghulam Ahmad

Ghulam Ahmad claimed that he received a Quran from God which he called al-Kitab al-Mubeen and [revelations] exceeding the revelations of all the other Prophets.
He published a number of condemnable books full of delusions and fabricated claims. These include: Baraheen Ahmadiyyah, Izalat al-Awham, Haqiqat al-Wahy, Safinat Nuh, Tabligh al-Resalah, Khutbah Ilhamiyyah.

Protagonist of imperialism
Ghulam Ahmad collaborated extensively with the British colonialists. He issued a flagrant religious edict abrogating jihad (fighting/struggle in the cause of God) and therefore prohibiting Indian Muslims from taking up arms against the British colonialists, because he claimed that they are the vicegerents of God on earth.

Abrogation of jihad

Ghulam Ahmad sought to debilitate Muslims in the face of their British colonialists by prohibiting jihad against them. He proclaimed that jihad has been abrogated as of that time.

Quotations from his books on the abrogation of jihad

"God gradually prohibited jihad in His cause. Infanticide was permissible during the time of Musa; but the killing of children, women, and the elderly was abolished during the time of Muhammad. God completely abolished jihad in my time."

"As of today, there shall be no armed jihad. Whosoever shall take up arms against a disbeliever and calls himself a ghazi will have disobeyed the messenger of God who, 13 centuries earlier, proclaimed that jihad will be prohibited with the advent of the Promised Messiah. I am the Promised Messiah! There shall be no jihad in my time—we call for reconciliation and benevolence."

"I have spent the greater part of my life supporting the British government and opposing the notion of jihad. I will persevere until the Muslims become loyal to this government."

Islamic scholars and Qadianiyya

- In the 1930's, the poet of Islam, Muhammad Iqbal wrote a series of articles about the Qadianis exposing their falsehoods and deception. Scholars, researchers, and preachers also criticized the movement but it persisted in its evil path and transgressions supported by imperialism. The Qadianiyya movement exploited the prevailing ignorance (about) religion and found a congenial social setting and fertile environment for accepting the movement's myths, foolishness, and delusions.
- Qadianiyya is nothing more than a vicious imperialistic ploy that falsely and deceitfully claimed affiliation with Islam. Islam is free from their claims. The imperialists managed to utilize this aberrant sect to achieve its goals, mainly defaming Islam, and debilitating the Muslims. But, Islam will remain firm despite its enemies; God Almighty says,
"And God has full power and control over His affairs" (Quran 12:21).

- There is a consensus among Muslims that the Qadianiyya creed is not an Islamic doctrine and its followers are apostates. God Almighty says,
"And whoever of you reverts from his religion [to disbelief] and dies while he is a disbeliever-for those, their deeds have become worthless in their world and the Hereafter, and those are the companions of the fire, they will abode therein eternally" (Quran 2:217).

- Muslim scholars unanimously agreed that the marriage of an apostate, whether to a Muslim or non-Muslim, is invalid unless he repents and becomes Muslim again.

- The Islamic Research Assembly of al-Azhar issued a declaration during the time of Sheikh Gad al-Haqq Ali Gad al-Haqq (may God have mercy on him) stating that Qadianiyya is among the sects that bear no connection whatsoever to Islam but only assumes the guise of Islam.

- In August 2007, the Islamic Research Assembly renewed its declaration on the Qadyianiyya sect explicitly stating that its followers are non-Muslims and that it has nothing to do with Islam. The declaration maintained this opinion even with the new amendments introduced into the new Qadianiyya publications expounding the differences between Ahmadiyya and Qadianiyya. The Islamic Research Assembly also indicated that some people [mistakenly] consider Qadianiyya an Islamic sect—a claim that the Qadianiyya strive to propagate to achieve their interests.

- The Ahmadiyya claim that the points of difference between their and Muslims concern only minor matters. This is false, since the beliefs of the Ahmadiyya/Qadianiyya as expounded in their books contravene what is known in the religion as necessary.1

- In its 2nd meeting held on 16-17 Rabee' al-Akhar 1406 A.H/22-28 December 1985 in Jeddah, the International Islamic Fiqh Academy, a subsidiary organ of the Organization of The Islamic Conference, issued a statement on the ruling for the Qadianiyya and its off-shoot known as the Lahoriyyah, and whether or not they should be counted as Muslims. They concluded that the claims of Ghulam Ahmad to prophethood or his claims to having received Divine revelations are a manifest repudiation of what is known in religion as necessary concerning established and definitive [proof] that Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is the seal of Prophets and that no one will receive Divine revelations after him. Ghulam Ahmad's claims put him and his followers beyond the pale of Islam and therefore they are apostates.

- The ruling for the Lahoriyya is the same even though they describe Ghulam Ahmad only as a shadow and manifestation of our Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).
- The Islamic Jurisprudence Council, a subsidiary body of The Muslim World League, issued resolution no.3 of its first session stating that it is unanimously agreed that the Qadianiyyah—also known as Ahmadiyya—totally contravenes Islam; its followers are disbelievers and apostates, and only pretend to be Muslims to deceive and delude people. All Muslims—including governments, scholars, authors, intellectuals, preachers and others—should strive against this deluding sect and its followers worldwide.
- The Permanent Committee for Scientific Research and Fatwa in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia issued a fatwa on this issue and declared Qadianis disbelievers.

The ruling

A person who converts to Qadianiyya or Ahmadiyya is an apostate. Therefore the following rulings must be observed:

- It is impermissible for the inquirer, who is a Muslim, to maintain marital life with her husband who converted to this sect.

- The marriage contract is invalid.

- Conjugal relations are considered adultery.

- It is impermissible for the husband to take custody of his sons when they reach the legal age for it, lest they follow his false faith. God Almighty says,
"And whoever desires other than Islam as religion - never will it be accepted from him, and he, in the Hereafter, will be among the losers" (Quran 3:85).

God Most High knows best.

Footnotes
1. Beliefs which are so well established in the Quran and Sunnah that denying them is like denying the Quran, and hence Islam itself. Such as the obligation to pray five times a day, and that Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is the final Messenger to humanity.