Question
I am answering your question as to if there is a Qur’anic verse about the coming of Messiah. Yes, Qur’an tells us about the advent of a Prophet in the person of the Promised Messiah in the latter days in Surah Al-Jum`ah, Verse 04.
I will explain it a bit later, first of all I want to make sure that you understand that in Islam we follow both the Qur’an and the Hadith. Hadhrat Mohammad (pbuh) has taught and explained Qur’an to us and we therefore follow both Qur’an and Hadith and only if there is a contradiction between the two – then we consider Qur’an as the ultimate authority as it is the word of God and we know there can be no discrepancy in it. But we cannot ignore Sunnah of Hadhrat Mohammad (pbuh) as it explains Islam and Qur’an to us e.g; Qur’an says – say your prayers, but doesn’t say how to pray and what to say in your prayers – it is explained to us by Hadhrat Mohammad (pbuh) through his Sunnah, therefore we need Hadhrat Mohammad’s (pbuh) Sunnah to explain Islam to us and it is well documented in the books of Hadith like Bukhari in which all Muslims believe.
Now I will try to explain the coming of Messiah/Mahdi from the Qur’an and Sunnah.
Qur’an says:
And among others from among them who have not yet joined them. He is the Mighty, the Wise. (Surah Al-Jum`ah, Verse 04)
Commentary (explanation):
This verse signifies that the Message of the Holy Prophet was meant not only for the Arabs among whom he was raised but for all non-Arabs as well, and not only for his contemporaries but also for the coming generations till the end of time. Or the meaning may be that the Holy Prophet will be raised among another people who have not yet joined his immediate followers. The reference in the verse and in a well-known saying of the Holy Prophet is to the Second Advent of the Holy Prophet in the person of the Promised Messiah in the Latter Days. Says Abu Hurairah:
One day we were sitting with the Holy Prophet when Surah Jum`ah was revealed. I asked the Holy Prophet,”Who are the people to whom the words And among others from among them who have not yet joined them, refer. Salman the Persian was sitting among us. Upon my repeatedly asking him the same question, the Prophet put his hand on Salman and said, If faith were to go up up to the Pleiades (Surraya), a man from these would surely find it (Bukhari).
This hadith shows that the verse applies to a man of Persian descent. Now, the Promised Messiah, the Founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam, was of Persian descent. Other sayings of the Holy Prophet speak of the appearance of the Messiah at a time when there would remain nothing of the Qur’an but its words and of Islam but its name i.e. the true spirit of Islamic teachings will be lost. (Baihaqui). Thus the Qur’an and the Hadith both seem to agree that the present verse refers to the Second Advent of the Holy Prophet in the person of one of his followers – the Promised Messiah. (The Holy Qur’an with English translation and commentary, Hadhrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmood Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih)
There are more verses in Qur’an and many more Hadiths that tells us about the advent of the Promised Messiah and it is an undeniable fact. Islam will gain its supremacy over other religions and will encompass the world as it is the true and final religion of God – but only through His Messiah as he is God’s Messenger and embodies the true Islam. May God show you the right path.
If you want to find out more about Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam, I would recommend you to visit the following site on the web and also ask questions at this site:
www.alislam.org
Answer
I have met a number of Ahmadis during the past few years requiring of me exactly what you have stated: to believe that Mr. Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani was a prophet of God. My reply to them has been no different from the one that I gave you. Just to remind you, my reply was:
If you know of any one or more verses of the Qur’an that clearly direct me and other Muslims to hold this belief (of any prophet or Messiah after Mohammad pbuh), please do let me know. I shall then be obliged to consider the coming of the “Promised Messiah“. And in case you don’t, then you should yourself seriously consider why do you believe in something that the Qur’an does not require you to. Don’t you think that the Qur’an suffices for your success in the hereafter?
It is very unfortunate that a question as simple as that has always received the same complicated reply that I have received from you.
Please note my words again: “…any one or more verses of the Qur’an that clearly direct me and other Muslims to hold this belief“, and then look at the answer that you have given. Where in the words of the referred verse of Surah Al-Jum`ah (or the referred narrative) have I been (clearly) directed to hold the belief that you want me to hold?
My dear friend, regarding the referred verse, you have yourself stated:
This verse signifies that the Message of the Holy Prophet was meant not only for the Arabs among whom he was raised but for all non-Arabs as well, and not only for his contemporaries but also for the coming generations till the end of time. Or the meaning may be that the Holy Prophet will be raised among another people who have not yet joined his immediate followers. The reference in the verse and in a well-known saying of the Holy Prophet is to the Second Advent of the Holy Prophet in the person of the Promised Messiah in the Latter Days.
Although the original (Arabic) words of the referred verse cannot in any case be taken to mean either of the meanings that you have stated, but even then, if we do submit (just for the sake of our discussion) that either of the two meanings can be held as true, it is obvious that the referred verse does not clearly require of me to hold the belief that you want me to hold. How can a verse that may imply one or the other meaning be taken as a clear direction or commandment?
The verse of Surah Al-Jum`ah (with its previous verse) should be correctly translated as:
It is He who sent in the unlettered [pagans of Arabia ] His messenger from amongst them who recites to them His verses, to purify them, by instructing them in [His] law and in [His] wisdom, though they had previously been in obvious error. And also others among them who have not yet joined them…
It is as obvious in the English language, as it is in the Arabic language that the words: “… And also others among them who have not yet joined them…” can refer only to the Arabs. The words: “among them” are an obvious hindrance in expanding the scope of this verse to anyone besides the ‘unlettered pagans of Arabia’. Such expansion can only be allowed if one ignores the words of the Qur’an , which I am not willing to do – and I am sure neither are you.
I don’t think you will agree with my interpretation of the referred verse and nor do I require of you to do so, all that I intend is to show you that the referred verse does not answer my question (i.e. Is there any verse that clearly asks me to wait for and believe in any prophet after Mohammed). I think even you will agree with that.
I do not ask much of you, my friend, just give me one verse in the Qur’an that clearly requires of me to wait for a prophet after Mohammad (pbuh). In case you do not know of any such verse in the Qur’an , then I request you, in all humbleness, to review your belief in something that the Qur’an does not require of you.
Do you not hold the Qur’an sufficient for your salvation?
21st April 1998