If at some point the conditions of jihad of self-defense arise as described in the Holy Quran, then it is possible that a Messiah will wage such a Jihad of the sword. Hadrat Musleh Mau‘ud ra, wrote:
The founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement clearly wrote, “The Holy Prophet
(Anwarul ‘Ulum, vol. 23, p. 409)sas said that ‘Isa the Messiah will postpone wars.” Fromthis we learn that whatever the Promised Messiah as has written about jihad is only in the meaning of postponement, not in the meaning of permanent abrogation. The Promised Messiah as has given this same explanation concerning the temporary postponement of jihad, that it is not I who am speaking of the postponement of jihad, rather, the Holy Prophetsas said this. From one excerpt of his as, it is clearly apparent that during a time in the future, it is possible that it will become necessary for Muslims to fight and the need for religious wars may arise. He as writes, “It is possible, entirely possible, that at some time such a Messiah comes on whom the apparent words of ahadith can be fulfilled. I have not come with the sovereignty and kingdom of this world, but I have come in the mantle of a dervish and in simplicity. When this is the reality, then what difficulty is there for clerics? It is possible that this desire of theirs also be fulfilled at some time.”
In this regard, the Promised Messiah as himself prophesied the coming of such a Messiah at the end of the latter days. He as wrote:
It has also been made apparent to me that after the passing of a period which will be a time of goodness, reformation, and prevalence of the unity of God, it is ordained that disorder, idolatry, and transgression will again make a return in the world. Some will destroy others like insects, ignorance will prevail, and again the worship of the Messiah will begin. The ignorance of making a created being into a God will greatly spread. In the last part of this last age, all of this disorder will spread from the Christian religion. Then, the spirit of the Messiah will again come into great agitation and will seek its descent in a
(Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 5, p. 346)jalali [awe-inspiring] manner. Then, with his descent in a wrathful manifestation, that age will end. Then the end will come and the world will be wrapped up.
Hadrat Khalifatul-Masih IV rta of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community explained this further, saying:
Jalali tells that he is something different from the other Messiahs before him because the concept of Messiah-hood is
(Question Answer Session, Aug 12, 1984)jamali . So he is not like the old messiahs. He is something different, and that is only because a warner has to appear before the world is destroyed in the end. The Holy Prophetsas also tells us that people will become so evil that they will not accept anything, and their case would be completely gone out of hand. That would be the time when Allah would decide to finish mankind as such. So when such a time comes, there has to be a warner of some sort. So Masih would appear as ajalali one. Nobody is going to accept him because if he is to be followed and accepted then mankind would not be destroyed.
It must be remembered here that it is possible for prophets to come after the Promised Messiah as. The Holy Prophet sas said:
There is no prophet between me and him, that is, Jesus as. He will descend.
(Sunan Abi Dawud, Book 38, Hadith 4,310)
Explaining this Hadith, Hudur aba said:
To say that the doors of prophethood have completely closed, neither I have the right, nor you. If Allah Almighty says that He makes prophets, then who are we to say that no Prophet will come? That is why the Promised Messiah as has stated that it is possible that in the future if you move away from faith, then in order to bring you back to faith, he may send a
(Gulshan-e-Waqfe- Nau Khuddamul-Ahmadiyya Class, February 5, 2017)jalali nabi [prophet]… Therefore the knowledge that has been given to us by the Holy Prophetsas is this—that there will be no prophet between himsas and the Promised Messiah as. So there would be no prophet in between them, but thereafter, Allah knows best. The Promised Messiah as has obviously alluded to this and said that it is possible that a prophet may come.
The Promised Messiah as wrote:
I
(Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 3, p. 251)accept, and repeatedly say that not only one but more than ten thousand Messiahs can come, and it is possible that onecome with apparent awe and prosperity.
However, any Messiahs that come would come under the authority of the Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad
There is no room for a Messiah other than me to set foot after my
(Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 16, p. 243)age, if you reflect and do not transgress. I am the promised one of this age, and there is no age after me. O liars, in which age will you cause your imagined Messiah as to descent?
Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad as was the advent of the Messiah as prophesied by the Holy Prophet
I announce that I am the messenger of the awe-inspiring descent of the Promised Messiah, which is that until now was the merciful descent of the Promised Messiah. From now the awe-inspiring descent will begin. This means that before people were softly taught with mercy. However, now God Almighty will warn with his awe-inspiring and wrathful means, and it is to announce this matter that I have been commissioned.
(Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 22, p. 427)
Any Messiah that comes after Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad as, whether
The concept of a bloody Messiah who will force people to convert to Islam is a false belief because it contradicts the Holy Quran. The Messiah of the latter days is prophesied as a spiritual reformer who comes during a time of spiritual darkness. If a Messiah will ever wage Jihad of the sword in the last part of the latter days, it will only be within the Quranic definition of Jihad and in self-defense.