The Will (Book)
The Will (English rendering of Al-Wasiyyat [Urdu]) is a work of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, who claimed to be the promised Messiah and Mahdi in Islam, the founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. The Will was published on 24 December 1905.
Contents
The author Mirza Ghulam Ahmad claimed that he had been receiving continuously, revelations to the effect, that his death was very near.
Message
The book reiterates some of his claims and admonishes his audience. He foretells of "Death and destruction" all over the World. He gives glad tidings to his followers, about future successes and claims, God revealed to him:
"You are a Warner on my behalf. I have sent you so that the guilty ones be separated from the righteous," And "A Warner came unto the world but the world accepted him not, yet God will accept him and demonstrate his truthfulness with mighty onslaughts." And "I shall bless thee, so much so, that kings shall seek blessings from thy garments." (The Will, page 4.)
Two Manifestations
Ahmad proclaimed that there were two Manifestations of God's Might. One is Prophethood and then there is a Second Manifestation when a Prophet has died, the Qudrat-e-Thaniyya (The Second Might). He writes: "Allah lets them (Prophets) sow the seed of the truth, but He does not let it come to full fruition at the prophet’s hands. He causes them to die at such time as apparently forebodes a kind of failure. This thereby provides an opportunity for the opponents to laugh at, ridicule, taunt and reproach the Prophets. And after they have had their fill of ridicule and reproach, He reveals yet another dimension of His Might and creates such means by which the objectives which had to some extent remained incomplete are fully realized.(page. 5)"
Second Manifestation is خلافة or Khilāfa
The author Mirza Ghulam Ahmad has described in clear words what he meant by the Second Manifestation or Qudrat-e-Thaniyya. He gave three examples, Muhammad being followed by Abu Bakr, Moses followed by Joshua son of Nun and Jesus son of Mary followed by Peter, all three holding the communities of their Messengers from going into dispersion after the death of the head of the community, and at the critical time of great distress. Ahmad writes:
"Thus He manifests two kinds of Power. (1) First He shows the Hand of His Power at the hands of His Prophets themselves. (2) Second, when with the death of a Prophet, difficulties and problems arise and the enemy feels stronger and thinks that things are in disarray and is convinced that now this Jama‘at will become extinct and even members of the Jama‘at, too, are in a quandary and their backs are broken, and some of the unfortunate ones choose paths that lead to apostasy, then it is that God for the second time, who shows His Mighty Power and supports and takes care of the shaken Jama‘at... This is what happened at the time of Hadrat Abu Bakr Siddiq, when the demise of the Holy Prophet was considered untimely and many an ignorant Bedouin turned apostate.... Then Allah raised Abu Bakr Siddiq and showed for the second time the manifestation of His Power and saved Islam... That is also what happened at the time of Moses, when he died on his way from Egypt to Kin‘an before taking the Israelites to the intended destination in accordance with the promise.... the same happened with Christ. At the time of the incident of Crucifixion, all his disciples scattered and even one of them apostatized." (page 6-7)
Ever-lasting Promise
Ahmad has conveyed to his community that this Sunnatullah (the Practice of God) would not change even after his departure from this world. The Second Manifestation will appear and will stay with the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community till the day of Judgement. He wrote:
"So dear friends! since it is the Sunnatullah (the Practice of God), from time immemorial, that God Almighty shows two Manifestations, so that the two false joys of the opponents be put to an end, it is not possible now that God should relinquish His Sunnah (practice) of old. So do not grieve over what I have said to you; nor should your hearts be distressed. For it is essential for you to witness the second Manifestation also, and its Coming is better for you because it is everlasting, the continuity of which will not end till the Day of Judgement. And that second Manifestation cannot come unless I depart. But when I depart, God will send that second Manifestation for you which shall always stay with you just as promised by God in Brahin-e-Ahmadiyya." (page 7)