One of the most striking features of the Ahmadiyya message is the idea that Jesus survived the cross, travelled to India and was buried in Kashmir. This is, of course, a contradiction of both Christian and Islamic teaching. It is not an obscure detail among other beliefs; it is woven into the heart of their message, especially as they engage with Christians.

A couple of years ago, I had an Ahmadi friend who has since moved away. He gave me a copy of the Ghulam Mirza Ahmad al-Qadiani’s book Jesus in India It was written in 1908 in Urdu and later translated into English and other languages. It is still used today essentially unchanged. I welcomed the opportunity to find out for myself how they supported their version of history and to give it a fair examination.

I started to write down my comments and questions and my friend passed them to a senior leader, an English convert, who I then corresponded with. It became clear that over the years an impressive and integrated set of arguments have been built up to support al-Qadiani’s contention. They are coherent from an Ahmadi point of view. A naïve opponent would have their initial objections dealt with easily with reference to scripture. These arguments are well rehearsed and delivered with great confidence.

To start with, the book claims to be based on evidence not on some kind of special revelation. It therefore invites rational discussion. The case rests on three foundations.

1. That Jesus was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.

2. That Jesus survived the cross as he said he would and as the Bible teaches.

3. That the lost tribes of Israel were to be found in Afghanistan and Kashmir.

We shall treat them in turn before discussing how to respond to them.

1. The Mission of Jesus

Jesus himself used the expression ‘lost sheep of Israel’ on two occasions. In Matthew 10:6 he sends the disciples out saying that they should go only to the lost sheep of Israel. Then in Matthew 15:24, in the context of the encounter with the Canaanite woman, Jesus states that he was sent only the lost sheep of Israel. Other passages are used to build on this picture. Jesus made a remark about not giving ‘to dogs’ in Matthew 15 and the book links this to Matthew 7:6, applying it to all Gentiles. John 10:16 ‘not of this sheepfold’ is interpreted to mean that Jesus must go and find other Jews outside beyond the borders of historic Israel.

Another aspect that the unwary might be caught off guard by is that the expression lost sheep of Israel is conflated with the ‘Lost Tribes of Israel’. This was something of a fad in the 19th century. As British explorers, traders and colonial officials spread through Asia, the idea of discovering ‘the lost tribes’ was a fascination for some of them. It was, however, a fantasy. In NT times, there were no lost tribes. Acts 2 refers to Jewish pilgrims from several regions plainly still in touch with their fellow Jews in Palestine. In Acts 26:7, Paul speaks of the twelve tribes as current reality. Al-Qadiani took the word ‘lost’ as used by Jesus to mean ‘location unknown’ which did not apply. Jesus used the term ‘lost’ several times with reference to those who were far from God but located in their own land as can be easily established by reading the gospel texts rather than selecting individual sentences.

Their view of the true mission of Jesus is far reaching; if you go deeper, they tell you that the whole Gentile mission was a historical accident, the result of the actions of Paul, the enemy of Jesus. Citing Galatians 2:7, they argue that the true followers sent him off to the Gentiles to get rid of him. The church, most of the New Testament, the creeds and just about everything else they disagree with is blamed on Paul.

2. Jesus and the Cross

It is the contention of the Ahmadis that Jesus was crucified but survived as he said he would. They build their case from Bible texts. Chapter one of Al-Qadiani’s book goes straight to Matthew 12:38-40 where Jesus speaks of the ‘Sign of Jonah’ and in my experience so do Ahmadis today. Jesus himself gives this statement prominence. Al-Qadiani points out that Jonah did not die but survived the experience and claims that Jesus was saying he would appear to die but re-emerge not having died.

He goes on to explain that ‘risen’ does not need to mean risen from death for a man can rise from his bed. This puts a new meaning into the words of the angel, he is not here he is risen (Matthew 28:5-6). He also cites the way the words ‘asleep’ and ‘dead’ are interchanged at various times (e.g. Matthew 9:24; 1 Thessalonians 4:13) though in these cases people are genuinely dead but because they will rise again are referred to as asleep. This is the reverse of the way the Ahmadis use it. The fact is that many of the NT texts use words such as ‘crucifixion’ and ‘suffering’ without making explicit that death is intended. Once you start interpreting these words in this way, another story emerges.

The resurrection appearances are repurposed, especially those that describe Jesus as eating. This is taken as proof that he had returned as the same flesh and blood person he was before. References to him gong ahead of the disciples and being seen on the road are taken as indications that he set off to leave that area and to continue his ministry elsewhere having been rejected.

The spear in the side (John 19:34), such a profound proof of death, is reinterpreted as a flesh wound which demonstrated that Jesus bled and that his heart was still beating. He contends that Pilate responded to his wife’s dream (Matthew 27:19) and conspired with the centurion not to break Jesus’ legs and with Joseph of Arimathea to get him to safe place quickly so that he could be treated with aloes with its well-known healing properties. I could go on; needless to say this is not a flimsy swoon theory.

3. The Lost Tribes in India

My correspondent quoted a commentary on James 1:1 by someone called Benson which mentions India and cross-references it with Esther 1:1. The book makes much of the writings of British explorers and adventurers who wrote about the Afghans as the descendants of Israel. At the same time, British explorers were finding supposed descendants in many other places including Africa, but the book only uses what fits the argument. Evidence for a journey across Iraq and Iran is scanty including some sentences from a Persian book which he admits is full of absurd claims. Evidence that Jesus lived and died in Kashmir is not really offered. On page 23 of the book, he mentioned that the tomb had recently been ‘re-discovered’. I have talked to the Kashmiris I know to find out if there were any traditional legends about Jesus in Kashmir, but I haven’t found one that has heard of any.

Responding to the challenge

I believe it is important in any area of apologetics to recognise that two different types of response are needed. The first is the response needed by Christians for Christians. This means using reasons that make sense to Christians and show that the Bible really does say what we affirm it does. Such reasoning carries little weight with Ahmadis because their belief in their account does not really depend on the Bible. As my correspondent eventually admitted “As Christians will not accept what is written in the Holy Qur’an, therefore he had to quote from the New Testament, whether he believed it or not.”

The Ahmadi version of the story is told with great assurance online in literature and by ordinary Ahmadi activists. It is supported with Bible verses familiar to someone who has had a Christian upbringing. The objections and questions that the first-time hearer comes up with have all been heard before and the responses to them anticipated.

I looked up every reference I was given and often found that a verse was used in a way that the verses before it and after it contradicted. A careful reading of the Gospel accounts answers every contention.

To address the main points: Was Jesus only sent to the lost sheep of Israel? The same Jesus who sent his disciples out in Matthew 10 to the lost sheep of Israel also sent the same disciples out into the world in Matthew 28:18-20. If there was any doubt what was meant by ‘disciples of every nation,’ Mark 16:15, Luke 24:46-47 may help to clarify.

Did Jesus predict his surviving the cross? When Jesus spoke plainly rather than with illustrations, he could not have been clearer that he would be killed (Matthew 16:21; Mark 8:31; Luke 9:21).

Was it only Paul who said he died and rose again? No. Peter in 1 Peter 1:3 leaves no room for doubt. The angel in Matthew 28:7 also affirms that he rose from the dead not just from sleep.

Did Jesus travel on to India? No, he was seen by eye-witnesses to be taken up into heaven (Luke 24:50-51; Acts 1:9-11).

Whatever might be helpful for an individual troubled by Ahmadi claims, it would be a good thing for any church or youth group to revisit the important matter of the historical truth of the gospel narrative and not take it for granted.

Responding to Ahmadis

Perhaps an inexperienced Ahmadi activist might agree to sit and carefully read what the Gospels actually say, in which case that would be a good approach. In so doing, we would be advised to keep drawing attention to the fact that Jesus was fulfilling the plan of God as foretold by the prophets and that the purpose of this plan was the salvation of people such as ourselves.

However, an experienced Ahmadi would probably not be susceptible. As I mentioned earlier, although Ahmadis may make use of scriptures, they do not trust them. In my experience, when you get down to the details, they resort to the line so often encountered in conversations with Muslims that Christian scriptures have been corrupted and are not reliable. The usual apologetic approaches may be useful, but more important than simply being correct, we need to be confident, warm, respectful and friendly. Personal testimony and a willingness to pray for them are more likely to cut through than methodical reasoning.