Khalifatul Masih sometimes simply referred to as Khalifah (the word is generally Latinised as Caliph whence the word Caliphate

Caliphate

The term caliphate, "dominion of a caliph " , refers to the first system of government established in Islam and represented the political unity of the Muslim Ummah...

 is derived) is the elected spiritual leader of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community

Ahmadiyya Muslim Community

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is the larger of two communities that arose from the Ahmadiyya movement founded in 1889 in India by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian . The original movement split into two factions soon after the death of the founder...

 and is the successor of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad

Mīrzā Ghulām Aḥmad was a religious figure from India and the founder of the Ahmadiyya Community. He claimed to be the Mujaddid of the 14th Islamic century, the promised Messiah , and the Mahdi awaited by the Muslims in the end days...

 of Qadian

Qadian

Qadian is a small town and a municipal council in Gurdaspur District, north-east of Amritsar, situated north-east of Batala city in the state of Punjab, India....

. The Khalifatul Masih is believed by the Ahmadiyya Community to be divinely guided, continuing the same divine communion which the founder, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad is said to have enjoyed. The Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement

Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement

The Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement for the Propagation of Islam, Ahmadiyya Anjuman Ishaat-i-Islam Lahore , also known as the Lahoris, formed as a result of ideological differences within the Ahmadiyya movement, after the demise of Maulana Hakim Noor-ud-Din in 1914, the first Khalifa after its founder,...

 however does not subscribe to this belief. The Khalifatul Masih is also referred to by members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community as Amir al-Muminin

Amir al-Muminin

Amīr al-Mu'minīn usually translated Commander of the Faithful or Leader of the Faithful, is the Arabic style of Caliphs and other independent sovereign Muslim rulers that claim legitimacy from a community of Muslims...

 (leader of the faithful). The current Khalifatul Masih is Mirza Masroor Ahmad

Mirza Masroor Ahmad

His Holiness Mirza Masroor Ahmad is Khalifatul Masih V, the spiritual leader of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. He was elected as the fifth successor of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad on April 22, 2003, a few days after the death of his predecessor Mirza Tahir Ahmad, the fourth Caliph for the Ahmadiiya...

.

After the death of Ghulam Ahmad, his successors directed the Ahmadiyya Community from Qadian

Qadian

Qadian is a small town and a municipal council in Gurdaspur District, north-east of Amritsar, situated north-east of Batala city in the state of Punjab, India....

 which remained the headquarters of the community until 1947 with the creation of Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

. From this time on the headquarters remained in Rabwah

Rabwah

Rabwah is a private city in the Chiniot District of Punjab Province, Pakistan located on the Chenab River near the historic city of Chiniot...

, a land bought in Pakistan by the community. In 1984, Ordinance XX

Ordinance XX

Ordinance XX is an legal ordinance of the Government of Pakistan that was promulgated under the regime of General Zia-ul-Haq and is meant to restrict members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community from applying certain Islamic terms to their own religious practices and beliefs.-Precedent:Ordinance XLIV...

 was promulgated by the government of Pakistan which rendered the Khalifa unable to perform his duties and put the very institution of the Ahmadiyya Caliphate in jeopardy. Due to these circumstances, Khalifatul Masih IV

Mirza Tahir Ahmad

Mirza Tahir Ahmad was Khalifatul Masih IV, Caliph of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and fourth successor to Mirza Ghulam Ahmad...

 left Pakistan and migrated to London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, provisionally changing the headquarters to the Fazl Mosque.

Overview

The members of the community believe that the Ahmadiyya Caliphate (Arabic: Khilāfah) is the continuation of the Islamic Caliphate, first being the Rashidun

Rashidun

The Rightly Guided Caliphs or The Righteous Caliphs is a term used in Sunni Islam to refer to the first four Caliphs who established the Rashidun Caliphate. The concept of "Rightly Guided Caliphs" originated with the Abbasid Dynasty...

 (rightly guided) Caliphate (of Righteous Caliphs). This is believed to have been suspended with Ali

Ali

' |Ramaḍān]], 40 AH; approximately October 23, 598 or 600 or March 17, 599 – January 27, 661).His father's name was Abu Talib. Ali was also the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and ruled over the Islamic Caliphate from 656 to 661, and was the first male convert to Islam...

, the son-in-law of Muhammad

Muhammad

Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...

 and re-established with the appearance of Ghulam Ahmad whom Ahmadis believe was the Promised Messiah and Mahdi

Mahdi

In Islamic eschatology, the Mahdi is the prophesied redeemer of Islam who will stay on Earth for seven, nine or nineteen years- before the Day of Judgment and, alongside Jesus, will rid the world of wrongdoing, injustice and tyranny.In Shia Islam, the belief in the Mahdi is a "central religious...

.

Ahmadi Muslims believe that God

God

God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....

 has assured them that this Caliphate will endure to the end of time, depending on their righteousness and faith in God. The Khalifa provides unity, security and progress for the Jama’at-i-Ahmadiyya. It is required that the Khalifa carry out his duties through consultation and taking into consideration the views of the members of the Shura (consultative body). However, it is not incumbent upon him to always accept the views and recommendations of the members. The Khalifatul Masih has overall authority for all religious and organisational matters and is bound to decide and act in accordance with the Qur'an

Qur'an

The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...

 and Hadith

Hadith

The term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....

. According to Ahmadiyya thought, it is not essential for a Khalifa to be the head of a state, rather the spiritual and religious significance of the Khilāfah is emphasised.

Quranic reference

There are two kinds of Khalifa (pl. Khulafā) mentioned in the Quran, one which is directly appointed by God i.e. a prophet and vicegerent of God, (like Adam and David

David

David was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible and, according to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, an ancestor of Jesus Christ through both Saint Joseph and Mary...

 who have been called God’s vicegerent in the Quran. and ). The other is one who succeeds a prophet and is a vicegerent of a prophet, referred to in the verse:

Reestablishment of the Rashidun Caliphate

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community believes that their Caliphate is the second era and re-establishment of the first Caliphate, that of the Rashidun

Rashidun

The Rightly Guided Caliphs or The Righteous Caliphs is a term used in Sunni Islam to refer to the first four Caliphs who established the Rashidun Caliphate. The concept of "Rightly Guided Caliphs" originated with the Abbasid Dynasty...

. As is stated in the Hadith

Hadith

The term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....

:
The first era of Caliphate mentioned in the above saying of Muhammad is commonly accepted by Muslims as that of the Rashidun. The second era mentioned is thought by Ahmadis to be that of the Ahmadiyya Caliphate.

Qudrat-e-Sānia (The second Manifestation of God’s power)

The Khilafat is believed by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community to be the second manifestation of God’s power that was promised by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad to be witnessed by his patient and true followers after his demise. Ghulam Ahmad wrote in his last testament Al-Wassiyyat (The Will)

System of election

The Ahmadiyya Muslim community holds that the Khilafat is a holy trust entrusted to a person on account of his piety, righteousness and ability through election and that the Khilafat is not hereditary, even though all the Khulafā of the Ahmadiyya community from the Khalifatul Masih II have been related. The Khalifa is elected to the office by voting of the members of the Electoral College, which was established for this purpose by Mirza Mahmood Ahmad. During the life of a Khalifa, the Electoral College works under his supervision. However, after the demise of a Khalifa, the Electoral College becomes completely independent and elects the next Khalifatul Masih. During the election, names are proposed and seconded by the members of the Electoral College, and then they vote for the proposed names by raising their hands. Though the Khalifa is elected, it is God however, who is believed to guide the members towards election of a righteous and able person as the Khalifatul Masih. Thus it is believed that it is God who chooses the Khalifa.

List of Ahmadiyya Caliphs

Name	Picture	Lifespan	Caliphate	Notes
Khalifatul Masih I. Hakeem Noor-ud-Din		1841–1914	1908–1914	Renowned physician of India, close companion of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, he sent the first Ahmadiyya Muslim missionaries to the UK, and successfully dealt with internal dissensions within the community.
Khalifatul Masih II. Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad , was Khalifatul Masih II, head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and the eldest son of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad from his second wife, Nusrat Jehan Begum...		1889–1965	1914–1965	Son of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Mīrzā Ghulām Aḥmad was a religious figure from India and the founder of the Ahmadiyya Community. He claimed to be the Mujaddid of the 14th Islamic century, the promised Messiah , and the Mahdi awaited by the Muslims in the end days... , was elected as Khalifa at the young age of 25, considered to be the 'promised son'. He established the entire organisational structure of the community, and is known for extensive missionary activity outside the subcontinent of India.
Khalifatul Masih III. Mirza Nasir Ahmad Mirza Nasir Ahmad Hafiz Mirza Nasir Ahmad was Khalifatul Masih III, head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. He was elected as the third successor of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad on November 8, 1965, the day after the death of his predecessor and father, Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad.Nasir Ahmad is credited with...		1909–1982	1965–1982	Spoke himself for the Ahmadiyya community at the National Assembly of Pakistan, laid the foundation of the first mosque in Spain Spain Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...  after 750 years. He oversaw the compilation of the dreams, visions, and revelations and the dialogues of the founder, Ghulam Ahmad Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Mīrzā Ghulām Aḥmad was a religious figure from India and the founder of the Ahmadiyya Community. He claimed to be the Mujaddid of the 14th Islamic century, the promised Messiah , and the Mahdi awaited by the Muslims in the end days... .
Khalifatul Masih IV. Mirza Tahir Ahmad Mirza Tahir Ahmad Mirza Tahir Ahmad was Khalifatul Masih IV, Caliph of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and fourth successor to Mirza Ghulam Ahmad...		1928–2003	1982–2003	Led the community through periods of severe persecution, provisionally changed the Ahmadiyya headquarters from Rabwah Rabwah Rabwah is a private city in the Chiniot District of Punjab Province, Pakistan located on the Chenab River near the historic city of Chiniot...  to London and launched the first Muslim satellite TV channel by the name of Muslim Television Ahmadiyya International.
Khalifatul Masih V. Mirza Masroor Ahmad Mirza Masroor Ahmad His Holiness Mirza Masroor Ahmad is Khalifatul Masih V, the spiritual leader of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. He was elected as the fifth successor of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad on April 22, 2003, a few days after the death of his predecessor Mirza Tahir Ahmad, the fourth Caliph for the Ahmadiiya...		1950–present	2003–present	Presently guiding the community through a period of widespread skepticism towards Islam, regularly holds peace conferences. Launched sister channels MTA 2 MTA 2 MTA 2 also known as MTA Ath-Thania is the second television channel of the MTA International satellite network. It was launched in early 2004. The programmes are broadcast throughout Europe and parts of Africa below the Sahel region. The channel was established under the auspices of Mirza Masroor...  and MTA3 Al Arabiyya MTA 3 MTA 3 also known as MTA3 Al Arabiya is the third television channel of the MTA International satellite network. It was launched on 23 March 2007. The programmes are broadcast throughout the Middle East, North Africa and North America. It is also available for live streaming via the Internet... .