The Qadiani belief is that it was by the publication of this booklet, in November 1901, that Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad first announced to the world that he was claiming to be a prophet.

Both the Qadianis and the Lahore Ahmadis agree that Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad laid claim to be the Promised Messiah in 1891. They also agree that, having made that claim, he denied and kept on denying that he was claiming to be a prophet, and wrote again and again that his claim was that of a muhaddas (a non-prophet who receives revelation from Allah) and mujaddid.

The difference is that the Qadianis believe that after about ten years he changed his position and declared to the world in Ayk Ghalati Ka Izala that he was in fact a prophet. But the Lahore Ahmadis believe that his position never changed, and remained the same as it was in 1891 to the very end of his life.

To show that the Qadianis do indeed hold this belief, we quote below from the book Haqiqat an-Nubuwwat by Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmud Ahmad, the second Khalifa of the Qadianis, published in March 1915:

"The books in which he has denied being a prophet in clear words, and has called his prophethood as partial and imperfect, and as the prophethood of saints (muhaddas), are all without exception books from before the year 1901 . . . It is definitely found that in 1901 the Promised Messiah certainly made a change in his belief, that is to say, previously he considered his prophethood as being sainthood (muhaddas) but afterwards he only called it prophethood." - p. 120.

"The issue of prophethood became clear to him in 1900 or 1901, and as Ayk Ghalati Ka Izala was published in 1901, in which he has proclaimed his prophethood most forcefully, it shows that he made a change in his belief in 1901. . . . It is proved that the references dating prior to the year 1901 in which he has denied being a prophet, are now abrogated and it is an error to use them as evidence." - p. 121.

"The Promised Messiah during two different periods defined 'prophet' in two different ways. Before the year 1901 he used one definition of 'prophet.' Afterwards, ... he discovered a different definition of 'prophet.' According to the previous definition of 'prophet' in his mind, he was not a prophet, and therefore while all the characteristics of prophethood were found in him, he refrained from calling himself a prophet. ... But afterwards he had to change his belief. He discovered from the Holy Quran that the definition of prophet was different from what he had thought... and so he declared his prophethood" - p. 122

"The first evidence of the change in this belief is found in the announcement Ayk Ghalati Ka Izala, which is the first written evidence." - p. 124.

According to the Qadiani belief expressed in these extracts, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, having become the Promised Messiah in 1891, did not know what makes a man into a prophet. Therefore, while being a prophet he did not consider or call himself a prophet; indeed he denied being a prophet. This state of affairs, according to the Qadiani belief, lasted for some ten years. In the year 1901, they assert, he discovered the right definition of a prophet, and realized that he had been a prophet all along, and so he wrote Ayk Ghalati Ka Izala to announce that he was a prophet.

The question to be determined is, therefore:

• Has Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad changed his belief in this booklet as claimed by the Qadianis,
• or has he reaffirmed the beliefs he expressed previously as claimed by the Lahore Ahmadis?

It is not sufficient for the Qadianis just to point out that Hazrat Mirza has called himself a prophet in this booklet, because they agree that he had been using this word for the past ten years but in a metaphorical sense and without claiming to be a prophet. What the Qadianis must show is that in this booklet Hazrat Mirza made a change in his belief from his previous position, and they must prove their contentions that:

• He now "discovered a different definition of 'prophet' ", according to which he was a prophet.
• His previous denials of prophethood "are now abrogated".
• This booklet is "the first evidence of the change in his belief".