Ahmadi thought emphasizes the belief that Islam is the final dispensation for humanity as revealed to Muhammad and the necessity of restoring it to its true intent and pristine form, which had been lost through the centuries.

[7] Its adherents consider Ahmad to have appeared as the Mahdi—bearing the qualities of Jesus in accordance with their reading of scriptural prophecies—to revitalize Islam and set in motion its moral system that would bring about lasting peace.

[35] Formally, the history of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community begins when Mirza Ghulam Ahmad took the oath of allegiance from a number of his companions at a home in Ludhiana, India, on 23 March 1889.

At the end of the 19th century, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian proclaimed himself to be the "Centennial Reformer of Islam" (Mujaddid), metaphorical second coming of Jesus and the Mahdi (guided one) awaited by the Muslims and obtained a considerable number of followers especially within the United Provinces, the Punjab and Sindh.

Ahmadiyya emerged in India as a movement within Islam, also in response to the Christian and Arya Samaj missionary activity that was widespread in the 19th century.

Within the stretch of his Caliphate, a period which lasted six years (1908-1914), he oversaw a satisfactory English translation of the Quran, the establishment of the first Ahmadiyya Muslim mission in England and the introduction of various newspapers and magazines of the Community.

Most notably, however, he dealt with internal dissensions, when a number high-ranking office bearers of the Ahmadiyya Council disagreed with some of the administrative concepts and the authority of the Caliph.

Two decades later, Mahmood Ahmad launched a twofold scheme for the establishment of foreign missions and the moral upbringing of Ahmadi Muslims.

[44] Mirza Tahir Ahmad was elected as the fourth Caliph of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community on 10 June 1982, a day after the death of his predecessor.

[49] To the Community, Ahmad is noted for his regular Question & Answer Sessions he held in multiple languages with people of various faiths, professions and cultural backgrounds.

However, Ahmad also wrote many books – the most significant of which include Islam's Response to Contemporary Issues, Murder in the name of Allah, Absolute Justice, Kindness and Kinship, Gulf Crisis and The New World Order and his magnum opus[50] Revelation, Rationality, Knowledge & Truth.

Being the spiritual head of millions of Ahmadi Muslims residing in over 200 countries and territories of the world, Ahmad travels globally, teaching, conveying and maintaining correspondence with communities of believers and individuals, expounding principles of the Islamic faith.

[54] In matters of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), Ahmadis reject strict adherence (taqlid) to any particular school of thought (madhhab), giving foremost precedence to the Quran and sunnah, but usually base their rulings on the Hanafi methodology in cases where these sources lack clear elaboration.

Through the proclamation of truth and by putting an end to religious conflicts, I should bring about peace and manifest the Divine verities that have become hidden from the eyes of the world.

Above all, it is my task to re-establish in people's hearts the eternal plant of the pure and shining Unity of God which is free from every impurity of polytheism, and which has now completely disappeared.

However, the global conveyance, recognition and eventual acceptance of his message (i.e. the perfection of the manifestation of Muhammad's prophethood) was destined to occur with the coming of the Mahdi.

The belief in the Unity of God is thought to influence a person's life in all its aspects and is believed to have much wider meaning and deeper applications.

In general, the belief in unity of God is thought to liberate believers from all forms of carnal passions, slavery and perceptions of earthly imprisonment.

According to Islam, as interpreted by Ahmadi Muslims, they cannot deviate from the set course or functions allocated to them, or from the overall plan of things made by God.

Before the advent of Islam, the history of religion is understood as a series of dispensations where each messenger brought teachings suitable for the time and place.

[70] According to the Ahmadi Muslim view, the fourth article of faith in Islam is concerned with the belief in all divine prophets sent by God.

[73] According to Ahmadi Muslim beliefs, the entire universe will come to an end on the Day of Judgment, a position also taken by all other Islamic sects and schools of thought.

They are: (1) the shahadah (creed), (2) daily prayers (salat), (3) almsgiving (zakah), (4) fasting during Ramadan, and (5) the pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj) at least once in a lifetime.

In particular, Ahmadi Muslims believe that Muhammad brought prophethood to perfection and was the last law-bearing prophet and the apex of humankind's spiritual evolution.

The present cycle from the time of the Biblical Adam is split into seven epochs or ages, parallel to the seven days of the week, with periods for light and darkness.

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad appeared as the promised Messiah at the sixth epoch heralding the seventh and final age of humankind.

Its main purpose is to advise the caliph on important matters such as finance, projects, education and other issues relating to members of the Community.

As such, since the forced exile of the fourth caliph from Pakistan in 1984, the de facto headquarters of the Community had been based at the Fazl Mosque in London, England.

However, the Ahmadiyya city of Rabwah in Pakistan, since its founding on 20 September 1948 by the second caliph, after the Indian partition, coordinates majority of the organization's activity around the world.

[113] The Anjuman Waqf-i-Jadid or the Council for 'The New Dedication', also initiated by the second caliph, is responsible for training and coordinating religious teachers in rural communities around the world.