Did Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (AS) disrespect Isa (AS)?

When Muhammad Husain issued this edict of death, he falsely accused me of blaspheming against Jesus, peace be upon him, and thus stated that I deserve to be put to death. But, this is a blatant lie on the part of Muhammad Husain. I claim to be the Promised Messiah and say that I bear a resemblance to Jesus, peace be upon him. Thus, everyone can understand that if I were, God-forbid, to insult Jesus, peace be upon him, why would I state that I resemble him? For this would be to undermine my own self.

[Truth Unveiled, pg. 64, Footnote]

The other type of transgression, which relates to the Creator, is the belief of the present day Christians that has exceeded all bounds. There is no doubt that the Prophet Jesusas is a great Prophet of God. He is without question loved and honoured by God, a light of this world and the sun of guidance. He was glorified before the Lord God and possessed a status close to His throne. Millions of those who love him, follow his teachings, and act upon his guidance will receive deliverance from hell.

[The British Government and Jihad, pg. 32]

He has also informed me that Jesus, the Messiah, is truly one of the very beloved and pious servants of God and is one of those who are the chosen people of God whom God purifies with His own Hand and keeps them under the shadow of His light. He is not God as has been conjectured, but has close relations with God and is among the perfect ones of which there are only a few.

[A Gift for the Queen, pg. 19]

I am standing as the true ambassador from Hadrat Jesus, the Messiah. I know that what is being taught these days about Christianity is not the true teaching of Hadrat Jesus, the Messiah. I am certain that if Jesus had come in the world again, he could not even recognize these teachings.
But the Christians have also joined, to some extent, in this calumny. It has been supposed that the heart of Jesus, the Messiah, earned the application of ‘curse’ for three days. My body trembles with this thought and every particle of my being becomes restless. How can the word ‘curse of God’ be imagined to apply to the pure heart of the Messiah even for a second!!! Woe! A thousand woes, that such a belief be harboured for a beloved of God like Jesus, the Messiah, that his heart deserved the implication of the meaning of curse at any time.

[A Gift for the Queen, pg. 20]

Muslims claim to love Jesus, the Messiah, as much as Christians do, and his person is a common property of Christians and Muslims but I have the greatest right [to claim that love] because my nature is immersed in Jesus and his in me. Heavenly signs are appearing in support of this claim. Everyone has been invited to satisfy himself through signs about this claim if he desires to. I have gathered courage to write this much because of the true love and true respect I have for Jesus, the Messiah, in my heart—along with the statements which I heard from the tongue of Jesus, the Messiah, and the message he gave me. All these matters have moved me to become an ambassador from Jesus to the court of Your Majesty.

[A Gift for the Queen, pg. 22]

I dare to submit to you—with the purest of intentions filled with the fear of God and truth—to clear Jesus the Messiah, with courageous resolve, of this stigma placed upon his honour. No doubt, making a submission before emperors without prior permission is putting one’s life on the line but at this time I accept every danger for the sake of the honour of Jesus, the Messiah, and having been called to serve as his ambassador, I stand before our just ruler

[A Gift for the Queen, pg. 24]

Then, the Messiah as, who was a true Prophet of God Almighty and His Beloved and Chosen One, to remove this false concept which had become entrenched in the hearts of the Jews due to their shortsightedness, laid before them those blessed words of his that are present in John 10:29–30.

[The Holy War, pg. 51]

And you are mistaken in your statement that having described the use of an abusive word by the Messiah, it is as if I have disrespected him. I consider the Messiah as a true Prophet and a venerable and beloved servant of God Almighty. That was merely a remonstrative rejoinder that was appropriate to your taste, and that accusation falls on you, not on me

[The Holy War, pg. 122]

I address this announcement to the Christian clergy with great humility, respect, and meekness. I submit that if Hadrat ‘Isa Masih [ Jesus, the Messiah], on whom be peace, was actually the son of God, or God himself, I would have been the first to worship him and I would have propagated his divinity throughout the country and would never have given up this propagation even if I had been persecuted or killed or slaughtered or cut to pieces in his cause.
But, my dear people, may God have mercy on you and open your eyes, Hadrat ‘Isa [ Jesus], on whom be peace, is not God, but only a Prophet and nothing more than that. I call God to witness that I bear such love for him as you cannot. You can never recognize him with the enlightenment with which I recognize him. There is no doubt that he was a beloved and exalted Prophet of God and was one of those who are particularly blessed by Him and purified by His hand.

[Haqiqatul-Wahi, pg. 779]

Similarly, the Jews level all kinds of charges against Hadrat ‘Isa as [Jesus]. For instance, not long ago, I came across a book written by a Jew which contained the unholy charge that—God forbid—not only was his birth illegitimate but it also cast dirty aspersions on his character, and the ladies who served him were also mentioned in an unbecoming manner. Thus, when filthy-natured enemies have not spared such pure-natured and the holiest of men from their foul slanders of carnal indulgence, and have considered them to be lacking in self-purification

[Haqiqatul-Wahi, pg. 675]

In accordance with His eternal promise with respect to the advent of the Promised Messiah, He has sent me from Heaven, so that in the spirit of that man of God, who was born in Bethlehem and brought up in Nazareth, I may engage myself in assisting with the good and blessed objectives of Her Majesty.

[Star of the Empress, pg. 6]

This is what occurred at the time of the Messiah (on whom be peace), because Caesar, the Roman Emperor of that time was a good person and was averse to cruelty on earth. Moreover, he sought the welfare and salvation of the people. It was then that the God of Heaven raised a lightgiving moon from the land of Nazareth – ‘Isa [ Jesus], the Messiah; so that just as the word ‘Nazareth’ signifies verdure, freshness and greenery in Hebrew, the same could be instilled in the hearts of people.

[Star of the Empress, pg. 8]

It is written in our authentic books that neither shall the Promised Messiah engage in war, nor shall he raise the sword. On the contrary, he will possess the essence and character of ‘Isa [Jesus], on whom be peace, in every respect. He shall be so imbued with his nature that it shall be as if he is exactly the like of him.

[Star of the Empress, pg. 12]

In accordance with His eternal promise with respect to the advent of the Promised Messiah, He has sent me from Heaven, so that in the spirit of that man of God, who was born in Bethlehem and brought up in Nazareth, I may engage myself in assisting with the good and blessed objectives of HeaI do not deny the greatness of Jesus, peace be upon him, despite the fact that I have been informed by God that the Messiah of Muhammad[sa] occupies a higher status than the Messiah of Moses. Nevertheless, I hold the Messiah son of Mary, in high esteem, inasmuch as I am spiritually the Khaatam-ul-Khulafaa [the Seal of the Caliphs] in Islam, just as the Messiah son of Mary was the Khaatam-ul-Khulafaa of the Israelite dispensation. The Son of Mary was the Promised Messiah of the Mosaic dispensation and I am the Promised Messiah of the dispensation of Muhammad[sa]; so I honour greatly the one whose name I bear. Anyone who asserts that I do not revere the Messiah son of Mary is mischievous and a liar.

[Noah’s Ark, pg. 29]

No doubt, he was from among those near to God. He was blessed by Allah and had the distinction of prophethood.

[Malfuzat, vol. 10, pg. 476]

I wish to make it clear to our readers that our doctrine regarding the Messiah, peace be upon him, is a highly virtuous belief, and we maintain the conviction with all our hearts that he was a true Prophet of God Almighty and His beloved. And just as the Holy Qur’an informs us, we have faith in the fact that for his own salvation, he had believed with all his heart and soul in our lord and master, Muhammad, the Chosen One, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him; and that he too was a sincere servant out of the hundreds of servants of the shariah [religious law] of Moses, peace be upon him.
We, therefore, accord him all due respect according to his status. The Christians, however, have presented such a Yasu‘ who claimed Divinity and deemed everyone—outside of his own self—to be accursed from the first to the last; that is, he considered them guilty of the evil deeds whose punishment is la‘nat [curse]. I, likewise, consider such a [fabricated] character [Yasu‘] to be deprived of Divine mercy. The Holy Qur’an has nowhere informed us of this insolent and foul-mouthed Yasu‘ [Christ]. I am astounded at the character of this individual who considered dying appropriate with respect to God while himself claiming to be God, and vilified such godly people as were thousands of times better than he. So, I am referring to this fictitious Yasu‘ of the Christians in my writing in every instance. In my harsh rebukes, I am not at all referring to ‘Isa ibn Maryam [Jesus son of Mary], a humble servant of God and Prophet who is mentioned in the Holy Qur’an.

[Nurul Quran – The Light of the Holy Quran, pg. 69-70]

And remember that we respect Hazrat Isa (Jesus peace be upon him) and consider him a Prophet of Allah Almighty.

[Ruhani Khazain, vol. 20, pg. 336]

Whatever has been written by us about Hazrat Isa (Jesus peace be upon him) that goes against his stature, it is in the form of an Ilzami Jawab and in actuality we have quoted the words of Jews. It is regrettable that if the respected Padris would act with courtesy and God-consciousness and not insult our Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), then the Muslims would also be more considerate towards them to a large extent.

[Ruhani Khazain, vol. 20, pg. 336]