Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad
He it is Who has raised among the unlettered people a Messenger from among themselves who recites unto them His Signs, and purifies them, and teaches them the Book and Wisdom though before that they were in manifest error; And He will raise him among others of them who have not yet joined them. He is the Mighty, the Wise." Surah Al-Jumu’ah
Ahmadiyyat
Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani (1835-1908)
Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at
The Promised Messiah and Imam Mahdi
Introduction Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was born on 20 February 1835 at Qadian, an outlying small town about 70 miles to the north east of Lahore. His family was of Persian origin and had been settled at Samarkand in Central Asia. In the first half of the 16th century, his ancestor, Mirza Hadi Beg, moved from Samarkand into India together with a couple of hundred retainers and settled in the Eastern Punjab, where he founded the township which eventually became known as Qadian. As Mirza Hadi Beg was, at third or fourth remove, a cousin of Emperor Babar, he was appointed Judge (Qazi) and administrator of a sizeable tract of land which comprised over 100 villages around Qadian. The town was named Islampur Qazian. In course of time, Islampur was dropped and Qazian, by easy transition, became Qadian. The descendants of Mirza Hadi Beg continued to flourish at Qadian, and maintained a semi-royal state under the Moghul emperors. The decline of the Moghul imperial authority, which started towards the middle of the 18th century, began to affect the fortunes of the chieftains of Qadian also. Mirza Gul Muhammad, the great-grandfather of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, was an enlightened personage, learned and pious, who made Qadian a centre of learning and a resort of scholarly divines. He had a very generous disposition and gave away several villages to smaller Muslim chief tains who had lost their own estates to the Sikhs whose power was on the increase at the cost of the central Moghul authority. Mirza Gul Muhammad was succeeded by his son, Mirza Ata Muhammad, during whose time Sikh depredations pro gressively reduced the area comprised within the Qadian estate. Finally, the Ram Garhia Sikhs obtained possession of Qadian itself through trickery and Mirza Ata Muhammad and the members of his family had to move from Qadian and took refuge in the neighbouring state of Kapurthala. Mirza Ata Muhammad died in exile in Kapurthala, but his body was carried by his son, Mirza Ghulam Murtaza to Qadian, and was given decent burial in the ancestral graveyard. When Maharaja Ranjit Singh established his power over the Punjab, he permitted Mirza Ghulam Murtaza, father of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, to return to Qadian and restored to him a few of the villages that had been originally comprised in the Qadian estate. With the birth of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the fortunes of the family improved in some degree and the intervening period of poverty and privation came to an end. Mirza Ghulam Murtaza took up military service under Maharaja Ranjit Singh and won distinction in some campaigns. Later, he and his elder son, Mirza Ghulam Qadir, rendered meritorious service to the British, which was duly appreciated by the authorities. Throughout his remaining life, Mirza Ghulam Murtaza continued to spend money, time and effort in the useless and profitless attempt to recover at least some of the villages that had originally been comprised within the Qadian estate. The futility of his attempt embittered his days and he died a disappointed man. His eldest son, Mirza Ghulam Qadir, who now became head of the family, had in the meantime been appointed to a minor post in the civil administration of the district at Gurdaspur, at a distance of approximately eighteen miles from Qadian. From his childhood, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad exhibited a religious bent, which became more and more marked with the passage of the years. As he grew up he began to devote more and more time to religious exercises and the study of religion, more particularly of the Holy Quran. His father arranged for his tuition at home and he never went to school. When he grew up, his father became anxious to divert his attention to secular pursuits which might prove of benefit to him in later life, but without much success. Out of a feeling of filial obedience and respect for his father, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad would undertake and carry out such particular missions, pertaining to his father's attempts to recover a portion of the patrimony, which his father assigned to him, but he did this with reluctance, as his heart was not engaged in worldly affairs which had no appeal for him. At one time, his father procured his appointment to a minor administrative post at Sialkot, which he also took up out of a spirit of obedience to his father, and which he readily resigned as soon as his father's attitude permitted him to do so. He has described his situation at his father's death in the following words: I was 34 or 35 years of age when my father died. In a dream I had been warned that his death was approaching. He was then in Lahore and hastened to Qadian. He was then suffering from dysentery but I had no apprehension that he would die the following day. In fact, there had been some change for the better in his condition and he appeared quite steadfast. The following day, we were all with him at noon when he kindly suggested that I should go and have some rest, for it was the month of June and the heat was intense. I retired into an upper room and a servant began to massage my feet. Presently I fell into a light slumber and the revelation came to me (Arabic): 'We call to witness heaven where all decrees originate and We call to witness that which will happen after sunset.' I was given to understand that what was to happen after sunset was my father's death, and that this revelation was by way of condolence on behalf of God Almighty. Holy is Allah! How glorious is He that He conveyed His condolence on the death of a person who had died sorrowing over the waste of his life. Most people would be surprised at this interpretation of mine that God Almighty condoled with me. It should, however, be remembered that when God, glorified be His name, treats someone mercifully, He deals with him like a friend. We read in the traditions that on certain occasions God Almighty laughed. This also is an expression of the same type. When I received this revelation, which presaged the death of my father, the thought passed through my mind, due to my humanity, that some of the means of income which were available to my father would now be closed and we might be confronted with difficulties. Thereupon I received another revelation: (Arabic): 'Is not Allah sufficient for His servant?' This revelation conveyed great comfort and satisfaction to me and it found its firm place in my heart. I swear by God Almighty in Whose hand is my life that He has fulfilled this comforting revelation in a manner which I could not have imagined. He has provided for me as no father could have provided for anyone. I have been the recipient of His continuous bounties which I find impossible to count. My father died the same day after sunset. This was the first day on which I experienced a sign of divine mercy through revelation concerning which I cannot imagine that it would ever cease to have effect during my lifetime. I had the words of the revelation carved on a semi-precious stone and set in a ring which I have with me securely. Nearly 40 years of my life passed under the care of my father, and with his departure from this life I began to receive divine revelation continuously [Kitabul Bariyyah, (Qadian, Ziaul Islam Press 1898); Now printed in Ruhani Khazain (London, 1984), Vol. 13, pp. 189-195, footnote]. This was Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad's first experience of Divine revelation. As he has himself observed, he was 34 or 35 years of age at that time. As time passed, this experience multiplied progressively and gained in volume and scope, comprising Divine assurances of security, progress, support and success, and became studded with grand prophecies and Divine signs. On his father's death, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad became entitled to half of his father's property, but he left the management of the whole of it in the hands of his elder brother and was content with the meagre and austere provision that his brother made for his maintenance. The world was not his major concern and all his interest and attention were concentrated on communion with the Divine and winning His pleasure. His father had arranged his marriage at an early age, but even the responsibilities thereby entailed failed to wean him away from the pursuit of that which he had made the purpose of his life. From his first wife, he had two sons, Mirza Sultan Ahmad and Mirza Fazal Ahmad. Under divine direction, he married a second time, in 1884, into a noble Syed family of Delhi. His second wife bore him several children of whom he was survived by three sons and two daughters. The eldest of these was a son born on 12 January 1889, who was named Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad. In his birth was fulfilled a grand multi-faceted prophecy of his father which had been published on 20 February 1886. Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad's study of religion was not confined to Islam. At an early age he entered upon a study of the principal faiths then current in India which deepened his appreciation of the teachings of Islam, till he emerged as a champion of Islam. He was greatly depressed by the feeling that there was little understanding of true Islamic values even among the Muslim divines and that the common run of Muslims were a prey to ignorance and superstition and had little regard for Islamic teachings. The collateral branches of his own family were sunk in superstition and made a mockery of religion and religious practices. Some of them openly denounced Islam, gloried in their disbelief, even reviled the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and held the Holy Quran in contempt. This occasioned great distress to Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, and, though he made repeated efforts to win them back to sincere allegiance to Islam, God Almighty, the Holy Prophet and the Holy Quran, they had little effect upon the attitude, conduct and behaviour of his collaterals. He was further depressed by the Divine revelation: He (God) will cut asunder thy collaterals and will begin (His favours) with thee. By the time he had arrived at forty years of age, his mind was possessed by a strong urge to undertake the championship of Islam vis-a-vis all other faiths, and he finally announced that he had resolved to set forth the truth of Islam and the utter beneficence of its teachings in an epoch-making book which he designated Braheen Ahmadiyyah. In the preface of the book he announced that if anyone, professing a faith other than Islam, would set forth a convincing refutation of the proofs and arguments expounded in the Braheen Ahmadiyyah and would furnish in support of his own faith even a quarter of the proofs he had adduced in support of Islam, he would be rewarded with 10,000 rupees, at which figure Mirza Ghulam Ahmad valued his entire property at the time. This challenge has not been seriously taken up over a whole century. While he was still occupied with the compilation of Braheen Ahmadiyyah, of which only four parts had yet been published, he received the revelation that God had commissioned him as the Reformer of the Fourteenth Century of the Hijra, and had entrusted the revival of Islam to him. In pursuance of this commission, he laid the foundation of the Ahmadiyya Movement on 23 March 1889. Soon thereafter, it was revealed to him that he was the Promised Messiah and Mahdi whose advent in the latter days had been prophesied by the Holy Prophet of Islam, on whom be the peace and blessings of Allah. The publication of the very first volume of Braheen Ahmadiyyah was acclaimed by the Muslims as an outstanding and matchless performance, and leading Muslim divines and newspapers and journals published appreciations of the great work in highly laudatory terms. In consequence of the publication of the successive parts of Braheen Ahmadiyyah, its revered author had become the most renowned and honoured personage in the contemporary world of Islam. With the announcement of his claim that he had been appointed the Promised Messiah and Mahdi, a storm of bitter and abusive opposition was let loose against him from all directions. He was condemned as an apostate from Islam, who had put himself outside the pale of Islam and all sorts of opprobrious epithets were applied to him. He was called Anti-Christ and it was declared that his life was forfeit. In the estimation of the Muslim divines, he fell utterly from grace and no protestation or explanation on his part served to soften the bitterness of their hostility towards him. This continued all through the rest of his life, and though seventy years have passed since his demise, he and his daily expanding Movement continue to be the sharpest thorns in the sides of the Muslim divines. Bitter persecution breaks out from time to time against the members of his Movement, but this only serves to furnish greater publicity to the Movement, in consequence of which increasing numbers of reasonable and reflecting people continue to identify themselves with the Movement. One of the earliest revelations vouchsafed to Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was: I shall carry thy message to the ends of the earth. At the time of the revelation, he was not widely known even in his own home town and he lacked altogether all normal means of publicity and propaganda. At that time Qadian had not yet found a place on the maps and did not even possess a telegraph office, and was not connected with the railway system of the province, and could not be reached by a metalled road. The nearest railway station and telegraph office were at a distance of 11 miles, a journey to which occupied the better part of three hours. Despite all this lack of normal facilities, the Ahmadiyya Movement has, during the last seven decades, spread to the farthest corners of the earth and the prophecy just mentioned has been, and continues to be, fulfilled in an astonishing manner. The main thrust of the opposition to the claim of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad has been, and continues to be, that he claimed to be a prophet in contradiction of the Holy Prophet being the Seal of the Prophets as mentioned in the Holy Quran (33:41). This objection derives from deliberate misrepresentation of his claim. His opponents first wrongly defined prophethood as confined to law-bearing prophets and then turned round and condemned him on the ground that he virtually claimed to be such a prophet, and this in the face of his repeated and emphatic denial of such a claim. Times out of number he has affirmed that he believes that the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was the Seal of the Prophets in its highest and widest meaning and that his own claim of prophethood means only that he was favoured with frequent converse with God, but that he had brought no new law, was completely subject to the Holy Quran and that he had been favoured with frequent converse by God on account of his utter devotion to the Holy Prophet, peace be on him, and as his perfect reflection. This is put beyond doubt by the following extracts from his writings. The summary and essence of our faith is that there is no one worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. Our belief that we profess in this life and with which, through the favour of God Almighty, we shall pass on to the next life, is that our lord and master, Muhammad, the chosen one, peace be on him, is the Seal of the Prophets and best of Messengers, at whose hands the faith was perfected and the bounty was completed through which by treading the straight path, a person can reach God Almighty. We believe with absolute certainty that the Holy Quran is the last of the heavenly books and that not a word or vowel point of its laws and limits and commandments can be added to or subtracted from. No revelation can now be received from God which can have the effect of modifying or abrogating the commandments of the Holy Quran, or of changing any single one of its directions. Anyone who thinks otherwise is, according to us, not a believer, and is a heretic and kafir. We also believe that even the lowest stage of the straight path cannot become available to a person without following the Holy Prophet, peace be on him, let alone the higher stages of that path. We cannot attain to any stage of honour and perfection or of nearness to God except through the true and perfect following of the Holy Prophet, peace be on him. Whatever is bestowed upon us is by way of reflection and through the Holy Prophet [Izalai Auhan, (Amritsar, Riyaz Hind Press 1308 A.H.); Now published in Ruhani Khazain (London, 1984), Vol. 3, pp. 69-70]. The five pillars on which Islam is based are part of our faith. We hold fast to the word of God, the Holy Quran, to which we are commanded to hold fast. Like Farooq, may Allah be pleased with him, we announce that the Book of Allah suffices us, and like Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, when there is a difference between the Quran and hadith, we give priority to the Quran. We believe that there is no one worthy of worship except Allah and that our lord and master, Muhammad, the chosen one, peace be on him, is His Mcssenger and is Khatamul Anbiya. We believe in angels, the resurrection of the body, the day of judgment, heaven and hell. We believe that whatever the Holy Prophet, peace be on him, has said, is true. We believe that whoever subtracts the smallest particle from the law of Islam or adds to it, or lays the foundation of neglecting obligations and of indifference towards them, is without faith and is turned away from Islam. I admonish the members of my community that they should have true faith in the credo that there is no God beside Allah, and that Muhammadis the Messenger of Allah, and that they should die in this faith. They should believe in all prophets and all books, the truth of which is affirmed by the Holy Quran. They should observe the fast and perform the salat and pay the zakat and perform the pilgrimage and carry out all that God Almighty and His Messenger have prescribed and should abstain from all that they have forbidden and thus conform in every respect to Islamic commandments. We consider it our duty to accept all that is supported by the consensus of the righteous ones who have passed away and all that is considered as part of Islam by the consensus of the Ahl-i-Sunnat. We call to witness the heaven and earth that this is our religion [Ayyamus Solh, (Qadian, Ziaul Islam Press 1899); Now printed in Ruhani Khazain (London, 1984), Vol. 14, pp. 86-87]. No part of my doctrine is contrary to the commandments of Allah and His Messenger. If anyone thinks so, it must be due to his misunderstanding. Anyone who still considers me a kafir, and does not desist from calling me one, should remember that he will be called to account for it after his death. I call God, the Glorious, to witness that I have such firm faith in God and His Messenger that if the faith of all the people of this age were placed on one side of the scale and my faith is placed on the other side, then, by Allah's grace, my faith would prove to be the heavier (Karamat-us-Sadiqeen, p. 25). The purport of my teaching is: Believe in God as One without associate, and have sympathy with God's creatures and be of good conduct and think no ill. Be such that no disorderliness or mischief should approach your heart. Utter no falsehood, invent no lies and cause no hurt to anyone whether by your tongue or your hands. Avoid all manner of sin and restrain your passions. Try to become pure hearted, without vice. It should be your principle to have sympathy for all human beings. Safeguard your hands and your tongues and your thoughts against all impure objects and disorderly ways and all kinds of deceit. Fear God and worship Him with pure hearts. Refrain from committing wrong or trespass or embezzlement or taking bribes or unfair partisanship and keep away from evil companions. Safeguard your eyes against treachery and your ears against listening to backbiting. Entertain no ill designs against the members of any religion or any tribe or group. Be sincere counsellors for every one. Let no mischief-maker or one given to bad behaviour be ever of your company. Shun every vice and try to acquire every virtue. Your hearts should be free from deceit, your hands should be innocent of wrong and your eyes should be free from impurity. Take no part in any evil or transgression. Put forth your utmost efforts to recognize God, finding Whom is salvation and meeting Whom is deliverance. He manifests Himself to him who seeks Him with love and sincerity of heart, and He reveals Himself to him who becomes truly His. Pure hearts are His thrones and the tongues that are free from falsehood, abuse and vain talk are the places of His revelation. He who loses himself in seeking His Pleasure becomes a manifestation of His miraculous power [Kashful Ghita, (Qadian, Ziaul Islam Press 1898); Now printed in Ruhani Khazain (London, 1984), Vol. 14, pp. 8-9]. It is our faith that the last book and last law is the Holy Quran and that thereafter till the day of judgment, there is no law-bearing prophet nor any recipient of revelation who is not a follower of the Holy Prophet, peace be on him. This door is closed till the Day of Judgment, but the door of revelation, through following the Holy Prophet, is ever open. Such revelation will never be cut off, but law-bearing prophethood, or independent prophethood, have been put an end to and will not be open till the day of judgment. He who says he is not a follower of the Holy Prophet Muhammad peace be on him, and claims that he is a law-bearing prophet, or is a prophet without bearing a law, is like one who has been carried away by a fierce flood and is thrown aside and cannot recover himself till he dies [Review on the Debate Between Batalwi and Chakrhalvi, (Qadian, 1902); Now printed in Ruhani Khazain, Vol.19]. It is an attractive principle that promotes peace and lays down the foundations of good accord and helps moral conditions that we should accept as true all the prophets, whether they appeared in India or Persia or China or in any other country, and God established their honour and greatness in millions of hearts and made firm the roots of their religions and let them flourish for centuries. This is the principle that the Quran has taught us and according to this principle, we honour the founder of every religion which has become well established, whether of the Hindus or of the Persians or of the Chinese or of the Jews or of the Christians [Tohfa Qaisariyyah, (Qadian, Ziaul Islam Press 1897); Now printed in Ruhani Khazain (London, 1984), Vol. 12, p. 6]. The truth of a prophet might be known in three ways. First, through reason. It needs to be considered whether reason affirms that a Prophet or reformer should appear at the time when a Prophet or a Messenger claims to have come, and whether the condition of mankind demands such a reformer. Secondly, the prophecies of previous prophets should be studied whether any of them had prophesied concerning his appearance or concerning . . . . the appearance of a prophet at the time of his advent. Thirdly, it should be considered whether there is divine help or heavenly support for his claim. These three conditions have been laid down from ancient times for testing the claim of a truce commissioned one of God. God has had mercy upon you and has established all three conditions in my support and it is up to you to accept me or not [Lecture Sialkoat entitled "Islam", (Sialkoat, Mufid Aam Press, 1904); Now published in Ruhani Khazain (London, 1984), Vol. 20, p. 49]. From the beginning I have been of the view that no one becomes Kafir or dajjal by rejecting my claim. Such a one would certainly be in error and astray from the right path. I do not call him faithless but he who rejects the truth which God Almighty has disclosed to me would be in error and astray from the straight path. I do not designate anyone who believes in the Kalimah as a kafir, unless by rejecting me and calling me a kafir, he himself becomes a kafir. In this matter my opponents have always taken the lead. They called me kafir and prepared fatwas against me. I did not take the lead in preparing fatwas against them. They would be prepared to confess that if I am a Muslim in the estimation of God Almighty, then by calling me Kafir they themselves become kafirs according to the fatwa of the Holy Prophet, peace be on him. Thus I do not call them kafir they themselves fall within the purview of the fatwa of the Holy Prophet [Tiryaqul Qulub, Now printed in Ruhani Khazain (London, 1984), Vol. 15, pp. 258-260]. Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the Promised Messiah and Mahdi, peace be on him, devoted the whole of his life to the service of Islam. He died at Lahore on 26 May 1908. Till the evening of the previous day he was occupied with the composition of a paper designed to furnish a peaceful modus vivendi between the Muslim and non-Muslim sections of the people of the sub-continent, which he designated The Mess age of Peace. He wrote and published more than eighty books in Urdu, Arabic and Persian, in which he presented a true exposition of the teachings of Islam, based on the Holy Quran and the practice of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, shorn of all the innovations and encrustations that had been grafted upon them during the centuries of decline. He also set forth in his writings and speeches the life-inspiring philosophy that permeates every Commandment, direction and prohibition comprised in the Holy Quran, which constitutes the guidance that mankind would need in the epoch that was opened with his advent. This volume, the first of a series, sets out, in the words of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad himself, a summary of his exposition of four outstanding topics, namely, ISLAM; ALLAH, THE EXALTED; THE HOLY PROPHET, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him; and THE HOLY QURAN. The original compilation, in Urdu, from which these extracts have been translated into English, was collated with great care and diligence by Syed Daud Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him and may He reward him graciously for his great labour of love.
Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, The Promised Messiah & Mahdi
The founder of Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat was Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, alayhe salam. His father's name was Mirza Ghulam Murtaza and his motherÂ’s name was Chiragh Bibi (lady of the lamp). His grandfather was Mirza Ata Muhammad (d.1814), and his great grand father was Mirza Gul Muhammad (d.1800).
Hadhrat Ahmad (AS) belonged to the Birlas branch of the respectable Mughal family. The surname of this family is Mirza that is why all members of this family use Mirza as their surname. Mirza Hadi Beg was the forefather of this family who migrated to India in 1530 from his hometown Samarqand with two hundred others during the reign of Mughal King Zaheer al-Din Babur. They settled along the Beyas river in the Indian province of Punjab. Mirza Hadi Beg was appointed Qazi (judge) with jurisdiction over seventy villages around Qadian. He founded a village called Islampur, later the name changed to Islampur Qazi Majhi, which over time was shortened to Qazi Majhi, then only Qazian, finally changed into Qadian.
Qadian is situated about 112 km north east of Lahore, in district Gurdaspur, in the Indian province of Punjab. In this holy town was born Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the Promised Messiah (AS), the holy founder of Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat. He spent most of his life in this town.
The family of the Promised Messiah (AS) was given high official posts in the Mughal administration. When the central Mughal government in India lost its grip, the family was able to make itself independent and ruled over 95 km of territory around Qadian. However, during the Sikh rule, the family lost territorial rights, and much of the territory was taken over by the Sikhs.
The situation was so bad at one time that the family had to take shelter for sixteen years in the state of Kapurthala. The family settled subsequently in Qadian during the reign of Maharajah Ranjeet Singh. (1780-1839). Under the British rule, they were granted the property rights in Qadian and the suburbs.
Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the Promised Messiah and Mahdi, peace be on him, was born on Friday February 13th, 1835 at dawn in Qadian. He was born after a twin sister Janat who died a few days later. A tutor was assigned in 1842 for his early education. He learnt the Holy Quran and a few elementary Persian books from this tutor. Later on he was coached in Urdu, Arabic, Persian, Philosophy, and Logic by two other tutors.
When he was seventeen years of age, his father who was an experienced Hakim (doctor) gave him lessons in natural medicine. This instruction gave him elementary knowledge of Persian and Arabic languages. This was the extent of his basic education. No tutor provided him formal education in religious subjects, however he gained some knowledge on his own by reading religious books. Reading and pondering over the teachings of the Holy Quran was his favorite hobby early on from his childhood.
Hadhrat AhmadÂ’s childhood was carefree and righteous. Despite the fact that he was born in a well-off family, he always avoided spending time in useless sports. No doubt he did take part in useful and productive sports, for instance he had learnt swimming, & horseback riding at an early age. His simple, fine habits made an impression on everyone. When he was a child, a revered personage Maulvi Ghulam Rasool admiringly remarked:
“ If anyone deserves to be a prophet in this age, this lad indeed should be one”. (Hayate Tayyeba, page 14)
In 1852 he was married to the daughter of his maternal uncle, Hurmat Bibi. This was his first marriage, from this union he was blessed with two sons. His first son Hadhrat Mirza Sultan Ahmad (1853-1931) was a high ranking official in the British administration. He entered into Baiat (covenant of allegiance) at the hand of the Second Caliph. The second son Mirza Fazal Ahmad passed away in 1904 at the age of forty-nine.
Although he was married, he spent most of his time in solitude, meditation, and devotional prayers. His father wanted him to find an occupation, but this was not to Hadhrat AhmadÂ’s taste. His father lovingly called him a Maseetar, one who enjoys spending time in Divine worship in the mosque. However, being a loyal son, and in order to see his father happy, he would attend court cases in connection with their family estate.
In 1864 he went to Sialkot and started the job of a Reader in a law-court where he stayed for four years. As the job was contrary to his disposition, he would spend most of his time in the study of the Holy Quran, prayers, study of religious books or engaged himself in debates with Christian missionaries of the city.
In 1868 he resigned from his civil service job after receiving instructions from his father and returned to Qadian. Unfortunately his mother passed away before he could reach Qadian, but he bore the loss with strength.
FatherÂ’s death His father passed away on June 2nd, 1876. Naturally Hadhrat Ahmad (AS) became concerned over the sources of his income. God Almighty vouchsafed him the following revelation:
"Alaysa Allaho be-Kafen Abdahoo"
Is not God sufficient for His servant? (Kitab al-Barriya, page 159)
This revelation gave him mental comfort and abundant solace. Future incidents demonstrated that God Almighty indeed assisted him in every situation, proving beyond a shadow of doubt that God was sufficient for His humble servant. These words of revelation were later carved in a stone and made into a signet ring which he wore all his life.
Upon his father's death, the responsibility for administering the affairs of the family estate fell on the shoulders of his elder brother Mirza Ghulam Qadir. If he wanted he could have taken his share from the estate and lived a life of comfort. But whatever his brother gave him he lived on that, sometimes hand to mouth.
This was a very tough period for him. At times he had to face severe hardships in getting the bare necessities of life. Nevertheless he was always grateful for whatever he had. On occasion he would distribute his food among the poor and keep the minimum for himself.
First Revelation Next year in 1869 someone took him to Maulvi Muhammad Hussain Batalvi for a public discussion. Mr. Batalvi belonged to the Ahle Hadith sect that was being opposed at the time by other Muslim sects. The person who brought Hudhoor (AS) wanted him to have a debate and refute their certain doctrines. When Hadhrat Ahmad (AS) questioned Mr. Batalvi his belief on a certain theological point, he discovered that it was in complete accord with the Islamic teachings. So he refused to debate with him.
The person who had brought Hadhrat Ahmad (AS) for discussion was furious and expressed his consternation in harsh words for this let down. However Hadhrat Ahamd (AS) maintained, “ Whatever I did was to seek the pleasure of God Almighty. I don’t care if anyone condemns it.” God Almighty was so pleased with his attitude that he was comforted with the following revelation (Urdu):
"God is pleased with your attitude, He will shower His blessings on you, so much so that Kings would seek blessings from your garments". (Braheene Ahmadiyya, Vol IV, page 520)
In 1875 his father laid the foundation stone of Aqsa mosque.
This year he fasted for eight or nine months on receiving directive from God Almighty. He reduced his daily food intake to such an extent that at one point it amounted to only two or three morsels a day. Besides receiving many heavenly blessings in those days, he met with former prophets and Muslim saints in his dreams and visions.
Writing of Braheene Ahmadiyya To prove the truthfulness of Islam and to repudiate false charges leveled against it, he started writing articles in Muslim magazines in 1872. These articles were very much appreciated by the public. It also brought him instant fame because he presented such compelling arguments in support of Islam that no one could refute these.
After a while he started compiling his magnum opus book Braheene Ahmadiyya (Proofs of the Ahmadiyya) in which he presented 300 bright & conclusive arguments for the truthfulness of the Holy Quran and the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be on him. The first volume of this monumental work was published in 1880, second volume in 1881, third in 1882, fourth in 1884 and fifth in 1905.
The book was a knock out; everybody was convinced of authorÂ’s penetrating insight and towering intellectual status. He was hailed as the best of divines, pride of the Muslims of India, valiant defender of Islam. Muslims in India were exuberant, one of the scholars, Maulavi Muhammad Hussain wrote a 200-page review in the course of which he observed:
"In our opinion this book stands unique from the viewpoint of the modern age, the like of which has not been written in the history of Islam. " (Ishaat al-Sunna Vol 7, No 6)
This is a mere specimen of the opinions held by Muslims about this book. He offered a cash prize of 10,000 rupees to any non-Muslim who could write a similar book to refute the arguments given in the book, but no one dared to write one.
While he was writing this book in 1882, through a revelation he was appointed a Mamoor mina Allah, commissioned by God Almighty. Christian missionaries, Hindu pundits, & Muslim divines, all of them became his virulent opponents. They plotted all kinds of things to discredit him but no one succeeded.
Post Office lawsuit In 1877 a Christian named Ralya Ram Vakeel filed a court case against Hadhrat Ahmad (AS) which is referred to as the 'Post office Case'. The Promised Messiah, peace be on him, had written a treatise in support of the superiority of Islam, refuting allegations leveled by the Arya Samaj. He mailed this manuscript to a publishing house Vakeel Press in Amritsar at the rate prescribed for newspapers. Also included in the package was a letter addressed to the Manager containing instructions. According to the postal regulations it was illegal to include a letter in a package because of cheaper postal rates for packages, it carried a fine of Rs. 500 or imprisonment for six months. Hadhrat Ahmad (AS) was not aware of such a regulation. Upon arrival of the package, Ralya Ram at once informed the postal authorities of this irregularity. A lawsuit was filed against Hudhoor (AS). At this time Hudhoor saw in a dream that Ralya Ram had sent him a venomous snake but Hudhoor fried it and sent it back to him.
When the case came up for trial, Hudhoor's attorney advised him that the only way he could escape conviction was to give an affidavit to the court that he did not place the letter in the package. Instead it was Ralya Ram who had placed the letter there in order to get him into trouble. Hadhrat Ahmad (AS) rejected this advice, saying: " The fact of the matter is that I had myself placed this letter in the package, therefore, I will not deny it so as to be spared of the sentence". “ In that case”, his attorney Sheikh Ali Ahmed shrugged his shoulders and said, “there is no chance for your acquittal.” Hudhoor replied, “come what may, I will not tell a lie.”
Hudhoor appeared before the British magistrate in Gurdaspur without a lawyer. During the hearing the judge inquired of Hudhoor if he had in fact placed the letter in the package? “Yes Indeed” Hudhoor responded, “ but I was't aware that by doing so I was breaking the postal regulations, nor did I intend to defraud the post office”.
The plaintiff was overjoyed that Hudhoor had confessed his guilt. As a consequence he will be given the due sentence. But the judge was so much impressed with Hudoor's truthfulness and strength of character that he gave him an honorable discharge. This was indeed the blessing of truthfulness that God Almighty gave him victory in this case.
Hudoor's elder brother Mirza Ghulam Qadir passed away in 1881. As he had no children, Hudhoor (AS) was entitled to all of his estate, but he did not do so for the sake of his sister in law. The property remained in the possession of other relatives for a long time.
His Second Marriage In fulfillment of a particular prophecy, Hudoor's second marriage took place on November 17th, 1884 to a well-respected and honorable lady Sayyeda Nusrat Jahan Begum who belonged to the noble Sayyed family of Dehli. Thus the following prophecy was fulfilled.
"I have intended another marriage for you, I shall provide all that may be needed in this respect” (Hayate Tayyeba, page 73)
Hadhrat Mir Naser Nawab (RA) was his father in law who was a descendant of Hadhrat Khawaja Mir Dard. Hadhrat Mir sahib was an extremely righteous and divinely personage. Maulvi Sayyed Nazeer Hussain (Muhaddith Dehlvi), a well-known Dehli scholar, performed the Nikah (matrimonial rites) on November 17th 1884. The Rukhstana (reception) ceremony took place the same day in Dehli. The marriage was very successful with the grace and favors of Allah the Exalted. God Almighty gave him pious offspring from this wedlock, regarding whom he was given glad tidings. These glad tidings were fulfilled at their prescribed time and we are witnessing these with our own eyes.
Reformer of the Age In March 1885 he published 20,000 copies of a flyer in which he invited adversaries of Islam to visit him in order to witness heavenly signs in support of the truthfulness of Islam. In the flyer that was printed in English & Urdu he made the grand announcement that Allah has appointed him Mujaddid - Reformer of the Age - in order to prove the superiority of the Holy Quran and truthfulness of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAS). The flyer was widely distributed in the country, and even mailed to all the eminent religious leaders, writers, and leading intellectuals of Asia, Europe, and the US.
The sign of Red Drops During the month of Ramadhan in 1885 the Promised Messiah (AS) was one day resting in his bed. His companion Hadhrat Maulvi Abdullah Sinauri (RA) was sitting on the edge of the bed messaging his feet. Hadhrat Maulvi sahib noticed that at one point Promised Messiah's body trembled for a moment. Then Maulvi sahib noticed a few red drops that appeared on the ankle of the Promised Messiah (AS) as well as on his clothes. This was a heavenly sign that occurred on 27th day of Ramadhan, July 10th 1885.
Prophecy of Musleh Mauood Under Divine inspiration Hudhoor (AS) traveled to Hoshiarpur on January 22nd, 1886 to perform Chilla. He stayed in a house for forty days, all his time was spent in intense meditation, devotion & prayer. These supplications resulted in God Almighty giving him the news of a grand prophecy that is referred to in the Jamaat as 'Prophecy of Musleh Mauood'. According to this prophecy Allah the Exalted will bestow him a son in the next nine years who would bring awesome progress to Islam and Ahmadiyyat. This Promised Reformer would spread the message of Islam to farthest corners of the Earth. A part of the grand prophecy reads as follows:
I confer upon thee a Sign of My mercy according to your supplication. I have heard thy entreaties and have honored thy prayers with my acceptance through My mercy and have blessed this thy journey. A Sign of power, mercy nearness to Me is bestowed upon thee, a Sign of grace and beneficence is awarded to thee and thou art granted the key of success and victoryÂ…Â…Â…Â…Â…..
He will be accompanied by grace, which shall arrive with him. He will be characterized with grandeur, greatness and wealth. He will come into the world and will heal many of their disorders through his messianic qualities and through the blessings of the Holy Spirit. He is the Word of Allah for AllahÂ’s mercy and honor has equipped him with the Word of Majesty. He will be extremely intelligent and understanding and will be meek of heart and will be filled with secular and spiritual knowledgeÂ…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…...
Behold a light cometh, a light anointed by God with the perfume of His pleasure. We shall pour Our spirit into Him and he will be sheltered under the shadow of God. He will grow rapidly in stature and will be the means of procuring the release of those held in bondage. His fame will spread to the ends of the earth and people will be blessed through him. He will then be raised to his spiritual station in heaven. This is a matter decreed. (Announcement February 20th 1886)
As foretold by the prophecy Hadhrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad was born within the prescribed period of nine years, on January 12th, 1889. Promised Messiah (AS) announced in his treatise 'Siraje Muneer' that the promised son whose advent had been foretold to him, had been born. Subsequently during the caliphate of Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih II it became quite apparent that the prophecies were fulfilled in his person.
The characteristics explained in the revealed words of this prophecy regarding this illustrious son were evident in his person; thus fulfilling the prophecy with grandeur. Praise the Lord.
In 1944 Hadhrat Khalifat al-Masih the Second (RA) declared that he was indeed the Promised Son whose birth was foretold by God Almighty to Hazrat Ahmad (AS).
Death of Hadhrat Isa (AS) In 1890 God Almighty revealed to him that Hadhrat Isa ibn Maryam (AS) had passed away like all previous prophets. The belief that he is alive in the heavens, is false and against the teachings of the Holy Quran. Also he proclaimed that the Messiah whose advent was foretold by Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace & blessings of Allah be on him, has appeared in his person. God has sent this Promised Messiah to reform the world and to spread the pristine teachings of Islam.
His announcement and claim to be the Promised Mahdi and the Messiah brought him numerous converts, but there were some that turned against him. Erstwhile friends became his foes. Some Muslim divines declared him a heretic. The Christians did not lag behind either as they raised a fierce storm of opposition. The reason Christians opposed him was the fact that Jesus Christ's death dealt a fatal blow to the very foundation of Christianity. They believed Christ to be their Lord, but this claim made him a dead god.
This intense opposition resulted in many debates between him, the Muslim divines, and the Christian missionaries. For instance in 1891 he held debates with Maulvi Muhammad Hussain sahib Batalvi, Maulvi Sayyed Nazeer Hussain sahib Dehlvi and Maulvi Muhammad Bashir sahib Bhopali. In 1892 he held debates with Maulvi Abdul Hakim Kalanauri. In 1893 he held a famous debate with Christian missionary Abdulla Athim. These debates brought him many pious & devoted converts.
First Annual Conference Under Divine inspiration Hudhoor (AS) announced in May 1891 that he was the Promised Mahdi awaited by the Muslims.
Later on the same year the Promised Messiah (AS) decided to hold the first Jalsa Salana. Accordingly the first Annual Conference was held from December 27th to 29th at the Aqsa Mosque in Qadian. Only 75 members attended that year, next year 327 members attended the Jalsa, and the last Jalsa Salana attended by the Promised Messiah (AS) in 1907 there were two thousand participants. The last annual gathering that was held in Rabwah in 1983, more than two hundred thousand attended the blessed meeting.
With a few exceptions it has been held since then every year in many countries of the world like the UK, Germany, India, Canada, & the USA. Over 32,000 members took part in the Jalsa Salana held in Germany in August 2000. The UK Jalsa Salana attracted 22,000 members in July 2000, while 12 thousand members took part in the Canadian Annual Conference in 2003. The attendance of Jalsa Salana held in different parts of the world continues to grow.
The USA Jamaat celebrated its 50th Annual Conference in 1998 in Silver Spring, Maryland. The keynote address was delivered by Hazrat Khalifat al-Masih the Fourth, which was filled with pearls of wisdom.
Debate with Atham In 1893 Hudhoor (AS) held a written debate from May 22nd to June 5th, in Amritsar against the famous Christian missionary Abdullah Athim. This debate was later on published under the title Jange Muqaddas (The Holy War). God Almighty showered him with so much success during the debate that many people took the pledge of allegiance and joined the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat.
An amusing incident took place during the course of the debate. The Christians brought forth three lame, blind and dumb persons and argued that since our Messiah used to cure the lame and the blind, let this Messiah do the same.
The Christians were confident that they had him nailed. When the handicap people were brought before Hudhoor, he pointed out that only the Gospels had mentioned such miracles of Jesus, not the Quran, therefore we did not believe in this. Hudhoor (AS) continued that the New Testament also states that if your faith is as much as a grain of mustard, you could perform such miracles or even greater wonders. Therefore he presented those invalids back to them, and said “ if you possess little faith then cure them with your touch of hand. If you can cure them then we will believe that you are on the right path, if you do not then we must conclude that you do not possess faith as much as a grain of mustard”.
Hadhrat AhmadÂ’s reply made them speechless. They thought that they had succeeded in their planning to humiliate him, but it only brought shame on them. During the course of the debate Hudhoor (AS) made the following prophecy:
“ that out of the two parties in this debate the one who was deliberately following a falsehood and abandoning the true God and transforming a weak mortal into a God shall, within the days since the debate, i.e. one month since this day till fifteen months thereafter, be thrown into hawiya (hell) and will be greatly disgraced provided it is not inclined towards the truth.” Proceedings of the debate, June 5th, 1893. Jange Muqaddis pages 291-292.
The above prophecy made it clear that if Athim did not repent then he will be thrown into hell. Upon hearing the wording of the prophecy, Athim was deeply alarmed and scared. He started shaking, and turned pale. Contrary to his habit, he refrained from uttering anything objectionable against Islam or the Holy Prophet (SAS). He was restless and moved from town to town in absolute terror. It seemed he had recanted. God Almighty granted him respite in the face of his changed attitude, but the opponents alleged that the prophecy was false.
Hudhoor (AS) announced that if Mr. Athim would declare on oath that he had not inclined towards the truth, he would pay him a sum of Rs. 1000/- provided he survived for one year after taking the oath. Later the sum was increased to Rs. 4000/-. Athim did not take the oath, had he taken a false oath, he would have been punished within one year. Furthermore, Hudhoor emphasized that even if he did not swear on oath, God Almighty will not leave him unpunished as he had tried to deceive the world by concealing the truth.
Since Athim refused to swear on oath, he died on July 27th, 1896 exactly as foretold by the prophecy. This was indeed a glorious sign on the truthfulness of Hadhrat Ahmad (AS).
Arabic - mother of languages In 1893 Hudhoor (AS) invited Muslim divines to hold an essay competition with him in Arabic. Hudhoor (AS) revealed that God Almighty has bestowed him perfect command of Arabic language. Therefore no one can compete with him. No one accepted the invitation despite the fact that he gave this challenge many times over.
Hudhoor (AS) made known in 1895 in his book Minan al-Rahman that all the languages of the world have originated from Arabic language. Therefore Arabic is the mother of all languages. He also asserted that Arabic is the language of God Almighty. He offered a cash prize of Rs. 5000 to anyone who could disprove this claim.
This was an amazing discovery as scholars have been investigating for a long time to find the most original language. European scholars had pointed to either Sanskrit or Pahlvi. The latest research however indicates that Arabic is the most original language, all others derived from it. (M. A. Mazhar has traced 13 languages to Arabic in his book: Arabic, the Source of All Languages, 1963)
Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at
The Promised Messiah and Imam Mahdi
Introduction Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was born on 20 February 1835 at Qadian, an outlying small town about 70 miles to the north east of Lahore. His family was of Persian origin and had been settled at Samarkand in Central Asia. In the first half of the 16th century, his ancestor, Mirza Hadi Beg, moved from Samarkand into India together with a couple of hundred retainers and settled in the Eastern Punjab, where he founded the township which eventually became known as Qadian. As Mirza Hadi Beg was, at third or fourth remove, a cousin of Emperor Babar, he was appointed Judge (Qazi) and administrator of a sizeable tract of land which comprised over 100 villages around Qadian. The town was named Islampur Qazian. In course of time, Islampur was dropped and Qazian, by easy transition, became Qadian. The descendants of Mirza Hadi Beg continued to flourish at Qadian, and maintained a semi-royal state under the Moghul emperors. The decline of the Moghul imperial authority, which started towards the middle of the 18th century, began to affect the fortunes of the chieftains of Qadian also. Mirza Gul Muhammad, the great-grandfather of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, was an enlightened personage, learned and pious, who made Qadian a centre of learning and a resort of scholarly divines. He had a very generous disposition and gave away several villages to smaller Muslim chief tains who had lost their own estates to the Sikhs whose power was on the increase at the cost of the central Moghul authority. Mirza Gul Muhammad was succeeded by his son, Mirza Ata Muhammad, during whose time Sikh depredations pro gressively reduced the area comprised within the Qadian estate. Finally, the Ram Garhia Sikhs obtained possession of Qadian itself through trickery and Mirza Ata Muhammad and the members of his family had to move from Qadian and took refuge in the neighbouring state of Kapurthala. Mirza Ata Muhammad died in exile in Kapurthala, but his body was carried by his son, Mirza Ghulam Murtaza to Qadian, and was given decent burial in the ancestral graveyard. When Maharaja Ranjit Singh established his power over the Punjab, he permitted Mirza Ghulam Murtaza, father of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, to return to Qadian and restored to him a few of the villages that had been originally comprised in the Qadian estate. With the birth of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the fortunes of the family improved in some degree and the intervening period of poverty and privation came to an end. Mirza Ghulam Murtaza took up military service under Maharaja Ranjit Singh and won distinction in some campaigns. Later, he and his elder son, Mirza Ghulam Qadir, rendered meritorious service to the British, which was duly appreciated by the authorities. Throughout his remaining life, Mirza Ghulam Murtaza continued to spend money, time and effort in the useless and profitless attempt to recover at least some of the villages that had originally been comprised within the Qadian estate. The futility of his attempt embittered his days and he died a disappointed man. His eldest son, Mirza Ghulam Qadir, who now became head of the family, had in the meantime been appointed to a minor post in the civil administration of the district at Gurdaspur, at a distance of approximately eighteen miles from Qadian. From his childhood, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad exhibited a religious bent, which became more and more marked with the passage of the years. As he grew up he began to devote more and more time to religious exercises and the study of religion, more particularly of the Holy Quran. His father arranged for his tuition at home and he never went to school. When he grew up, his father became anxious to divert his attention to secular pursuits which might prove of benefit to him in later life, but without much success. Out of a feeling of filial obedience and respect for his father, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad would undertake and carry out such particular missions, pertaining to his father's attempts to recover a portion of the patrimony, which his father assigned to him, but he did this with reluctance, as his heart was not engaged in worldly affairs which had no appeal for him. At one time, his father procured his appointment to a minor administrative post at Sialkot, which he also took up out of a spirit of obedience to his father, and which he readily resigned as soon as his father's attitude permitted him to do so. He has described his situation at his father's death in the following words: I was 34 or 35 years of age when my father died. In a dream I had been warned that his death was approaching. He was then in Lahore and hastened to Qadian. He was then suffering from dysentery but I had no apprehension that he would die the following day. In fact, there had been some change for the better in his condition and he appeared quite steadfast. The following day, we were all with him at noon when he kindly suggested that I should go and have some rest, for it was the month of June and the heat was intense. I retired into an upper room and a servant began to massage my feet. Presently I fell into a light slumber and the revelation came to me (Arabic): 'We call to witness heaven where all decrees originate and We call to witness that which will happen after sunset.' I was given to understand that what was to happen after sunset was my father's death, and that this revelation was by way of condolence on behalf of God Almighty. Holy is Allah! How glorious is He that He conveyed His condolence on the death of a person who had died sorrowing over the waste of his life. Most people would be surprised at this interpretation of mine that God Almighty condoled with me. It should, however, be remembered that when God, glorified be His name, treats someone mercifully, He deals with him like a friend. We read in the traditions that on certain occasions God Almighty laughed. This also is an expression of the same type. When I received this revelation, which presaged the death of my father, the thought passed through my mind, due to my humanity, that some of the means of income which were available to my father would now be closed and we might be confronted with difficulties. Thereupon I received another revelation: (Arabic): 'Is not Allah sufficient for His servant?' This revelation conveyed great comfort and satisfaction to me and it found its firm place in my heart. I swear by God Almighty in Whose hand is my life that He has fulfilled this comforting revelation in a manner which I could not have imagined. He has provided for me as no father could have provided for anyone. I have been the recipient of His continuous bounties which I find impossible to count. My father died the same day after sunset. This was the first day on which I experienced a sign of divine mercy through revelation concerning which I cannot imagine that it would ever cease to have effect during my lifetime. I had the words of the revelation carved on a semi-precious stone and set in a ring which I have with me securely. Nearly 40 years of my life passed under the care of my father, and with his departure from this life I began to receive divine revelation continuously [Kitabul Bariyyah, (Qadian, Ziaul Islam Press 1898); Now printed in Ruhani Khazain (London, 1984), Vol. 13, pp. 189-195, footnote]. This was Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad's first experience of Divine revelation. As he has himself observed, he was 34 or 35 years of age at that time. As time passed, this experience multiplied progressively and gained in volume and scope, comprising Divine assurances of security, progress, support and success, and became studded with grand prophecies and Divine signs. On his father's death, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad became entitled to half of his father's property, but he left the management of the whole of it in the hands of his elder brother and was content with the meagre and austere provision that his brother made for his maintenance. The world was not his major concern and all his interest and attention were concentrated on communion with the Divine and winning His pleasure. His father had arranged his marriage at an early age, but even the responsibilities thereby entailed failed to wean him away from the pursuit of that which he had made the purpose of his life. From his first wife, he had two sons, Mirza Sultan Ahmad and Mirza Fazal Ahmad. Under divine direction, he married a second time, in 1884, into a noble Syed family of Delhi. His second wife bore him several children of whom he was survived by three sons and two daughters. The eldest of these was a son born on 12 January 1889, who was named Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad. In his birth was fulfilled a grand multi-faceted prophecy of his father which had been published on 20 February 1886. Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad's study of religion was not confined to Islam. At an early age he entered upon a study of the principal faiths then current in India which deepened his appreciation of the teachings of Islam, till he emerged as a champion of Islam. He was greatly depressed by the feeling that there was little understanding of true Islamic values even among the Muslim divines and that the common run of Muslims were a prey to ignorance and superstition and had little regard for Islamic teachings. The collateral branches of his own family were sunk in superstition and made a mockery of religion and religious practices. Some of them openly denounced Islam, gloried in their disbelief, even reviled the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and held the Holy Quran in contempt. This occasioned great distress to Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, and, though he made repeated efforts to win them back to sincere allegiance to Islam, God Almighty, the Holy Prophet and the Holy Quran, they had little effect upon the attitude, conduct and behaviour of his collaterals. He was further depressed by the Divine revelation: He (God) will cut asunder thy collaterals and will begin (His favours) with thee. By the time he had arrived at forty years of age, his mind was possessed by a strong urge to undertake the championship of Islam vis-a-vis all other faiths, and he finally announced that he had resolved to set forth the truth of Islam and the utter beneficence of its teachings in an epoch-making book which he designated Braheen Ahmadiyyah. In the preface of the book he announced that if anyone, professing a faith other than Islam, would set forth a convincing refutation of the proofs and arguments expounded in the Braheen Ahmadiyyah and would furnish in support of his own faith even a quarter of the proofs he had adduced in support of Islam, he would be rewarded with 10,000 rupees, at which figure Mirza Ghulam Ahmad valued his entire property at the time. This challenge has not been seriously taken up over a whole century. While he was still occupied with the compilation of Braheen Ahmadiyyah, of which only four parts had yet been published, he received the revelation that God had commissioned him as the Reformer of the Fourteenth Century of the Hijra, and had entrusted the revival of Islam to him. In pursuance of this commission, he laid the foundation of the Ahmadiyya Movement on 23 March 1889. Soon thereafter, it was revealed to him that he was the Promised Messiah and Mahdi whose advent in the latter days had been prophesied by the Holy Prophet of Islam, on whom be the peace and blessings of Allah. The publication of the very first volume of Braheen Ahmadiyyah was acclaimed by the Muslims as an outstanding and matchless performance, and leading Muslim divines and newspapers and journals published appreciations of the great work in highly laudatory terms. In consequence of the publication of the successive parts of Braheen Ahmadiyyah, its revered author had become the most renowned and honoured personage in the contemporary world of Islam. With the announcement of his claim that he had been appointed the Promised Messiah and Mahdi, a storm of bitter and abusive opposition was let loose against him from all directions. He was condemned as an apostate from Islam, who had put himself outside the pale of Islam and all sorts of opprobrious epithets were applied to him. He was called Anti-Christ and it was declared that his life was forfeit. In the estimation of the Muslim divines, he fell utterly from grace and no protestation or explanation on his part served to soften the bitterness of their hostility towards him. This continued all through the rest of his life, and though seventy years have passed since his demise, he and his daily expanding Movement continue to be the sharpest thorns in the sides of the Muslim divines. Bitter persecution breaks out from time to time against the members of his Movement, but this only serves to furnish greater publicity to the Movement, in consequence of which increasing numbers of reasonable and reflecting people continue to identify themselves with the Movement. One of the earliest revelations vouchsafed to Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was: I shall carry thy message to the ends of the earth. At the time of the revelation, he was not widely known even in his own home town and he lacked altogether all normal means of publicity and propaganda. At that time Qadian had not yet found a place on the maps and did not even possess a telegraph office, and was not connected with the railway system of the province, and could not be reached by a metalled road. The nearest railway station and telegraph office were at a distance of 11 miles, a journey to which occupied the better part of three hours. Despite all this lack of normal facilities, the Ahmadiyya Movement has, during the last seven decades, spread to the farthest corners of the earth and the prophecy just mentioned has been, and continues to be, fulfilled in an astonishing manner. The main thrust of the opposition to the claim of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad has been, and continues to be, that he claimed to be a prophet in contradiction of the Holy Prophet being the Seal of the Prophets as mentioned in the Holy Quran (33:41). This objection derives from deliberate misrepresentation of his claim. His opponents first wrongly defined prophethood as confined to law-bearing prophets and then turned round and condemned him on the ground that he virtually claimed to be such a prophet, and this in the face of his repeated and emphatic denial of such a claim. Times out of number he has affirmed that he believes that the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was the Seal of the Prophets in its highest and widest meaning and that his own claim of prophethood means only that he was favoured with frequent converse with God, but that he had brought no new law, was completely subject to the Holy Quran and that he had been favoured with frequent converse by God on account of his utter devotion to the Holy Prophet, peace be on him, and as his perfect reflection. This is put beyond doubt by the following extracts from his writings. The summary and essence of our faith is that there is no one worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. Our belief that we profess in this life and with which, through the favour of God Almighty, we shall pass on to the next life, is that our lord and master, Muhammad, the chosen one, peace be on him, is the Seal of the Prophets and best of Messengers, at whose hands the faith was perfected and the bounty was completed through which by treading the straight path, a person can reach God Almighty. We believe with absolute certainty that the Holy Quran is the last of the heavenly books and that not a word or vowel point of its laws and limits and commandments can be added to or subtracted from. No revelation can now be received from God which can have the effect of modifying or abrogating the commandments of the Holy Quran, or of changing any single one of its directions. Anyone who thinks otherwise is, according to us, not a believer, and is a heretic and kafir. We also believe that even the lowest stage of the straight path cannot become available to a person without following the Holy Prophet, peace be on him, let alone the higher stages of that path. We cannot attain to any stage of honour and perfection or of nearness to God except through the true and perfect following of the Holy Prophet, peace be on him. Whatever is bestowed upon us is by way of reflection and through the Holy Prophet [Izalai Auhan, (Amritsar, Riyaz Hind Press 1308 A.H.); Now published in Ruhani Khazain (London, 1984), Vol. 3, pp. 69-70]. The five pillars on which Islam is based are part of our faith. We hold fast to the word of God, the Holy Quran, to which we are commanded to hold fast. Like Farooq, may Allah be pleased with him, we announce that the Book of Allah suffices us, and like Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, when there is a difference between the Quran and hadith, we give priority to the Quran. We believe that there is no one worthy of worship except Allah and that our lord and master, Muhammad, the chosen one, peace be on him, is His Mcssenger and is Khatamul Anbiya. We believe in angels, the resurrection of the body, the day of judgment, heaven and hell. We believe that whatever the Holy Prophet, peace be on him, has said, is true. We believe that whoever subtracts the smallest particle from the law of Islam or adds to it, or lays the foundation of neglecting obligations and of indifference towards them, is without faith and is turned away from Islam. I admonish the members of my community that they should have true faith in the credo that there is no God beside Allah, and that Muhammadis the Messenger of Allah, and that they should die in this faith. They should believe in all prophets and all books, the truth of which is affirmed by the Holy Quran. They should observe the fast and perform the salat and pay the zakat and perform the pilgrimage and carry out all that God Almighty and His Messenger have prescribed and should abstain from all that they have forbidden and thus conform in every respect to Islamic commandments. We consider it our duty to accept all that is supported by the consensus of the righteous ones who have passed away and all that is considered as part of Islam by the consensus of the Ahl-i-Sunnat. We call to witness the heaven and earth that this is our religion [Ayyamus Solh, (Qadian, Ziaul Islam Press 1899); Now printed in Ruhani Khazain (London, 1984), Vol. 14, pp. 86-87]. No part of my doctrine is contrary to the commandments of Allah and His Messenger. If anyone thinks so, it must be due to his misunderstanding. Anyone who still considers me a kafir, and does not desist from calling me one, should remember that he will be called to account for it after his death. I call God, the Glorious, to witness that I have such firm faith in God and His Messenger that if the faith of all the people of this age were placed on one side of the scale and my faith is placed on the other side, then, by Allah's grace, my faith would prove to be the heavier (Karamat-us-Sadiqeen, p. 25). The purport of my teaching is: Believe in God as One without associate, and have sympathy with God's creatures and be of good conduct and think no ill. Be such that no disorderliness or mischief should approach your heart. Utter no falsehood, invent no lies and cause no hurt to anyone whether by your tongue or your hands. Avoid all manner of sin and restrain your passions. Try to become pure hearted, without vice. It should be your principle to have sympathy for all human beings. Safeguard your hands and your tongues and your thoughts against all impure objects and disorderly ways and all kinds of deceit. Fear God and worship Him with pure hearts. Refrain from committing wrong or trespass or embezzlement or taking bribes or unfair partisanship and keep away from evil companions. Safeguard your eyes against treachery and your ears against listening to backbiting. Entertain no ill designs against the members of any religion or any tribe or group. Be sincere counsellors for every one. Let no mischief-maker or one given to bad behaviour be ever of your company. Shun every vice and try to acquire every virtue. Your hearts should be free from deceit, your hands should be innocent of wrong and your eyes should be free from impurity. Take no part in any evil or transgression. Put forth your utmost efforts to recognize God, finding Whom is salvation and meeting Whom is deliverance. He manifests Himself to him who seeks Him with love and sincerity of heart, and He reveals Himself to him who becomes truly His. Pure hearts are His thrones and the tongues that are free from falsehood, abuse and vain talk are the places of His revelation. He who loses himself in seeking His Pleasure becomes a manifestation of His miraculous power [Kashful Ghita, (Qadian, Ziaul Islam Press 1898); Now printed in Ruhani Khazain (London, 1984), Vol. 14, pp. 8-9]. It is our faith that the last book and last law is the Holy Quran and that thereafter till the day of judgment, there is no law-bearing prophet nor any recipient of revelation who is not a follower of the Holy Prophet, peace be on him. This door is closed till the Day of Judgment, but the door of revelation, through following the Holy Prophet, is ever open. Such revelation will never be cut off, but law-bearing prophethood, or independent prophethood, have been put an end to and will not be open till the day of judgment. He who says he is not a follower of the Holy Prophet Muhammad peace be on him, and claims that he is a law-bearing prophet, or is a prophet without bearing a law, is like one who has been carried away by a fierce flood and is thrown aside and cannot recover himself till he dies [Review on the Debate Between Batalwi and Chakrhalvi, (Qadian, 1902); Now printed in Ruhani Khazain, Vol.19]. It is an attractive principle that promotes peace and lays down the foundations of good accord and helps moral conditions that we should accept as true all the prophets, whether they appeared in India or Persia or China or in any other country, and God established their honour and greatness in millions of hearts and made firm the roots of their religions and let them flourish for centuries. This is the principle that the Quran has taught us and according to this principle, we honour the founder of every religion which has become well established, whether of the Hindus or of the Persians or of the Chinese or of the Jews or of the Christians [Tohfa Qaisariyyah, (Qadian, Ziaul Islam Press 1897); Now printed in Ruhani Khazain (London, 1984), Vol. 12, p. 6]. The truth of a prophet might be known in three ways. First, through reason. It needs to be considered whether reason affirms that a Prophet or reformer should appear at the time when a Prophet or a Messenger claims to have come, and whether the condition of mankind demands such a reformer. Secondly, the prophecies of previous prophets should be studied whether any of them had prophesied concerning his appearance or concerning . . . . the appearance of a prophet at the time of his advent. Thirdly, it should be considered whether there is divine help or heavenly support for his claim. These three conditions have been laid down from ancient times for testing the claim of a truce commissioned one of God. God has had mercy upon you and has established all three conditions in my support and it is up to you to accept me or not [Lecture Sialkoat entitled "Islam", (Sialkoat, Mufid Aam Press, 1904); Now published in Ruhani Khazain (London, 1984), Vol. 20, p. 49]. From the beginning I have been of the view that no one becomes Kafir or dajjal by rejecting my claim. Such a one would certainly be in error and astray from the right path. I do not call him faithless but he who rejects the truth which God Almighty has disclosed to me would be in error and astray from the straight path. I do not designate anyone who believes in the Kalimah as a kafir, unless by rejecting me and calling me a kafir, he himself becomes a kafir. In this matter my opponents have always taken the lead. They called me kafir and prepared fatwas against me. I did not take the lead in preparing fatwas against them. They would be prepared to confess that if I am a Muslim in the estimation of God Almighty, then by calling me Kafir they themselves become kafirs according to the fatwa of the Holy Prophet, peace be on him. Thus I do not call them kafir they themselves fall within the purview of the fatwa of the Holy Prophet [Tiryaqul Qulub, Now printed in Ruhani Khazain (London, 1984), Vol. 15, pp. 258-260]. Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the Promised Messiah and Mahdi, peace be on him, devoted the whole of his life to the service of Islam. He died at Lahore on 26 May 1908. Till the evening of the previous day he was occupied with the composition of a paper designed to furnish a peaceful modus vivendi between the Muslim and non-Muslim sections of the people of the sub-continent, which he designated The Mess age of Peace. He wrote and published more than eighty books in Urdu, Arabic and Persian, in which he presented a true exposition of the teachings of Islam, based on the Holy Quran and the practice of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, shorn of all the innovations and encrustations that had been grafted upon them during the centuries of decline. He also set forth in his writings and speeches the life-inspiring philosophy that permeates every Commandment, direction and prohibition comprised in the Holy Quran, which constitutes the guidance that mankind would need in the epoch that was opened with his advent. This volume, the first of a series, sets out, in the words of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad himself, a summary of his exposition of four outstanding topics, namely, ISLAM; ALLAH, THE EXALTED; THE HOLY PROPHET, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him; and THE HOLY QURAN. The original compilation, in Urdu, from which these extracts have been translated into English, was collated with great care and diligence by Syed Daud Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him and may He reward him graciously for his great labour of love.
Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, The Promised Messiah & Mahdi
The founder of Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat was Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, alayhe salam. His father's name was Mirza Ghulam Murtaza and his motherÂ’s name was Chiragh Bibi (lady of the lamp). His grandfather was Mirza Ata Muhammad (d.1814), and his great grand father was Mirza Gul Muhammad (d.1800).
Hadhrat Ahmad (AS) belonged to the Birlas branch of the respectable Mughal family. The surname of this family is Mirza that is why all members of this family use Mirza as their surname. Mirza Hadi Beg was the forefather of this family who migrated to India in 1530 from his hometown Samarqand with two hundred others during the reign of Mughal King Zaheer al-Din Babur. They settled along the Beyas river in the Indian province of Punjab. Mirza Hadi Beg was appointed Qazi (judge) with jurisdiction over seventy villages around Qadian. He founded a village called Islampur, later the name changed to Islampur Qazi Majhi, which over time was shortened to Qazi Majhi, then only Qazian, finally changed into Qadian.
Qadian is situated about 112 km north east of Lahore, in district Gurdaspur, in the Indian province of Punjab. In this holy town was born Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the Promised Messiah (AS), the holy founder of Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat. He spent most of his life in this town.
The family of the Promised Messiah (AS) was given high official posts in the Mughal administration. When the central Mughal government in India lost its grip, the family was able to make itself independent and ruled over 95 km of territory around Qadian. However, during the Sikh rule, the family lost territorial rights, and much of the territory was taken over by the Sikhs.
The situation was so bad at one time that the family had to take shelter for sixteen years in the state of Kapurthala. The family settled subsequently in Qadian during the reign of Maharajah Ranjeet Singh. (1780-1839). Under the British rule, they were granted the property rights in Qadian and the suburbs.
Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the Promised Messiah and Mahdi, peace be on him, was born on Friday February 13th, 1835 at dawn in Qadian. He was born after a twin sister Janat who died a few days later. A tutor was assigned in 1842 for his early education. He learnt the Holy Quran and a few elementary Persian books from this tutor. Later on he was coached in Urdu, Arabic, Persian, Philosophy, and Logic by two other tutors.
When he was seventeen years of age, his father who was an experienced Hakim (doctor) gave him lessons in natural medicine. This instruction gave him elementary knowledge of Persian and Arabic languages. This was the extent of his basic education. No tutor provided him formal education in religious subjects, however he gained some knowledge on his own by reading religious books. Reading and pondering over the teachings of the Holy Quran was his favorite hobby early on from his childhood.
Hadhrat AhmadÂ’s childhood was carefree and righteous. Despite the fact that he was born in a well-off family, he always avoided spending time in useless sports. No doubt he did take part in useful and productive sports, for instance he had learnt swimming, & horseback riding at an early age. His simple, fine habits made an impression on everyone. When he was a child, a revered personage Maulvi Ghulam Rasool admiringly remarked:
“ If anyone deserves to be a prophet in this age, this lad indeed should be one”. (Hayate Tayyeba, page 14)
In 1852 he was married to the daughter of his maternal uncle, Hurmat Bibi. This was his first marriage, from this union he was blessed with two sons. His first son Hadhrat Mirza Sultan Ahmad (1853-1931) was a high ranking official in the British administration. He entered into Baiat (covenant of allegiance) at the hand of the Second Caliph. The second son Mirza Fazal Ahmad passed away in 1904 at the age of forty-nine.
Although he was married, he spent most of his time in solitude, meditation, and devotional prayers. His father wanted him to find an occupation, but this was not to Hadhrat AhmadÂ’s taste. His father lovingly called him a Maseetar, one who enjoys spending time in Divine worship in the mosque. However, being a loyal son, and in order to see his father happy, he would attend court cases in connection with their family estate.
In 1864 he went to Sialkot and started the job of a Reader in a law-court where he stayed for four years. As the job was contrary to his disposition, he would spend most of his time in the study of the Holy Quran, prayers, study of religious books or engaged himself in debates with Christian missionaries of the city.
In 1868 he resigned from his civil service job after receiving instructions from his father and returned to Qadian. Unfortunately his mother passed away before he could reach Qadian, but he bore the loss with strength.
FatherÂ’s death His father passed away on June 2nd, 1876. Naturally Hadhrat Ahmad (AS) became concerned over the sources of his income. God Almighty vouchsafed him the following revelation:
"Alaysa Allaho be-Kafen Abdahoo"
Is not God sufficient for His servant? (Kitab al-Barriya, page 159)
This revelation gave him mental comfort and abundant solace. Future incidents demonstrated that God Almighty indeed assisted him in every situation, proving beyond a shadow of doubt that God was sufficient for His humble servant. These words of revelation were later carved in a stone and made into a signet ring which he wore all his life.
Upon his father's death, the responsibility for administering the affairs of the family estate fell on the shoulders of his elder brother Mirza Ghulam Qadir. If he wanted he could have taken his share from the estate and lived a life of comfort. But whatever his brother gave him he lived on that, sometimes hand to mouth.
This was a very tough period for him. At times he had to face severe hardships in getting the bare necessities of life. Nevertheless he was always grateful for whatever he had. On occasion he would distribute his food among the poor and keep the minimum for himself.
First Revelation Next year in 1869 someone took him to Maulvi Muhammad Hussain Batalvi for a public discussion. Mr. Batalvi belonged to the Ahle Hadith sect that was being opposed at the time by other Muslim sects. The person who brought Hudhoor (AS) wanted him to have a debate and refute their certain doctrines. When Hadhrat Ahmad (AS) questioned Mr. Batalvi his belief on a certain theological point, he discovered that it was in complete accord with the Islamic teachings. So he refused to debate with him.
The person who had brought Hadhrat Ahmad (AS) for discussion was furious and expressed his consternation in harsh words for this let down. However Hadhrat Ahamd (AS) maintained, “ Whatever I did was to seek the pleasure of God Almighty. I don’t care if anyone condemns it.” God Almighty was so pleased with his attitude that he was comforted with the following revelation (Urdu):
"God is pleased with your attitude, He will shower His blessings on you, so much so that Kings would seek blessings from your garments". (Braheene Ahmadiyya, Vol IV, page 520)
In 1875 his father laid the foundation stone of Aqsa mosque.
This year he fasted for eight or nine months on receiving directive from God Almighty. He reduced his daily food intake to such an extent that at one point it amounted to only two or three morsels a day. Besides receiving many heavenly blessings in those days, he met with former prophets and Muslim saints in his dreams and visions.
Writing of Braheene Ahmadiyya To prove the truthfulness of Islam and to repudiate false charges leveled against it, he started writing articles in Muslim magazines in 1872. These articles were very much appreciated by the public. It also brought him instant fame because he presented such compelling arguments in support of Islam that no one could refute these.
After a while he started compiling his magnum opus book Braheene Ahmadiyya (Proofs of the Ahmadiyya) in which he presented 300 bright & conclusive arguments for the truthfulness of the Holy Quran and the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be on him. The first volume of this monumental work was published in 1880, second volume in 1881, third in 1882, fourth in 1884 and fifth in 1905.
The book was a knock out; everybody was convinced of authorÂ’s penetrating insight and towering intellectual status. He was hailed as the best of divines, pride of the Muslims of India, valiant defender of Islam. Muslims in India were exuberant, one of the scholars, Maulavi Muhammad Hussain wrote a 200-page review in the course of which he observed:
"In our opinion this book stands unique from the viewpoint of the modern age, the like of which has not been written in the history of Islam. " (Ishaat al-Sunna Vol 7, No 6)
This is a mere specimen of the opinions held by Muslims about this book. He offered a cash prize of 10,000 rupees to any non-Muslim who could write a similar book to refute the arguments given in the book, but no one dared to write one.
While he was writing this book in 1882, through a revelation he was appointed a Mamoor mina Allah, commissioned by God Almighty. Christian missionaries, Hindu pundits, & Muslim divines, all of them became his virulent opponents. They plotted all kinds of things to discredit him but no one succeeded.
Post Office lawsuit In 1877 a Christian named Ralya Ram Vakeel filed a court case against Hadhrat Ahmad (AS) which is referred to as the 'Post office Case'. The Promised Messiah, peace be on him, had written a treatise in support of the superiority of Islam, refuting allegations leveled by the Arya Samaj. He mailed this manuscript to a publishing house Vakeel Press in Amritsar at the rate prescribed for newspapers. Also included in the package was a letter addressed to the Manager containing instructions. According to the postal regulations it was illegal to include a letter in a package because of cheaper postal rates for packages, it carried a fine of Rs. 500 or imprisonment for six months. Hadhrat Ahmad (AS) was not aware of such a regulation. Upon arrival of the package, Ralya Ram at once informed the postal authorities of this irregularity. A lawsuit was filed against Hudhoor (AS). At this time Hudhoor saw in a dream that Ralya Ram had sent him a venomous snake but Hudhoor fried it and sent it back to him.
When the case came up for trial, Hudhoor's attorney advised him that the only way he could escape conviction was to give an affidavit to the court that he did not place the letter in the package. Instead it was Ralya Ram who had placed the letter there in order to get him into trouble. Hadhrat Ahmad (AS) rejected this advice, saying: " The fact of the matter is that I had myself placed this letter in the package, therefore, I will not deny it so as to be spared of the sentence". “ In that case”, his attorney Sheikh Ali Ahmed shrugged his shoulders and said, “there is no chance for your acquittal.” Hudhoor replied, “come what may, I will not tell a lie.”
Hudhoor appeared before the British magistrate in Gurdaspur without a lawyer. During the hearing the judge inquired of Hudhoor if he had in fact placed the letter in the package? “Yes Indeed” Hudhoor responded, “ but I was't aware that by doing so I was breaking the postal regulations, nor did I intend to defraud the post office”.
The plaintiff was overjoyed that Hudhoor had confessed his guilt. As a consequence he will be given the due sentence. But the judge was so much impressed with Hudoor's truthfulness and strength of character that he gave him an honorable discharge. This was indeed the blessing of truthfulness that God Almighty gave him victory in this case.
Hudoor's elder brother Mirza Ghulam Qadir passed away in 1881. As he had no children, Hudhoor (AS) was entitled to all of his estate, but he did not do so for the sake of his sister in law. The property remained in the possession of other relatives for a long time.
His Second Marriage In fulfillment of a particular prophecy, Hudoor's second marriage took place on November 17th, 1884 to a well-respected and honorable lady Sayyeda Nusrat Jahan Begum who belonged to the noble Sayyed family of Dehli. Thus the following prophecy was fulfilled.
"I have intended another marriage for you, I shall provide all that may be needed in this respect” (Hayate Tayyeba, page 73)
Hadhrat Mir Naser Nawab (RA) was his father in law who was a descendant of Hadhrat Khawaja Mir Dard. Hadhrat Mir sahib was an extremely righteous and divinely personage. Maulvi Sayyed Nazeer Hussain (Muhaddith Dehlvi), a well-known Dehli scholar, performed the Nikah (matrimonial rites) on November 17th 1884. The Rukhstana (reception) ceremony took place the same day in Dehli. The marriage was very successful with the grace and favors of Allah the Exalted. God Almighty gave him pious offspring from this wedlock, regarding whom he was given glad tidings. These glad tidings were fulfilled at their prescribed time and we are witnessing these with our own eyes.
Reformer of the Age In March 1885 he published 20,000 copies of a flyer in which he invited adversaries of Islam to visit him in order to witness heavenly signs in support of the truthfulness of Islam. In the flyer that was printed in English & Urdu he made the grand announcement that Allah has appointed him Mujaddid - Reformer of the Age - in order to prove the superiority of the Holy Quran and truthfulness of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAS). The flyer was widely distributed in the country, and even mailed to all the eminent religious leaders, writers, and leading intellectuals of Asia, Europe, and the US.
The sign of Red Drops During the month of Ramadhan in 1885 the Promised Messiah (AS) was one day resting in his bed. His companion Hadhrat Maulvi Abdullah Sinauri (RA) was sitting on the edge of the bed messaging his feet. Hadhrat Maulvi sahib noticed that at one point Promised Messiah's body trembled for a moment. Then Maulvi sahib noticed a few red drops that appeared on the ankle of the Promised Messiah (AS) as well as on his clothes. This was a heavenly sign that occurred on 27th day of Ramadhan, July 10th 1885.
Prophecy of Musleh Mauood Under Divine inspiration Hudhoor (AS) traveled to Hoshiarpur on January 22nd, 1886 to perform Chilla. He stayed in a house for forty days, all his time was spent in intense meditation, devotion & prayer. These supplications resulted in God Almighty giving him the news of a grand prophecy that is referred to in the Jamaat as 'Prophecy of Musleh Mauood'. According to this prophecy Allah the Exalted will bestow him a son in the next nine years who would bring awesome progress to Islam and Ahmadiyyat. This Promised Reformer would spread the message of Islam to farthest corners of the Earth. A part of the grand prophecy reads as follows:
I confer upon thee a Sign of My mercy according to your supplication. I have heard thy entreaties and have honored thy prayers with my acceptance through My mercy and have blessed this thy journey. A Sign of power, mercy nearness to Me is bestowed upon thee, a Sign of grace and beneficence is awarded to thee and thou art granted the key of success and victoryÂ…Â…Â…Â…Â…..
He will be accompanied by grace, which shall arrive with him. He will be characterized with grandeur, greatness and wealth. He will come into the world and will heal many of their disorders through his messianic qualities and through the blessings of the Holy Spirit. He is the Word of Allah for AllahÂ’s mercy and honor has equipped him with the Word of Majesty. He will be extremely intelligent and understanding and will be meek of heart and will be filled with secular and spiritual knowledgeÂ…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…...
Behold a light cometh, a light anointed by God with the perfume of His pleasure. We shall pour Our spirit into Him and he will be sheltered under the shadow of God. He will grow rapidly in stature and will be the means of procuring the release of those held in bondage. His fame will spread to the ends of the earth and people will be blessed through him. He will then be raised to his spiritual station in heaven. This is a matter decreed. (Announcement February 20th 1886)
As foretold by the prophecy Hadhrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad was born within the prescribed period of nine years, on January 12th, 1889. Promised Messiah (AS) announced in his treatise 'Siraje Muneer' that the promised son whose advent had been foretold to him, had been born. Subsequently during the caliphate of Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih II it became quite apparent that the prophecies were fulfilled in his person.
The characteristics explained in the revealed words of this prophecy regarding this illustrious son were evident in his person; thus fulfilling the prophecy with grandeur. Praise the Lord.
In 1944 Hadhrat Khalifat al-Masih the Second (RA) declared that he was indeed the Promised Son whose birth was foretold by God Almighty to Hazrat Ahmad (AS).
Death of Hadhrat Isa (AS) In 1890 God Almighty revealed to him that Hadhrat Isa ibn Maryam (AS) had passed away like all previous prophets. The belief that he is alive in the heavens, is false and against the teachings of the Holy Quran. Also he proclaimed that the Messiah whose advent was foretold by Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace & blessings of Allah be on him, has appeared in his person. God has sent this Promised Messiah to reform the world and to spread the pristine teachings of Islam.
His announcement and claim to be the Promised Mahdi and the Messiah brought him numerous converts, but there were some that turned against him. Erstwhile friends became his foes. Some Muslim divines declared him a heretic. The Christians did not lag behind either as they raised a fierce storm of opposition. The reason Christians opposed him was the fact that Jesus Christ's death dealt a fatal blow to the very foundation of Christianity. They believed Christ to be their Lord, but this claim made him a dead god.
This intense opposition resulted in many debates between him, the Muslim divines, and the Christian missionaries. For instance in 1891 he held debates with Maulvi Muhammad Hussain sahib Batalvi, Maulvi Sayyed Nazeer Hussain sahib Dehlvi and Maulvi Muhammad Bashir sahib Bhopali. In 1892 he held debates with Maulvi Abdul Hakim Kalanauri. In 1893 he held a famous debate with Christian missionary Abdulla Athim. These debates brought him many pious & devoted converts.
First Annual Conference Under Divine inspiration Hudhoor (AS) announced in May 1891 that he was the Promised Mahdi awaited by the Muslims.
Later on the same year the Promised Messiah (AS) decided to hold the first Jalsa Salana. Accordingly the first Annual Conference was held from December 27th to 29th at the Aqsa Mosque in Qadian. Only 75 members attended that year, next year 327 members attended the Jalsa, and the last Jalsa Salana attended by the Promised Messiah (AS) in 1907 there were two thousand participants. The last annual gathering that was held in Rabwah in 1983, more than two hundred thousand attended the blessed meeting.
With a few exceptions it has been held since then every year in many countries of the world like the UK, Germany, India, Canada, & the USA. Over 32,000 members took part in the Jalsa Salana held in Germany in August 2000. The UK Jalsa Salana attracted 22,000 members in July 2000, while 12 thousand members took part in the Canadian Annual Conference in 2003. The attendance of Jalsa Salana held in different parts of the world continues to grow.
The USA Jamaat celebrated its 50th Annual Conference in 1998 in Silver Spring, Maryland. The keynote address was delivered by Hazrat Khalifat al-Masih the Fourth, which was filled with pearls of wisdom.
Debate with Atham In 1893 Hudhoor (AS) held a written debate from May 22nd to June 5th, in Amritsar against the famous Christian missionary Abdullah Athim. This debate was later on published under the title Jange Muqaddas (The Holy War). God Almighty showered him with so much success during the debate that many people took the pledge of allegiance and joined the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat.
An amusing incident took place during the course of the debate. The Christians brought forth three lame, blind and dumb persons and argued that since our Messiah used to cure the lame and the blind, let this Messiah do the same.
The Christians were confident that they had him nailed. When the handicap people were brought before Hudhoor, he pointed out that only the Gospels had mentioned such miracles of Jesus, not the Quran, therefore we did not believe in this. Hudhoor (AS) continued that the New Testament also states that if your faith is as much as a grain of mustard, you could perform such miracles or even greater wonders. Therefore he presented those invalids back to them, and said “ if you possess little faith then cure them with your touch of hand. If you can cure them then we will believe that you are on the right path, if you do not then we must conclude that you do not possess faith as much as a grain of mustard”.
Hadhrat AhmadÂ’s reply made them speechless. They thought that they had succeeded in their planning to humiliate him, but it only brought shame on them. During the course of the debate Hudhoor (AS) made the following prophecy:
“ that out of the two parties in this debate the one who was deliberately following a falsehood and abandoning the true God and transforming a weak mortal into a God shall, within the days since the debate, i.e. one month since this day till fifteen months thereafter, be thrown into hawiya (hell) and will be greatly disgraced provided it is not inclined towards the truth.” Proceedings of the debate, June 5th, 1893. Jange Muqaddis pages 291-292.
The above prophecy made it clear that if Athim did not repent then he will be thrown into hell. Upon hearing the wording of the prophecy, Athim was deeply alarmed and scared. He started shaking, and turned pale. Contrary to his habit, he refrained from uttering anything objectionable against Islam or the Holy Prophet (SAS). He was restless and moved from town to town in absolute terror. It seemed he had recanted. God Almighty granted him respite in the face of his changed attitude, but the opponents alleged that the prophecy was false.
Hudhoor (AS) announced that if Mr. Athim would declare on oath that he had not inclined towards the truth, he would pay him a sum of Rs. 1000/- provided he survived for one year after taking the oath. Later the sum was increased to Rs. 4000/-. Athim did not take the oath, had he taken a false oath, he would have been punished within one year. Furthermore, Hudhoor emphasized that even if he did not swear on oath, God Almighty will not leave him unpunished as he had tried to deceive the world by concealing the truth.
Since Athim refused to swear on oath, he died on July 27th, 1896 exactly as foretold by the prophecy. This was indeed a glorious sign on the truthfulness of Hadhrat Ahmad (AS).
Arabic - mother of languages In 1893 Hudhoor (AS) invited Muslim divines to hold an essay competition with him in Arabic. Hudhoor (AS) revealed that God Almighty has bestowed him perfect command of Arabic language. Therefore no one can compete with him. No one accepted the invitation despite the fact that he gave this challenge many times over.
Hudhoor (AS) made known in 1895 in his book Minan al-Rahman that all the languages of the world have originated from Arabic language. Therefore Arabic is the mother of all languages. He also asserted that Arabic is the language of God Almighty. He offered a cash prize of Rs. 5000 to anyone who could disprove this claim.
This was an amazing discovery as scholars have been investigating for a long time to find the most original language. European scholars had pointed to either Sanskrit or Pahlvi. The latest research however indicates that Arabic is the most original language, all others derived from it. (M. A. Mazhar has traced 13 languages to Arabic in his book: Arabic, the Source of All Languages, 1963)
- When and where was the Promised Messiah (AS) born?
- What year did he receive the first revelation?
- What revelation he received on his father's death?
- What does 'Brahanee Ahmadiyya' means? When was the last volume published?
- Can you write the name of Hazrat Ahmad's first son?
- What is the meaning of Mujaddid?
- How many conditions are in the Baiat?
- Can you give one condition of Baiat?
- What year was the Ahmadiyya Jamaat founded?
- Who took the first oath of allegiance, in what city?
- What is the meaning of 'Musleh Mauood'?
- What is Jange Muqaddas?
- When and where did the first Jalsa Salana take place?
- Which language is the mother of all languages?
- What is the sign of eclipses?
- Who is Baba Nanak? What was his religion?
- What year did the first US Muslim accept Islam? What was his full name?
- What is the name of magistrate who acquitted Hazrat Ahmad in a murder case?
- Who was Lekh Ram? When did he die?
- What is the name of the school established in 1898 in Qadian?
- Name two signs that God showed in support of the Promised Messiah.
- What is the height of Minaret al-Masih? In which mosque is it located in Qadian?
- What is Bahishti Maqbara? Who can be buried in this graveyard?
- What city did Promised Messiah (AS) passe away? What year?
- What is the name of last book written by Hazrat Ahmad (AS)?
- February 13th, 1835 in Qadian
- 1869
- Alaisa Allah be Kafen Abduhu
- Proofs of Ahmadiyya - 1905
- Hadhrat Mirza Bashiruddin Ahmad
- Reformer
- ten
- he will offer Salat five times a day
- 1889
- Hadhrat Maulana Noor al-Din at Hoshiarpur
- Promised Reformer
- It is a debate that took place between Christians and Hadhrat Ahmad (AS). Also the name of a book.
- 1891 at Qadian
- Arabic
- It is a heavenly sign shown by God. Moon was eclipsed, Sun was eclipsed, both in the month of Ramadhan.
- Baba Nanak was religious leader. He was a Muslim.
- 1887, Muhammad Alexandar Russell Webb.
- Captain M. W. Douglas
- Lekh Ram was an opponent of Hadhrat Ahmad. he died in 1897
- Taleem al-Islam School
- Sign of the eclipses, and the appearance of Plague in the Punjab
- 105 feet, in Aqsa Mosque
- This is a special graveyard. A Moosie can only be buried there.
- Lahore, May 26th, 1908
- Paighame Sulh (A message of Reconciliation)
