A Foreword by the Translator
It is my singular honor to present to you the English translation of the second volume of a biographical work by Dr. Basharat Ahmad Sahib. This is a biography of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Sahib, an eminently pious and religious leader who was born in the town of Qadian in the Indian Subcontinent. His life…
A Foreword by the Author
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. And may blessings and peace be on His Messenger Muhammad Mustafa and on all of his righteous followers and companions. Many thanks to Allah Who has enabled me to present the second volume of The Great Reformer (Mujaddid Azam) to my friends and the public. In…
CHAPTER 44: THE CHANGE OF AL-BADAR’S NAME TO BADAR
In March 1905, Muhammad Afzal, the editor of the newspaper Al-Badr, died and the publication of the newspaper stopped for a few days. On March 30, 1905, Hazrat Mirza expressed great pleasure that Mufti Muhammad Sadiq had taken over the editorship, and the newspaper had resumed publication. On the advice of Maulvi Abdul Karim, the newspaper was renamed Badr. The rationale behind the…
CHAPTER 60: THE DEATH OF MAULVI SHEIKH SAADULLAH
Maulvi Sheikh Saadullah, of Ludhiana, was a convert to Islam who had become a religious cleric. He was a virulent opponent ofHazrat Mirza, and in his antagonism had outdone all other opponents in the use of foul and abusive language. His posters and announcements were nothing but a compendium of such filthy language as would put even the basest members of the society to shame. He was also desirous of the death of Hazrat Mirza, and had written a book titled Shahab Saqib Bar Masih Kazib (The Meteor That Strikes The False Messiah). The following two verses are the English rendering of two Persian verses from his book that are addressedto Hazrat Mirza: God has decreed that your life vein be cut Your false movement will be destroyed after your death Although you people say that tribulations do come On the Day of Judgment and in…
CHAPTER 56: OTHER MISCELLANEOUS EVENTS OF 1906
Publication of the magazine Tashhiz-Al-Azhan From March 1, 1906, a monthly Urdu magazine titled Tashhiz-Al- Azhan started publication with Hazrat Mirza’s eldest son, Mirza Mahmud Ahmad, as its editor. Publication of the magazine Talim-ul-Islam From July, 1906, the Madrassah Talim-ul-Islam (Institute for Islamic Education) started publishing its own Urdu monthly magazine titled Talim- ul-Islam. Marriage of Mirza Bashir Ahmad Mirza Bashir Ahmad, the second son of Hazrat Mirza from his second wife, was betrothed to the daughter of Maulana Ghulam Hasan Khan, sub- registrar Peshawar, and the nikah (legal marriage)…
CHAPTER 55: REV. AHMAD MASIH FLEES A PRAYER DUEL (MUBAHALAH)
Rev. Ahmad Masih debates Maulvi Abdul Majeed Rev. Ahmad Masih, a blind clergyman associated with the SPG Mission in Delhi, was a very interesting character. He was extremely fond of debating, and because previously he had been a Muslim and had memorized the Quran, he could quote Quranic verses at will. Sensing a weakness among the Muslim clerics of Delhi on the issue of whether Jesus is alive or dead, he began debating them onthis issue. Maulvi Abdul Majeed, a well-known cleric of Delhi took the field against him. The most remarkable aspect of this debatewas that Rev. Ahmad Masih, a Christian, espoused that Jesus had died while Maulvi Abdul Majeed, a Muslim, took the opposite view that Jesus was alive. The debate continued during the month of February 1905 and Maulvi Abdul Majeed received a crushing defeat.…
CHAPTER 54: CHASHMA-E-MASIHI (THE MESSIANIC BROOK)
Reasons for writing The Messianic Brook (Chashma-e-Masihi) Hazrat Mirza published the book The Messianic Brook (Chashma-e- Masihi) on March 9, 1906. It was a response to the book The Fountains of Islam (Yenabeh-al-Islam) published by the Christians. The motivation for writing the book came from a letter written to Hazrat Mirza by a Muslim from the town of Bans Bareilly in the United Provinces (UP) of India. The writer opined that after reading The Fountains of Islam, he had begun to harbor doubts…
CHAPTER 52: STAY IN AMRITSAR
Lecture in Amritsar Hazrat Mirza departed from Ludhiana on the morning of November 8, 1905 and reached Amritsar in the afternoon. He spent oneand a half days in Amritsar on the request of the Amritsar chapter of the Ahmadiyya Organization. The Ahmadiyya Organization inAmritsar had distributed flyers announcing that Hazrat Mirza would deliver a public lecture at 8 A.M. on November 9, 1905, at Mandwa Kanhaiyalal Hall. The flyer stated that the lecture would elucidate the virtues of Islam and support the claim of Islam as theone true religion by furnishing rational arguments and highlighting the rewards of an Islamic life and the blessings and enlightenmentthat follow. It also stated that Hazrat Mirza would provide arguments to verify his claims. Since Amritsar was the hotbed of oppositionand there was a real danger that the opposing clerics may try to disrupt the proceedings by hooliganism, an oath was included in bold letters at the beginning of the flyer. The oath stated: “We administer an oath in the name of Allah (the tres- pass of which is a grave sin) to every Muslim andfollowers of other religions not to raise any objection or ask a question either before, during or after the speech.” This statement was necessary because the objective of the lecture was merely the propagation of Islam. It was not intended to be a forum…
CHAPTER 51: SOJOURN IN LUDHIANA
Maulvi Abdul Qadir had especially traveled to Delhi from Ludhiana to invite Hazrat Mirza to visit the Ludhiana chapter of the Ahmadiyya Organization and Hazrat Mirza had accepted the invitation. Hazrat Mirza, along with his family and disciples, departed from Delhi by train around 8:30 P.M. on November 4, 1905. A few disciples joined the traveling party at Sirhind when the train…
CHAPTER 49: THE ANNOUNCEMENT TITLED TABLIGH-UL-HAQ (PROPAGATION OF THE TRUTH)
It is a well-known fact that members of the Shiite sect of Muslims curse and malign certain Islamic personalities (including the first three Caliphs of Islam). One day, a Shia (member of the Shiite sect) took issue with a disciple of Hazrat Mirza, and while arguing that Hazrat Mirza had called himself superior to Hazrat Imam Husain [Imam Hussain], he cursed Hazrat Mirza profusely. Angered by these remarks, Hazrat Mirza’s disciple…
CHAPTER 47: HAZRAT MIRZA’S HEARTFELT CONCERN FOR THE SERVICE OF ISLAM
In the July 27, 1905 issue of the newspaper Badr, Mufti Muhammad Sadiq narrated a conversation with Hazrat Mirza which reveals the heartfelt concern Hazrat Mirza had for the service of Islam. This was the same concern that Hazrat Mirza wanted to imbue in the hearts of his disciples. Mufti Sadiq narrated: “Day before yesterday, I mentioned (to Hazrat Mirza) about a friend that his chances of being…
CHAPTER 46: BARAHIN AHMADIYYA VOLUME 5 (PROOFS OF THE TRUTH OF ISLAM)
A period of about twenty-three years had elapsed from the publication of the fourth volume of Barahin Ahmadiyya before Hazrat Mirza turned his attention to writing the fifth volume of the book in early 1905. In this interim period of approximately twenty-three years, he had written about eighty other books. He gave a dual title to his new venture…
CHAPTER 44: THE CHANGE OF AL-BADAR’S NAME TO BADAR
In March 1905, Muhammad Afzal, the editor of the newspaper Al- Badar, died and the publication of the newspaper stopped for afew days. On March 30, 1905, Hazrat Mirza expressed great pleasure that Mufti Muhammad Sadiq had taken over the editorship, and the newspaper had resumed publication. On the advice of Maulvi Abdul Karim, the newspaper was renamed Badar. The rationale behind the name change was that Al- Badar is the Arabic term for the full moon but its appearance has a negative connotation in that it heralds the…
CHAPTER 42: THE JOURNEY TO LAHORE AND THE LAHORE LECTURE
The Lahore branch of the Ahmadiyya Organization had been repeatedly requesting Hazrat Mirza to visit Lahore to fulfill the obligation of the propagation of Islam in their city. Hazrat Mirza had accepted their invitation. At the time, Hazrat Mirza was residing with his family in Gurdaspur where he had moved to conveniently pursue the litigation with Maulvi Karam-ud-Din. At the court hearing of…
CHAPTER 41: LITIGATION WITH MAULVI KARAM-UD-DIN IN GURDASPUR
While discussing the Jhelum lawsuit in Chapter 33, reference was made to the letters that Maulvi Karam-ud-Din wrote in July and August of 1902 to Hazrat Mirza and Hakim Fazal-ud-Din, and in which he had informed them that Pir Mehr Ali Shah Golarwi had plagiarized the book Saif-e-Chishtiyyai. This book, Saif-e-Chishtiyyai, was written in refutation of Hazrat Mirza’s book Ijaz-ul-Masih, and Maulvi Karam-ud-Din alleged that Pir Golarwi had stolen the notes of his deceased brother-in-law, Maulvi Muhammad Hasan Faizi, and included them in Saif-e-Chishtiyyai under his own name. To prove this point, Maulvi Karam-ud-Din sent Hazrat Mirza thepostcard…
CHAPTER 40: THE PUBLICATION OF SIRAT-UL-ABDAL (THE CHARACTER OF SAINTS)
On December 14, 1903, Hazrat Mirza published a small booklet titled Sirat-ul-Abdal, which is really a continuation of Alamaat-ul-Muqarrabin — the final section of Tazkirat-ul-Shahadatain. The book is written in highly eloquent Arabic, and presents the qualities of saints who have an extremely close relationship with God. These saints have been called abdal in a hadith and are also referred to by the same name…
CHAPTER 38: VISIONARY TESTIMONY OF HAZRAT FAQIR MIAN MAHMUD
There lived in the Bhag area of Baluchistan an elderly saint named Faqir Mian Mahmud who was a recipient of Divine revelation and was associated with the performance of miracles. The people of Sindh and Baluchistan came to visit him, often from great distances, to seek his blessings. Once, Qazi Nazeer Husain, Tehsildar of Niabat…
CHAPTER 37: CONSTRUCTION OF BAIT-UD-DUA (HOUSE OF PRAYER)
It had long been Hazrat Mirza’s wish that a small cubicle should be constructed adjacent to the Bait-ul-Fikr (House of Contemplation) solely for the purposes of offering prayer. Hazrat Mirza desired the cubicle to be so compact that not even a bed should fit in it so that it could only be used for worship and prayers. Accordingly, the Bait-ud-Dua (House of Prayer) was constructed during Marchof 1903. All related expenses were borne by Sheikh Rahmatullah, the proprietor of Bombay House, Lahore.1 Footnotes
CHAPTER 36: TWO INSIGHTFUL EVENTS
The birth of Ummatun Naseer, and the revelation Ghasiq-Allah Around midnight on the night between January 27 and January 28, 1903, Hazrat Mirza received a Divine revelation that saidGhasiq-Allah. The words mean that Allah was about to cast some darkness i.e., some difficulty or hardship was in the offing. Just about that time, Hazrat Mirza’s wife was going into labor and since this revelation was in the form of a warning, Hazrat Mirza repaired to Maulana Muhammad Ahsan Amrohi’s room…
CHAPTER 35: SANATAN DHARAM (ORTHODOX HINDUISM)
The Reason for writing the Book Sanatan Dharam: Pundit Ram Bhujdut was the president of the Arya Parthi Nadhi Arya Samaj, Punjab. On March 1, 1903, during the convention of the Arya Samaj in Qadian, Pundit Bhujdut received a copy of Hazrat Mirza’s book Nasim-e-Dawat. Perusing the book, he came across Hazrat Mirza’s objections to the custom of niyog.1 Pundit Bhujdut commented that there were some benefits of niyog and he…
CHAPTER 34: NASIM-E-DAWAT (THE BREEZE OF INVITATION)
The rationale for writing the book Hazrat Mirza published the book Nasim-e-Dawat on February 28, 1903. He wrote the entire book in a mere three weeks. The book was written in response to some of the nefarious activities of the Hindu Aryas of Qadian. The Arya Samajists (members of the Arya Samaj sect of Hinduism) of Qadian had grown intensely envious of the Islamic missionary work that was underway from Qadian under the aegis of Hazrat Mirza. They decided to hold a public gathering of their own in Qadian, on February 28 and March 1, 1903. These plans were not objectionable per se, but the Arya Samajists signaled their hostile intent by publishing an abusive announcement onFebruary 7, 1903 titled, “Reply to a…
CHAPTER 33: JOURNEY TO JHELUM FOR A LAW SUIT AND THE WRITING OF MAWAHIB-UR-RAHMAN
In Chapter 22, entitled The Publication of Nuzul-ul-Masih, it was mentioned that Muhammad Hasan Faizi, a resident of village Bheen in district Jhelum, had written some critical comments in the margins of Hazrat Mirza’s book Ijaz-ul-Masih and Maulvi Muhammad Ahsan’s book Shams-e- Bazgha. After Muhammad Hasan Faizi’s death, Pir Mehr Ali Shah Golarwi collected these comments and published them under his own name in the form of a book called Saif-e-Chishtiyyai. After Faizi’s books had served PirGolarwi’s purpose, he returned the books through a courier who accidentally ran into Mian Shahab-ud-Din while…
CHAPTER 32: HAZRAT MIRZA’S REVIEW OF THE DEBATE BETWEEN MAULVI CHAKRALVI AND MAULVI BATALVI
Maulvi Abdullah Chakralvi Maulvi Abdullah Chakralvi, a resident of the town of Chakrala in Mianwali district, was a fanatic follower of the Ahl-e-Hadithsect. Later, he did an about face and totally rejected the importance of Hadith. He began referring to the Books of Hadith as trash andeven tried to extract the form of the daily prayers from the Quran. Maulvi Chakralvi and like-minded people came up with so many different versions of how to pray from the Quran that one…
CHAPTER 31: PROPHET MUHAMMAD WAS THE FULFILLMENT OF THE BIBLICAL PROPHECY OF PARACLETE
Paraclete and Ahmad are synonymous On the evening of November 11, 1902, Maulvi Muhammad Ali drew the attention of Hazrat Mirza to an objection raised by someone, that the prophecy made by Jesus (peace be upon him) in the Quran — “…giving the good news of a Messenger who will come after me, his name being Ahmad” (61:6) is not found in the Gospels. The Gospels,…
CHAPTER 30: IJAZ-E-AHMADI (MIRACLE OF THE AHMADI)
The Mudh debate A storm of opposition brewed up in the town of Mudh in district Amritsar when one of its residents, Munshi Muhammad Yusuf, took the pledge at the hands of Hazrat Mirza. Since Munshi Muhammad Yusuf was at the time working as a scribe in the city of Mardan in district Peshawar, he was not personally affected by the opposition. But when his brother, Muhammad Yaqub, who lived in Mudh also took the pledge, the miscreants of the town got an opportunity to harass…
CHAPTER 28: THE PUBLICATION OF TUHFA-TUN-NADWA (A GIFT FOR THE ASSOCIATION)
Nadwat-ul-Ulama (Association of Religious Scholars) Maulana Shibli Nomani was an enlightened and broad-minded scholar among his contemporaries. Observing the shortcomings of the instructional courses offered for the training of clerics in India, he decided to establish a religious institution that would be founded upon the latest style of instruction; the old-fashioned style of teaching would be replaced by the modern style of imparting religiouseducation. The goal of the institution would be to remove the students’ narrow-minded views, and to instill them with…
CHAPTER 27: THE PUBLICATION OF TUHFA-E-GHAZNAVIYYA (A GIFT FOR THE GHAZNAVIS)
Disputatious nature of the Ghaznavis Maulvi Abdullah Ghaznavi, a resident of Amritsar, was a very right- eous and God-fearing person. He had settled in Amritsar after being exiled as a result of the machinations of the local clerics from his homeland of Ghazni (Afghanistan). He once saw in a vision that a light had descended in Qadian but that his offspring had remained…
CHAPTER 26: THE ISSUANCE OF THE NEWSPAPER AL-BADAR
Babu Muhammad Afzal, a disciple of Hazrat Mirza, had successfully preached Hazrat Mirza’s message in Uganda where he was employed in the railways department. When Babu Afzal returned to Punjab, he took up residence in Qadian and started a newspaper in September of 1902. He initially named the newspaper Al-Qadian, but a month later, he changed its name to Al-Badr. The newspaper continued publication…
CHAPTER 25: THE MARRIAGES OF HAZRAT MIRZA’S SONS
Nikah of Mian Bashir Ahmad: On September 12, 1902, Mian Bashir Ahmad, Hazrat Mirza’s second son from his second wife, married Sarwar Sultan Sahiba, the daughter of Maulana Ghulam Hasan of Peshawar. The mehr (dowry) was fixed at one thousand rupees. The marriage was performed by Maulana Nur-ud-Din following the Asr (late afternoon) prayer, and the guests were served with food and tea after the ceremony.…
CHAPTER 24: MR. PIGOTT’S CLAIM OF DIVINITY AND THE PROPHECY OF HIS DESTRUCTION
Mr. Pigott’s Claim of Divinity: In the same year 1902, sometime after Dr. Dowie had made his claim, a clergyman, Rev. J. H. Smyth-Pigott, laid claim before his church congregation in England that he was Divine. He claimed that he was Jesus the Messiah, who is god, and whose Second Coming is widely awaited. Upon…
CHAPTER 22: THE PUBLICATION OF NUZUL-UL-MASIH (THE DESCENT OF THE MESSIAH)
Hazrat Mirza wrote the book Nuzul-ul-Masih to refute the criticism of certain opponents, and in particular to respond to the slanderous attacks of the newspaper Paisa Akhbar, exageration by the Lahore based Shia jurist, Ali Hairi, and the contentions of Pir Mehr Ali Shah Golarwi contained in his book Saif-e-Chishtiyyai. The book was composed in July and August of 1902. Response to the slanderous attacks of the newspaper Paisa Akhbar Hazrat Mirza had prophesied in his book Daafe-ul-Bala that the town of Qadian would not experience the sort of destruction…
CHAPTER 20: CHIRAGH-UD-DIN AND HIS DEMISE
Chiragh-ud-Din’s claim of being a Messenger: Chiragh-ud-Din, a resident of Jammu, joined the ranks of Hazrat Mirza’s disciples. But in April of 1902, a strange craziness came over him. He claimed that he was a messenger of Jesus, and had been sent to make peace between Muslims and Christians, and to remove the discord between the Quran…
CHAPTER 19: KISHTI-E-NUH (NOAH’S ARK)
Heavenly vaccination In the year 1902, the Government made extensive arrangements for plague vaccination in the province of Punjab, and brought in many doctors from England for this specific purpose. The idea was to vaccinate the entire population of Punjab simultaneously and thereby to eradicate the killer disease. The plague vaccination furnished only partial immunity against the disease…
CHAPTER 18: THE PUBLICATION OF DAAFE-UL-BALA (REPELLER OF THE CALAMITY)
During March and April of 1902, the province of Punjab was in the grip of a severe outbreak of plague. The appointees of God arefull of affection for God’s creatures. Hazrat Mirza felt the pain of the suffering humanity and wrote a pamphlet to inform the public about measures to protect themselves from the calamity of plague. He titled it Daafe-ul-Bala-wa-Mayaar Ahl-ul- Istifaa (Repeller of the Calamity and the Standard of Chosen People.) This pamphlet was published on April 23, 1902. In this pamphlet, Hazrat Mirzasuggested two curative measures to combat the dreaded disease: Hazrat Mirza referred to the prediction he had made four years earlier regarding the outbreak of plague in the province of Punjab andrepeated the words of that Divine revelation: “Certainly Allah does not change the condition of a nation until the people change thecondition of their souls. Surely He sheltered this town.” The reference to town in this revelation was to the town of Qadian. Hazrat Mirza then elaborated upon the significance of…
CHAPTER 17: FUNDRAISING FOR THE FREE PUBLIC KITCHEN
Reminder regarding Monthly Donations: By the grace of God, membership in the Ahmadiyya Movement was growing daily, and guests were arriving in Qadian in large numbers. Naturally, the expenditures were also increasing, and so, on March 5, 1902, Hazrat Mirza strongly urged the members of his party through a public announcement to contribute generously for the free…
CHAPTER 15: BASHIR AHMAD, SHARIF AHMAD AND MUBARAKA BEGUM FINISH THE FIRST READING OF THE QURAN
When Hazrat Mirza’s sons Bashir Ahmad and Sharif Ahmad, and daughter Mubaraka Begum completed their first reading of the Holy Quran, the event was celebrated by holding the traditional ceremony known as Ameen on November 30, 1901. Indigents and orphans were fed on that occasion. Friends were also invited to a dinner reception. Hazrat Mirza also composed a poem for that…
CHAPTER 14: MR. DICKSON, A BRITISH TRAVELER, VISITS QADIAN
A British traveler by the name of Mr. D. D. Dickson, who had journeyed through Arabia and Karbala to India, arrived unannounced in Qadian on November 17, 1901. Hazrat Mirza was sitting with his followers when he suddenly entered, greeted them with, “Assalam alaikum” and joined the gathering. Upon inquiry, it was learned that he was a…
CHAPTER 13: A SUBTLE OBSERVATION REGARDING THE UNITY OF CREATION
On November 13, 1901, during a conversation on the subject of the human soul, Hazrat Mirza stated: “It appears as if God has placed an intermediate state (barzakh1) in everything. The intermediate state (barzakh) between plants and animals are those floras that possess beauty and consciousness. Similarly, the intermediate state (barzakh) between animals and humans are those…
CHAPTER 58: HAQIQAT-UL-WAHY (THE REALITY OF REVELATION)
Reasons for writing the book Haqiqat-ul-Wahy Hazrat Mirza was not much concerned about Dr. Abdul Hakim Khan’s opposition. There were hundreds of clerics and hereditary religious leaders (Pirs) throughout India, and in particular in the province of Punjab, who were similarly antagonistic. Their hostility had proven fruitless as did Dr. Abdul Hakim Khan’s enmity. However, what really worried Hazrat Mirza and made him apprehensive was the new anti-Islamic…
CHAPTER 59: CHAKRALVI TRAVELER FLEES FROM A PRAYER DUEL
The arrival of Baba Chattu and the Traveler of Baghdad in Qadian Towards the end of October 1906, Sheikh Muhammad Chattu, alias Baba Chattu, an aged but prominent resident of Lahore arrived in Qadian. This happened to be a time when I was also residing in Qadian. Baba Chattu had previously belonged to the Ahl-e-Hadith sect, but had subsequently begun subscribing to the Ahl-e-Quran philosophy popularly known as the Chakralvi sect. In fact, Baba Chattu’s residence in Lahore was…
CHAPTER 61: THE ARYA SAMAJ HINDUS OF QADIAN AND US
The unreasonable hostility of the Arya Samaj Hindus towards Hazrat Mirza was no secret. They realized fully well that if therewas a party among the Muslims that could challenge other religions and defeat them, then this was that party. If any party had silenced the Arya Samaj then this was the party that had done it. Hence, the Arya Samaj had made it a routine to carry on a propaganda campaign against Hazrat Mirza and his party. Finally, the Arya Samaj Hindus thought that…
CHAPTER 63: SOME OTHER NOTABLE EVENTS OF THE YEAR 1907
An important advice for the Organization In 1907, the Congress Party movement gained some momentum under which a majority of Hindus in different parts of the countrystarted perpetrating rebellious acts against the government. Some Muslims joined in this movement as well, and so Hazrat Mirza thought it conducive to advise his followers and issued an announcement titled: A Necessary Advice for my Entire Organization, onMay 7, 1907. In it, Hazrat Mirza advised his followers to strictly refrain from taking part in any kind of seditious activities. Travel to Batala On the morning of July 4, 1907, Hazrat Mirza’s wife and children, accompanied by some…
CHAPTER 64: CHASHMA MARIFAT (THE FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM)
Motivation for the book Hazrat Mirza’s book Chashma Marifat (The Fountain of Wisdom) was published on May 15, 1908. The motivation for its writing was a long chain of events which are best understood by starting at the beginning. Inter-faith meeting hosted by the Arya Samaj Hindus The Lahore branch of the Arya Samaj Hindus had decided to sponsor an inter-faith meeting after their 1907 Annual Gathering,and for this purpose had invited leaders of various religions to prove, based on their faith, “Which of the Religious Books is a Revealed Scripture?” At the insistence of the Aryas, Hazrat Mirza accepted to write an article on the subject. There was a four annas per personcharge for admission to the conference. Immediately following the Annual Meeting…
CHAPTER 65: FINANCIAL COMMISSIONER PUNJAB VISITS QADIAN
Land purchased for school One of the growing responsibilities and needs of the Ahmadiyya Organization was the expansion of Madrasah Talim-ul-Islam (School of Islamic Education) which was currently a high school lodged in an ordinary mud building located inside the town. A suggestion was made to construct a spacious boarding house and academic building for the school. Consequently, a vast tract of land inthe north of Qadian was purchased from the Ahmadiyya Organization’s own funds collected from monthly member donations. Specialdonations were requested for the construction of the buildings during the Annual Conventions of the years 1906 and 1907. In the year 1908, Maulvi Muhammad Ali,…
CHAPTER 67: THE DEMISE OF HAZRAT MIRZA
Hazrat Mirza’s illness Because of Hazrat Mirza’s continuous engagement in intellectual labor over many years, he had become afflicted by the neural weakness that is called neurasthenia in medical nomenclature. This ailment manifested itself when he engaged in intellectual exertion. Accordingly, the symptoms surfaced whenever Hazrat Mirza worked on writing a significant book or preparing an important lecture. The laws of God are absolute — no one is exempt from them, be…
CHAPTER 68: PAIGHAM-E-SULH (MESSAGE OF PEACE)
Uncommon steadfastness of the Ahmadis After the demise of Hazrat Mirza, his opponents thought that it would be easy to make the Ahmadis disavow their beliefs. To achieve this objective, the opponents assembled all their objections and nonsensical arguments and launched a concerted attack on members of the Ahmadiyya Organization. Newspapers like Paisa Akhbar, Ahl-e-Hadith, and others launched an anti- Ahmadi blitz of objections and slander. The opponents used every tactic available to them in their speeches and writings…
CHAPTER 70: THE BELIEFS OF HAZRAT MIRZA IN HIS OWN WORDS
Dispute following Hazrat Mirza’s demise regarding his beliefs The historical narration of the events of Hazrat Mirza’s life has ended. After this, God willing, I would like to provide the reader with a glimpse of his character and morality. But before embarking on that, I consider it necessary to present Hazrat Mirza’s beliefs in his own words because of the widespread misunderstanding that exists about his beliefs both within and outside Hazrat Mirza’s organization.During the course of this biographical narration, Hazrat Mirza’s beliefs have been referenced from time to time. These references show thatHazrat Mirza always maintained that his beliefs were the same as those of the Ahle-Sunnat-wal-Jamaat. Hence there should have been no need to separately discuss his beliefs here. But it is with great sorrow and grief that I have to state that in April of 1911, three years after Hazrat Mirza’s demise, his son Mirza Mahmud Ahmad devised a new belief of calling Muslims as unbelievers. According to Mirza Mahmud Ahmad’s belief, all Muslims of the world who have not taken Hazrat Mirza’s pledge, though they may not even have heardHazrat Mirza’s name, are unbelievers and outside the pale of Islam! Then, three years later, i.e., in 1914, after the death of Maulana Nur-ud-Din, he ascribed the claim of prophethood to Hazrat Mirza. As I have detailed earlier in this biog- raphy, both these beliefs are cruelty andslander against Hazrat Mirza. In that same year, 1914, Mirza Mahmud Ahmad laid the foundation for…
CHAPTER 71: PHYSICAL FEATURES
Signs of Spirituality and Piety upon Hazrat Mirza’s Countenance It is possible to describe Hazrat Mirza’s qualities with words. His photographs are also in existence. But it is impossible for the pen or the photograph to capture the signs of piety and spiritual glow that lighted his face at all times. When he entered the mosque through the small…
CHAPTER 72: HAZRAT MIRZA’S ATTIRE
The cleanliness and simplicity of Hazrat Mirza’s attire Hazrat Mirza had no personal preference in the matter of clothes. His normal attire consisted of a shirt, a loose-fitting trouser known as pajama, waistcoat, and headgear. The chief characteristic of his attire was that it was very loose fitting. The length of the coat, or robe or cloak, whichever he wore, was always below his knees and sometimes…
CHAPTER 73: DIET
Food consumption Since his early life, Hazrat Mirza was accustomed to eating very spar- ingly. Even in his youth, which is a time when people areusually in the habit of eating heartily, he used to eat very little. He shared his food with some orphans and needy children on a regular basis. When he received his meals from the house, the children would gather to get their share. He gave a roti and some gravy to each…
CHAPTER 74: LOVE OF SIMPLICITY WAS IN HAZRAT MIRZA’S NATURE
Hazrat Mirza loved simplicity Hazrat Mirza lived his life with great simplicity. He often used to say, “I love those people greatly who lead their lives with simplicity.” Simplicity of his house The simplicity of Hazrat Mirza’s dress and diet has already been men- tioned. His house too was very simple. In the section of the house where he resided, there was no furniture except for the beds on which the family slept. There were no tables or chairs and no carpets or rugs. Hazrat Mirza was engaged day and night in writing and compiling religious tracts and he wrote thousands of pages of profound literature by sitting and writing on his bed with…
CHAPTER 80: LOVE OF THE QURAN
Quran was a vital part of Hazrat Mirza’s life Hazrat Mirza’s profound love of the Quran is a phenomenon that was extraordinary in those times. Since his earliest days, he had an exceptional attachment to the Quran, which he studied day and night. Factually, it can be stated that the study of the Quran was an integral part of his life. He spent most of his time reciting the Quran, and the recitation continued whether he was sitting, standing or strolling. He…
CHAPTER 79: LOVE OF PROPHET MUHAMMAD
The signs of love Hazrat Mirza states in a couplet: After the love of Allah, I am intoxicated by the love of Muhammad; If this is disbelief, then by Allah, I am an inveterate unbeliever. This couplet is a statement of fact, and not a mere poetic exaggeration. There are certain self-evident signs of love which I believe that every intelligent person will acknowledge, and these are: If anyone desires to test Hazrat Mirza’s love for the exalted Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) using the above cri- teria, then he should examine the evidence and it will become manifest to him that Hazrat Mirza’s love for the Holy…
CHAPTER 78: LOVE OF GOD
The life of Hazrat Mirza is a story of the love of God. There was no need for a separate chapter on this subject for those who have read the first two volumes of this biography. However, it would not be out of place to summarize it here as a reminder. Consumed in Allah’s love from childhood Hazrat Mirza…
CHAPTER 77: RELIGIOUS MAGNANIMITY AND TOLERANCE
Religious tolerance and magnanimity In the sphere of Islamic thought, who can be said to possess greater religious magnanimity and tolerance than the one who revives the Islamic principle that no person is to be called an unbeliever even if there are ninety nine reasons to call him so, and only one reason to call him a Muslim. And that one reason is the recitation of the Muslim article of faith. In other words, a person who recites,“There is no god but Allah. Muhammad is the messenger of…
CHAPTER 76: EXCELLENT CONDUCT IN SOCIAL DEALINGS
Hazrat Mirza – an excellent exemplar of Islamic equality who despised fame and egotism Hazrat Mirza was an excellent exemplar of Islamic equality — a trait that has always been the pride of Muslims. These days, however, even ordi- nary clerics and pirs (hereditary leaders) of little importance put on airs of grandiosity. They have reserved seating; their manner of talking is novel, designed to project…
CHAPTER 75: HAZRAT MIRZA’S ENAMORING WAY OF LIFE AND SUPERB MORALS
Hazrat Mirza’s intrinsic nature Up to this juncture, I have only discussed the physical aspects of Hazrat Mirza. Now I would like to say a little bit about his intrinsic nature by briefly sketching his morals and habits. Although it is impossible to describe with words the ecstasy and joy one felt on meeting and interacting with him, I shall nevertheless attempt a description to at least help the reader form a general impression. The best of you is the best to his family Prophet Muhammad (peace and…
CHAPTER 69: EULOGIES IN CONTEMPORARY NEWSPAPERS ON HAZRAT MIRZA’S DEMISE
1. Opinion of Maulvi Abdullah al-Imadi: The newspaper Wakeel of Amritsar was the leading Muslim newspaper of the time enjoying the highest reputation for its profound and serious journalism. In particular, the editor of this newspaper, Maulvi Abdullah al-Imadi occupied an eminent status among the Muslims for his knowledge, scholarship and eloquent writing. He was not an Ahmadi but…
CHAPTER 66: THE LAHORE VISIT, AND FULFILLMENT OF REVELATION “SORROW OF MIGRATION”
Journey to Lahore Hazrat Mirza’s wife had been ailing for some time, and she expressed a desire to visit Lahore for a change of scene. When Hazrat Mirza supplicated to God for guidance in arriving at a decision regarding the proposed visit by performing the istikhara prayer, he received a revelation at 4 A.M. on April 26, 1908, which was in the form of a line from a Persian verse: “Remain vigilant, and do not become unmindful of the intrigues of this world.” This revelation created some apprehension, but because it contained no prohibition and was only in the…
CHAPTER 62: MAULVI SANAULLAH OF AMRITSAR EVADES MUBAHALAH (PRAYER DUEL) ON FOUR OCCASIONS
Some background regarding Maulvi Sanaullah Since the time Maulvi Sanaullah had impinged upon the consciousness of the public, his distinguishing quality had been the caustic nature of his speeches that were laced with ridicule, scorn, derision and vulgar poetry. This quality was especially accentuated when he delivered speeches debasing Hazrat Mirza. On such occasions, his tongue became like a sharp razor, and one was acutely reminded of these verses recited…
CHAPTER 57: DR. ABDUL HAKIM KHAN RENOUNCES CONNECTION WITH THE AHMADIYYA ORGANIZATION
Dr. Abdul Hakim Khan was originally from Taravari, a town in Karnal district, but he had taken up permanent residence in Patiala where he was employed as an assistant surgeon. He had been a disciple of Hazrat Mirza since his student days in the Medical College of Lahore, a period of approximately 20 years, i.e., a period even predating Hazrat Mirza’s claim of…
CHAPTER 53: AL-WASIYYAT (THE WILL)
Revelations regarding demise Towards the end of 1905, Hazrat Mirza repeatedly received revelations informing him that his term of life was almost at an end and that the time of his death was nigh. On November 29, 1905, he received the following revelations: On December 7, 1905, the same revelations were repeated, but the following words were added: The series of revelations regarding the approaching end of Hazrat Mirza’s life continued. The following revelation was repeated: Hazrat Mirza stated: “After reflecting on these revelations, I think that the time of my demise is very near. I had this same revelation on October 7, 1905 and it was also…
CHAPTER 50: THE JOURNEY TO DELHI
Departure from Qadian Hazrat Mirza’s wife was from Delhi, and she had long wished to visit her native city, but for one reason or another, the trip did not materialize. Once when she was planning to go, Maulvi Abdul Karim fell ill and the plan had to be abandoned. A new impetus to the visit was given when her brother Dr. Mir Muhammad Ismail was posted to the Civil Hospital, Delhi. Hazrat Mirza’s wife therefore determined to visit her brother in Delhi and readied herself to travel there in the company of her father, Mir Nasir Nawab. Hazrat Mirza…
CHAPTER 48: THE DEMISE OF MAULVI ABDUL KARIM
Illness of Maulvi Abdul Karim One of Hazrat Mirza’s dearest disciples, Maulvi Abdul Karim of Sialkot suffered from diabetes and this ailment was progressively debilitat- ing him. His eyesight was also failing. He was a lover of the Holy Quran. Once he told me: “Because my eyesight is failing, I am trying to memorize as much of the Quran as possible.” On his last visit to Sialkot, Maulvi Abdul Karim hadfallen seriously ill. He survived the illness that time, but in August of 1905, he developed a carbuncle (a painful, localized, pus-producing infection of the skin) on his back, right between the shoulders. Perchance, Dr. Mirza Yaqub…
CHAPTER 45: A PROPHECY FULFILLED – THE GREAT EARTHQUAKE, AND THE WRITING OF TAJALLIYAT-E-ELAHIYA
The date April 4, 1905 is indelibly etched in the minds of the people of Punjab. This was the day when, at the time of the Fajr (morning) prayer, a severe earthquake caused scenes reminiscent of the Judgment Day. The prophecies of Hazrat Mirza regarding this earthquake Hazrat Mirza had prophesied a catastrophic earthquake in his book Barahin Ahmadiyya. But four years prior to the earthquake of April 4, 1905, he drew people’s attention again to such an event in a poem he had composed on the occasion of the Ameen (first completion of the reading of the Holy Quran)…
CHAPTER 43: THE JOURNEY TO SIALKOT AND THE SIALKOT LECTURE
Background to the Sialkot trip During Hazrat Mirza’s stay in Lahore, members of the Ahmadiyya Organization from the city of Sialkot had obtained his promisethat he would visit their city as well. They had submitted that the city where Hazrat Mirza had lived for four years in his younger days certainly deserved to be graced by his presence once more. After the litigation with Maulvi Karam-ud-Din was over, Hazrat Mirzaresolved to travel to Sialkot. Accordingly, he informed his disciples in Sialkot that, God willing, he would…
CHAPTER 29: TIRYAQ-UL-QULUB (AN ANTIDOTE FOR THE HEARTS)
Hazrat Mirza published his book Tiryaq-ul-Qulub (literally translates as “An Antidote for the Hearts”) on October 28, 1902. The book opens with HazratMirza’s famous eulogistic Persian poem in which he describes the characteristics of the per- fect men who are chosen by God for thereformation of mankind, and for the renewal of Islam. The poem in Persian begins with the following couplet: Of all mankind, he alone is made perfect by God Who, with clear signs, makes God known. The poem ends with the following couplet: You ought to dread the grieving sighs of the saints; Especially if that sigh happens to come from Mirza. In this last couplet, Hazrat Mirza calls these perfect men saints (abdal) and includes himself in this category. In the first couplet,…
CHAPTER 39: TAZKIRAT-UL-SHAHADATAIN (AN ACCOUNT OF TWO MARTYRDOMS) AND THE MARTYRDOM OF SAHIBZADA ABDUL LATIF
The book Tazkirat-ul-Shahadatain Hazrat Mirza published the Urdu edition of the book Tazkirat-ul- Shahadatain on October 16, 1903. A Persian edition of thebook was published in July of 1904 for readers in Afghanistan and other Persian speaking regions with the idea that the book would help in propagating Hazrat Mirza’s mission in these areas. The book Tazkirat-ul-Shahadatain…
CHAPTER 23: THE DEATH OF DR. JOHN ALEXANDER DOWIE, A CLAIMANT OF PROPHETHOOD
Dowie’s claim to prophethood In 1902, Dr. John Alexander Dowie, a Christian clergyman of Chicago who had won recognition in United States for his knowledgeand scholarship, claimed that he was a prophet and messenger of God. He stated that just as John the Baptist had appeared in the likeness ofElias, prior to the first appearance of Jesus, similarly he (Dr. Dowie) had come as Elias prior to the second appearance of Jesus. Dr. Dowie further claimed that it had been revealed to him that Jesus would descend from the heavens within the next 25 years. He started a newspa- percalled Leaves of Healing and used it to propagate his views worldwide. Dr. Dowie was proficient in the art of hypnotism and was able tosuccessfully treat and cure certain patients with nervous disorders. As a result, thousands of people in the United States became his disciples,and he accumulated a great deal of wealth from them. He founded a city called Zion for his disciples and began to live there in a princelyfashion. Intoxicated by this temporary success, he made the following announcement in his newspaper on December 12, 1903: My part is to bring out the people from the East and the West, from the North and the South, and settle them in this and other Zion cities until the time shall come when the Mohammadans are swept away…may God grant us that time. Dr. Dowie then asserted: Through my prayers, all Muslims shall perish, Islam will be annihilat- ed, and the Kabah will become deserted. Dr. Dowie was a staunch polytheist who considered Jesus to be actual- ly God. Upon learning about Dr. Dowie’s claims, Hazrat Mirza started getting his newspaper.…
CHAPTER 21: THE STRENGTH OF HAZRAT MIRZA’S RELIGIOUS CONVICTIONS
The July 10, 1902 issue of Al-Hakam contains an excerpt from a diary from which I want to present a highly enlightening discussion that provides a glimpse into the strength of Hazrat Mirza’s faith. He says: “It is our firm belief that our God never wastes His true servants. If, like Prophet Abraham, His true servant is…
CHAPTER 16: DEBUT OF THE MAGAZINE – THE REVIEW OF RELIGIONS
Debut of the Magazine Hazrat Mirza had asked Maulvi Muhammad Ali to take up residence in Qadian for a special purpose and the time for the fulfillment of this pur- pose was now at hand. In January of 1902, the magazine, The Review of Religions, was launched from Qadianunder the editorship of Maulvi Muhammad Ali. An Urdu edition of the magazine was also initiated simulta- neously. There was no financial motivation in the decision to publish…
CHAPTER 12: AIK GHALATI KA IZALA PAMPHLET (CORRECTION OF AN ERROR)
Reason for Publication On November 5, 1901, Hazrat Mirza published a three-page tract enti- tled Aik Ghalati Ka Izala (Correction of an Error). The rationale for its publication was a verbal altercation between a disciple and an opponent of Hazrat Mirza in which the disciple had denied, contrary to facts, that the words prophet and messenger had been used in some of Hazrat Mirza’s rev- elations. What the disciple should have done was to acknowledge that the words prophet and messenger did indeed appear in some…
CHAPTER 11: A SUBTLE POINT REGARDING IMAGES AND TASAVVUR-E SHEIKH
Hazrat Mirza was a regular contributor to the periodical The Review of Religions. His articles, written for a target audience of Europeans and Americans, focused on the core message of Islam, and on his own claims. Some of his followers suggested that hismessage would be more efficacious if it was accompanied by his photograph because it was customary in the West for readers to forman opinion about the truthfulness, or otherwise, of a claimant by looking at his picture. Without providing any information regarding the identity of the person in the photograph, one of Hazrat Mirza’s disciples, MuftiMuhammad Sadiq, sent a copy of Hazrat Mirza’s photograph to an American lady who was an expert in physiognomy (the study of facial features to reveal character), and asked her to make a judgment using…
CHAPTER 10: DESIRE TO PRODUCE INTELLECTUALS IN THE ORGANIZATION AND THE MUFID-UL-AKHYAR PROCLAMATION
It was Hazrat Mirza’s heartfelt wish that there should be a large number of people in his Organization who should become the inheritors of the religious knowledge that he had been granted by God. For this purpose, he published an announcement titled Mufid-ul-Akhyar on September 9, 1901 in which he remarked: “It has become necessary that in our organization…
CHAPTER 09: THE PLAGUE EPIDEMIC OF 1901 AND ASSOCIATED HAZRAT MIRZA’S ANNOUNCEMENTS
In the year 1901, a raging plague was taking its toll on the populace of India. The province of Punjab was especially hard hit by the plague. Since Hazrat Mirza had been informed by Allah that this plague had spread in the land as a punishment for the wicked ways of the people, he repeatedly exhorted the…
CHAPTER 08: THE ANNOUNCEMENT TITLED AL-SULH KHAIR (RECONCILIATION IS BETTER)
The Al-Sulh Khair announcement There are some people who criticize Hazrat Mirza now for using a stern tone in his discourse with the maulvis (religious clerics). In his defense, it must be said that the stern tone was forced upon Hazrat Mirza by the actions of the clerics themselves. It is mentioned in the Holy Quran: “Allah loves not the public utterance of hurtful speech, except by one who has been wronged” (4:148). That is, if a person…
CHAPTER 07: FOUNDATION OF THE ANJUMAN ISHAAT ISLAM, AND THE MAGAZINE THE REVIEW OF RELIGIONS
An Important Suggestion: On January 15, 1901, Hazrat Mirza published an announcement titled An Important Suggestion, in which he proposed the publication of a religious journal in the English language with the English-speaking people of India and Europe as the target audience. The objective of the magazine would be to create awareness of all the pure truths and the…
CHAPTER 06: THE POPULATION CENSUS OF 1901 AND THE NAMING OF THE ORGANIZATION AS THE MUSLIM AHMADIYYA SECT
Vital for an organization to have a name Whenever an individual is born or an organization is created, a name is given to that individual or organization. Has there everbeen a person with- out a name? If an organization does not choose a name for itself, then others will go ahead and give it a name. In fact, the name brings to mind the full description of a thing in a way that a verbal narration of its features does not. For example, a verbal description of a horse does not convey the same men- tal image as the word “horse” does. Similarly, no amount of verbal characterization of that great companion of the Holy Prophet, Abu Bakr, can convey the full sense of his personality to the…
CHAPTER 05: THE PUBLICATION OF ARBAIN
The confrontation with Pir Golarwi started in the year 1900 and dragged on till the publication of the book Tuhfa Golarwiyya in1902. For the sake of continuity, the entire affair involving Pir Golarwi was narrated with- out interruption till the year 1902. Thenarrative now returns back to the year 1900. Publication of Arbain In the year 1900, Hazrat Mirza resolved to publish forty proclamations in order to conclusively settle the matter of his claims with his opponents, and others who rejected his message. The plan was to publish these procla- mations at intervals of fifteen days, providedthat other events did not impede this undertaking. Since the intention was to publish forty such proclamations, this planned series of proclamations was appropriately titled Arbain (the word in Arabic for forty) by Hazrat Mirza. The first such proclamation, titled Arbain Number One, was indeed in the format of a proclamation. But the subsequent proclamations were signif- icantly greater in…
CHAPTER 04: THE WRITING OF TUHFA GOLARWIYYA (A GIFT FOR GOLARWI)
Reasons for Publication: Hazrat Mirza had challenged Pir Golarwi to a Quranic commentary-writing contest under the assumption that he was a spiritual and learned man, and a contest based on their respective knowledge and understanding of the Quran would be an appropriate way to gauge their spiritual standing and purity, and would help to resolve which of the…
Volume III
A Foreword By The Translator
All praise is due to Allah who enabled me to complete the translation of Mujaddid Azam Volume 3. I thank Allah that He made it possible for me to participate in making all three volumes of this monumental work, Mujaddid Azam, available to the English-speaking public. The author of Mujaddid Azam died soon after completing…
The Great Reformer 