Today is 23 March 2018, and it's
been 129 years since the Promised Messiah, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) of
Qadian, founded the Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam and accepted the oaths of
allegiance (Bai'at) from his 40 disciples in the house of Sufi Ahmad Jan
in Ludhiana. The first person who took the oath from the hand of the Promised
Messiah (as) was Hazrat Maulvi Nuruddin (ra) of Bhera who later became the
first caliph of the Promised Messiah (as) - Khalifatul-Massih Awwal.
In
Mauritius and other countries of the world, this historic day is known as: “Promised Messiah Day” and we, the Ahmadi
Muslim, take this opportunity to speak about the life and aspects of the mission
of the Promised Messiah (as).
Hazrat
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) belonged to a Persian clan named Burlass. Among his
ancestors was Mirza Hadi Baig, who emigrated from his hometown Samarkand
(Khurasan) to settle in India accompanied by two hundred people from among his
clan who included his family and his employees. He was a very noble person, a
scholar and a pious person. India was at that time under the reign of the
Mughal emperor Babar (1483-1530), and the emperor had given vast expanses of land to Mirza
Hadi Baig as a gift for his loyal services. (Inset: Illustration of Babur, founder of the Mughal Empire in India, 1526-1857)
Thereafter
Mirza Hadi Baig chose a portion of this vast land, and decided to settle there
with his clan. He then founded a city and named it Islampur and with the
passage of time, the name Islampur passed through several forms of
change and was known as Islampur Qadi Maajhi, and then simply Qadi
Maajhi, and then Qadi, and where finally this city was known like Qadian.
The
paternal great-grandfather of the Promised Messiah (as) was Mirza Gul Muhammad,
who was a pious man filled with the fear of God (Taqwa), and he was also
known as an honest person. The paternal grandfather of the Promised Messiah
(as) was Mirza 'Ata Muhammad, who was the son of Mirza Gul Muhammad. And the
father of the Promised Messiah (as) was Mirza Ghulam Murtaza and his mother was
Chiragh Bibi. Her mother was known for her hospitality and the great care she
brought to the poor.
According
to various calculations, the Promised Messiah (as) was born on Friday, 13 February
1835 (14 Shawwal 1250 Hijri), before sunrise. He was born with a twin sister
(who did not survive). His twin birth was recorded in Islamic literature
regarding the fact that the Promised Mahdi will be born with a twin. (Fusus
al-Hikam by Muhyiuddin Ibn Arabi).
Since
his childhood, the Promised Messiah (as) did not like to waste his time in
useless things and he remained far from the mischief that his little comrades
did at their age. For his education, his parents brought three different
tutors, one after another at home to educate him in several subjects.
The
Promised Messiah (as) married at a very young age. His first marriage was celebrated
when he was only 15 years old. It was an arranged marriage with his cousin
Hurmat Bibi (from her mother's family, Hurmat Bibi being the daughter of his
maternal uncle Mirza Jamaat Baig). Two sons were born of this union: Mirza
Sultan Ahmad and Mirza Fazal Ahmad. While Mirza Fazal Ahmad and Mirza Sultan
did not have faith in their father as the Mujaddid (Reformer) and
Promised Messiah of his time during his lifetime, but it is only Mirza Sultan
Ahmad who, after the death of his father got faith, and took the Pledge of
Allegiance (Bai'ah) and integrated the Jama'at Ahmadiyya at the hand of
his half-brother, Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad (ra), the second Caliph
of the Ahmadiyya Movement.
Since
very young, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) loved his privacy (his life of
isolation/ seclusion) and spent most of his time in supplication to Allah (duas)
and prayer (Salat) or he was immersed in the study of the Holy Quran.
His father was well aware of his son's great concern and preoccupation for religion,
but nonetheless, he was worried as a father of his son's future, worried if he
could make ends meet after his death. He was not worried about his present,
because as long as he, the father would be alive, it is he who would take care
of his son, but what would happen to his son after his death?
Mirza
Ghulam Murtaza used to point out to his friends, regarding his son, saying, “This
son of mine is a ʻMaseetar’ (that is, in Punjabi: one who spends most of his
time in a mosque, praying). He does not look for a job and is not interested in
making a living (to support himself financially) ...”.
What
a great honour it would have been for him if he had lived long enough to witness
how Allah had subsequently chosen his son and made him Messiah and Mahdi
Promised of his time!
The father of the Promised Messiah died in June
1876 after sunset. That same day at noon, the Promised Messiah (as) received a
revelation where Allah informed him of the imminent death of his father. In
this condition of intense grief, he was briefly affected by a feeling of
insecurity about his livelihood (his financial condition) because it was his
father who used to take care of him and gave him everything he needed - money,
food and drink - and then he thought that now his father's resources that he
used to put at his disposal would no longer be available and that therefore the
days of poverty awaited him in the future. Immediately, he received a
revelation from Allah: Alaysallaahu bi-kaafin
abdahu? (Is Allah not sufficient for His servant?)
This revelation gave him an extraordinary
comfort and relieved him of his worries and gave him peace of mind, since it
was clear that it was Allah who would take care of him and rid him of all his
problems.
In the year 1882, he saw the noble and holy
prophet Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) in a vision and it was then that he received the
first revelation (concerning his proclamation) from Allah about the fact that
Allah had chosen him and raised him as Mujaddid (Reformer). Subsequently
in 1889, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) founded the Ahmadiyya Movement to
revive the faith in Allah, and to refute all arguments against Islam and
against all the teachings of Islam. He was the protector of the Quran and the
Muslims, but unfortunately the majority of Muslims did not recognize his value
and treated him with despicable names.
He died in Lahore on 26 May 1908, and left
behind him an aggrieved Jama'at who later struggled for a long time to
propagate his teachings in the best way. But unfortunately with time, little by
little the people of this Jama'at moved away from his teachings and from Allah
and those who are at the head of this Jama'at took themselves as superpowers
and flouted his teachings, and then Allah, by His immense grace, raised another
Mujaddid, and Messiah in this present age to bring reform to the whole
world and to defend the honour of Islam, Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) and of Hazrat
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as), the servants par excellence of Allah. Alhamdulillah.
May Allah help us all to remain under the
banner of Islam and to always safeguard the honour of the messengers of Allah,
and the reformers of the religion of Allah. May Allah help the Jamaat Ul Sahih
Al Islam to accomplish this great work, always having people with piety and the
fear of Allah in its circle. Insha-Allah, Ameen.
---Friday Sermon of 23 March 2018(04 Rajab 1439 AH) delivered by Muhyi-ud-Din Al Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Saheb (atba) of Mauritius.