By Odusanya AbdulBāsit Olasunkanmi
Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad – the Musleh Mau’ūd and Khalifatul Masih II – was a pious biological and spiritual son of the Promised Mahdi and Messiah, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as), whose birth was heralded by Divine prophecies and glad tidings.
The Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) stated in his prophetic words that the mission of the Promised Mahdi and Messiah would be to revive and strengthen Islamic religion. Likewise, through him, the resurgence of Islam will surface on earth.
Furthermore, Hazrat Abdullah bin Umar narrated that the Holy Prophet(saw) said:
يتزوج ويولد له
“Yatazawwaju wa yūladu lahu”
“He shall marry and beget children”
In explaining this Hadith, the Promised Messiah (as) says:
“The Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him) made a prophecy on the basis of revelation from Almighty Allah. Thus, this clearly indicates the sign that when Isa, son of Mary (Promise Messiah as Mahdi) descends upon the earth, he will marry and will have children. Obviously, this would be a special marriage, and that Allah would provide him (Promised Messiah) children who would help and cooperate with him in completing his purpose. And that Almighty Allah will grant him a son who will be similar to his father in goodness, and will not be different from him. And he will be among the righteous servants of Allah.” [¹]
It was evident from the above that the a son of the Promised Messiah would be bestowed with unique splendor and glory and shall ascend the throne of Khilafat (successorship to prophethood).
A well-known Muslim saint, Hazrat Ni’matullah Shah Wali foretold in his well-known poem that:
“When the unfruitful winter is over,
I envision the rising of the sun of a happy spring.
When his tenure comes to its successful end,
I see that he will be succeeded by his illustrious son” [²]
I.e., ‘Unfruitful winter’ refers to – The thirteenth century of the Hijra.
The Divine Revelation Concerning the Advent of the Musleh Mau’ūd
Thus, during the life of the Promised Messiah (as), Allah, in His Perfection, revealed to him the glad tidings of the birth of an illustrious son coupled with the excellences that would characterize his life.
In the announcement of February 20, 1886, the Promised Messiah, peace be on him, says:
“God the Merciful, the Noble, the High, the Exalted, Who has power to do all that He wills (glory be to Him and exalted be His Name), has vouchsafed to me the following revelation:
“I confer upon thee a Sign of My mercy according to thy supplications. 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 on thee. A Sign of grace and beneficence is awarded to thee and thou art granted the key of success and victory. Peace on thee, O victorious one. Thus, does God speak so that those who desire life may be rescued from the grip of death and those who are buried in the graves may emerge therefrom and so that the superiority of Islam and the dignity of God’s word may become manifest unto the people and so that the truth may arrive with all its blessings and falsehood may depart with all its ills, and so that people may understand that I am the Lord of Power, I do whatever I will, and so that they may believe that I am with thee, and so that those who do not believe in God and deny and reject His religion and His Book and His Holy Messenger Muhammad, the chosen one (on whom be peace) may be confronted with a clear sign and the way of the guilty ones may become manifest.
“Rejoice, therefore, that a handsome and pure boy will be bestowed on thee. Thou wilt receive a bright youth who will be of thy seed and will be of thy progeny. A handsome and pure boy will come as your guest. His name is Emmanuel and Bashir. He has been invested with a holy spirit and he will be free from all impurity. He is the light of Allah. Blessed is he who comes from heaven. He shall be accompanied by grace (Fazl) 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 Allah’s mercy and honour have 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 knowledge. He will convert three into four (of this the meaning is not clear). It is Monday, a blessed Monday. Son, delight of heart, high ranking, noble; a manifestation of the First and the Last, a manifestation of the True and the High; as if Allah has descended from heaven. His advent will be greatly blessed and will be a source of manifestation of Divine Majesty. 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 peoples will be blessed through him. He will then be raised to his spiritual station in heaven. This is a matter decreed.”[³]
Background of Hadrat Musleh Mau’ūd [⁴]
Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad(ra), Khalifatul Masih II was born on 12th of January, 1889 on a Saturday at Qadian, India. He was the eldest son of the Promised Messiah(as), born from his second wife, Hazrat Sayyeda Nusrat Jahan Begum(ra). He passed away on 8th of November, 1965.
In 1895, Haafiz Ahmadullah Nagpuri started teaching Mian Mahmud (ra) (as he was fondly called) the Holy Quran, and on 7th June 1897, he had his Aameen ceremony (completed the first reading of the Holy Quran). The Promised Messiah was indeed grateful to Allah that his son, despite being so young was beginning to benefit from the treasures contained in the Holy Qur’an despite his illnesses.
Hazrat Mahmud (ra) got married at the tender age of 14 to the daughter of the eminent Hazrat Dr. Khalifah Rasheed-ud-Din (ra). Her name was Hazrat Sayyidah Mahmudah (ra).
In 1898, he received his education in the District Board Primary School and later in Taleemul Islam High School when it was started. Moreover, he never showed interest in ordinary book knowledge while a student, which prevented him from passing the Government Entrance Examination and his formal education came to a close at this point, which was a huge miracle of Divine Destiny rather than just an accident.
It was later proven that Allah the Almighty, Himself, divinely taught him and the entire world witnessed that he not only possessed intrinsic and spiritual knowledge, but his understanding of fundamental wisdom was so broad and profound that, even if a learned scholar, well equipped with whatever knowledge of this world attacks Islam, he would be exposed as a mere academic novice.
At the time of the Promised Messiah’s demise he was only 19 years of age. And before this period, he developed a great desire for religious services. At this age, he rendered with his pen an incredibly persuasive and deafening response to criticism against Islam and Ahmadiyyat.
On 26th May 1908, when the Promised Messiah (peace be on him) passed away at Lahore, Hazrat Bashiruddin stood by the bed of the Promised Messiah (as) and vowed saying:
“Even if all the people abandon you and I am left alone, I would stand by you and would face all opposition to and onslaughts on your Mission.”
Faithfully, he upheld his promise, never showed concern for the animosity or resistance of others throughout his life, and consistently worked to advance Islam and Ahmadiyyat.
On Friday 13th of March 1914, Hazrat Maulana Nūruddin – the Khalifatul Masih I (ra) – passed away.
Following this incident, on 14th of March 1914, during Asr Prayer, the Ahmadis gathered in the Masjid Noor Qadian, where Hazrat Nawab Muhammad Ali Khan, who was a Sahabi (companion) and son-in-law of the Promised Messiah, read out the “will” of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih I and requested the people to act accordingly and elect someone as his successor. On this occasion, Maulana Syed Ahsan Amrohvi proposed the name of Hazrat Sahibzada Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmood Ahmad. He was hesitant and refused at first, but on the fervid persistence of the people, realized that it was the verdict of Allah and accepted the oath of Allegiance of the Ahmadis and thus became the Second Successor to the Promised Messiah (peace be on him).
Excellences of Hadrat Musleh Mau’ūd
He is persistent like a firm-rooted mountain, not slipping away from the path of Allah and of the Promised Messiah. Thus, his way of life worths emulating such as:
Quranic Wisdom And His Admiration of the Holy Qur’an
Allah granted upon Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad(ra) a deep knowledge and understanding of the Holy Quran. He once said himself that there were hundreds and thousands of truthful realities of the Holy Qur’an which Allah disclosed to him with His special grace through intuition and revelation.[⁵]He was dearly attached with the Holy Qur’an and ever abiding to it.
He wrote many books but the greatest of them all is the Tafseer-e-Sagheer and Tafseer-e-Kabeer in several volumes which are precious monuments of his love and labour to explain the Holy Quran and its unparalleled and incomparable beauty.
The new definition of the wisdom of the Holy Quran, written in his Tafsir-e-Kabir, bears undeniable evidence of the truth and validity of the aforesaid claim. The age became convinced of the superiority of his Quranic knowledge. Maulvi Zafar Ali Khan, Editor of “Daily Zamindar” Lahore, himself an eminent Muslim leader, writer and a bitter opponent of Ahmadiyyat, while addressing other opponent groups conceded:
“Listen with your ears wide open, you and your accomplices could never compete with Mirza Mahmood till resurrection. Mirza Mahmood has Quran with him, and a deep knowledge of Quran, What have you got? … You have never read the Quran in your dreams.” [⁶]
On his death, in a condolence note written in Sidq-e-Jadid, Lucknow, it was mentioned:
“May Allah reward the Imam Jamaat Ahmadiyya’s effort towards world-wide publication of the Holy Quran and its wisdom and also for the propagation of Islam in all the corners of the Earth, and in lieu of this, let us overlook all other matters. The learned manner in which he has interpreted in detail, the truth and wisdom of the Holy Quran was really unique.” [⁷]
A Man of Great Courage
He was a great and courageous man with strong determination and never seemed to be affected despite challenges that come his way most times.
A great part of the Tafseer-e-Sagheer and masterly Tafseer-e-Kabeer that he wrote was written when he was sick and not well at all.[⁸] Obviously, what may not be easy for an ordinary man to accomplish in such a manner. It however shows how determined he was and courageous believer.
Reliance on the Power of Prayer
He exemplified full trust and reliance on the power of prayer. Mostly during the time of crises (as stated earlier above) in the Jama’at, all times he retires to Bait-ud-Dua, spending hours in supplicating to Allah and coming out of Bait-ud-Dua with his eyes swollen and red.[⁹]
His Tireless Devotion to the Jamaat
His hard work and untiring efforts in the service of Islam and Ahmadiyyat was unmatchable. According to Sahibzada Mirza Muzaffar Ahmad, Amir and Missionary Incharge, Jamaat Ahmadiyya, U.S.A:
“At times of crises for the Jamaat, Hazrat Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad stopped sleeping in the comfort of his bed and would sleep on the floor praying all the time until God assured him of success and resolution of the crisis. At times, on such occasions, he would feel a soft touch of a twig and a charming voice urging him to get up and sleep on the bed.”
This obviously shows his ardent devotion for the sake of the progress of the Jama’at.
A Great Orator
Hazrat Musleh Mau’ūd was a great orator and his level of oratory is outstandingly unmatchable. With his level of oratory, he could break barriers and move mountains. Thus, this has been revealed long before his birth in the divine revelation to his father, Hazrat Massih Mau’ūd.[¹⁰]
A Great Administrator
Hazrat Musleh Mau’ūd was a great administrator with amazing organizational vision and capabilities. He established several Jama’at organizational structures and bodies. To mention few, the Nizam-e-Shoora, Financial Structure, the establishment of the Auxiliaries, acquisition of large chunks of land for the Jamaat in Sindh (on the basis of a vision he saw), and the establishment of Tahrikh-e-Jadid for the propagation of Islam and Ahmadiyyat in foreign lands. However, to inculcate the zeal and spirit of volunteerism, he developed the concept of Dignity of Labour. He started organizing Waqar-e-Amal days on which the whole community, young and old, regardless of rank or status in life would all get together and with manual labour undertake community work like filling ditches, cleaning the neighborhood or build small patches of dirt road for the benefit of the community.
He partook of one Waqar-e-Amal carrying a basket full of dirt and throwing it at the designated spot. This really motivated and inspired the whole community and they all keyed in the venture with zeal and enthusiasm. All these stand till date within the Jama’at Ahmadiyyat worldwide.[¹¹]
His Kindness
His level of asceticism and piety was coupled with great kindness of fairness (‘Adl) and doing of good (Ihsan) towards his own children and children of other close relatives. He rendered stories from the heart filled with lessons to them regularly.[¹²]
His Cheerful Moments
Being a cheerful personality, he dedicated some periods of his days for cheerful moments by competing against his colleagues and family members in cooking food and does go hunting at times. Once upon a time, he competed with Jama’at members in swimming in a canal (which was at a distance of three miles from Qadian), from one bridge to another. People enjoyed moments with him and love to be in his company.[¹³]
Concisely, he possessed great and excellent qualities that were uncommonly integrated in one person, making him a unique and exemplary leader for the universe.
His Achievements and Greatness [¹⁴]
He reigned as Khalifatul-Masih II from the year 1914 to 1965. His reign lasted for about 51 years. Throughout his lifetime as Khalifatul-Masih II, he recorded loads of achievements and dedicated his life and service to Islam and Ahmadiyyat.
When he was 19, Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad (ra) offered himself for the Waqf (life dedication to the service of the Jama’at) and later formed Anjuman Tashheezul Azhaan (the Organization concerned with sharpening of intellect) and under his supervision. He started a magazine of the same name, through which religious education for children was carried out steadily.
And in the early 1911, he founded the Anjuman Ansaarullah, whose members were to give and sacrifice their time for religious services, the spread of Islam and Ahmadiyyat, and the promotion of love, amity, and global unity. Thus, this was with the approval of Hazrat Alh. Maulana Nooruddin, Khalifatul Masih I.
He left for Egypt in September 1912, followed by Mecca, where he performed the Hajj. Throughout his travels, he continued to actively preach and propagate Islam and Ahmadiyyat.
In June 1913, he started a newspaper for the Jama’at – “The Al-Fazl” which features preaching and reformatory articles, national news, educative, historical and informative write ups. Gladly, in a short time, this newspaper was widely popular within and outside the Jama’at and thus, became the central organ of the Jama’at.
In 1914, as Khalifatul-Masih II (ra), he established Majlis-e-Shura to discuss the propagation of Islam. To facilitate this, Huzoor (ra) created the Nazarat Dawato Tabligh (Executive Office of Preaching) in 1919, and the Madrassa (School) Ahmadiyya as the center. His untiring efforts for its advancement steered it from the status of a mere school to a University. These efforts were aimed at training learned religious missionaries.
The wisdom of the Holy Qur’an, provided in Huzoor’s (ra) Tafsir-e-Kabir (Greater (long) Commentary) bears undeniable evidence of his God-given knowledge of the Holy Qur’an.
The Holy Qur’an was translated into various languages so that the glory and wisdom of the Divine Book could be made available to people who did not read/understand Arabic. During his Khilafat, translations of the Holy Qur’an into 14 other languages were in progress.
Been a great administrator, in order to facilitate and organize the Jama’at, Huzoor (ra) established the Central and Regional Anjuman (Organizations) as well as various important Executive Offices (Nazarat) under the Sadr Anjuman Ahmadiyyat Qadian to facilitate all efforts:
Nazarat Dawato Tabligh (Executive Office of Propagation)
Nazarat Taleem (Executive Office of Education)
Nazarat Umoor-e-Aamma (Executive Office of General Affairs)
Nazarat Bait-ul-Mal (Executive Office of Finance) and
Nazarat Aa’la (Executive Office of Guardians) this office oversees all other executive offices.
Hazrat Mahmud Ahmad (ra) formed auxiliary organizations in the Jama’at to serve the needs of both genders according to different age groups and to aid affective learning:
In 1922: He established Majlis Lajna Ima’illah for women ages 15 till death.
In 1928: He established Majlis Nasirat-ul-Ahmadiyya for girls ages 7-15.
In 1938: He established Majlis Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya for men ages 15-40.
In 1938: He established Majlis Atfal-ul-Ahmadiyya for boys ages 7-15.
In 1940: He established Majlis Ansarullah for men aged 40 till death.
In 1934, he laid an important initiative of Tahrik-e-Jadid in, through which many Ahmadiyya Muslim Missions were established throughout the world. However, this exists till present date and it’s evidently progressing the propagation of Islam and Ahmadiyyat globally.
Similarly, on September 27, 1957 the initiative of Waqf-e-Jadid came on board through him in order to promote missionary and reformative activities of the Jama’at in every city, town, and village in India and Pakistan by appointing teachers everywhere for rural communities. And now, the initiative fits in well to all other states and countries of the world and not limited to India.
In 1958, Hazrat Musleh Mau’ood (ra) laid the foundation stone of Fazl-e-Umar hospital in Rabwah, Pakistan.
Thus, this is a brief glimpse of Hazrat Musleh Mau’ood incredible accomplishments (ra).
Better obvious to all and sundry, with his life well spent, everyone should piously emulate, live a blessed life like his, and leave legacies behind for the future.
Particularly, winning the pleasure of Allah the Almighty should be the motive and utmost importance to our lives.
References
- Ayena Kamalati Islam, pg. 578.
- The Heavenly Sign(Nishan-e-Asmani), pg 5. By Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad
- Given above is an English translation by Sir Zafrulla Khan of the prophecy regarding the Musleh Mau’ood. Taken from the book Tazkirah (English version), consisting of the prophecies, revelations, and dreams of the Promised Messiah, peace be on him.
- The Promised Son: The Early Age, Rashid Ahmad Chaudhry
- Tafsir-e-Kabir, Vol. 6, pg. 483
- Ek Khofnak Saazish, by Moulvi Mazher Ali Azhar, pg. 196
- Sidq-e-Jadid Lucknow, Vol. 51, Nov. 18th 1965
- Pearls of Memory: Remembrance of Hazrat Musleh Maud, Sahibzada Mirza Muzaffar Ahmad, Amir and Missionary Incharge, Jamaat Ahmadiyya, U.S.A, Al-Nahl, Spring 1995.
- Pearls of Memory: Remembrance of Hazrat Musleh Maud, Sahibzada Mirza Muzaffar Ahmad, Amir and Missionary Incharge, Jamaat Ahmadiyya, U.S.A. Al-Nahl, Spring 1995
- Pearls of Memory: Remembrance of Hazrat Musleh Maud, Sahibzada Mirza Muzaffar Ahmad, Amir and Missionary Incharge, Jamaat Ahmadiyya, U.S.A. Al-Nahl, Spring 1995.
- Pearls of Memory: Remembrance of Hazrat Musleh Maud, Sahibzada Mirza Muzaffar Ahmad, Amir and Missionary Incharge, Jamaat Ahmadiyya, U.S.A. Al-Nahl, Spring 1995.
- Pearls of Memory: Remembrance of Hazrat Musleh Maud, Sahibzada Mirza Muzaffar Ahmad, Amir and Missionary Incharge, Jamaat Ahmadiyya, U.S.A. Al-Nahl, Spring 1995.
- Pearls of Memory: Remembrance of Hazrat Musleh Maud, Sahibzada Mirza Muzaffar Ahmad, Amir and Missionary Incharge, Jamaat Ahmadiyya, U.S.A. Al-Nahl, Spring 1995
- A PowerPoint: Hazrat Al-Hajj Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad (ra) – 1889-1965, Khalifatul-Masih II (1914-1965).Second Successor to the Promised Messiah (as): His Khilafat and Magnificent Achievements
About the writer:
Odusanya AbdulBāsit Olasunkanmi is a missionary of Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at of Nigeria. He graduated from Jamiatul Mubashireen Nigeria in 2012. He is also a graduate of B.A. (Edu.) Yoruba, in 2019. A member of the Majlis Ansar Sultan Qalam Nigeria (Muslim Writers’ Guild of Nigeria), AbdulBāsit is a keen poet, writer, counselor and career guide.
