Intro
MGA died in his house in May of 1908, most likely at mid-night or 2am. He seems to have joined Ahmadiyya in the early 1900’s and was a class-mate of Allama Iqbal at the famous Scotch Mission High School. Colonel Dr. Bashir Husain, retired Director, Health Services, West Pakistan, is his son.
In 1906 (Oct-25), via the Al-Badr, in MGA’s presence, an Ahmadi named Qazi Muhammad Zahuruddin Akmal, who was recently hired to work as an editor for the Al-Badr, recited a poem wherein he alleged that MGA was greater than Muhammad (Saw)(naozobillah)(Al-Badr, Oct-25, 1906 and the Al-Fazl of Aug-13-1944, See also the 1974 NA proceedings page 785, pdf page 410). This poem was originally recited in presence of MGA in 1906 and MGA was very happy to hear it and praised with words ‘Jazak-Allah’. Further, the Al-fazl wrote that this poem written in calligraphic handwriting was presented to MGA and he took it with him to his home to show it to his family. In the Al-Fazl article, a case was built that (elders of LAM including) Maulana Muhammad Ali, Khawaja Kamal ud Din, Shaikh Rehmatullah, Mirza Yaqub Baig, Syed Muhammad Hussain…..held the same opinion, and it was translated from Persian (original language of poem) into Urdu. And that Maulana Muhammad Ali was present in gathering when poem was recited to MGA.
In 1914, he quit Qadiani-Ahmadiyya and denounced the Mirza family and thus became a prominent Lahori-Ahmadi.
Muslim Town was founded in 1915 by Dr. Syed Muhammad Hussain (1878-1939), son of Syed Alim Shah. He was a graduate of Lahore Medical School) and the Chief Chemical Examiner of Punjab as well as a renowned physician and philanthropist. During the early 20th century, Model Town was an exclusive Hindu locality of Lahore. Muslims could not buy property in that neighbourhood and in response to this prejudice, Hussain bought plots of agricultural land along the Lahore Canal. He then hired professionals to plan a residential neighbourhood, that was initially named Islamabad. However, on the suggestion of his friend Allama Muhammad Iqbal, Dr. Hussain decided to rename the locality as “Muslim Town”, to emphasize its Muslim character in response to the exclusivity of Model Town as a non Muslim locality.
Dr. Hussain, initially built a house for himself on 40 kanals of this land at #7 Muslim Town and donated plots of varied sizes ranging from 10 marlas to 12 kanals to his numerous relatives, friends, family retainers and household help. Some of his famous friends and early settlers included the renowned artist Ustad Allah Baksh, Abdul Majeed Salik (writer), Maulana Ghulam Rasool Mehr, Maulana Muhammad Ali (translator of the Quran), the Faruqi family and the renowned Faqir family. Dr Muhammad Hussain constructed a mosque in Muslim Town (Aisha Masjid), in memory of his late mother. He also allocated land for a graveyard for his descendants in Shah Jamal and another graveyard in Muslim Town for the benefit of general public. The Shah Jamal graveyard is under the exclusive custodianship of his great grand daughter. Dr. Muhammad Hussain’s agricultural land around surrounding Muslim Town was later acquired by the Lahore Development Authority as part of Shah Jamal, Gulberg and New Muslim Town schemes.
He died in 1939. Continue reading “Who is Dr. Syed Muhammad Hussain?” →