Intro
My team and I have translated the first 27 pages of the 1923 edition of Seerat ul Mahdi, which includes the first 48 narrations. These are hilarious stories of MGA. The most damning story thus far is about MGA’s death (See narration #11). In 1923, Mirza Bashir Ahmad and his mother told the world that MGA was too weak to go the bathroom and pooped diarrhea on the floor next to his own bed. This was changed in the 1935 edition of Seeratul Mahdi and stated that MGA’s widow (Nusrat Jehan) made arrangements by the side of the bed for MGA to poop diarrhea, which was a lie.
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Seerat al Mahdi
Volume One
Written by Hazrat Sahibzada Mirza Bashir Ahmad MA- Salamullah Ta’ala
At the Request of
Mawlana al Mukaram Muazam Mawlavi Muhammad Isma’il Sahib Mawlavi Fazil wa Munshi Awwal Mudarris Madrisah Ahmadiyya Qadian
The Honour of Publishing is given to
Muhammad Fakhruddin Ahmad Multani Muhtamam Ahmadiyya Kitab Kitab Ghar Qadian Dar ul Aman
December 21, 1923
On the Blessed Day of Friday
Special Thanks
Thousands of thanks to Allah Ta’ala that the accounts of the treasure of the life and times of the Promised Messiah (PBUH), which was previously only to be heard by narrators has now started to be preserved in book form, due to the hard work and conveyance of Sahibzada Mirza Bashir Ahmad Sahib (may his Lord’s peace be upon him). Hence, its first volume has been presented as a gift with love. The sequence, editing and compilation is a great and important task. May God cause it to reach its holy completion!
As much as I praise the publishing of this book, it is not enough. In fact, I consider the publishing of this book to be one of Allah Ta’ala’s special blessings, which this humble one’s preliminary business, until this time continues every year in one form or another. Since the publishing of the Promised Messiah (PBUH)’s words and life is not a service which is to be seen as an ordinary blessing and I was blessed with this seven or eight years ago, give or take. So praise be to Allah for that!
The scholarly publishing credit of this treasure already goes to Mawlana al Mukaram Mawlavi Muhammad Isma’il. Respected Mawlavi Rahim Bakhsh Sahib MA’s vouching allowed Mawlana al Mukaram (Mir Muhammad Isma’il) allowed this humble one to be given permission to publish. Fajazakumullah Ahsan al Jaza!
Dear ones please pray that Allah Ta’ala bless these elders with the greatest power and blessings! And this humble one who is sinking in sins and disobedience be made an inheritor of His forgiveness and pardon with His blessing!
Yours Humbly,
Fakhruddin Ahmad Multani
December 20, 1923
In the name of God, the most Gracious, the most Merciful
We praise Him and send salutations on His noble messenger
Preface
While gifting Seerat al Mahdi’s first volume to the readers, I would only like to draw your attention to the point that the way that the study of this book will be apparent that I did not create any specific sequence in the narrations. Rather, the way I received the narrations, I kept on writing them in that manner. Since for me the greatest requirement of the time was that as many narrations of the Promised Messiah as possible should be compiled and preserved in one place. The sequencing and argumentation will keep happening along the way because it can happen all the time but if the compilation of narrations does not happen right now then it cannot happen later. This is why I have kept this thing in my mind that narrations be compiled from friends who have been in the company of Hazrat Sahib from the beginning. And there are people who have relationships before the commencement of Baiy’at. Hence, I have specially taken narrations from Hazrat Walida Sahiba and respected Mian Abdullah Sahib Sanori.
I have written in the beginning of the book that I have only taken narrations which I deemed according to my own knowledge to be authentic. This does not necessarily mean that I consider the details of the narrations to be authentic. I understand that the method of narrating and memorizing in our country prohibits me from thinking this way. However, from among the narrators that I took from, I have found two specific narrators to be very careful in narrating and they are respected Mawlavi Sher Ali Sahib and respected Mian Abdullah Sahib Sanori.
I have mentioned the way in which I have received the narration in the beginning of every narration, which means that if a narrator speaks to me in the first person then I write “said to me” or I use similar words to that. And if other people were present and spoken to then I write “told us” instead of “told me”. And if the narrator spoke in a lecture or some other public discussion then I only provided the “he said” words in the beginning.
Some statements require special attention. For example, Mian Abdullah Sahib Sanori used the word “hate” for the meaning of “dislike” even though “hate” is seen as a harsher word than “dislike”. And I think that besides being very careful, some personal vernacular usage of language was attributed to the Promised Messiah. I have not spoken to Mian Abdullah Sahib Sanori about this and he probably can give a better reason for this. God knows best. This has only been mentioned as an example; otherwise the people who take interest in these things can take great pleasure in the timely study of this. I have also made it my practice in compiling these narrations that often narrations have been done in such a way, in which, whether it was understood or not, I try to make the narration apparent from every angle and that no complaint remains in understanding other narrations. And I have given my own short notes at the end of narrations that often shed light and answer my own questions pertaining to the narration. And I think that in my compiling of the compilation, this was the most difficult part. Otherwise if I left the narrations without my notes then a wrong interpretation could have been used. But, for such notes, the responsibility is on “yours humbly”. Some statements in this compilation of the life and times of the Promised Messiah will not seem to have anything to do with the topic but for the sake of argumentation it may be used (by me or someone else) upon when it is needed.
I cannot say how many volumes Seerat ul Mahdi will encompass and when it will be completed for it is dependent upon the opportunity given by God almighty. It depends on my health, safety, availability and aid in the process of receiving narrations. It is my intention, God willing, to publish a volume each year at the annual Jalsa convention.
Other than this, pertaining to volume one, those narrators of mines who truly deserve thanks are: respected Mawlavi Sher Ali Sahib BA, I give a special thanks for supplying be great help in justly compiling narrations and authenticating copies; Mawlavi Muhammad Isma’il Sahib Fazil and Mawlavi Rahim Bakhsh Sahib MA’s moral help remained with me at all times and this is all due to the love and support of these friends so that I can continue this work in a fresh manner, more or less; Munshi Fakhruddin Sahib Multani who is deserving of thanks for printing and publishing this book.
Pertaining to myself, I just want to say that if this book gives readers any benefit then please pray for the salvation and success of this author. For this is the best recompense for my efforts.
Only!
Wassalam
Yours humbly,
Mirza Bashir Ahmad, Qadian, Zilla Gurdaspur
December 10, 1923
In the name of God, the most Gracious, the most Merciful
We praise Him and send salutations on His noble messenger
And upon his servant, the Promised Messiah
Imam Bukhari (upon whom be mercy) said that Umar bin Khatab RA narrated that the prophet SAW said that actions are judged by motives.
Yours humbly, Mirza Bashir Ahmad, son of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani, the Promised Messiah and Promised Mahdi PBUH, has intended, God willing, to compile for those who have not been the company of the Promised Messiah, nor have seen him, would benefit from the words, life and times and other beneficial things related to your biography, morals, invitations etc. Nevertheless, I start this endeavour today on the day of Wednesday, 25 of Shaban, 1339, according to May 4, 1921 after the Zuhr prayer, in this circumstance that I am sitting in the Bait ud Dua of the Promised Messiah and I pray that Allah Ta’ala keeps me on the straight path and gives me the opportunity to complete this book. Allahumma Ameen.
It is my intention that with the opportunity of Allah I compile all important things that Hazrat Promised Messiah said about himself in his own writings and that other people wrote; so that I may gather all those spoken narrations of Hazrat Promised Messiah that have reached me or that may reach to me in the future and those accounts which are in my knowledge or which I have myself personally witnessed. And God willing, I will only write those narrations that I have deemed to be authentic but I cannot claim authenticity in the words of the narrations nor can I affirm the exact words of the narrations. Therefore, I will only narrate the narrations with the access of the language that it was provided to me in and I will narrate them in the sequence that they were provided to me and God willing, I will later edit them according to the meaning and sequence. I leave you with the long mention of the conditions that I have taken the narrations from. O Allah, give me the opportunity for You are the One that gives the opportunity and help!
(1) In the name of God, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. Hazrat Walida Sahiba narrated to me that the Promised Messiah said, “It has come to be known to me from Allah Ta’ala” or he mentioned, “It has been told to me from Allah Ta’ala, Subhan Allahi wa bihamdihi subhan Allahil adheem should be recited often.” Walida Sahiba says that in Banabar, he would recite this very often, so much so that at night in his bed, while changing his coat, he would have this on his tongue. Yours humbly states that when I narrated this to Mawlavi Sher Ali, he affirmed that he heard the Promised Messiah recite this a lot, as well as Istaghfar. Moreover, yours humbly also attests to witnessing the Promised Messiah reciting “Subhan Allah”. He would recite it with a lot of softness, slowly, with peace and serenity, in a way as if he was contemplating over the attributes of God almighty.
(2) In the name of God, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. Hazrat Walida Sahiba narrated to me that the Promised Messiah would normally stay in the condition of ablution all the time. Whenever he would urinate, he would make ablution unless he had some illness or for some other reason.
(3) In the name of God, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. Hazrat Walida Sahiba narrated to me that other than the five daily prayers, the Promised Messiah would usually offer two types of voluntary prayers. One being the prayer of Ashraq (two or four raka’at) which he would only offer sometimes and other was the Tahajjud prayer (eight raka’at) which he would always offer, except when he was too sick. But in such a state, he would still lie down on the bed and make du’a. And in the final old age, he would mostly sit down and offer the Tahajjud prayer.
(4) In the name of God, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. Hazrat Walida Sahiba narrated to me that the Promised Messiah would usually go to sleep for a little time after offering the morning prayer because he would stay up for most of the night. The reason for that is that he would stay up most times to write and read topics, which he would spend a lot of time writing. The other reason was that he would need to get up a lot of urination, many times. Other than that, he would also get up for the Tahajjud prayer. Moreover, Walida Sahiba narrates that Hazrat Sahib liked to sit in front of the light of the oil lamp and in place of it, he would use wax candles. In one era, for some time, he would use a gas lamp. Yours humbly states that this was indeed the habit of the Promised Messiah in which he would keep many candles in front of him and if a candle would burn out then he would replace it with another one. Also, he would buy a bundle of candles and stock them. Yours humbly remembers one instance, next to the Bayt ul Fikr, on the left side, Hazrat Promised Messiah was sitting on the bed next to the left door and might have been busy in some work and the wax candles were burning next to him. Hazrat Walida Sahiba was walking past the lights and from the side of her buttocks, her veil caught on fire and she had no idea. Hazrat Promised Messiah saw and quickly stood up and started putting out the fire with his hands. At this time, this caused Hazrat Walida Sahiba some anxiety.
(5.1) In the name of God, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. Hazrat Walida Sahiba narrated to me that the Promised Messiah would offer the preliminary sunnah prayers of the mandatory prayer in his home, as well as the later sunnah prayers usually, and sometimes in the mosque as well. Yours humbly asked if Hazrat Sahib would prolong his prayers or shorten them. Walida Sahiba answered that he would usually keep his prayers short.
(5.2) In the name of God, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. Hazrat Walida Sahiba narrated to me that on one occasion the Promised Messiah was strolling in his garden when he was walking by an orange tree that I (Walida Sahiba) or another person said that I would like an orange at this time. Hazrat Sahib said, “Do you want an orange?” Walida Sahiba or the other person responded saying, “I want to take”, upon which Hazrat Sahib hit his hand on the branches of the tree and when his hand separated from the tree, and behold, he had an orange in his hand! I asked, “Did you eat that orange?” Walida Sahiba showed with her hand and struck it in the air as if someone breaks a fruit of a tree and she said that the way that a hand takes a fruit of a tree is not how he struck his hand on the tree. He struck his hand on the tree and immediately brought it back. I asked if it was the season of oranges. Walida Sahiba responded and said that it was not the season and that the tree was fruitless. Yours humbly narrated this to Mawlavi Sher Ali Sahib and he said that Khalifa Thani narrated the same story to him and stated that it was at his request that Hazrat Sahib struck his hand on the tree and brought back an orange.
(6) In the name of God, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. Hazrat Walida Sahiba narrated to me that the Promised Messiah said, “On one occasion, I was returning to Qadian from some journey, I reached Batala for Qadian and hired a ride for travel. A Hindu passenger was about to sit right when we were about to sit and the Hindu quickly sat in the place away from the sun, making me sit where the sun was facing.” Hazrat Sahib then said, “When we got out of the city, a cloud came between me and the sun.” I asked Walida Sahiba if the Hindu said anything about this and she replied saying that the Hindu was very embarrassed and asked to be pardoned. Walida Sahiba says that these were those hot days.
Yours humbly states that Mawlavi Sher Ali Sahib also narrated this to me and said that he heard of this event from the Promised Messiah himself. The only conflict is that Mawlavi Sahib gave Amritsar in place of Batala in the story and expressed his certainty in the matter that the Hindu experienced the supernatural event and was very embarrassed.
(7) In the name of God, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. Hazrat Walida Sahiba narrated to me that the Promised Messiah narrated to her, “On one occasion, I was going on the Delhwazi Mountain for the sake of a court case and it rained on the way so me and my companion had to leave our ride and went towards a mountain man’s house, near the route. My companion moved forward and asked the owner of the home for permission to enter but he stopped him and they went back and forth and the landlord started moving fast and started swearing.” Hazrat Sahib said, “From hearing this back and forth, I moved forward and upon the landlord’s eyes and mines meeting, before I could say anything, he said, “ I have a young daughter so I do not like strange men entering my home but you may come in.”” Hazrat Sahib states, “He was a stranger to me and I was a stranger to him.”
(8) In the name of God, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. Hazrat Walida Sahiba narrated to me that the Promised Messiah narrated to her, “On one occasion, when I was travelling, At night time we were lodging in some house on the second floor and in that room, there were seven or eight other men lodging in that room. When everyone was asleep and one portion of the night had passed, I started hearing a “tuck tuck” noise and fear developed in my heart that this roof is about to fall. Upon this happening, I told my companion, Maseeta Beg that I fear that the roof is about to collapse. He said, “Mian, this is your superstition. This is a newly built home and the roof is completely new. Go to sleep in peace.”” Hazrat Sahib stated, “I then laid down but after a little while, that fear conquered my heart again and it felt as if it would shatter so this time I forced Maseeta Beg to wake up along with everyone else and had them evacuated. Everyone left the exit from the stairs and as I had one foot out, the roof collapsed along with the roof under and the charpoys that we slept on were completely destroyed.” I asked Walida Sahiba who Maseeta Beg was and she replied, “He was a distant-close relative of your paternal grandfather.”
Yours humbly states that Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Thani explained this story on one occasion in the following way that this event took place in Sialkot where the Promised Messiah worked and that the roof was waiting for him to leave so that it could collapse. Moreover, Khalifa Thani stated that Hindus in the room witnessed this and this event made them grow great faith in Hazrat Sahib.
(9) In the name of God, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. Hazrat Walida Sahiba narrates that the Promised Messiah narrated, “When Mirza Sahib Senior (the Promised Messiah’s father) was working in Kashmir and our mother said many times that my heart says that something is going to come from Kashmir. It so happened that day that a man from Kashmir showed up at our door. It so happened some times that just as our mother was saying that someone is coming, someone started knocking on the door. It became known that a man has come from Kashmir.” Walida Sahiba narrates, “Your grandfather would send letters with money every few months from Kashmir and he would send a man with cash, silver and gold in a bag that was wrapped and stitched, which he would wear on the way and take it off after reaching. The people at home would take the cash and give back the gold and silver.” Moreover, Walida Sahiba said, “Your grandfather was a Soobah in Kashmir.” At that time, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Thani came down and said that among the English these days, there is the office of deputy commissioner and commissioner etc. In the same way, in Kashmir, Soobah is a governor of the area. Yours humbly submits that our paternal grandmother, the mother of the Promised Messiah’s name was Chiragh Bibi and she died in the lifetime of our grandfather. She loved the Promised Messiah very much and the Promised Messiah loved her very much. Whenever Hazrat Sahib would mention her, his eyes would tear up.
(10) In the name of God, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. Hazrat Walida Sahiba narrated to me that the Promised Messiah did not think of the date of Tuesday to be good. Moreover, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Thani narrated that when Mubarika Begum (our sister) was about to be born it was a Tuesday, which is why Hazrat Sahib prayed that she may be born after Tuesday. Consequently, she was born after the passing of Tuesday, on the night of Wednesday. Yours humbly submits that the Promised Messiah was born on a Friday and he died on a Tuesday. And it should be known that the usage of time is only for the people of the world and indeed for the world, his death was a day of great calamity.
(11) In the name of God, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. Hazrat Walida Sahiba narrated to me that in the Promised Messiah’s last sickness, he got sick and she developed anxiety over his critical condition and said, “O God! What is happening?” Upon hearing this, Hazrat Sahib said, “This is that which I used to tell you about.” Yours humbly submits that the Promised Messiah was completely fine on May 25, 1908 on Monday evening. After the Isha prayer at night, yours humbly entered the home from outside and saw that Walida Sahiba was sitting on the bed with him and eating. I went to my bed and fell asleep. During the first part of the night, near morning, I was woken up or maybe I myself woke up due to the noise of people walking by and speaking. Then what I saw was that the Promised messiah is very sick due to the sickness of diarrhoea and the situation is very critical. The people providing him remedy and others were walking and walking here and there. When my eyes first laid on the Promised Messiah, my heart sank because I never saw him in such a state and understood that this was the sickness of death. Then Hazrat Sahib’s pulse was checked and his pulse had been rendered to be gone. A complete silence broke out as everyone thought that he had died but his pulse came back but he was still in critical condition. Then when there was enough light from the morning, the bed of Hazrat Sahib was taken from the courtyard into the room. Hazrat Sahib asked if it was the time for prayer and most likely Shaykh Abdur Rahman Sahib Qadiani replied in the affirmative. Hazrat Sahib tried to pray on his bed lying down but fell unconscious without completing his prayer. Then he gained consciousness and asked again if it was the time for morning prayer and he was replied to saying, “Yes, it is, your holiness”. He then started the intention for prayer but I do not recall whether he was able to complete the prayer or not. At this time he was in a state of extreme anxiety. It was approximately around eight or eight thirty and the doctor asked Hazrat Sahib if he had a special pain somewhere but he could not answer. A pen and paper were supplied to him and he sat up a bit and leaned on his left hand and attempted to write something but was only able to write a few words and then the pen slipped on the paper and he lied down. The words that he wrote were among his final writing and were probably something about his pain in his tongue and then the rest could not be interpreted. The writing was given to Walida Sahiba. After nine o’clock Hazrat Sahib’s condition became more critical and he started gargling but it was not gargling with noise, rather he would take very long breaths. Yours humbly submits that at that time I was standing next to his pillow. Looking at this condition, Walida Sahiba who was in the other room was called along with women from the family and they were made to sit down on the floor next to the charpoy of Hazrat Sahib. At that time, Dr. Muhammad Hussain Shah Sahib Lahori gave the Promised Messiah an injection of medicine on his chest close to his nipple which caused some swelling but pain was not felt. This made some friends upset that why should he be given pain in this circumstance. After a little while, the process of gargling started with long pauses in between breaths until Hazrat Sahib took one last long breath and returned to the Most High Friend. May Allah send peace and blessings upon the one who was obedient to Muhammad!
Yours humbly submits that when I had my story attested by Hazrat Walida Sahiba, she added, “The Promised Messiah had his first bowel movement of diarrhea after eating and then we massaged him until he slept and then I slept too. He got up again once or twice to relieve himself and when his weakness built up, he woke me up and laid down on my charpoy and I sat and massaged him there. He told me to go to sleep but I replied that I will not and continued to massage him. At the same time, he had another rush of diarrhea, however, he was so weak, he couldn’t make it to the poop area (bathroom), that’s why, he sat next to his (on the floor) bed and completed the (rush of diarrhea), he then got up and laid down. (Urdu transliteration: Itne mein aap ko ek aur dast aya magar aap ko is qadar zof tha ke aap pakhana na ja sakte the is liye charpai ke pas hi beht kar aap farigh huway aur phir uth kar let gaye). Then I lied down and kept massaging his legs but his weakness increased. He then had another bowel movement and vomited, then as he was finishing his vomit and lying down, he fell on his buttocks onto the charpoy and hit his head onto the wood and the situation became a total disaster.” Upon witnessing this, Walida Sahiba exclaimed, “O God what is happening?” and the Promised Messiah responded saying, “This is what I used to tell you about.” Yours humbly asked Walida Sahiba if this was his desire and she replied in the affirmative. When she noticed that Hazrat Sahib had become very weak, she asked him if she should call Mawlavi Sahib (Hazrat Mawlavi Hakim Nooruddin) and he replied in the affirmative. Moreover, he requested that Mahmood also be summoned. Walida Sahiba then asked if she should call Nawab Muhammadi Ali Khan Sahib but she did not recall whether Hazrat Sahib replied and if he replied, then what he said.
Yours humbly submits that in the holy Hadith, in the Holy Prophet PBUH’s sickness of death, he also had an extreme state of pain, discomfort and anxiety. It is apparent that the untimely death of the Promised Messiah was just like that and it might seem strange for unaware people because people generally think that Sufis and saints die in peace easily. However, in reality when prophets are dying, they are worried about their responsibilities and the future if their ummah are always on their minds. Everyone has to return to their Lord but prophets know that they must meet their Beloved and face Him regarding their great responsibilities of their ummah. That is why they suffer from the thought of their ummah’s future upon their deaths. Sufis and saints do not have such responsibilities
and only have to deal with their own selves, but prophets have the burden of thousands of lakhs of crores of peoples; the difference is apparent.
(12) In the name of God, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. Hazrat Walida Sahiba narrated to me that in the days that the Promised Messiah was writing Risala al Wasiyyat, on one occasion when he was in strolling the courtyard of Sharif’s house (my younger brother, dear Mirza Sharif Ahmad), he told me that an Englishman inquired from Mawlavi Muhammad Ali Sahib whether Mirza Sahib had appointed a heir as a man generally appoints an heir. After this he asked me, “What do you think? Should I appoint Mahmood (Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Thani) by writing or by announcement?” Walida Sahiba states, “I said do as you deem it right.”
(13) In the name of God, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. Hazrat Walida Sahiba narrated to me that the Promised Messiah used to say, “There are three types of people in our jama’at: one that loves worldly fame and fortune, they want to make offices, big buildings, etc.; the second enters the jama’at being influenced by famous people such as Mawlavi Nooruddin Sahib and remain there dependent upon them; and the third type are those that have a special relationship with my personage and they think of my pleasure and happiness in every affair.
(14) In the name of God, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. Yours humbly submits that when the Promised Messiah died, at that time Hazrat Mawlavi Hakim Nooruddin was not present in the room. When he was conveyed the news, he came and kissed the forehead of Hazrat Sahib and left the room. As he stepped past the door, Mawlavi Sayyid Ahsan Sahib said in a crying tone, “Anta Siddiqi”. To this, Hazrat Mawlavi Sahib replied, “Mawlavi Sahib, leave this question right here. We will go to Qadian first and see to it there.” Yours humbly submits that perhaps I am the only person that may have heard this conversation.
(15) In the name of God, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. Yours humbly submits that the Promised Messiah had three rings. One of them was the “AlaysAllahu bikafin ‘Abduhu” ring which he mentioned several times in his writings. This was the oldest ring which he had manufactured a long time before his claim. The second ring was from his revelation, “Gharsatuka baydi birahmati wa qudtratil khurooj”. This was manufactured after his claim and he continued to wear it for some time on his hand. This due to comparatively being the largest writing had the largest size. The third was prepared in his last years, which he wore on his hand when he died; but it was not prepared by him. Someone wanted to gift him a ring and asked what to write on it, so Huzoor replied, “Mawla Bas” and so it was prepared for him as such. At the time of his death, someone tooo off this ring and then after some time, Walida Sahiba took it back. The “AlaysAllahahu bikafin ‘abduhu” ring was given to big brother (Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Thani); the “Ghursatuka baydi” ring was given to me; and the “Mawla Bas” ring was given to dear Mian Sharif Ahmad. The sisters were also given similar two additional blessings.
(16) In the name of God, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. Hazrat Walida Sahiba narrated to me that the Promised Messiah mentioned, “On one occasion, I went to follow up for a court case and waited outside the courtroom as several cases kept proceeding. I then went under a tree and it was prayer time so I started to pray. As I started, the court started calling me. When I finished, the court clerk was standing next to me and said, “congratulations, you have won the case.””
(17) In the name of God, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. Hazrat Walida Sahiba narrated to me that the Promised Messiah would speak about his youth and said, “In this era, I have come to know” or “It has been indicated to me that to succeed in this path, fasting is also necessary.” He used to say, “I fasted for four months constantly and no one inside or outside my home knew about this. When morning meals would come in, I would donate it to the needy and eat only the evening meals.” I asked Walida Sahiba if he continued to keep voluntary fasts in his old age. She replied that he would specially keep the six fasts voluntarily in Shawal and if he needed to pray for something then he would fast in Rajab as well. However, in the last two, three years, he would not even keep the obligatory fasts in Ramadan because he was too weak and old.
(18) In the name of God, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. Hazrat Walida Sahiba narrated to me that the Promised Messiah had his first case of vertigo and his first fit of hysteria a few days after the death of our brother, Bashir the first, who died in 1888. While sleeping at night his throat got choked and he fell ill afterward. But this was a light fit.
Few days after this, while going out to the mosque, he said he was not feeling well. Walida Sahiba said, “After some time Shaikh Hamid Ali (one of the sincere Ahmadi servants of Hazrat Sahib who now has died) knocked on the door and requested for a pail of warm water. I immediately understood that Hazrat Sahib would not be feeling well. I said to a servant lady to ask Hamid Ali about Mian Sahib. He said that he does not seem to be well. Observing purdah, I went to the mosque and saw Hazrat Sahib lying down on the floor. When I came close to him, he said, “My health had deteriorated too much but now I am stable. I was leading the prayer when I saw a black like thing rise from earth and go up to the sky. I screamed and fell down on the ground and became unconscious.””
Walida Sahiba states that after this Hazrat Sahib started having fits regularly. I asked what the strokes looked like. She said that his hands and feet would get cold and he would feel his muscles strained, particularly the muscles of his neck and head, his head would get dizzy and he could not stand up on his feet. In the beginning these strokes were very hard but then Hazrat Sahib got used to it.
Yours humbly inquired, “Did not he already have pain from headaches?” Walida Sahiba answered, “Before, they were ordinary headaches.” Yours humbly inquired then if Hazrat Sahib used to himself lead the prayers before. Walida Sahiba said, “Yes, but after the fits, he stopped.” Yours humbly submits that this was all before his messianic claim.
(19) In the name of God, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. Hazrat Walida Sahiba narrated to me that the Promised Messiah took his first Baiy’at in Ludhiana. On the first day, forty men performed the Baiy’at ceremony and when they came in the home then some women performed the Baiy’at as well. The first person to give his Baiy’at was Mawlavi Sahib (Hazrat Mawlavi Hakim Nooruddin Sahib). Yours humbly inquired, “When did you give Baiy’at?” Walida Sahiba responded, “It is well-known about me that I waited for some time and gave my Bai’yat after many years. It is wrong, I was never separated from him and was always with him. And from the beginning, he always considered me to be within his Baiy’at and did not deem it essential for me to perform an official Baiy’at.” Yours humbly submits that the Promised Messiah’s preliminary Baiy’at was not upon any messianic claim or claim of being a Mahdi, but rather it was plainly upon a regular Mujaddid type of way. Yours humbly inquired from Walida Sahiba if someone other than Mawlavi Sahib gave their Baiy’at on the first day and she responded by giving the names of Mian Abdullah Sahib Sanori and Shaikh Hamid Ali Sahib.
(20) In the name of God, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. Hazrat Walida Sahiba narrated to me that when the Promised Messiah was about to publish his messianic claim,he was in Qadian and wrote the preliminary writings there and then he went to Luddhiana to publish his claim. Walida Sahiba narrated to me that when Hazrat Sahib was about to publish his claim, he told me that this would create hostility from his opponents. Walida Sahiba states that after this announcement, some of the people that gave the preliminary Baiy’at were caused to slip.
(21) In the name of God, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. Hazrat Walida Sahiba narrated to me, “On one occasion, the Promised Messiah was at Mir Hamid Shah Sahib’s home in Sialkot and was sleeping. I heard a sentence flow from his tongue and I thought this was a revelation. Then he woke up and I asked him, “Did you receive a revelation?” He replied, “Yes, how did you know?” I said that I had overheard him.” Yours humbly submits that I asked how his situation was during revelation. Walida Sahiba stated, “His face would turn red and his forehead would perspire.” Yours humbly submits that on one occasion, the Promised Messiah was in his small courtyard (in Walida Sahiba’s current courtyard) and he used to sit on a wooden plank, most probably at the morning or evening time, he developed slumber and laid down. Then on his tongue we heard some noise but we could not understand it. He then woke up and then he stated that he had received a revelation but yours humbly cannot remember what the revelation was. Walida Sahiba stated that whenever Hazrat Sahib would receive a revelation, he would immediately wake up from his slumber and would write it down. First he would note it down on some regular book and then he had a bigger copy made. Finally, he made a small but thick notebook. Yours humbly asked Walida Sahiba where the notebook was. She stated, “It is with your big brother.” And yours humbly submits that even my maternal uncle, Mir Muhammad Isma’il Sahib used to say, “I have even seen the Promised Messiah receiving a revelation once.”
(22) In the name of God, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. Yours humbly submits that in the Promised Messiah’s last age, he would use a tilted nib to write and instead of letters would use white papers. It was his habit to fold both sides of the paper so that both sides remain white footnotes. He would write with black ink and would also use blue-black. He would also have a mud ink holder to prevent from the danger of falling. He kept his ink pot in a designated location and would dip his nib into it whenever he would walk by. Whenever he would write, he would read his writing and hum it out and the listener could not comprehend him. I have seen Mirza Sultan Ahmad Sahib read and his style was very similar to Hazrat Sahib. He had a strong writing but it would fail. Whoever was not used to reading this style, could not clearly comprehend the writing. He would also cut out something he already wrote and thus we would find many cut out parts in his writings. His writing was also very thin. Moreover, an example is provided:
“Other than that I am looking for girls for marriage for my sons. I require girls that are knowledgeable in religion, Arabic, Farsi and English. They should also have the intellectual capabilities to manage big houses. Also, besides everything, the wives should also possess these qualities. God can give these capabilities. Punjab’s noble homes have such a low standard of education that the poor girls are found to be like wild beasts.”
Yours humbly submits that this letter was written by the Promised Messiah in 1899 to Mirza Mahmood Beg Sahib of the city of Patti.
(23) In the name of God, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. Hazrat Walida Sahiba narrated to me, “When your older paternal uncle (Mirza Ghulam Qadir Sahib, older brother of Hazrat Sahib) died childless so his widow asked Hazrat Sahib if he could sign over the inheritance of property to Mirza Sultan Ahmad by way of adoption because it would be as if it is already going into the same home. Hazrat Sahib agreed to it for the happiness of your paternal uncle’s widow and gave all of your paternal uncle’s property to Mirza Sultan Ahmad.” I asked Walida Sahiba, “In what way did Hazrat Sahib agree to the adoption?” She replied, “How could adoption be done after your older paternal uncle died? It was just a verbal statement and Hazrat Sahib therefore, wrote all of the property of your paternal uncle under Mirza Sultan Ahmad’s name, without giving his own name, just to make your paternal uncle’s widow happy. Hazrat Sahib foresaw that Mirza Sultan Ahmad’s inheritance would be split with Mirza Fazal Ahmad so within his life he already split the inheritance.”
(24) In the name of God, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. Hazrat Walida Sahiba narrated to me, “When Mirza Fazal Ahmad died, I told Hazrat Sahib that only Fazal Ahmad would divide the inheritance of the land from among your children and now he has died.” Yours humbly submits that our paternal grandfather had two sons, one being Hazrat same, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad and his older brother, Mirza Ghulam Qadir. He named two villages in Qadian after his two sons, Qadirabad and Ahmedabad. For some reason, Ahmedabad slipped out of the hands of our family but only Qadirabad remained. Qadirabad was distributed among the children of Hazrat Sahib and a portion of it was inherited by Mirza Sultan Ahmad. Then after forty years of Ahmedabad being out of the family, finally came back to our family and now Ahmedabad is completely owned by us three brothers and Mirza Sultan Ahmad Sahib has no portion in it. Yours humbly submits that Qadirabad is situated towards the east of Qadian and Ahmedabad is located towards the west of Qadian.
(25) In the name of God, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. Doctor Mir Muhammad Isma’il Sahib (who is my real maternal uncle) narrated to me, “When the Promised Messiah had published his messianic claim in Ludhiana, I was a young boy, perhaps in the third grade and I was unaware of his claim. I went to the Madrasa one day and I was told by some boys that the Mirza Sahib from Qadian that is in your home has claimed that Hazrat Isa has died and that he is the messiah. I refuted them and said that this is not possible because Hazrat Isa is alive and will descend from the heavens. When I went home, Hazrat Mirza Sahib was sitting down and I told him, “I heard that you say that you are the messiah.” He went quietly to the cupboard and took out his recent book, ‘Fathe Islam’ and told me to read it.” Doctor Sahib said that this is a great argument for the truthfulness of the Promised Messiah because he showed so much seriousness to a small question of a child, whereas others say anything and change the topic.
(26) In the name of God, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. Qazi Ameer Hussain Sahib narrated to me, “I read in a Hadith that the Sahaba used to collect the hair of the Holy Prophet PBUH so I asked the Promised Messiah if I could collect his hair for blessings. Consequently, when he went for a haircut, he sent his hair to me.” Yours humbly submits that I too have some hairs of Hazrat Sahib in my possession.”
(27) In the name of God, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. Qazi Ameer Hussain Sahib narrates that on one occasion, I went to pray the Maghrib prayer and saw that Mawlavi Sahib (Khalifa Awwal) had gone out of Qadian and I saw the Promised Messiah leading the prayer. He read out very short Surahs of the Quran but people’s cries were coming out with pain and anguish. When he finished the prayer, I went up to meet him and he looked at me and said, “Qazi Sahib, I looked all over for you but could not find you. I have suffered a lot of pain from this prayer. Now you lead the Isha prayers!” Yours humbly submits that this must be from the early years.
(28) In the name of God, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. Mawlavi Sher Ali Sahib narrated to me that on one occasion, he and Mufti Muhammad Sadiq Sahib went with the Promised Messiah to Gurdaspur for a case against Karamdin and coincidentally the judicatory was empty. Hazrat Sahib was lying down and it seemed that he was asleep. He then put his head up and said that he had received a revelation and ordered to write it down. There was no ink pot or pencil to write so Mufti Sahib went to get coal from the kitchen and wrote down the revelation on paper. Then Hazrat Sahib was lying down and got up and said again that he received another revelation. This way a few revelations were written down. The revelation was, “Yas’aloonaka ‘an shaanuka, Qul Allah, Thumma dhar hum fi khoodhahum yal’aboon.” This means, “They will ask about your Shaan, say Allah. Then leave them in their shamelessness, playing around.” Later, during the court hearing, the lawyer asked Hazrat Sahib about his book, Tohfa Golarviya and said, “You have made extreme boasts in the book about your medical knowledge. Do you truly believe in this to be honorable? Hazrat Sahib said, “Yes it is the blessing of Allah” or he said something similar to attributing the success to Allah. Mawlavi Sahib says that Hazrat Sahib did not think about his revelation at that time but on his way back, he told Hazrat Sahib that his revelation was fulfilled at turn and Hazrat Sahib got really happy and said that this was very accurate. Mawlavi Sahib said that a few days later, Shaikh Yaqub Irfani Sahib told him that Hazrat Sahib really praised Mawlavi Sher Ali Sahib for this.
(29) In the name of God, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. Yours humbly submits that it was the habit of the Promised Messiah to listen carefully to the dreams of others and sometimes he would even take notes. Mirza Kamaluddin had extended his wall which had blocked the passage to the entrance of the mosque and given Ahmadis a lot of pain. This caused Hazrat Sahih to take this matter to court (this was the only time that he himself had filed a case against someone). I saw a dream in which that wall was taken down and I was walking over its broken portion. I narrated this to Hazrat Sahib and he listened very attentively and noted the dream down. At that time, I was a small child.
(30) In the name of God, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. Yours humbly submits that when the great earthquake of 1905 took place and Hazrat Sahib was in the garden, in those days the son of Mufti Muhammad Sadiq, Muhammad Manzoor, who was a young child in those days, saw a dream. In the dream several goats are being slaughtered. When Hazrat Sahib was informed of this, he had accordingly sacrificed many goats and many followed suit. In my estimation, over a hundred goats were slaughtered in the garden.
(31) In the name of God, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. Yours humbly submits that when the 1905 earthquake struck, we children were in part of Hazrat Sahib’s portion of the home that meets Nawab Sahib’s home. I was sleeping with the other children on the charpoys and when the earthquake struck, we were frightened and had no idea what was happening. When we got to the courtyard rocks and stones were raining down and when we ran towards the big home and the Promised Messiah was coming down from upstairs with Walida Sahiba. I immediately went and grabbed hold of Hazrat Sahib and noticed that he was extremely frightened. Hazrat Sahib wanted to go to the bigger courtyard but the children were in his way and were grabbing Walida Sahiba here and there. After a while with great difficulty, the children reached the bigger courtyard with Hazrat Sahib and Walida Sahiba. After a while, the shaking from the earthquake weakened and Hazrat Sahib took us to his garden. Friends reached the garden with their sticks and tents in hand. They set up tents and even some small weak homes were built. We stayed there for a long time and the Madrasa continued over there as well. Hence, the garden was made into a whole city! O God! O God! What a time it was!
(32) In the name of God, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. Qazi Ameer Hussain Sahib narrated to me that he would not believe in shortening prayers in Qasar due to being on journey unless it was due to war or danger and would often debate Khalifa Awal on this topic. Qazi Sahib states, “On one occasion, when the Promised Messiah went to Gurdarspur for the court hearing and I joined him and Mawlavi Sahib (Hazrat Khalifa Awal) was also there, the Promised Messiah Said, “Qazi Sahib, lead the prayer.” I intended to lead the prayer without shortening it and ending this debate once and for all, but then Hazrat Sahib stood at my left side and whispered into my ear saying, “Now it is two that you will read, no?” I submitted, “Yes I will read two.” At this time, the matter was resolved and I discarded my thinking.
(33) In the name of God, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. Qazi Ameer Hussaind Sahib narrated to me, “My son from the first wife died and the mother and the maternal grandmother both lamented in an extreme manner. I tried to make them cease from this behaviour but they did not comply. Hazrat Sahib witnessed this and after he finished the Janaza prayer of the boy, he stood for a very long time and kept on preaching. Then he said to me, “Qazi Sahib, convey my advice to your household.” I conveyed Hazrat Sahib’s advice and after this incident, two three more sons died, they did not lament again except for only shedding tears.”
(34) In the name of God, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. Mawlavi Sher Ali Sahib narrated to me that on one occasion, the Promised Messiah was travelling from Qadian to Gurdaspur and stayed in Batala, when a guest came to meet him. He came from a distant place in search of Hazrat Sahib and brought fruits for him as a gift. Among the fruits, there were grapes and Hazrat Sahib ate the grapes and said, “there are seeds in the grapes but they are not harmful for a cold.” Hazrat Sahib states, “I was really desiring grapes and then God sent it to me.” He said that on many occasions he desired something and Allah gave it to him. He stated, “On one occasion I was travelling and really desired sugarcane so we searched across the way but could not find it. Soon after we found someone with sugarcane. This way, we found sugarcane.”
(35) In the name of God, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. Hazrat Walida Sahiba narrated to me that once the Promised Messiah had an extreme fit and someone called Mirza Sultan Ahmad and Fazal Ahmad. Walida Sahiba states that both sons came and quietly sat on Hazrat Sahib’s charpoy and they witnessed him having a fit. Fazal Ahmad’s colour changed and he got so worried, running here and there, tying Hazrat Sahib’s legs up with his turban and massaging Hazrat Sahib’s legs and at times his hands would shake in anxiety.
(36) In the name of God, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. Hazrat Walida Sahiba narrated to me that when Muhammadi Begum’s marriage had taken place with someone else and all of Hazrat Sahib’s relatives in Qadian had vehemently opposed him, by giving Ahmad Beg, the father of of Muhammadi Begum, support by trying their best to get Muhammadi Begum married to someone else. At that time, Hazrat Sahib wrote a letter to Mirza Sultan Ahmad and Mirza Fazal Ahmad separately, in which he said, “All these people have vehemently opposed me. Now, we have no relations with them anymore and now our graves cannot be with theirs. Therefore, make your final decision then on if you want to maintain any relations with me then you must cut all relations with them and if you do not cut relations with them then you have no relations with me. In that case, I will cut relations with you and not give you any inheritance.” Walida Sahiba narrates that Mirza Sultan Ahmad’s response came, in which he said that his maternal uncle’s wife had bestowed great favours upon him so he could not cut relations with her. However, Mirza Fazal Ahmad wrote, “My relations are only with you; I have no relations with anyone else.” Hazrat Sahib then responded saying, “If this is the matter then divorce your wife, the daughter of Mirza Ali Sher (a vehement opponent and paternal niece of Mirza Ahmad Beg).” Mirza Fazal Ahmad immediately filed for divorce and left to travel to Hazrat Sahib. Walida Sahiba states, “Then Fazal Ahmad would come from outside and stay with us but his second wife’s evil finally caused him to slowly, slowly join there.” Walida Sahiba states that Fazal Ahmad was very shy and would not raise his eyes up in front of Hazrat Sahib. Hazrat Sahib used to say regarding him, “Fazal Ahmad is of a simple and straightforward nature and he has the potential of love but he was made to slip by others and it made him join with them over there.” Moreover, Walida Sahiba states that when the news of Fazal Ahmad’s death reached Hazrat Sahib, Hazrat Sahib did not sleep all night and remained depressed for two or three days. Yours humbly inquired, “Did Hazrat Sahib also utter something?” Walida Sahiba stated that he only said this much, “We had no relation with him but opponents will indeed take his death as a target for objections.” Yours humbly submits that Muhammadi Begum is the daughter of the Promised Messiah’s paternal cousin-sister, Umr un Nisa. This means that she is the real maternal niece of Mirza Nizam ud Deen, Mirza Imam ud Deen etc. Our older paternal uncle’s wife, widow of Mirza Ghulam Qadir Sahib is the blood maternal aunt of Muhammadi Begum and Mirza Ahmad Beg Hoshiarpuri, who was the father of Muhammadi Begum, was the brother in law of Imam ud Deen etc. Additionally, there were other family ties. For instance, the real sister of the Promised Messiah was married to the older brother of Ahmad Beg but he died young; this was a long time ago. All of these relatives of the Promised Messiah were of the lowest level of irreligious people and people of no religion. Also, they had nothing to do with Islam, rather, they would disrespect the Shariah. Hazrat Sahib turned his intention towards God so that the family may be shown some sign or reformed or another decision be made pertaining to them. Therefore, God said, “If they agree to your proposal in the system of marriage to Ahmad Beg’s daughter, Muhammadi Begum and have you married with her then these people will be given a portion of blessings. If they reject then the punishment of Allah will descend upon them and their home will be filled with widows.” Additionally, specially pertaining to the girl’s father, God said that he would die within three years and die soon and the other person who marries the girl would die within two and a half years. The sign was fulfilled pertaining to the above-mentioned individuals and the Promised Messiah’s books contain them in numerous places. This means that Ahmad Beg left this world according to the prophecy only a few months after his daughter’s Nikah. Also, Mirza Sultan Muhammad, who people had Muhammadi Begum married to was scared of God’s punishment and many of his relatives wrote letters to Hazrat Sahib in humility which came in. Moreover, Mirza Sultan Muhammad’s letter in which he expressed his good faith in Hazrat Sahib was published in Risalah Tash’heez ul Azhan. This is why it is according to the way of Allah that that punishment was averted. The effect of the general prophecy that pertains to the remaining relatives was that the home which was full of men at the time of the prophecy has now become empty. There is now only one child remaining among the men and he has become an Ahmadi. Other than him, Mirza Imam ud Deen’s daughter has also become an Ahmadi for some time. Then, Muhammadi Begum’s mother, widow of Mirza Ahmad Beg, and Mirza Ahmad Beg’s paternal grandson and our uncle’s widow, Muhammadi Begum’s maternal aunt have all entered into Baiy’at. Moreover, Muhammadi Begum’s sister has also become an Ahmadi but she has now died. Other than them, many other relatives have become Ahmadi and those who have not entered the community have ceased from opposing it. The Promised Messiah also had a revelation that some would enter in the way of Hasan and some would enter in the way of Hussain. Hencetherfore, this has been fulfilled in its glory.
(37) In the name of God, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. Yours humbly submits that on one occasion, the Promised Messiah was standing in his quarters close to the house of Mian Sharif Ahmad Sahib and Walida Sahiba was most likely there as well. I mentioned Nizam ud Deen’s name and the Promised Messiah said, “Mian, you should not say his name just like that. After all, he is your uncle.” Yours humbly submits that Mirza Imam ud Deen, Mirza Nizam ud Deen and Mirza Kamal ud Deen were all real paternal cousins of the Promised Messiah and the sons of his paternal uncle, Mirza Ghulam Muhyi ud Deen Sahib. Their sister was our older paternal uncle, Mirza Ghulam Qadir Sahib’s wife who came into his wedlock. Despite such a close relationship, they had such great animosity towards Hazrat Sahib and the foundation of it was due to religion. These people were very irreligious and worldly. So much so that the worst opponent, Imam ud Deen, would mock Islam. This is why we never met eye to eye and due to not having any relations with them, I said Nizam ud Deen’s name just plainly like that and Hazrat Sahib’s great superior morals could not even stand this.
(38) In the name of God, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. Hazrat Walida Sahiba narrated to me, “On one occasion, I heard that Mirza Imam ud Deen say, “the brothers (Bhi/ Bhai people referring to the Promised Messiah) have opened up shops and are benefiting greatly from it so we should also open up some shop.”” Walida Sahiba narrates that then he opened up a mystical order for the Chuhra peoples. Walida Sahiba narrates that Imam ud Deen was the original opponent and after his death, the others such as Mirza Nizam ud Deen were not opposing with the same fervour. Yours humbly submits that Mirza Imam ud Deen’s daughter was married to Mirza Sultan Ahmad and has become an Ahmadi since some time.
(39) In the name of God, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. Qazi Ameer Hussain narrated to me, “On one occasion, I had a quarrel with Khwajah Kamal ud Deen Sahib. Khwajah Sahib said to me, “Qazi Sahib, do you know how much Hazrat Sahib respects me?” I said, “Yes. I know that he respects you a lot but I will tell you something and that is that on one occasion, I came to Amtritsar to Qadian and Hazrat Sahib and Hazrat Sahib got the news of my arrival late.” Qazi Sahib used to say that until this time, we did not learn this discipline yet. When we had to meet Hazrat Sahib, we would convey to him that we are here and would call him from inside or Hazrat Sahib would himself hear and come outside. After we realized that a Rasul should not be called in this way. Anyways, I met Hudhoor and he called Shaikh Hamid Ali and said, “Bring tea for Qazi Sahib.” However, I felt very scared and felt that this treatment of hospitality was the way that the hypocrites and people of weak faith were treated and I did a lot of Istaghfar. I narrated this story to Khwajah Sahib and said that his respect from Hazrat Sahib should not be as such. Moreover, let me tell you that it is said about the Holy Prophet PBUH that he would specially treat guests with hospitality who were hypocrites or had weak faith. Hence, it is narrated in a Hadith that the Holy Prophet PBUH was once distributing wealth and he left out someone. Sa’d bin Abi Waqas said that he felt that that person was also a believer and was deserving of receiving the wealth so he told the Holy Prophet PBUH but he remained quiet. He then told him again but he remained quiet. When he said it the third time, the Holy Prophet PBUH said, “Sa’d, you argue with me! I swear upon God that sometimes I see someone more worthy of the wealth and he is dear to me but I give it to the other person less deserving because I do not want him to fall on his face, meaning that I do not want the burden of the heart so that he does not fall into trial.”” Qazi Sahib narrated that he who is in a state of content faith, does not need apparent respect. There is another treatment with him.
(40) In the name of God, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. Hazrat Walida Sahiba narrated to me that from the beginning, the Promised Messiah was sort of separated from Mirza Fazal Ahmad’s mother, who was more popularly known as “Pajjay di Maan”. The reason for this was for his family’s extreme disinterest in religion. She should meet with them so she was influenced by them. Hazrat Sahib stopped having sex with her but would cover her expenses but when he got married to me, he sent her a proposition, “What has happened between us is what it is. Now I have gotten married and I will be a sinner if I do not treat both wives equally so you have two options: You either divorce me or forfeit your rights that are incumbent upon me, only then I will pay your expenses.” She sent back the proposition saying, “I am an old woman, where will I go now with a divorce? I forfeit all my rights. Please pay my expenses.” Walida Sahiba states that it happened accordingly, until when Hazrat Sahib’s family opposed him and got Muhammadi Begum married to someone other than him and Fazal Ahmad’s mother did not cut relations with them and continued living with them, then Hazrat Sahib gave her a divorce. Yours humbly submits that when Hazrat Sahib gave the divorce, he published in his May 2, 1891 announcement, titled in red, “Announcement for the Help of Religion and the Cutting off of Relations with Relatives, the Enemies of Religion.” In this, he announced that if Mirza Sultan Ahmad and his mother will not be separated in the opposing efforts, then he would boycott Mirza Sultan Ahmad and he would be denied inheritance and his mother must assume this to be a divorce with her. Walida Sahiba used to say that Fazal Ahmad saved himself from being boycotted by Hazrat Sahib. Moreover, Walida Sahib said, “Sultan Ahmad’s mother was sick and I had permission to see her from Hazrat Sahib so I went to see her and when I came back, I told him about her health. He did not respond so I told him again. “He said, take these two tablets to her but do not say my name in front of the world.” This way, I sometimes met her if ever needed with Hazrat Sahib’s hints without saying his name.”
(41) In the name of God, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. Shaikh Abdur Rahman Misri narrated to me that on one occasion, after completing the Zuhr prayer, the Promised Messiah sat down in the mosque. In those days, he had written pertaining to Sa’dullah Ludhianvi that he and his son would remain heirless. The answer came that his son is impotent, therefore he will not have future children (Yours humbly submits that Sa’dullah was very rude and would utter very harsh things about Hazrat Sahib). While the publishing had not been made, Mawlavi Muhammad Ali was concerned and asked Hazrat Sahib what to do if the child goes to court, then what proof could be given about him being impotent. At first, Hazrat Sahib gave a soft answer but when Mawlavi Muhammad Ali Sahib was not satisfied by the answer and kept asking, Hazrat Sahib’s face turned red and he said, “When a prophet puts on his armor then he does not take it off.”
(42) In the name of God, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. Hazrat Walida Sahiba narrated to me that the Promised Messiah used to say, “Our father went out of town to study in his earlier days and maybe this was pertaining to Delhi. He stayed in the mosque because extra accommodation was not available. Starvation had passed by for a long time and someone thought that our father was a student so he gave him a Chapati bread which was old, dry and extremely hard. He had not eaten it yet when another person from Qadian who was also in a state of hunger said, “Mirza ji, saada dihan rakhna”, meaning Mirza Sahib, also think of us.” Hazrat Sahib used to say that his father threw the Chapati bread towards the individual and his nose started bleeding. Walida said that the companion of Hazrat Sahib was a Moghal from Qadian but Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Sani narrates that he heard from Hazrat Sahib that he was a hairdresser or Marasi. Moreover, Hazrat Sahib would narrate as a joke that these people would think about laughing even in such a state.
(43) In the name of God, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. Hazrat Walida Sahiba narrated to me, “Your grandfather used to have a lot of court cases in the beginning for his land and preservation of property. During his work in Kashmir, he made about one hundred thousand rupees (one lakh) and he spent it all on court cases. Walida Sahiba states that Hazrat Sahib used to say that with that money in that time, one could purchase one hundred times more of property. Yours humbly submits that Dada Sahib used to think that unless something happens, he should not lose Qadian and his right to own his ancestral lands and we heard that he used to say that the ownership of Qadian is greater than having governance. Moreover, yours humbly submits that our elders inhabited Qadian and came into India in the end of the Babari kingdom. They owned or governed over Qadian and many miles around it. Then in the Sikh kingdom of Ramgarhi, they lost a lot of land and there was a great disaster. In the rule of Raja Ranjeet Singh, they got back some of their land but then in the beginning of the English rule, many rights were seized. Also, after many court cases, Dada Sahib was able to get the right of ownership back for Qadian, the two villages contained within it and it was made to be accepted. This ownership is still in the family. However, there were court cases in between the family and in the time of our older paternal uncle, the family of Mirza A’zam Beg Lahori was able to win a great portion of his lands. After thirty five years, the ownership has come back to the family by the grace of God. Walida Sahiba used to say, “In your older paternal uncle’s time when a large portion of Qadian’s property went to Mirza A’zam Beg, your older paternal uncle got sick from the shock and he died due to the sickness nearly two years later. However, even though the degree went against him, he did not give over the land to the opposing party. Yours humbly submits that this is the same court case and degree, which the Promised Messiah mentioned in his books about, in which he stopped his brother from challenging and to accept the rights because he was told by God that the court decision would be against us but Hazrat Sahib said that he refused and did not accept. THen when the degree happened and the news came, at that time, Hazrat Sahib was in his compartment and our older paternal came out shivering while holding the degree in his hand, he walked by Hazrat Sahib and said, “Leh Ghulam Ahmad, Jo tu kehnda si o huai ho gaya ay”, meaning, here Ghulam Ahmad, what you used to say, exactly happened and then he went unconscious. Walida Sahiba used to say that then after our older paternal uncle’s death, Hazrat Sahib summoned Mirza Sultan Ahmad Sahib and said, “Give the land over.” Accordingly, Mirza Sultan Ahmad Sahib gave over the land according to the degree and he sold a small part of the portion for a small price and paid off the price of the rupees.
(44) In the name of God, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. Yours humbly submits that the Promised Messiah’s father, Mirza Ghulam Murtaza Sahib passed away in the month of June, 1974 or as Hazrat Sahib stated in one of his writings that he passed away on August 20, 1875. And his brother, Mirza Ghulam Qadir Sahib, passed away in 1883. When grandfather died, he was over the age of 80 and our paternal uncle’s age was give or take, 55 years old. There is a difference of opinion in the birthdate of the Promised Messiah. It is contradicting within his own writings. In reality, in the rule of the Sikhs, birthdates did not have any records, nor did anyone know of them. The Promised Messiah has said in some writings that his birthdate was in 1839 or 1840 and he rejected that in other writings. In reality, he has labeled his estimations of his age as uncertain. See Baraheen e Ahmadiyya Vol. 5, page 193.
(45) In the name of God, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. Hazrat Walida Sahiba narrated to me that the Promised Messiah had five siblings. The oldest was his sister, who was married to Mirza Muhammad Beg Hoshiarpuri and she was a Sahib e Ru’ya and Sahib e Kashaf. Her name was Murad Bibi. After her was his brother, Mirza Ghulam Qadir Sahib. After that was his twin sister, Jannat Bibi, who died early. Pertaining to the older sister, Walida Sahiba used to narrate that Hazrat Sahiba used to say that she saw a dream in which a Buzurg gave her a Ta’weez and when she woke up, she had a rock in her hand with Surah Maryam inscribed on it.
(46) In the name of God, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. Yours humbly submits that the Promised Messiah used to have revelations very early on but the revelation in which God almighty commanded him to reform mankind was commissioned in March 1882, while he was writings Baraheen e Ahmadiyya Vol. 3 (See Baraheen e Ahmadiyya Vol. 3, page 239) but he was not commanded to start the Silsila of Baiy’at yet. Subsequently, when the divine command descended, he announced the Baiy’at in December 1888 by way of advertisements, inviting people and in 1889, he started taking the Baiy’at. However, until this time his claim was only that of being a Mujaddid or a Ma’mur. Also, the claim of Ma’muriyat had clear signs of him being the Promised Messiah in his revelations but it was the decree of God that he did not claim to be the Promised Messiah for a long time and just said that I am raised in a similar light to the Nazarene Messiah. After this in 1891, he announced the doctrine of the death of the Nazarne Messiah and that he had fulfilled the prophecy of being the messiah in this ummah. The origin of the regular systematic opposition of his started after this claim of his. In the preliminary stage, he would receive revelations of his being a Nabi and a Rasul but he was very cautious until the turn of the twentieth century, when he started openly using those terms. And his special claim of being the like of Krishna was a very late claim that was published in 1908. This was all under the influence of God and he had no involvement in it. The Holy Prophet PBUH’s life shows a similar uprising and had wisdoms in it which there is no time here to explain.
(47) In the name of God, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. Yours humbly submits that our grandfather’s grandfather, Mirza Gul Muhammad Sahib was a very pious, God fearing and knowledgeable person. In his time, Qadian was the headquarters for scholars. However, in his time, Sikhs started attacking our lands and were able to take some villages but he was able to preserve some land. He died around 1800 and after him, Mirza Ata Muhammad Sahib took over the family’s governance. In his time, the Ramgarhi Sikhs took over the whole governance and he had to confine himself to the fortress of Qadian which existed in those days. Afterall, the Sikhs conquered the city by way of deception and Mirza Ata Muhammad Sahib had to evacuate Qadian with his family. Subsequently, Mirza Ata Muhammad Sahib went to the governorship of Begowal, situated within Kapurthala, where the Sikhs ruler showed him great respect. Some years later, the enemies of Mirza Ata Muhammad had him killed via poison. Our grandfather was young at that time but he still took his father’s funeral to Qadian and had him buried there so that he may be buried in his ancestral graveyard. At that time, the Sikhs objected but the Kamin people specially supported our grandfather so the Sikhs were in fear of rebellion and forced the Sikhs to give permission. After this, grandfather came back. At this time, the Sikhs had conquered all of our lands and homes and even some mosques were turned into their religious temples. Then in Raja Ranjeet Singh’s rule, the Ramgarhi’s strength broke and the whole dominion came under Raja Ranjeet Singh. Grandfather was able to retain some land under Raja Ranjeet Singh and returned to Qadian and he and his brother, Mirza Ghulam Muhyi ud Deen fought Jihad and served in many army services under Raja Ranjeet Singh. All of these things can be found in the book, ‘Punjab Chiefs’ written by Sir Lepel Griffin. At the end of the Sikh rule, treachery spread and our family had to face hardships again. For instance, our grandfather and his brother, Mirza Ghulam Muhyi ud Deen were imprisoned, approximately during the same time, in their Basrawan castle. Then the English rule started and they confiscated our lands and only gave grandfather an annual 700 rupee pension in the form of cash, which was only 170 at the time of his death or it had completely seized in the time of our older paternal uncle. Other than this, due to the rise of treachery at the end of the Sikh rule and change of empires, there were many disputes over our lands and ownership rights and we lost some villages. Our grandfather was able to secure only Qadian and a few villages back after striving very hard. We have heard that grandfather used to try to gather up his relatives to fight for their land but they were not interested and would tell him to fight himself and take anything that he is able to win. When he was able to gain some ownership rights, in his simplicity of choice, he wrote down everyone’s name. Although, it was actually him occupying the land and given a little bit of land calculated to the others. Our family tree close to 1865 has been listed as such:
(48) In the name of God, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. Hazrat Walida Sahiba narrated to me, “On one occasion, in his youth, the Promised Messiah went to collect your paternal grandfather’s pension and Mirza Imam ud Deen tagged along. When he collected the pension, Imam ud Deen caused him to slip by way of deception and took him here and there instead of Qadian and when all the rupees were finished then Imam ud Deen left him and went somewhere else. The Promised Messiah was embarrassed to come home so he went to work in the office of the Deputy Commissioner in Sialkot, as was always his father’s wish for him to have a job.
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Footnotes
1—The first edition made a mistake of not counting the sixth reference separately, so we have distinguished the two in this manner in order to stay in tune with the original numbering of the first edition.
2— This question seems to be completely out of place because there was nothing supernatural that was said by the mother for the son to ask about the season. If she wanted to say that it was miraculous because it was out of season then she would have herself mentioned it. This seems to be an addition added to the text on the influence of the supreme leader of the Ahmadiyya community at the time, who added in his own part of the story.
3— The founder of the Ahmadiyya community wrote ‘the Will’ and in it he gave instructions on how the body named, “Anjuman” would be his heir after he dies. Coincidentally, the Lahori Ahmadis call themselves, “The Anjuman e Ahmadiyya, Ishaat e Islam Lahore”, however the Qadiani Ahmadis like to derogatorily call them just “Lahoris” and do not want to accept them as “Ahmadis”. Ironically, when Qadiani Ahmadis are called, “Qadianis” because of the different sects within Ahmadiyya, they take it to be a derogatory name.
4— This seems to be a clearly fabricated account that was influenced by the polemics of the time between the second Khalifa of the mainstream Qadiani Ahmadi community and the head of the Lahori Ahmadi community, Mawlavi Muhammad Ali. It seems to attempt to portray Muhammadi Ali in a hypocritical light. It seems very far-fetched that the founder would be writing ‘the Will’ and be planning to announce his son Mahmood as his heir but the book would be empty of it and no such reference would be found within his lifetime. It is also strange that when the second Khalifa of mainstream Qadiani Ahmadiyya is celebrated as the “Promised Son” or “Promised Reformer”, this reference has never been propagated.
5— It means that they lost their faith in the founder of the Ahmadiyya movement and left him.
6— Glory in Arabic and Urdu.
7—The shortening of the islamic daily prayer in which four raka’at are shortened to two.
8—Someone else, other than the founder of the Ahmadiyya community.
9—The opponents of the Ahmadiyya community had published a letter from Mirza Sultan Muhammad on the contrary, which (Paigham e Hidayat pp. 258-275) Said Muhammad Beg says that the Ahmadi community tried to convert Sultan and Muhammadi but could not
ahlus sunnah wal jama’ah sultan
and four sons of Muhammadi Begum mother believes prophet is last prophet and funeral read by Shaykh ul Hind
Ahl e Hadith Amritsar March 14, 1924 never a follower of MGA, when announced death, neither believed or scared, always a follower of elders in Islam
The Ahmadiyya community had been editing out references that they deemed embarrassing, however they still proudly boast of its founder’s erotic dreams about Muhammadi Begum after she was married off in the current edition of the Tadhkirah (Tadhkirah, page 258-261, online English edition). This is why on an objective note, it seems highly unlikely for the husband of Muhammadi Begum to see the man hoping to marry his wife as a saint.
10—“Jo” in Urdu translates the sentence to mean that this was a general prophecy, however the newer edition edited this word out so that another prophecy cannot be assumed. The new edition seems to want to edit the sentence in order to portray only two prophecies, namely the special prophecy for the husband and father, then the general prophecy. Without the editing, one may consider that there are other prophecies, which there are. Perhaps the new edition wants to hide the other prophecies. The “Virgin and the Widow” (Taryaq-ul-Quloob, Ruhani Khazain, Vol. 15, 1902, p. 201) is another famous prophecy that the founder of the Ahmadiyya community which he kept expecting to be fulfilled until nearly the end of his life, where he expected Mirza Sultan Muhammad to die and for Muhammadi Begum to eventually give the founder his “Promised” progeny according to Ahadith. (Zamima Anjam e Atham, Ruhani Khazain, Vol. 12, 1897, p. 337)
11— It is indeed a strange moral being mentioned here because the author himself does not adhere to the guidance and keeps calling the same individuals in a similar way. He adds “Sahib” for all the people that he has affinity for but not for those uncles of his in this narration for whom he was advised to show respect to by not saying the name plainly.
12—-“Piri Silsila” refers to a Sufi order which the Ahmadiyya community started off as and “Chuhra” is seen as a low caste in South Asia.
13—Mother of Pajjay (Fazal Ahmad) in Punjabi.
14—Keep in mind that the founder of the Ahmadiyya community asked his first wife to forfeit her rights if she wanted payments from him so she had nowhere to stay if not with her own relatives. He did not give her any other option.
15—Apparently, that the founder of the Ahmadiyya community found helping Muhammadi Begum get married to someone else other than him as his third wife was opposing religion and to even associate with such people was deserving of his boycott. It seems that his son and his first wife both helped their young relative, Muhammadi Begum get married to someone other than him, which was of course, a great opposition towards religion in his opinion.
16—This seems to be doctored or written in influence of the polemity between the leader of the Lahori Ahmadis, Mawlavi Muhammad Ali who disbelieved in the actual prophethood of the founder of the community, whereas the mainstream Qadiani Ahmadis had been arguing for the full fledged prophethood. This may be just another reference put in the name of the leader of the Lahori sect of Ahmadiyya, fabricated for polemical reasons.
17—Seen as a low caste in the Indian subcontinent.
18—Paternal grandfather.
19— This is not accurate. The overwhelming majority of the references from the founder of the Ahmadiyya community have his birth date corresponding to 1839 if not later.
20— This is not accurate. There are no writings found of the founder of the Ahmadiyya community denying his birthdate of 1839 or 1840.
21—In the latest edition of Seerat al Mahdi, a sentence has been added, which states that the accurate date of birth is 1836.
22—A seer of dreams.
23—A seer of visions.
24—- A saintly old man.
25—A sort of talisman, usually given by a “spiritual doctor” of some sort which usually has a Quranic inscription written in it. This is quite common in the Indo-Pak subcontinent, predominantly found in the village sufi culture.
26—Seen as a low caste in the Indian subcontinent. Ironically, the author has tried to belittle his opponents in other places of this book due to affiliation with a lower caste.
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