Life of Ahmad
as
–
FOUNDER OF THE AHMADIYYA MOVEMENT
E
ARLY LIFE, EDUCATION & CHARACTER:
The Promised Messiah, founder of the Ahmadiyya Community, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, was born on Friday the 13th February, 1835 in Qadian, India. Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) was born in an age of darkness when little thought was given to learning. In fact, there were no schools or colleges in India at the time of his birth. Education in Muslim households consisted of learning the Holy Quran and, at best, learning to read Urdu and Persian. At the age of 6 or 7, around 1841, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) learnt to read the Arabic text of the Holy Quran and studied basic Arabic grammar as well as the Persian language from a private tutor. Then, at the age of about 10 another tutor was appointed. Again at the age of 17 or 18, he was taught from yet another teacher who taught him further Arabic and something of logic and philosophy. In addition, he also studied some works on medicine from his father (Mirza Ghulam Murtaza) who was a physician. As time went by, the Promised Messiah (as) became very fond of reading religious books, so much so that he paid little
attention to anything else. He (as) was interested in a different life; in which there was extreme attraction towards God. This worried his father because he was desirous that Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) lay aside the books and take interest in his affairs. He was also very concerned that the Promised Messiah (as) would be nearly penniless after his death. So, his father secured for him a job as a court clerk in the civil administration of the district of Sialkot, some 150 miles away from Qadian. It changed the location, but not the tenor of his life. He rented a simple room and returned there almost immediately after his work was done. There he locked the door and it was only opened to his landlord who took up his evening meal. He also had the use of a small courtyard where he could pray without being disturbed. Naturally there was curiosity about how he spent his time and some neighbours managed to peep in when the door was opened only to discover that he was praying or reading the Holy Quran or sometimes he had thrown himself into the Sajdah, a position of extreme supplication, where he stayed for long periods. From 1864 to 1868, upon his father’s wishes, the Promised Messiah (as) worked as a clerk in Sialkot, where he would come into contact with Christian missionaries