FAZL-E-UMAR The Life of Hadhrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad Khalifatul Masih II [ra] First published in the UK in 2012 by Islam International Publications Copyright © Majlis Khuddamul Ahmadiyya UK 2012 This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition, including this condition, being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. For legal purposes the Copyright Acknowledgements constitute a continuation of this copyright page. ISBN: 978-0-85525-995-2 Designed and distributed by Majlis Khuddamul Ahmadiyya UK Author: Mujeebur Rahman Printed and bound by Polestar UK Print Limited CONTENTS Letter from Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad [atba] 1 Foreword 3 Comments by Sadr Majlis Khuddamul Ahmadiyya UK 5 Acknowledgements 6 Introduction 9 PART 1 15 Early childhood and parental training 17 Education 41 Public speaking and writing 55 Childhood interests, games and pastimes 63 Circle of contacts 75 Belief in the truth of his father and its consequences 80 Ever–growing faith in the Promised Messiah [as] 88 The death and burial of the Promised Messiah [as] 90 Historic pledge of Hadhrat Sahibzada Mirza Mahmud Ahmad 98 PART 2 103 Establishment of Khilafat in the Ahmadiyya Movement 105 Efforts to support and strengthen the institution of Khilafat 110 PART 3 143 Khilafat of Hadhrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad [ra] 144 Independence of India 153 The Shuddhi Movement 166 Trip to Europe 168 Holy Prophet’s [saw] Day and Religious Founders Day 177 ii The Kashmir issue 180 Tehrike Jadeed (the New Scheme) 208 Family Life 211 Children of Hadhrat Musleh Mau’ood [ra] 224 Consolidation of the Movement 226 The Promised Son 237 Ta’limul Islam high school 242 Partition 246 Rabwah 253 Qadian after partition 259 Hadhrat Musleh Mau’ood’s [ra] services for the Holy Qur’an 263 Efforts of Hadhrat Musleh Mau’ood [ra] to promote education 295 The forward march of Ahmadiyyat 313 Hadhrat Musleh Mau’ood [ra] and the system of Wasiyyat 316 The state of Jammu and Kashmir 322 The disturbances of 1953 329 Attempt on the life of Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih II [ra] 332 Trip to Europe for medical treatment 335 The Fazle Umar 338 The Electoral College 339 Waqfe Jadeed (The New Dedication) 340 The Auxiliary Organisations 345 Writings of Hadhrat Musleh Mau’ood [ra] 351 Services and contributions in the international arena 359 Illness and demise 380 Endnotes 386 Glossary of Important Terms 393 iii iv LETTER FROM HADHRAT MIRZA MASROOR AHMAD [atba] 1 Fazle Umar FOREWORD This book is the biography of Hadhrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad [ra], the Promised Son of the Promised Messiah and Mahdi [as]; the manifest Sign of Allah, the Almighty; the Word of God whose advent was prophesied by the Holy Prophet Muhammad [saw] and the Promised Messiah [as] as well as the past Prophets; a star in the spiritual firmament for the like of which the world had to wait for hundreds of years to appear; the man of God, crowned with a spiritual halo from which radiated such scintillating rays of light as would instil spiritual life into his followers and captivate and enthral those who were not fortunate to follow him; an orator of such phenomenal quality that his speeches would make his audience stay put for hours on end, come rain or shine, deep into the late hours of the evenings while words flowed from his tongue like honey dripping into their ears to reach the depths of their souls to fill them with knowledge and invigorate their faith; the ocean of Divine and secular knowledge; the Voice Articulate of the age; without doubt the greatest genius of the 20th century; a man of phenomenal intelligence and memory; an epitome of the qualities of leadership; the one whose versatility cannot be compre- hended – Hadhrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad [ra] (1889–1965), Musleh Mau’ood (the Promised Reformer) was the eldest son and the second successor of the Promised Messiah [as]. He took charge of the Movement at the young age of 25 when the Movement was still in its infancy and nourished it to its maturity for more than 50 years with his spiritual guidance, prayers, tears, toil and blood. Not only did he fortify the foundations of the Community laid down by the Promised Messiah [as], but expanded the structure of the Movement by initiating various schemes, organisations, and programs taking his inspiration from the Promised Messiah [as] and under Divine guidance1. 3 Fazle Umar COMMENTS BY SADR MAJLIS KHUDDAMUL AHMADIYYA UK This wonderful book has finally come to completion from its inception in 2007 under the guidance of Mirza Fakhar Ahmad sahib, then steered through the following two years by Tommy Kallon sahib and now with Allah’s Grace and Bounty it is ready for presentation to a very eager audience. The life and times of our beloved Hadhrat Musleh Mau’ood, a life spanning seventy-six years, fifty-two of which were under the divine blessing of Khilafat, can only be a joy to read and appreciate. This great man who pioneered the great institution that is Majlis Khuddamul Ahmadiyya fulfilled every single iota of the Grand Prophecy which foretold his coming and although it is virtually impossible to present a biogra- phy that can truly measure up to Hadhrat Musleh Mau’ood, it has been through their sheer love for Allah and His Khalifa that the Khuddam involved in this book have endeavoured to do so. My thanks go to Mujeebur Rahman sahib, Daud Khan sahib, Aziz Hafiz sahib, Muzaffar Bhatti sahib and Irfan Chaudhry sahib for their sincere efforts in completing this publication. Hadhrat Musleh Mau’ood once declared “A nation cannot be reformed without first reforming its youth”. With this profound statement, one that reflects appropri- ately in today’s society, I hope that the youth reading this great account are inspired to such a degree so as to bring about a positive change in their own lives as well as in the community around them [insh]. Fahim Anwer Sadr Majlis Khuddamul Ahmadiyya UK January 2012 5 Fazle Umar AckNOWLEDGEMENTS All praise to God Almighty whose boundless mercy and miraculous help has enabled me to complete this project, started in February 2007 at the behest of Mirza Fakhar Ahmad sahib, Sadr Majlis Khuddamul Ahmadiyya UK. I chose to undertake this task though not without any misgivings about my own lack of ability as well as the shortage of time in which to complete this monumental task. I extend my gratitude to Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih V [atba]. Despite mul- tifarious responsibilities and continuous preoccupation with problems of a baffling variety, Huzur sacrificed his precious moments to read the manuscript. This project would never have seen the light of day without Huzur’s prayers and guidance. I am indebted to Mirza Fakhar Ahmad sahib, then Sadr Majlis Khuddamul Ahmadiyya UK, who oversaw the lion’s share of this project for his full support, guidance and most importantly his encouragement despite a very busy workload. I am also indebted to the subsequent Sadr Tommy Kallon sahib and the current Sadr Majlis Khuddamul Ahmadiyya UK, Fahim Anwer sahib for ensuring the project did not lose momentum. Furthermore, I am grateful to Mohammad Sadiq Nasir sahib, Head of the Khilafat Library, Rabwah, Pakistan for combing the shelves of this great institution and going out of his way to provide invaluable material for this work. The purpose of this book is to provide a glimpse into the life of Hadhrat Musleh Mau’ood [ra]. Many sources have been quoted verbatim throughout the major part of this work however speech marks have not always been used. Part One is mostly drawn from Swaneh Fazle Umar, a detailed biography of Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih II [ra] compiled by various authors written in the Urdu language. I am indebted particularly to my dear friend, the late Khaleelur Rahman Mullick sahib of Reading, UK, for not only helping with the translation of some par- 6 Fazle Umar ticularly difficult parts but editing my translation, dotting the ‘I’s and crossing the ‘T’s. Part Two has relied on various sources that are referenced throughout. Part Threeis again largely taken from Swaneh Fazle Umar unless otherwise specified in the text. One cannot extend enough gratitude to the early scholars of the Movement that have left us with a great treasure trove of knowledge and made this task possible. The chapter dealing with Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih II’s services for the Holy Qur’an is based on a speech delivered on this subject in Urdu by Hadhrat Sahibzada Mirza Tahir Ahmad [rh] during the 1974 Annual Gathering in Pakistan. I am grateful to Syed Tanwir Mujtaba sahib of the Tasnif Dept., Rabwah, Pakistan for his helpful suggestions which greatly increased the scope of the book. The following helped me in various ways: Arif Khan sahib, Sheikh Basharat Ahmad sahib and Tariq M Choudhry sahib. I thank them for extending a helpful hand to make this publication possible. Thanks must also be extended to Dr Aziz Hafiz sahib, Farooq Aftab sahib, Yusuf Aftab sahib, Lord Tariq Ahmad BT sahib, Faez Ahmad sahib, Tayyib Hayat sahib, Salim Ullah Kahlon sahib , Qudsi Rasheed sahib and particularly to Daud Khan sahib for not only proof reading but also giving ideas that have added value to this text. In addition one cannot forget Irfan Chaudhry sahib for completing the design layout of the book and patiently working with many iterations we had to go through before having it ready for print.