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Hakeem Noor-ud-Din | |
|---|---|
حکیم نور الدین | |
 Hakeem Noor-ud-Din circa 1878 | |
| In office 27 May 1908 – 13 March 1914 | |
| Succeeded by | Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad |
| Title | Caliph of the Messiah Amir al-Mu'minin |
| Personal life | |
| Born | (1841-01-08)8 January 1841 |
| Died | 13 March 1914(1914-03-13) (aged 73) |
| Resting place | Bahishti Maqbara, Qadian, India |
| Spouse |
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| Children | 7 |
| Parents |
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| Signature |  |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Ahmadiya |
| Part ofa series on Ahmadiyya |
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Distinct views |
Days of remembrance |
Miscellaneous |
Hakeem Noor-ud-Din (also spelledHakim Nur-ud-Din;حکیم نور الدین; 8 January 1834 – 13 March 1914)[2] was a close companion ofMirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of theAhmadiyya Movement, and his first successor andfirst Ahmadiyya caliph since 27 May 1908.
Royal Physician to theMaharaja ofJammu and Kashmir for many years, his extensive travels included a long stay in the cities ofMecca andMedina in pursuit of religious learning. Noor-ud-Din was the first person to givebay'ah (pledge of allegiance) to Ghulam Ahmad in 1889 and remained his closest associate and confidant, leaving his home inBhera and setting up permanent residence atQadian in 1892.[3] He assisted Ghulam Ahmad throughout his religious vocation, himself authored several volumes of rebuttals to criticisms raised by Christian and Hindu polemicists against Islam and was instrumental in arranging some of the public debates between Ghulam Ahmad and his adversaries.[4] After Ghulam Ahmad's death, he was unanimously chosen as his successor. Under Noor-ud-Din's leadership, the Ahmadiyya movement began to organise missionary activity with small groups of Ahmadis emerging insouthern India,Bengal andAfghanistan, thefirst Islamic mission in England was established in 1913,[5] and work began on the Englishtranslation of the Quran.[6] His lectures onQuranic exegesis andHadith were one of the main attractions for visitors to Qadian after Ghulam Ahmad.[citation needed] Many prominent scholars and leaders were his students, includingMuhammad Ali andSher Ali, who were themselves Quranic commentators andMirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmud who succeeded him as the caliph.
Hakeem Noor-ud-Din was the youngest of seven brothers and two sisters and the 34th direct lineal male descent ofUmar Ibn al-Khattab, the secondcaliph of Islam.[7][non-primary source needed] The forebears of Maulana Noor-ud-Deen, on migration fromMedina settled down inBalkh and became rulers ofKabul andGhazni. During the attack ofGenghis Khan, his ancestors migrated fromKabul and first settled nearMultan and then finally atBhera. Among his forefathers were a number of individuals who taughtIslam and claimed a proud privilege of heading a chain of descendants who had memorized theQur'an; His earlier eleven generations shared this distinction. Among the ancestors of Maulana Noor-ud-Deen, there weresaints andscholars of high repute.Sultans,Sufiis,Qazis andmartyrs were all among hisancestors who once enjoyed an important place in theMuslim World. InBhera (his birthplace), hisfamily was accorded a high degree of respect from the beginning.[8]
Noor-ud-Din considered his mother, Noor Bakht, to be his first teacher. He used to say that he was fed the love of theQuran through his mother's milk. He went to a local school for his early education. His father Hafiz Ghulam Rasul, a devoted Muslim and parent placed great emphasis on his children's education. Noor-ud-Din spokePunjabi as his mother tongue, but after hearing a soldier speakingUrdu, he fell in love with the language and learnt it by reading Urdu literature. His eldest brother, Sultan Ahmad, was a learned person who owned a printing press inLahore. Once when Noor-ud-Din was 12 years old, he accompanied his brother to Lahore, where he fell ill and was successfully treated by Hakeem Ghulam Dastgir of Said Mitha. Impressed by his manner and his renown, Noor-ud-Din became eager to studymedicine; but his brother persuaded him to studyPersian and arranged for him to be taught by a famous Persian teacher, Munshi Muhammad Qasim Kashmiri.
Noor-ud-Din learnt Persian at Lahore, where he stayed for two years. His brother then taught him basicArabic. In 1857, a traveling bookseller came toBhera fromCalcutta. He urged Noor-ud-Din to learn the translation of theQuran and presented him with a printed copy of five of the principal chapters of the Book together with theirUrdu translation. Shortly after, a merchant fromBombay urged him to read two Urdu books,Taqviatul Iman andMashariqul Anwar, which were commentaries (Tafsir) on theQuran. A few years later, he returned to Lahore and started studying medicine with the renowned Hakeem Allah Deen of Gumti Bazaar. This turned out to be a short stay and the study was postponed.[9][page needed] Noor-ud-Din was then sent to study at a School inRawalpindi where he graduated with aDiploma at the age of 21 and thereafter, due to his academic abilities, was appointed theheadmaster to a school inPind Dadan Khan at the young age of 21. Noor-ud-Din first came into contact with Christian missionaries while he was in Rawalpindi.[10]
Noor-ud-Din travelled extensively throughout India for next 4–5 years and went toRampur,Muradabad,Lucknow andBhopal to learn Arabic with the renowned teachers of that time. He learntMishkat al-Masabih from Syed Hasan Shah,Fiqh (Jurisprudence) from Azizullah Afghani,Islamic Philosophy from Maulvi Irshad Hussain Mujaddadi,Arabic Poetry from Saadullah Uryall, andLogic from Maulvi Abdul Ali and Mullah Hassan.
In Lucknow, Noor-ud-Din went in the hope of learningEastern medicine from the renowned Hakeem Ali Hussain Lucknowi. The Hakeem had taken a vow of not teaching anyone. It is narrated by biographers that he went to his house for an interview and the discussion between them impressed the Hakeem so much that he eventually agreed to take Noor-ud-Din as his disciple.
The next city he visited was Bhopal, where he practiced medicine and was introduced to theNawab of Bhopal during this time.
In 1865, at the age of thirty-one, he traveled to the cities ofMecca andMedina. He stayed there for many years to acquire religious knowledge. He learntHadith from famous Sheikh Hasan Khizraji and Maulvi Rahmatullah Kiraynalwi. He gave 'bay'ah' (pledge of allegiance) to Shah Abdul Ghani, the Grandson ofShah Waliullah Muhaddith Dehlawi.
On his way back to his hometown, Noor-ud-Din stayed in Delhi for a few days. Here, he had the opportunity to attend a session of lessons by the leader and founder of theDeoband Seminary,Qasim Nanotawi and had a very good impression of him.[11]
In 1871 he returned toBhera, his home town, and started a religious school where he taught theQuran and the Hadith. He also started practice in theEastern medicine. In a short time he became well known for his healing skills and his fame came to the notice of theMaharaja ofKashmir, who appointed him in his court physician in 1876.
In 1876 he was employed as the royal physician to MaharajaRanbir Singh the ruler ofJammu and Kashmir. There are detailed accounts of his tenure as the court physician. All the schools hospitals of the state were placed under him. Initially he worked under the Chief PhysicianAgha (Hakim) Muhammad Baqir[12] but after Hakim Baqir's death he was made the chief physician himself. During his time as physician he is said to have given a lot of time to the service of Islam; and would often engage in religious and intellectual discussion with the Maharaja himself. During these discussions he was known for his fearlessness and frankness. The Maharaja and his son Raja Amar singh are said to have learnt the Quran from Noor-ud-Din.
The Maharajah is said to have stated once to his courtiers, "each one of you is here on some purpose or to seek some favour from me and keep flattering me, but this man (Hakeem Sahib) is the only person who has no axe to grind and is here because he is needed by the state. This is the reason why whatever is stated by Hakeem Sahib is listened to carefully as he has no ulterior motive."[13]
Being a scholar ofHebrew also, Noor-ud-Din was selected bySyed Ahmad Khan as the co-ordinator of the team of scholars in writing a commentary of theTorah from the Muslim viewpoint. During this time he was also actively involved with theAnjuman-i-Himayat-i-Islam.
Noor-ud-Din had been the royal physician from 1876. when MaharajahPartab Singh took over, Noor-ud-Din was made to leave the service of the state of Jammu in 1892 due to various political reasons. He was later offered the position in 1895 but declined the offer.
Noor-ud-Deen was constantly involved in religious debates with Christians and Hindus during his stay atJammu. Once he was confronted by an atheist who asked him that if the concept of God was true, then how in this day and age of reason and knowledge, no one claims to be the recipient of Divine revelations. This was a question to which the Noor-ud-Din did not find an answer immediately.[13] During the same period, he came across a torn page from a book namedBarahin-e-Ahmadiyya. The book was written by one Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian, who would later claim to be thePromised Messiah andMahdi. Noor-ud-Din was surprised to see that the writer of the page was a claimant of receivingWahi (revelation). He purchased the book and read it with great interest. He was so impressed by the book that he decided to meet the writer. Noor-ud- Din later recalled his first meeting with Ghulam Ahmad in his own words.[14]
As I arrived in a nearby place of Qadian, I got excited and was also trembling with anxiety and prayed feverishly....
Noor-ud-Deen later stated:
It was afterAsr prayer, I approachedMasjid Mubarak. As soon as I saw his face I was overjoyed, and felt happy and grateful to have found theperfect man that I was seeking all my life...At the end of the first meeting, I offered my hand forBay'ah. Hazrat Mirza Sahib (Ghulam Ahmad) said, he was not yet Divinely commissioned to accept Bay'ah; then I made Mirza Sahib promise me that I would be the person whose Bay'ah would be accepted first...(Al-Hakam, April 22, 1908)
During his stay in Qadian, Noor-ud-Din became a close friend of Ghulam Ahmad and it is apparent in the writings of both persons that they held each other in highest esteem. Although this relationship soon became that of a Master and disciple and Noor Deen devoted himself as a student to Ahmad. He eventually migrated to Qadian and made his home there soon after he was made to leave his job in Kashmir. He would often accompany Ghulam Ahmad on his travels.
Noor Deen once asked Mirza Ghulam Ahmad to assign him a task by the way of Mujahida (Jihad). Ahmad asked him to write a book answering the Christian allegations against Islam. As a result, Noor-ud-Din wrote two volumes ofFaslul Khitab, Muqaddimah Ahlul Kitaab[15]
After completing this, he again asked Ghulam Ahmad the same question. This time, Ahmad assigned him to write a rebuttal toArya Samaj. Noor-ud-Din wroteTasdeeqBarahin-e-Ahmadiyya.[16]
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After thedeath of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, Noor-ud-Din was unanimously elected as his first successor. Among his achievements as Caliph were overseeing a satisfactory English translation of the Qur'an, the establishment in 1914 of the first Ahmadiyya Muslim mission in England and the introduction of various newspapers and magazines. After becoming Khalifa, he personally took part in two successful debates at the cities of Rampur and Mansouri. He sent various teams of scholars from Qadian to preach the Ahmadiyya message, to deliver lectures on Islam and hold sessions of religious discussion in numerous cities within India, which proved to be very successful for the community. These teams often includedKhwaja Kamal-ud-Din,Mirza Mahmood Ahmad andMufti Muhammad Sadiq.
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As Khalifatul Masih, Noor-ud-Din set up an official treasury (Baitul Maal) to cope with the growing financial requirements of the community. All the funds as well as theZakat donations and other voluntary contributions were directed to be collected in the treasury. Various rules and regulations were given to govern its administration.
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Noor-ud-Din was himself a man of learning and was fond of books. Soon after he became Khalifa, he set up a public library at Qadian, he donated many books from his own personal library and also gave some financial contributions towards it, followed by many other members of the community. The library was placed under the control of Mirza Mahmood Ahmad.
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In 1911 the British Government announced that a coronation ceremony will be held inDelhi to proclaimGeorge V, Emperor of India. Noor-ud-Din requested the King that Muslim employees of the Government may be granted a leave of two hours on Friday for the Friday noon service. As a consequence two-hour leave for Muslim Employees was granted.
WhenKhwaja Kamal-ud-Din visitedLondon in pursuance of his legal practice, Noor-ud-Din advised him to keep three things in view, one of which was to try to get the Mosque inWoking opened which was originally built by theBegum of Bhopal, and had been reported to have been locked for some time. Having reached London Kamaludin enquired about the mosque, met with other Muslims and was able to have the Woking Mosque unlocked.
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He also dealt with internal dissension, when some high-ranking office bearers of the Ahmadiyya Council disagreed with some of the administrative concepts being implemented and regarding the rights of a Caliph. After his death this group eventually left Qadian and made their headquarters in Lahore setting up their own association known asAhmadiyya Anjuman Ishaat-i-Islam.[17][18]
Noor-ud-Din married three times. His first wife was Fatima, daughter of Sheikh Mukarram Bhervi. She died in 1905, before he became Caliph. He also married Sughra Begum (1874 - 7 August 1955), the daughter of Sufi Ahmad Jan ofLudhiana in 1889. There is little information about his third wife. He likely married her during a visit to Mecca and Medina. Many of his children died in childhood.[29]
Noor-ud-Din had children with both his wives. With Fatima:
With Sughra Begum, also known as Ammaji[13]
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