Mirza Nasir Ahmad | |
|---|---|
مرزا ناصر احمد | |
 Mirza Nasir Ahmad in 1967 | |
| Personal life | |
| Born | (1909-11-16)16 November 1909 |
| Died | 9 June 1982(1982-06-09) (aged 72) Islamabad, Pakistan[1] |
| Resting place | Bahishti Maqbara,Rabwah, Pakistan |
| Spouse |
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| Parents |
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| Signature |  |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Islam |
| Denomination | Ahmadiyya |
| Consecration | 8 November 1965[2] |
| Senior posting | |
| Post | Caliph |
| Predecessor | Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad |
| Successor | Mirza Tahir Ahmad |
| Part ofa series on Ahmadiyya |
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Distinct views |
Days of remembrance |
Miscellaneous |
Mirza Nasir Ahmad (مرزا ناصر احمد; 16 November 1909 – 9 June 1982) was the thirdCaliph (Arabic:خليفة المسيح الثالث,romanized: khalīfatul masīh al-Thālith) of theAhmadiyya Muslim Community from Pakistan. He was elected as the third successor ofMirza Ghulam Ahmad on 8 November 1965, the day after the death of his predecessor and father,Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad.
Under his leadership, there was further expansion of missionary work started by his predecessor the second caliph, particularly in Africa and Europe. In 1974, he represented the Ahmadiyya Community in theNational Assembly of Pakistan in an eleven-day inquisition. Despite his efforts, theNational Assemblydeclared Ahmadis to be non-Muslims and he led the Community through this period of increased hostility and government repression.[3] The 'Nusrat Jehan Scheme', a scheme dedicated to serving parts of Africa by running numerous medical clinics and schools was one of the many outcomes of his 1970 tour ofWest Africa, the first visit to the continent made by an Ahmadi caliph. In 1980, Nasir Ahmad traveled toSpain, where he laid the foundation stone of theBasharat Mosque inPedro Abad and announced "Love for All, Hatred for None" as the community's motto.[4][5] The mosque was inaugurated posthumously in 1982 and was the first purpose-built mosque in Spain since theReconquista and theFall of Granada in 1492.[6][7][8]
Nasir Ahmad also orchestrated the compilation and arrangement of Ghulam Ahmad's literary output. The writings of Ghulam Ahmad, which had hitherto been published as individual books, pamphlets or articles were compiled in the twenty-three volume corpus known asRūhānī Khazā᾽in (Spiritual Treasures). His sayings and discourses were collected in the ten volumeMalfūzāt (spoken words) and his announcements and advertisements were published in three volumes under the title ofMajmu'a Ishtihārāt (Collection of Flyers or Posters).[9][10]
Mirza Nasir Ahmad was born inQadian, India on 16 November 1909. His early education was both religious and secular. By the age of thirteen, with guidance from his fatherMirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad, Nasir Ahmad had committed all 114 chapters of theQur’an to memory, making him aHafiz. His father placed great emphasis on the acquisition of religious education. In pursuit of that goal, Nasir Ahmad was enrolled at the Madrassa Ahmadiyya,Qadian, graduated with honors in July 1929. After graduation, he went through his post-secondary education and by 1934, obtained hisBachelor of Arts Degree from theGovernment College, Lahore.[11]
On 5 August 1934, Nasir Ahmad married Syeda Mansoora Begum, a granddaughter ofMirza Ghulam Ahmad and eldest daughter of Nawab Muhammad Ali Khan ofMalerkotla, India. Within a month of getting married, Nasir Ahmad left India and proceeded for postgraduate studies to England.
In England, he obtainedMasters of Arts degree in theTripos (P.P.E.)Political Science,Philosophy andEconomics fromBalliol College,University of Oxford. He impressed his college professors as a very well-behaved and deep-thinking student. During a subsequent visit to England, he met one of his former professors who welcomed him to his residence. The professor told other members of the Community that he had seen signs of leadership in Nasir Ahmad and was certain that he would be a leader one day.[12]
Before returning to India he visited Egypt for three months from July to November 1938 in order to improve his Arabic and to meet up with his brother Mirza Mubarik Ahmad to analyse the progress of the Community in Cairo. During his stay, he also visited numerous sites of historical interest.[13]
In November 1938, he returned to the town of his birth, Qadian, where he was appointed a professor at Jamia Ahmadiyya, the missionary theological training college of theAhmadiyya Muslim Community. In 1939, he was appointed principal where he remained for five years. From May 1944 to November 1965, he was principal of theTalim-ul-Islam College, first in Qadian, then afterpartition, inRabwah, Pakistan.
During theanti-Ahmadiyya riots in 1953, Nasir Ahmad was imprisoned briefly but released on 28 May 1953.[11] Upon his release, he served in various other offices of the community, until being elected asKhalifatul Masih after the demise of his father,Khalifatul Masih II.
Mirza Nasir Ahmad was elected asKhalifatul Masih III on 9 November 1965, shortly afterIsha prayer at Mubarak Mosque inRabwah, Pakistan. TheMajlis Intikhab Khilafat (Electoral College) was presided by Mirza Aziz Ahmad.[1]
Shortly after his election as Khalifatul Masih, he established the Fazl-e-Umar Foundation in honour and memory of Khalifatul Masih IIMirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad. One of the projects envisioned by the foundation was the construction of a library. In 1971, the Khilafat Library inRabwah was inaugurated, which today houses over 100,000 books, rare manuscripts, a children's section and science displays.
In 1970, Khalifatul Masih III embarked on a nine-week tour of various African countries. During his visit, he attended numerous receptions held in his honour and inspected the educational, social as well as spiritual services rendered by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community of various African countries. He started theNusrat Jehan scheme and appealed for financial contributions from the community. Under this scheme, Ahmadi doctors and teachers are serving in various parts of Africa by running numerous medical clinics and secondary schools.
Following the riots and violence against Ahmadis in 1974, Prime MinisterZulfikar Ali Bhutto faced considerable pressure from religious leaders to declare the Ahmadis non-Muslim. Consequently, legislation and constitutional changes were enacted, Ahmadis were socially boycotted and their religious practices were criminalised by preventing them from claiming to be Muslims or from "behaving" as Muslims.[3] Thereafter the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community faced an eleven-day inquisition where Mirza Nasir Ahmad himself and four other eminent Ahmadi scholars represented The Ahmadiyya Muslim community in the National Assembly of Pakistan. Mirza Nasir Ahmad personally answered all the allegations that were made against Ahmadiyya.[14] Eventually Ahmadis were declared non-Muslim by the National Assembly of Pakistan.
In 1978, Mirza Nasir Ahmad traveled to London where the conference of Jesus'Deliverance from the cross was held at the Commonwealth Institute inKensington. This was attended by various scholars belonging to principal faiths who read their papers discussing the circumstances surrounding the Crucifixion of Jesus, after which the Ahmadiyya viewpoint regarding the death of Jesus was presented. Presentations were also given bySir Zafarullah Khan andM.M. Ahmad.
TheChristian Church gave a statement dismissing the Ahmadiyya as not representing the teachings of Islam and refused to be drawn into the debate that had been re-opened by the discovery of theShroud of Turin and now this conference.[15] There were participants from Pakistan, India, Africa, Asia, Europe, and the United States. On this occasion, Nasir Ahmad also delivered a lecture on this issue. He dealt with the subject of Jesus' survival from death upon the cross, his travel to the east, the Unity of God, and expounded the status ofMuhammad.[16]
During his Caliphate, Mirza Nasir Ahmad is also known for having directed the compilation of the complete dreams, visions and verbal revelations claimed to have been received by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, which had hitherto been published in various books of Ghulam Ahmad, as well as various journals and newspapers. The compiled version of his entire revelations was published in the form of theTazkirah. The complete dialogues or utterances of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad were also compiled under the directives of Khalifatul Masih III. This was published in the form of theMalfoozat, which include his discourses, speeches, question and answer sessions, sermons and casual sayings.
In 1980, Mirza Nasir Ahmad traveled to Spain, where he laid the foundation stone of theBasharat Mosque inPedro Abad. This was the first mosque to be built in Spain in over 750 years.[17] It was here he coined the motto "Love for All, Hatred for None". The construction of the mosque was not completed until after his death in 1982.
Mirza Nasir Ahmad married Sayyidah Mansoora Begum on 5 August 1934. She was the daughter of Nawab Muhammad 'Ali Khan ofMalerkotla and Nawab Mubarka Begum, the daughter ofMirza Ghulam Ahmad.[11] They had five children together:
Shortly after the death of his wife Mansoora Begum, Nasir Ahmad decided to remarry. On 11 April 1982,[11] he married Tahira Siddiqua Nasir, daughter of Abdul Majeed Khan of Verowal. This marriage only lasted a few short months with the demise of Nasir Ahmad on 9 June 1982.
On 21 May 1982, Mirza Nasir Ahmad delivered his lastFriday sermon inRabwah. Two days later on 23 May, he left Rabwah for the Pakistanicapital Islamabad, where he was taken ill on 26 May. In June 1982, Mirza Nasir Ahmad suffered a severeheart attack. He died on 9 June 1982 at 12:45 p.m. in the city's Baitul Fazl.[1][18]
Mirza Nasir Ahmad's body was then taken to Rabwah. The next day of his death,Mirza Tahir Ahmad, half-brother of Nasir Ahmad, was elected as theKhalifatul Masih IV. Tahir Ahmad led his predecessor'sfuneral prayers, which was participated by nearly a hundred thousand people. Mirza Nasir Ahmad was then buried inBahishti Maqbara, a cemetery established by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.
In his lifetime, especially during the caliphate, Nasir Ahmad gave many lectures or sermons, many of these were later published as books by the community. Many of these were translated into English, meanwhile, some were also translated into Bengali, German and other languages.
| Title | First published (year) | ISBN |
|---|---|---|
| Ta'meere Baitullah ki Tayees Azimushshan Maqassed Twenty-Three Great Objectives of Building the House of Allah (English Translation) | 1967 | 978-93-83882-91-5 (English) |
| Aaman ka Paygham aur Ek Harf-e-Intebah A Message of Peace & a Word of Warning (English Translation) | 1967 | 978-93-83882-34-2 (Urdu) 978-81-7912-202-0 (English) |
| Khilafat and Mujadadiyyat (English) | ||
| Message of Love and Brotherhood to Africa (English) | 1970 | 1-85372-853-5 |
| Anwar-ul-Qur'an(lit. 'Lights of Qur'an') –Vol. 1,Vol. 2 &Vol. 3 | ||
| Ek Sachche aur Haqeeki Khadim ke Baarah Awsaf(lit. 'Twelve Qualities of a True and Genuine Servant') | ||
| Hamare Aqaid(lit. 'Our Beliefs') | ||
| Al Masabih(lit. 'The Light-lamps') | ||
| Jalsa Salana ke Du'aye(lit. 'Prayers of Jalsa Salana') |
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| Ahmadiyya topics | |
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| Beliefs and practices | |
| Distinct views | |
| Mirza Ghulam Ahmad | |
| Literature | |
| Ahmadiyya Muslim Community |
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| Miscellaneous | |
| International | |
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