Mīrzā Ghulām Aḥmad (bornc. 1835, Qadian, India—died May 26, 1908,Lahore [now in Pakistan]) was an Indian Muslim leader who founded anIslamicreligious movement known as theAḥmadiyyah.

The son of a prosperous family, Ghulām Aḥmad received an education inPersian andArabic. He initially refused his father’s urgings that he go into British government service or practice law. However, because of his father’s persistence, he served as a government clerk in Sialkot from 1864 until 1868. Ghulām Aḥmad led a life of contemplation and religious study. He claimed to hearrevelations and declared in 1889 that he had received one in which God had entitled him to receivebayʿat (an oath of allegiance). Soon he gathered a small group of devoteddisciples. From then on his influence and following steadily increased, as did opposition from the mainstream Islamiccommunity.

Ghulām Aḥmad claimed not only that he was themahdi (a promised Muslim “saviour”) and a reappearance (burūz) of the ProphetMuhammad but also that he wasJesus Christ and theHindu godKrishna returned to earth. A number of his rather unorthodox teachings were incorporated into the beliefs of the Aḥmadiyyah.

Britannica Quiz

Islam

After Ghulām Aḥmad’s death, his followers disputed whether he had really claimed to be a prophet and, if so, what he meant by his prophethood. Nonetheless, his devotees formed a community of believers and elected acaliph to lead them. Ghulām Aḥmad’s most famous work isBarāhīn al-Aḥmadiyyah (“Proofs of the Ahmadi Faith”; 1880).