Mirza Nasir Ahmad
Encyclopedia
Hafiz Mirza Nasir Ahmad (Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...

: ) (November 16, 1909 – June 9, 1982) was Khalifatul Masih III
Khalifatul Masih
Khalifatul Masih sometimes simply referred to as Khalifah is the elected spiritual leader of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and is the successor of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian...

, head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is the larger of two communities that arose from the Ahmadiyya movement founded in 1889 in India by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian . The original movement split into two factions soon after the death of the founder...

. He was elected as the third successor of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad
Mīrzā Ghulām Aḥmad was a religious figure from India and the founder of the Ahmadiyya Community. He claimed to be the Mujaddid of the 14th Islamic century, the promised Messiah , and the Mahdi awaited by the Muslims in the end days...

 on November 8, 1965, the day after the death of his predecessor and father, Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad
Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad
Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad , was Khalifatul Masih II, head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and the eldest son of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad from his second wife, Nusrat Jehan Begum...

.

Nasir Ahmad is credited with expansion of missionary work started by his predecessor Khalifatul Masih II. He also represented the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in the National Assembly of Pakistan
National Assembly of Pakistan
The National Assembly of Pakistan is the lower house of the bicameral Majlis-e-Shura, which also compromises the President of Pakistan and Senate . The National Assembly and the Senate both convene at Parliament House in Islamabad...

 in 1974. Despite his efforts, the National Assembly of Pakistan declared Ahmadis to be non-Muslims and he is seen as having shown great leadership and guidance to the community during this period.

Early life

Mirza Nasir Ahmad was born in Qadian
Qadian
Qadian is a small town and a municipal council in Gurdaspur District, north-east of Amritsar, situated north-east of Batala city in the state of Punjab, India....

, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 on November 16, 1909. His early education was both religious and secular. By the age of thirteen, with guidance from his father Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad
Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad
Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad , was Khalifatul Masih II, head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and the eldest son of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad from his second wife, Nusrat Jehan Begum...

, Nasir Ahmad had committed all 114 chapters of the Qur’an to memory, making him a Hafiz
Hafiz
Hafidh |f.]] ḥāfiẓa), literally meaning 'guardian', is a term used by Muslims in modern days for someone who has completely memorized the Qur'an.-Overview:...

. 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
Qadian
Qadian is a small town and a municipal council in Gurdaspur District, north-east of Amritsar, situated north-east of Batala city in the state of Punjab, India....

, graduated with honors in July 1929. After graduation, he went through his post-secondary education and by 1934, obtained his Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 Degree from the Government College, Lahore.

On August 5, 1934, Nasir Ahmad married Sayyidah Mansoora Begum, a granddaughter of the Mirza Ghulam Ahmad
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad
Mīrzā Ghulām Aḥmad was a religious figure from India and the founder of the Ahmadiyya Community. He claimed to be the Mujaddid of the 14th Islamic century, the promised Messiah , and the Mahdi awaited by the Muslims in the end days...

 and eldest daughter of Nawab Muhammad 'Ali Khan of Malerkotla
Malerkotla
Malerkotla is a city and a municipal council in Sangrur district in the Indian state of Punjab. It was the seat of the eponymous princely state during the British Raj...

, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. Within a month of getting married, Nasir Ahmad left India and proceeded for postgraduate studies to England.

In England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, he obtained Masters of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...

 degree in Egyptology
Egyptology
Egyptology is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religious practices in the AD 4th century. A practitioner of the discipline is an “Egyptologist”...

 from the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...

. 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 one day, he would be a leader.

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 the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is the larger of two communities that arose from the Ahmadiyya movement founded in 1889 in India by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian . The original movement split into two factions soon after the death of the founder...

. In 1939, he was appointed principal where he remained for five years. From May 1944 to November 1965, he was principal of the Talim-ul-Islam College, first in Qadian, then after partition
Partition of India
The Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...

, in Rabwah
Rabwah
Rabwah is a private city in the Chiniot District of Punjab Province, Pakistan located on the Chenab River near the historic city of Chiniot...

, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

.

During the anti-Ahmadiyya riots in 1953, Nasir Ahmad was imprisoned briefly but released on May 28, 1953. Upon his release, he served in various other offices of the community, until being elected as Khalifatul Masih
Khalifatul Masih
Khalifatul Masih sometimes simply referred to as Khalifah is the elected spiritual leader of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and is the successor of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian...

 after the demise of his father, Khalifatul Masih II.

Caliphate

Mirza Nasir Ahmad was elected as Khalifatul Masih
Khalifatul Masih
Khalifatul Masih sometimes simply referred to as Khalifah is the elected spiritual leader of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and is the successor of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian...

 III on November 9, 1965, shortly after Isha prayer
Isha
* Hebrew word meaning "woman"* Isha'a, the Fard daily Salah prayers in Islam* A Sanskrit term for "God, deity", see Ishvara* A name meaning: deity; the ruling Goddess; the Lord, One who protects, Supreme.* Another name of Goddess Kali* An Indian given name...

 at Mubarik Mosque in Rabwah
Rabwah
Rabwah is a private city in the Chiniot District of Punjab Province, Pakistan located on the Chenab River near the historic city of Chiniot...

, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

. The Majlis Intikhab Khilafat (Electoral College
Electoral college
An electoral college is a set of electors who are selected to elect a candidate to a particular office. Often these represent different organizations or entities, with each organization or entity represented by a particular number of electors or with votes weighted in a particular way...

) was presided by Mirza Aziz Ahmad.

Shortly after his election as Khalifatul Masih, he established the Fazl-e-Umar Foundation in honour and memory of the Khalifatul Masih II Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad
Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad
Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad , was Khalifatul Masih II, head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and the eldest son of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad from his second wife, Nusrat Jehan Begum...

. One of the projects envisioned by the foundation was the construction of a library. In 1971, the Khilafat Library in Rabwah
Rabwah
Rabwah is a private city in the Chiniot District of Punjab Province, Pakistan located on the Chenab River near the historic city of Chiniot...

 was inaugurated, which today houses over 100,000 books, rare manuscripts, a children's section and science displays.

Africa

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 the Nusret 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.

Ahmadiyya and the National Assembly of Pakistan

Following the riots and violence against Ahmadis in 1974, Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was 9th Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1973 to 1977, and prior to that, 4th President of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973. Bhutto was the founder of the Pakistan Peoples Party — the largest and most influential political party in Pakistan— and served as its chairman until his...

 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. 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. Eventually Ahmadis were declared non-Muslim by the National Assembly of Pakistan.

London

In 1978 Nasir Ahmad traveled to London where the conference of Jesus’ Deliverance from the cross was held at the Commonwealth Institute in Kensington
Kensington
Kensington is a district of west and central London, England within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. An affluent and densely-populated area, its commercial heart is Kensington High Street, and it contains the well-known museum district of South Kensington.To the north, Kensington is...

. 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 by Sir Zafrulla Khan
Muhammad Zafrulla Khan
Chaudhry Sir Muhammad Zafarullah Khan, KCSI was a Pakistani politician, diplomat, international jurist, and scholar of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, known for drafting the Pakistan Resolution, for his representation of Pakistan at the United Nations, and serving as a judge at the International...

 and M.M. Ahmad.

The Christian Church
Christian Church
The Christian Church is the assembly or association of followers of Jesus Christ. The Greek term ἐκκλησία that in its appearances in the New Testament is usually translated as "church" basically means "assembly"...

 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 the Shroud of Turin
Shroud of Turin
The Shroud of Turin or Turin Shroud is a linen cloth bearing the image of a man who appears to have suffered physical trauma in a manner consistent with crucifixion. It is kept in the royal chapel of the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Turin, northern Italy. The image on the shroud is...

 and now this conference. There were participants from Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

, Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

, and the USA. 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 of Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...

.

Compilation of Ahmadiyya texts

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 the Tazkirah. 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 the Malfoozat
Malfoozat
Malfoozat or Malfuzat translated as the dialogues, discourses or spoken words is a 5 volume corpus of the sayings and utterances of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian the founder of the Ahmadiyya movement in Islam, who claimed that he had been appointed by God as the Promised Messiah and Mahdi. These...

, which include his discourses, speeches, question and answer sessions, sermons and casual sayings.

Spain

In 1980, Mirza Nasir Ahmad traveled to Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

, where he laid the foundation stone of the Basharat Mosque
Basharat Mosque
The Basharat Mosque was inaugurated on September 10, 1982 in Pedro Abad, in the Spanish comarca of Alto Guadalquivir, province of Córdoba by Mirza Tahir Ahmad , fourth Caliph of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community...

 in Pedro Abad
Pedro Abad
Pedro Abad is a small town located in the province of Córdoba, Spain. According to the 2006 census , the city has a population of 2934 inhabitants.- Parties :- Buildings :* Iglesia de la Asunción.Ermita del Santísimo Cristo de los Desamparados...

. This was the first mosque to be built in Spain in over 750 years. It was here he coined the phrase "Love for All, Hatred for None", the motto for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is the larger of two communities that arose from the Ahmadiyya movement founded in 1889 in India by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian . The original movement split into two factions soon after the death of the founder...

 to this day. The construction of the mosque was not completed until after his death in 1982.

Marriage, children, and family

Mirza Nasir Ahmad married Sayyidah Mansoora Begum on August 5, 1934. She was the daughter of Nawab Muhammad 'Ali Khan of Malerkotla
Malerkotla
Malerkotla is a city and a municipal council in Sangrur district in the Indian state of Punjab. It was the seat of the eponymous princely state during the British Raj...

 and Nawab Mubarka Begum, the daughter of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad
Mīrzā Ghulām Aḥmad was a religious figure from India and the founder of the Ahmadiyya Community. He claimed to be the Mujaddid of the 14th Islamic century, the promised Messiah , and the Mahdi awaited by the Muslims in the end days...

. They had five children together: son Mirza Anas Ahmad, daughter Amatul Shakoor, daughter Amatul Haleem, son Mirza Fareed Ahmad, and son Mirza Luqman Ahmad.

A year after the death of his wife Mansoora Begum, Nasir Ahmad decided to remarry. On April 11, 1982, he married Tahira Sidiqqa, daughter of Abdul Majeed Khan. This marriage only last a few short months with the demise of Nasir Ahmad on June 9, 1982.

Death

In June 1982, while in Islamabad
Islamabad
Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...

, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

, Mirza Nasir Ahmad suffered a severe heartattack. He died on June 9, 1982 at 12:45 p.m. Nasir Ahmad's body was taken to Rabwah
Rabwah
Rabwah is a private city in the Chiniot District of Punjab Province, Pakistan located on the Chenab River near the historic city of Chiniot...

 where he was buried in Bahishti Maqbara
Bahishti Maqbara
Bahishti Maqbara , located originally in Qadian, India and then in Rabwah, Pakistan is a religious cemetery established by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community as a directive from the community's founder Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, made known in his booklet Al-Wasiyyat...

, a cememtry established by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is the larger of two communities that arose from the Ahmadiyya movement founded in 1889 in India by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian . The original movement split into two factions soon after the death of the founder...

. Upon electing Mirza Tahir Ahmad
Mirza Tahir Ahmad
Mirza Tahir Ahmad was Khalifatul Masih IV, Caliph of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and fourth successor to Mirza Ghulam Ahmad...

 as Khalifatul Masih
Khalifatul Masih
Khalifatul Masih sometimes simply referred to as Khalifah is the elected spiritual leader of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and is the successor of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian...

 IV, his successor led the funeral prayer in Rabwah.

Lectures and discourses


External links

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