Anecdotes from the Life of the Promised Messiah
A Short Biography of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian
Compiled by Mumtaz Ahmad Faruqui
Chapter 7: Musleh Mauood (The Promised Reformer)
Since the Religion of Islam is universal and good for all times to come, and is destined to prevail (by the force of its beauty and appeal to human nature) over all the other religions; so, in that connection the Promised Messiah [Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian] made certain prophecies, giving a glimpse of the coming events, as intimated to him by Divine communication.
As far back as 1886 C.E., Hazrat Mirza Sahib was given the glad tidings by Allah that a ‘grand’ and virtuous son would be given to him in the future. He would establish the truth and the great virtue of the Faith of Islam as if God Himself had descended to help him; and full victory would come through him. (Tazkirah, p. 696).
One important sign attached to his coming would be that:
“He will convert three into four”.
Hazrat Mirza Sahib interpreted it to mean that he will be the fourth son. So, when the fourth son Mubarak Ahmad was born, Hazrat Mirza Sahib took him to be the promised son; but it was proved wrong when the boy died.
It may be noted here that in revelations from God, there is sometimes an undetermined factor which may be interpreted by the receiver in an incorrect way. It is only human and not derogatory to the position of the receiver in any way. Even the Holy Prophet [Muhammad (pbuh)], on the basis of a dream, started on a pilgrimage to Mecca but was stopped at Hudaibiyyah and finally had to come the following year to fulfil it; but God says that the dream of the Holy Prophet came true (The Holy Quran, 48:27). Then again, the Holy Prophet saw in a dream that he had migrated (from Mecca) to a place covered with verdure. He took it to be Yamama, but it turned out to be Medina.
In the case of Hazrat Mirza Sahib, after the death of his fourth son Mubarak Ahmad, he received another Divine communication saying:
“We give the glad tiding of a praiseworthy son, who will come in place of Mubarak”.
But Hazrat Mirza Sahib had no further son during his lifetime. So apparently some other interpretation has to be given to God’s words. When we turn to some other ilhams [revelations] of Hazrat Mirza Sahib we feel that they do point to some other solution, as for instance:
- “God’s order has come, so you should not make haste to interpret it” (Tazkirah, pp. 448–49).
- “You shall see (figuratively speaking) the distant (still to come) descendants” (Tazkirah, p. 390).
- “O thou pride of the rasuls (those sent ones of God) your nearness to God has become known. You shall come late in the future and through a distant and long way”.
- “You should count or fix the time of this event (the coming of Musleh Mauood [Musleh Maud]) at the beginning of the 3rd century (A.H.) from now”.
- Sahibzadah Siraj-ul-Haq, a close follower of the Promised Messiah, writes in his book — Tazkirah tul-Mahdi (as quoted on p. 799 of Tazkirah) that the Promised Messiah once said:
“God has informed me that a day would come when there would be a serious ‘split’ among the members of our Movement; and the mischief makers and the slaves of their evil wishes and intentions would be made known and form a distinct group. Then God would eliminate those who deserve to be cut down, and the split amongst my followers would be mended and put right. Then there will be a great upheaval in the world. All rulers and kingdoms would rise against one another and blood will flow like water all over the world which will face a great destruction. The venue of these events will be the region of Syria and Palestine.
“It would be the time when my ‘son’ (Musleh Masood) would make an appearance, as it is linked with these world upheavals. After it (when the people, having suffered, would be more prone to listen to reason and truth) the Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam would make progress and spread all over. Many rulers of states would join our Movement.”
In this connection, the Promised Messiah has also written in his book—Tazkirah al-Shahadatain (pp. 64–65):
“… God will one day give this Movement tremendous boost and will honour it. Those who want to destroy it will be annihilated. However, first, our opponents alive today (about 1903) will die; then, their children will also die; and none of them would witness the descent of Jesus (son of Mary) from heaven. Then God will put disappointment and despair in their hearts, thinking that the period of the upholding and ascendancy of the Cross (i.e., Christian propaganda and evangelization) is gone, and world is in another mood, but Jesus (son of Mary) has not descended from heaven yet?
“Then the thoughtful and intelligent people would get disgusted from this doctrine. And the third century (A.H.) from now would not have come to the end, when having become disgusted and disappointed about the second advent of Jesus Christ, both Muslims and Christians, would turn their attention to what we had been telling the world all along. Then Islam would be the popular and prevailing religion till the day of Resurrection.”
It would be clear from the above that the “Promised Reformer” would be the Mujaddid of the Sixteenth Century A.H. He may not be in the direct line of descent of Hazrat Mirza Sahib. For in religious and Islamic parlance, a physical son holds no importance as such, for he may not be truly righteous. The true son of a religious leader is one who is the most righteous and observant of all the covenants of God and His Prophet. So it could be that the ‘Promised Reformer’ may not be the lineal descendant of Hazrat Mirza Sahib, but may be his great admirer and follower.