Mirza Ghulam Aḥmad (February 13, 1835 – May 26, 1908) was a religious figure from

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

, and the founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. He claimed to be the Mujaddid (divine reformer) of the 14th Islamic century, the promised

Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...

Second Coming of Christ The Second Coming (sometimes called the Second Advent or the Parousia) is a Christian (as well as Islamic and Baha'i) belief that Jesus will return again after his ascension to heaven about two thousand years ago. The idea is based on messia ...

"), and the

Mahdi The Mahdi ( ar, ٱلْمَهْدِيّ, al-Mahdī, lit=the Guided) is a messianic figure in Islamic eschatology who is believed to appear at the end of times to rid the world of evil and injustice. He is said to be a descendant of Muhammad w ...

awaited by the Muslims in the end days. He declared that

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...

(

Isa Isa or ISA may refer to: Places * Isa, Amur Oblast, Russia * Isa, Kagoshima, Japan * Isa, Nigeria * Isa District, Kagoshima, former district in Japan * Isa Town, middle class town located in Bahrain * Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia * Mount ...

) had in fact survived the crucifixion and later died a natural death, after having migrated towards

Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

and that he had appeared in the likeness of Jesus. Mirza Ghulam Ahmad is known to have produced a vast amount of literature. He wrote more than ninety books, many of which extend to hundreds of pages. His written works often contain both

prose Prose is a form of written or spoken language that follows the natural flow of speech, uses a language's ordinary grammatical structures, or follows the conventions of formal academic writing. It differs from most traditional poetry, where the fo ...

and

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek '' poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meani ...

in three different languages,

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

and Persian, though primarily Urdu. His writings contain the exposition and explanation of Islamic teachings, often reinterpreted. A wide range of subjects are also dealt with such as

mysticism Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in ...

and the intricate issues of

Islamic theology Schools of Islamic theology are various Islamic schools and branches in different schools of thought regarding '' ʿaqīdah'' (creed). The main schools of Islamic Theology include the Qadariyah, Falasifa, Jahmiyya, Murji'ah, Muʿtazila, Batin ...

. His writings always used the

Qur'an The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , si ...

to elaborate and give meanings to various ideas. Many of his books bear a

polemical Polemic () is contentious rhetoric intended to support a specific position by forthright claims and to undermine the opposing position. The practice of such argumentation is called ''polemics'', which are seen in arguments on controversial topics ...

and apologetic tone in favour of

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

. Several of his books were distributed internationally during his lifetime. His essay entitled '' The Philosophy of the Teachings of Islam'' (originally presented at a conference of religions held in

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th List of largest cities, most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is th ...

in December 1896 and later published as a book) was well received by various intellectuals including

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...

of Russia. His works were collected under the leadership of Mirza Nasir Ahmad, the third

khalifa Khalifa or Khalifah (Arabic: خليفة) is a name or title which means "successor", "ruler" or "leader". It most commonly refers to the leader of a Caliphate, but is also used as a title among various Islamic religious groups and others. Khalif ...

of Ghulam Ahmad. Most of his writings were compiled in the twenty-three volume corpus known as ''Rūhānī Khazā᾽in'' (Spiritual Treasures) which includes his books, pamphlets, and various articles. His announcements and advertisements were collected in the ''Majmu'a Ishtihārāt'' (Collection of Announcements) with only a small number of his books being translated into English. His letters have been compiled into 4 volumes known as '' Maktūbāt-e-Ahmad'' (Letters of Ahmad) and his complete discourses or sayings have been compiled in 10 volumes known as the ''

Malfūzāt ''Malfūzāt'' ( ur, , "Discourses"; lit. "spoken words") is a ten-volume collection of the discourses, question-and-answer-sessions, sermons and dialogues of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of the Ahmadiyya movement. The volumes contain, for the ...

'' (Spoken Words). All works were initially diligently hand composed by calligraphers (کاتب). ''Nazarat Ishaat'' Pakistan based in Rabwah, and ''Nazarat Nashro Ishaat'', Qadian, India have been the key organizations responsible for preserving, composing and publishing the works in hand composed and computerized versions. Mirza Ghulam Ahmed died in Lahore on 26th May, 1908.

List of books

Notes

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ahmad, Mirza Ghulam Works by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Bibliographies by writer Bibliographies of Indian writers Religious bibliographies