Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din (1870 – December 28, 1932) was a prominent figure of the early

Ahmadiyya Ahmadiyya, officially the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at (AMJ), is an Islamic messianic movement originating in British India in the late 19th century. It was founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835–1908), who said he had been divinely appointed a ...

movement and the author of numerous works about

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

Life

Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din was born in Punjab, India in 1870. His grandfather, Abdur Rashid, a poet, was at one time chief Muslim Judge of Lahore during the Sikh period. Kamal-ud-Din was educated at the Forman Christian College, Lahore where he was drawn to Christianity, but he was later exposed to the writings of

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (13 February 1835 – 26 May 1908) was an Indian religious leader and the founder of the Ahmadiyya movement in Islam. He claimed to have been divinely appointed as the promised Messiah and '' Mahdī'', in fulfillment of th ...

, the founder of the

movement, and experienced a renewed devotion to Islam. In 1893, he joined the movement and became a close disciple of Ghulam Ahmad, Lord Headley with Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din

Kamal-ud-Din worked as a lecturer and then as principal of Islamia College, Lahore. After graduating in law in 1898, he started a legal practice in

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. In 1912 he travelled to

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on behalf of a client and was instructed by Hakeem Noor-ud-Din, the first

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(successor) to Ghulam Ahmad, to try to get the disused Shah Jahan Mosque re-opened. In London, Kamal-ud-Din met with other Muslims and worked to repair and re-open the mosque. Here he founded the Woking Muslim Mission and Literary Trust and a journal, '' The Islamic Review''. Kamal-ud-Din ended his legal career in 1912, and devoted his life to the propagation of non-denominational Islam in Britain. He made several long visits to England and toured other countries in Europe, Africa, and Asia, including his home country of India, delivering lectures on Islam. In 1923, he performed his second

Hajj Hajj (; ; also spelled Hadj, Haj or Haji) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for capable Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetim ...

in the company of close friend Lord Headley, a British convert. The same year, he was also elected member of the League of Nations Union. Following the split in the Ahmadiyya movement in 1914, Kamal-ud-Din aligned himself with the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement under

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and social activist. A global cultural icon, widely known by the nickname "The Greatest", he is often regarded as the gr ...

and declared that they did not believe in any prophet after Prophet Mohammad. The split and disagreement over the declaration of prophet hood created an unmendable breach between the original Ahmadiyya party and the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement. In 1920, Kamal-ud-Din toured

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where, through public discourses, won the confidence of some Indonesian Muslims. He delivered a number of speeches in

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and Batavia which attracted headlines in several leading newspapers. He is buried in the Ahmadiyya Plot at Miani Sahib Cemetery in Lahore.

Literary work

Below is a partial list of English books by Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din, which can be read online: (Urdu books by Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din are also accessible online.) * ''Al-Islam'' * ''Ethics of War'' * ''The Existence of God'' * ''Five Pillars of Islam'' *'' God and His Attributes'' * ''The Great Revolution'' * ''The Holy Quran and the Bible'' *'' Introduction to the Study of the Holy Quran'' * ''Islam and Christianity'' * ''Islam and Civilisation'' * ''Islam & Other Religions'' * ''Islam to East and West'' * ''Jesus — An Ideal of Godhead and Humanity'' * ''Muhammad the Most Successful Prophet'' * ''Mysticism in Islam'' * ''The Problem of Human Evolution'' * ''The Quran a Miracle'' * ''A Running Commentary on the Holy Quran'' * ''The Sources of Christianity'' * ''The Status of Women in World Religions and Civilisations'' * ''The Strength of Islam'' * ''Study for an Atheist'' * ''Study of Islam'' * ''Sufeism in Islam'' * ''Unity of the Human Race'' * ''The Vicegerent of God on Earth'' *'' Woman from Judaism to Islam'' * ''Worship and Sacrificialism''

References

External links

*
An Interview with Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din Sahib - His Missionary Work in England
, Special to the "Rangoon Mail", Islamic Review, October, 1920 (Vol. 8, No. 10) pp. 362–366 {{DEFAULTSORT:Kamal-ud-Din, Khwaja Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement for the Propagation of Islam 20th-century Muslim scholars of Islam Indian Ahmadis 1870 births 1932 deaths