Ahmadiyyat or Qadianism! Islam or Apostasy? — Page 194
must first determine the time when he 'first received the knowledge of the. Unseen from God Almighty. . While Ahmadiyya Muslim literature does not contain any document which explicitly states the year in which Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad first received the knowledge of the Unseen from God Almighty, there is enough implied evidence available in Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad's own writings which enables one to determine the time when he first received the knowledge of the Unseen. And this in turn enables one to calculate the span of his prophethood. . CALCULATION OF HAZRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD'S. SPAN OF PROPHETHOOD. The opponents of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad do not dispute the fact that he died in the year 1908. " When a figure of 40 years, this being, according to the critics of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the anticipated span of the Messiah's life after being commissioned an apostle of. Almighty God, is subtracted from 1908, one arrives at the year 1868. . Hence, according to the criterion laid down by the Holy Quran, Hazrat. Mirza Ghulam Ahmad should have been a recipient of Divine revelation in or before the year 1868. . The Ahmadiyya Muslim literature contains sufficient evidence to prove that Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad had been a recipient of Divine revelation years before he actually claimed to be the Promised Messiah. . For instance, in his famous treatise Sat Bachan, written between. September 1895 and November 1895, 18 he states: 'Thirty years ago, I was given knowledge of the circumstances of. Baba Nanak. ' 19. This knowledge which had been bestowed upon Hazrat Mirza Ghulam. Ahmad by God Almighty some 30 years before he wrote Sat Bachan 17. Zaheer, E. E: Qadiyaniat. An Analytical Survey: pg 186 18. Dard, A. R: Life of Ahmad: pp 333/334 19. Sat Bachan: pg 29 195