Ahmadiyyat - The Renaissance of Islam — Page 24
CHAPTER THREE With the death of his father, his elder brother Mirza Ghulam Qadir became the head of the family and took over the administration of its affairs. Mirza Ghulam Qadir at that time held a civil office at Gurdaspur and visited Qadian at frequent intervals. Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was entitled to half of the property left by his father, but he paid no attention to these matters and let his brother appropriate the entire income from the property, being content with the provision of his own modest needs. He made no demand upon his brother, wore such clothes as he was furnished with and partook very sparingly of the food that was sent to him by his brother's wife. More often that not he would distribute the food among some poor people and would himself subsist on a little roast gram purchased with no more than a farthing. On some occasions he went without food altogether. By his own choice he led not only a simple but austere life. He occupied himself mainly with the worship and remembrance of God, study of and reflection upon the Holy Quran and other relevant religious literature. He subscribed to one or two papers, and on one occasion he sent a request to his brother for a trifling amount of money to pay for one of these papers. His request was turned down on the ground that reading a paper was a waste of time and to spend money on it was extravagance. . . His brother respected him and was glad to provide the necessaries of life for him, but felt that his devotion to religion was a useless hobby and that he should address himself to some gainful occupation. Thus during the remain- ing years of his brother's life (1876-83) Mirza Ghulam Ahmad's life was much restricted and circumscribed in several respects. The other members of the family were not much in- 24