The Essence of Islam – Volume I — Page xxii
progressively reduced the area comprised within the. Qādiān estate. Finally, the Rām Garhia Sikhs obtained possession of Qādiān itself through trickery and Mirzā ‘Atā Muḥammad and the members of his family had to move from Qādiān and took refuge in the neighbouring state of Kapurthala. Mirzā ‘Atā Muḥammad died in exile in Kapurthala, but his body was carried by his son, Mirzā. Ghulām Murtaḍā, to Qādiān, and was given decent burial in the ancestral graveyard. . When Mahārājā Ranjīt Singh established his power over the Punjab, he permitted Mirzā Ghulām Murtaḍā, father of Haḍrat Mirzā Ghulām Aḥmad, to return to Qādiān and restored to him a few of the villages that had been originally comprised in the Qādiān estate. . With the birth of Ḥaḍrat Mirza Ghulām Aḥmad, the fortunes of the family improved to some degree and the intervening period of poverty and privation came to an end. . Mirzā Ghulām Murtaḍā took up military service under. Mahārājā Ranjit Singh and won distinction in some campaigns. Later, he and his elder son, Mirzā Ghulām Qādir, rendered meritorious service to the British, which was duly appreciated by the authorities. Throughout his remaining life, Mirzā Ghulām Murtaḍā continued to spend money, time and effort in the useless and profitless attempts to recover at least some of the villages that had originally been comprised within the Qādiān estate. The futility of his attempts embittered his days and he died a disappointed man. . His eldest son, Mirzā Ghulām Qādir, who now became head of the family, had in the meantime been appointed to a minor post in the civil administration of the district