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