The Noble Son — Page vii
vii Hazrat al-Haaj Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad (1889– 1965), was the second Khalifah of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. He was the son of the Promised Messiah as and his birth was the fulfilment of the prophecy concerning Musleh Mauood (Promised Reformer). This prophecy was published by the Promised Messiah as as a Sign of the truth of Islam. He was gifted with both secular and spiritual knowledge, and he had developed a deep love for the Holy Qur’an. In 1914, at the age of 25, he was elected as Khalifatul-Masih II. During his almost fifty- two years of Khilafat, he led the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community on an international level, expanding the Movement to fourty-six countries, and building dozens of hospitals and schools. He initiated the campaigns of Tahrike-Jadeed in 1934 and Waqf-e-Jadid in 1957 INTRODUCTION TO HAZRAT MIRZA BASHIR-UD-DIN MAHMOOD AHMAD, KHALIFATUL-MASIH II—MUSLEH MAUOOD RA