The Promised Messiah and Mahdi — Page 18
THE PROMISED MESSIAH AND MAHDI these things and he did not always please. It is reported that once when Hadhrat Ahmad was in the full prime and vigour of life, his father wanted him to go into government service. There was a good opportunity also which could have been availed of by him. His father sent a Sikh gentleman to have a talk with Hadhrat Ahmad. The Sikh gentleman while conveying the message of his father strongly advised that such a good chance should not be missed. But without the least hesitation, Hadhrat Ahmad at once replied that he was grateful for the welfare displayed by his father, but his answer to the suggestion was, 'Please tell my father not to worry about my joining any service, for I have already taken up a service which I like. ' The Sikh gentleman returned to his father rather bewildered because he could not understand the meaning of the service which Hadhrat Ahmad had taken up. He related the answer to his father who understood the point at once, and said, 'Well if Ghulam Ahmad says he has taken up service, then it is all right, for Allah will not let him go waste. The. God of Islam is most loyal as a friend. He fully appreciates the devotion and service rendered to Him. ". Later Hadhrat Ahmad wrote about his father, "He often said that he desired me to participate in worldly affairs out of a feeling of sympathy for me, though he realized that religion was alone worth pursuing and that he himself was only wasting his time. ". One thing which was noticed about his attendance at legal cases in courts was that he always spoke the truth and never agreed to tell a lie with the result that many a time the case was lost. . Now coming back to the childhood and early life of Hadhrat. Ahmad, he led a fairly comfortable life, being the son of the village chieftain. There were no schools in Qadian, in fact they were more in. India of that time. Between the age of six to seventeen years, his father engaged three tutors at intervals. He was taught the Holy. Quran, a few elementary Persian books, some Arabic and logic. He spent a good deal of his time in the Mosque, reading the Holy Quran and he was fond of praying. He was a serious student and preferred solitude and reading. He learnt swimming and riding. He could run fast but did not take any active part in sports or any martial arts. He 18