USA Souvenir 1989 — Page 29
KHALIFATUL MASIH I HAZRAT HAJI MAULVI HAKEEM NURUDDIN (may Allah be pleased with him). Born in 1841 in a village named Bhera, in Sarghoda District in India, Khalifatul Masih I, HAzrat Haji Maulvi Hakeem Nurud din, may Allah be pleased with him, was a descen - dant of Hazrat Umar Farooq, the Second Caliph of Islam. He was an erudite scholar who had quenched his thirst of knowledge by studying in practically all the famous religious institutions of the subcontinent, and had the pri velege of learning and residing for a long time in the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. Not only an expert theologian of his time , Hazrat Noor - uddin was a talented physician as well. When the Promi s ed Messiah and Mahdi Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, peace be upon him, initiated the Baiat (the pledge of allegiance) on 23rd March, 1889 , Hazrat Haji Hakeem Maulvi Nurud din was the first to owe allegiance to him. At the request of the Promised Messiah and Mahdi Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad , peace be upon him, he settled in Qadian for the rest of his life and never thought of returning to his ancestral home in 29 Bhera. Impressed by the dynamism of Islam as preached by the Promised Messiah, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih I, may Allah be pleased with him, sacrificed all his material belongings for the sake of Islam. His life was certainly a Himalayan example of the triumph of faith over wordly gains. His obedience to the Promised Messiah had laudably praised him in the following words: "How excel lent if everyone of my followers were Nuruddin "This is possible only when one's heart were illumined by the light of true, strong and firm belief. " He was elected to the Khilafat in 1908 and passed away in 1914.