Welcome to Ahmadiyyat, The True Islam — Page 225
− HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD QADIANI, ± ± − − ± THE PROMISED MESSIAH AND IMAM MAHDI as − − Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was the founder of the Ahmadiyya as ± ± − − ± ± Movement in Islam and was the Promised Messiah and of the Mahdi − − Latter Days. He was born on February 13, 1835 in Qadian, India. He was born a twin. His birth was preceded by the birth of a baby sister who died within a few days. There is a reported prediction of the famous saint and scholar Hadrat Muhiyuddin Ibn ‘Arabi that the Promised Messiah would ± ± ± − − be born a twin. Mirza Ghulam Murtada, the father of Hadrat Ahmad, was a − − ± − ± ± ± chieftain of the Punjab and principal landowner of the village of Qadian. His father had been entitled to a seat at the durbars of the Mogul emperor, and this was continued for him under the Sikh and British governments. He also owned houses in other towns. This did not imply riches, but it did mean servants and a recognized position of authority. It also meant that Ahmad was taught at home by various tutors. ± The family was of noble descent, as it normally meant that it was descended from a successful warrior. Around the year 1530, Mirza Hadi − − − Beg, a central Asian chieftain of Persian descent, moved out of Samarkand and, accompanied by his family and about 200 retainers, entered the Punjab and settled down in an open area in the district of Gurdaspur, about 70 miles East of Lahore. There he founded a walled and fortified village which he named Islampur. − − Mirza Hadi Beg was a descendant of the uncle of the famous Amir − − − − Taimur and, as a scion of the royal family, which had founded the Mogul − Empire, he was granted an estate of several hundred villages and appointed judge, or , of the surrounding district. , the village he had Qadi Islampur − ± − − − founded, came to be known as. In course of time the word Islampur Qadi − − ± − 'Islampur' Qadian was dropped and the village was called. This later − − − ± became Qadian. − 225