Ahmadiyyat - The Renaissance of Islam — Page 33
THE RENAISSANCE OF ISLAM 33 Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad had two sons, Mirza Sultan Ahmad and Mirza Fazal Ahmad, from his first wife. His near relatives had not the slightest inclination towards religion and led lives divorced altogether from the higher moral qualities, and had no concept at all of spirituality. His wife had also adopted their ways and was not in the least interested in matters that were considered vital by her husband and to which he attached the greatest importance. The result was that in course of time their lives drifted apart and in the end their marriage was terminated. Thereafter, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad's whole attention was devoted to Divine worship and service of the faith and he became indifferent altogether to the values of a marital life. , His health had for some time been indifferent. He had begun to suffer from diabetes and migraine and he had lost all interest in the other sex. In this situation he received a revelation in 1881, when he was 46 years old, in Arabic: 'We give thee glad tidings of a handsome son. ' He mentioned this revelation to some people who were in touch with him, including his two non-Muslim friends, Lala Sharmpat and Lala Mulawamal, who were all greatly surprised, considering that he had divorced his first wife, was not interested in a second marriage, and was in a state of indifferent health. Some months later he received another revelation (Ara- bic): 'Be grateful for My bounty that thou hast found My KHADEEJ AH. ' As Khadeejah was the name of the first wife of the Holy Prophet, the meaning of the revelation clearly was that God had planned a second marriage for him. This was followed after a short interval by another revela- tion (Arabic): 'All praise belongs to Allah who has bestowed upon you a noble relationship through marriage and a noble descent. ' A short while after he received a revelation, part of which was in Urdu and part was in Persian: 'I have designed another marriage for you, and shall Myself arrange and provide everything connected with it. You will not be put to any inconvenience concerning it. ' It thus became clear, through these successive revelations,