Basics of Religious Education — Page 264
264 264 264 264 264 B ASICS OF R ELIGIOUS E DUCATION - F IFTH E DITION not yet made any proclamation about himself. But Hadrat Maulana Nooruddin ra , at the very first sight of him, recognized the truth which he personified and became his most devoted companion. Later, on March 23, 1989, when the Promised Messiah as , accepted the first ever Bai`at in Ludhiana, Maulana Nooruddin ra was the first person to take Bai`at. Soon after his first visit to Qadian, he offered to leave his job and settle in Qadian, but the Promised Messiah as did not accept his request at that time. Therefore, he stayed in Kashmir up to September 1892, when the new Ruler of Kashmir terminated his job. He now returned to Bhera and started the construction of a large clinic. In April 1893, the construction of his clinic was near completion. He went to Qadian on a short visit. But when the time came for him to take leave, the Promised Messiah as asked him to forget about his hometown and make Qadian his permanent home. So he stayed and from that moment on, he never even thought of returning to Bhera. Such was his complete submission and obedience to the Promised Messiah as. He established a clinic in Qadian and started giving free treatment to the poor. He fully enjoyed the company of the Promised Messiah as and dedi- cated his life to the cause of his mission. He taught the Holy Qur’an and Ahadith to the children of the Promised Messiah as and to hundreds of other students. He served as a teacher in Arabic in the Ta`leemul Islam High School. He was appointed President of the Sadr Anjuman Ahmadiyya, Qadian. He contributed to the newspapers Al-Hakam and Al-Badr and completed translation of the Holy Qur’an. After the sad demise of the Promised Messiah as , Hadrat Maulana Nooruddin ra was elected as first Khalifa. On that occasion, nearly 1,200 members of the Jama`at took Bai`at at his hands. The first and foremost task performed by him, was the consolidation of the system of Khilafat. Some of the impor- tant events of his Khilafat are as follows: ♦ On May 30, 1908, Baitul Maal or the Treasury was set up. On March 5, 1910, Huzur laid the foundation-stone of Masjid Noor. ♦ On March 1, 1909, Madrasa Ahmadiyya was opened, replacing the Branch of Religious Education which was previously opened (Janu- ary 1906) in Madrasa Ta`limul Islam, Qadian. The purpose of this branch was to produce missionaries according to the instructions of Settlement in Qadian (April, 1893) His Life in Qadian His Khilafat (May 27, 1908 to March 13, 1914) P P P P P ROMISED ROMISED ROMISED ROMISED ROMISED M M M M M ESSIAH ESSIAH ESSIAH ESSIAH ESSIAH AS AS AS AS AS A N D A N D A N D A N D A N D S S S S S UCCESSORS UCCESSORS UCCESSORS UCCESSORS UCCESSORS — K — K — K — K — K HALIF HALIF HALIF HALIF HALIFA A A A ATUL TUL TUL TUL TUL M M M M M A S I H A S I H A S I H A S I H A S I H I I I I I 7. 3 7. 3 7. 3 7. 3 7. 3