Invitation to Ahmadiyyat — Page vii
About the Author Hadrat al- Ha j Mirza Bashir-ud-Deen Mahmood Ahmad ra (1889–1965), was the second Khalifah of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. He was the son of the Promised Messiah and his birth was the fulfilment of the Mu s le h Mau‘ u d (Promised Reformer) prophecy. This prophecy was published by the Promised Messiah as as a Sign of the truth of Islam in reply to a challenge put forth by the Ary a Sam a j. From his early youth, he was gifted with knowledge, both sec - ular and religious, and a deep love for the Holy Quran. He was nineteen years old when the Promised Messiah as passed away on 26 May 1908. The next day, on 27 May 1908, he pledged allegiance to Hadrat Hakeem Noor-ud-Deen, Khalifatul Masih I, the first Khalifah of the Promised Messiah as. He visited Egypt and Arabia in September 1912 during the course of which he performed the Hajj pilgrimage. In June 1913, he started a newspaper, titled Al-Fazl. In 1914, at the age of 25, he was elected as Khalifatul Masih II. During his almost fifty-two years of Khilafat, he led the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community on an international level, expanding the Movement to forty-six countries, and building dozens of hospi - tals and schools. He consolidated and formalized the system of