A glimpse into the Life of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih III — Page 5
him the glad tidings that God shall favour him with His support and whosoever stands in opposition to him, whether a great man or small, shall face humiliation and ignominy and is bound to suffer ruin and disgrace; because the next Khalifa shall, indeed, walk in the footsteps of the Promised Messiah; and shall uphold and establi~h the institution of the Islamic Khilafat. Therefore, I give glad tidings now to him who will be elected the Third Successor in my place, even if the governments of the world oppose him, these shall be shattered into piece s". (Khilafat-i-Haqqa Islam p. 17-18) On the 8th of November, 1965, Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih the Second passed away and he was succeeded by Hazrat Mirza Nasir Ahmad, duly elected by the Ahmadiyya Community as the Third Successor. In his own words he was "a humble servant of the Almighty Allah". This simplicity hides the fact that he was a Hafiz of the Holy Quran, and gained hi. s Master of Arts at Oxford a nd for several years had been the Principal of the Talimul Islam College besides _ occupying several other offices in the Community. Yet, those who really know him, appreciate that compared with his late father he did not have the same 'gift of eloquence and public speaking at the time of his appointment, but sho·rtly afterwards, he established himself as a highly knowledgable public speaker. This metamorphosis was another gift from Almighty God. Very early in his Khilafat, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih III was given the glad tidings that Allah would bestow upon him such abundance as would satisfy him. Many Ahmadis living abroad have had the privilege of private audiences with this great spiritual leader and will proudly testify to the fact, that in this world today, a more self-less, loving, beloved, simple and kind-hearted person than Hazrat Mirza Nasir Ahmad does not exist. His interests and his knowll"dge display a deep understanding of religion, naturally, and of all worldly subjects ranging from science, economics, politics to geography and history. 5