Malfuzat - Volume IX — Page xxxiii
About the Promised Messiah as Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad as was born in 1835 in Qadian, India. Since his very youth, he had dedicated himself to prayer and the study of the Holy Quran and other scriptures. He was deeply pained to observe the plight of Islam, which was being attacked from all direc- tions. In order to defend Islam and present its teachings in their pris- tine purity, he wrote more than ninety books, thousands of letters, and participated in many religious debates. He argued that Islam is a living faith which can lead man to establish communion with God, culminat- ing in moral and spiritual perfection. Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad as started experiencing Divine dreams, visions, and revelations at a young age. In 1889, under Divine command, he started accepting initiation into the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. Divine revelations continued to increase and God com- manded him to announce that He had appointed him to be that very Reformer of the Latter Days who was prophesied by various religions under different titles. He claimed to be the very Prophet who the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as said would be raised as the Promised Messiah and Mahdi. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is now established in more than 200 countries. After his demise in 1908, the second manifestation of Divine power was demonstrated: the institution of Khilafat (Successorship) was established to succeed him in fulfilment of the prophecies of the Holy Quran, the Hadith, and the Promised Messiah’s book al-Wa s iyyat. Hadrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad aba is the Fifth Successor to the Promised Messiah as and the present Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.