Precious Pearls — Page 7
9 INTRODUCTION Born in India during the last century of the British rule, Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad practically spent his entire life in the north Indian hamlet of Qadian, devoting his time to the seeking of knowledge and wisdom, and kindling the light of spirituality and righteousness among the people. One could conceivably examine the life of Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad from several perspectives since he was a writer, a poet, a scholar, a preacher, a saint and a prophet. However, if there is one single phrase that combines all these individual facets and befittingly describes his entire life and works, it its clearly conveyed by the expression The Reformer of the Age. Thus, his primary function was to bring a change in the social, moral and spiritual values of the people whom he found grossly lacking in these traits. Much of his reformatory effort was undertaken through the use of pen. Known as Sultan al- Qalam , or Master of the Pen, Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad wrote more than eighty books in Urdu, Arabic and Persian languages. His proficiency and command extended equally to all three languages and he was as comfortable composing a poem in Arabic as he was writing a treatise in Persian, or producing a philosophical discourse in Urdu. Much like his prose, the poetry of Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad is basically moralistic and religious in nature, given essentially to expounding the excellence and beauty of the religion of Islam. However, he seldom wrote a poem as a stand-alone composition. Practically all his poetry is an integral part of his various treatise in the Urdu, Arabic and Persian languages. Thus, his poems were basically intended to compliment the general theme of the book that he was writing. Although it is an uncommon writing style to mix prose and poetry in a single treatise, nevertheless it is very effective. Like jewels sewn in an elegant garment, his poems lace the pages of his otherwise extremely serious and profound discourses on religion and philosophy. But, despite the fact that his poetry would easily measure up to the highest of literary standards, Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was not a poet—not at least in the ordinary sense of the word in which the image of a poet is conceived in many minds. His poetry is completely free of the typical poetic construction adopted by many Urdu poets of his time. To him, poetry was simply another medium in which to preach his message to the people. As he very aptly states himself: No concern do we have with verse or versifying Some may learn this way this is our only aim. The writings of Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad cover practically every aspect of the religion of Islam. In these insightful and sagacious discourses, he takes on such varied subjects as the need for religion, the pre-eminence of Islam among the world’s faiths, the nature of divine revelation, man’s relationship with God, the purpose of sending prophets, the power of prayer, the reality of the Hereafter, the source of knowledge, and the purpose of man’s life and his progress through the physical, moral and spiritual states. Despite their varied subjects, the gist of the entire writings of Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad is the development of a personal relationship with God a relationship that is based on due respect for God’s powers and a proper understanding of His attributes. In this context, he repeatedly emphasises the importance of faith and the need to cement an everlasting bond of love and friendship with God. Although the entire poetry of Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad is extremely moving and elegant, it reaches its greatest height when he begins to speak of his true love—his Lord and