The Qadian Diary — Page 3
3 the Punjab, our grandfather, Mirza Ghulam Murtaza Khan, was able to return to Qadian with Ranjit Singh’s permission. Though stripped of much of the old family glory, Mirza Ghulam Murtaza became duly loyal to the rulers of the land, in order to preserve the peace of the country and in accordance with the long held traditions of our family. In 1889, our esteemed father, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad as , announced his claim as the Promised Messiah, Mahdi, and re- former of the latter days under direct commandment from God and set about establishing the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. From this time on, Qadian became a place of great sanctity. And by this I do not mean that it is a town of a great many mosques, and while places of worship are undoubtedly sanctified, the blessedness of this dwelling comes from it being the birthplace of a chosen one of God, the place where he lived, and his final resting ground. Here he spent his days and nights in prayer and meditation, and it was in this dwelling that God manifested many of His signs. Our holy founder established this movement after direct guidance from God, and it was through divine revelation from God that he named Qadian as the permanent centre of the movement. Today, those institutions, which are responsible for the spiritual, religious, and cultural life of the Ahmadi community all over the world, are located in this town. When the holy founder of the community passed away in 1908, and the responsibility for leading the movement passed into the hands of the First Khalifa, and then after that to the Second Khalifa, Qadian continued to remain the headquarters of the community. Qadian is not the epicentre of the community simply because of its historical significance. Instead, this dwelling was preordained as the home for an international religious movement, from where the responsibility of guiding and leading branches of the com- munity all over the world could be exercised. Ahmadis are not