Promised Messiah, may peace be on him and his five Khalifas

By  Mujeeb Malik, Ph.D., USA

Maulvi Nooruddin of Bhera was a great scholar of Quran and also a well known Hakeem (physician). Allama Iqbal had very high regard for the Maulvi and would correspond with him on many issues regarding Islamic jurisprudence, theology and Arabic literature. In 1911, he even sent an associate to Qadian requesting an edict from the Maulvi regarding a personal issue of the divorce of his wife (who he had intended to divorce but later changed his mind; and was unsure of whether divorce had taken place from the point of Islamic Law).  The Maulvi responded that no divorce had taken place according to Islamic Law, but if he was uncertain in his mind he could hold the marriage ceremony again and, on this advice, the Allama was re-married to this lady.

Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, founder of the famous Aligarh University, also held Maulvi Noouddin in very high regard. Once Sir Syed was asked: “When a Jahil (an illiterate person) gains knowledge he becomes an Alim (educated) and when an Alim increases in knowledge he becomes a Hakim (wise man) and when a Hakim advances further he becomes a Soofi, so please tell me what is the case of the one who reaches beyond the height of a Soofi? Sir Syed answered: “He is transformed then into Nooruddin”.

Hakeem Maulvi Nooruddin was then the Royal Physician of Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir. One hundred and twenty-five years ago, he traveled to Ludhiana on March 23, 1889 to be the first to take a pledge (baiat) at the hand of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian, founder of Ahmadiya Movement in Islam. Following were the conditions set for this pledge:

1. That I shall abstain from Shirk (association of any partner with God) right up to the day of my death.
2. That I shall keep away from falsehood, fornication, adultery, trespasses of the eye, debauchery, cruelty, dishonesty, mischief and rebellion; and will not permit myself to be carried away by passions, however strong they might be.
3. That I shall regularly offer the five daily prayers in accordance with the commandments of God and the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him); and shall try my best to be regular in offering the Tahajud (pre-dawn supererogatory prayers) and invoking Darood (blessings) on the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him); that I shall make it my daily routine to ask forgiveness for my sins, to remember the bounties of God and to praise and glorify Him.
4. That under the impulse of any passions, I shall cause no harm whatsoever to the creatures of Allah in general, and Muslims in particular, neither by my tongue nor by my hands nor by any other means.
5. That I shall remain faithful to God in all circumstances of life, in sorrow and happiness, adversity and prosperity, in felicity and trial; and shall in all conditions remain resigned to the decree of Allah and keep myself ready to face all kinds of indignities and sufferings in His way and shall never turn away from it at the onslaught of any misfortune; on the contrary, I shall march forward.
6. That I shall refrain from following un-Islamic customs and lustful inclinations, and shall completely submit myself to the authority of the Holy Quran; and shall make the Word of God and the Sayings of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) the guiding principle in every walk of my life.
7. That I shall entirely give up pride and vanity and shall pass all my life in humbleness, cheerfulness, forbearance and meekness.
8. That I shall hold faith, the honor of faith, and the cause of Islam dearer to me than my life, wealth, honor, children and all other dear ones.
9. That I shall keep myself occupied in the service of God’s creatures for His sake only; and shall endeavor to benefit mankind to the best of my God-given abilities and powers.
10. That I shall enter into a bond of brotherhood with this humble servant (Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian) of God, pledging obedience to him in everything good, for the sake of Allah, and remain faithful to it till the day of my death; that I shall exert such a high devotion in the observance of this bond as is not to be found in any other worldly relationship and connections demanding devoted dutifulness.

Maulvi Nooruddin, who would have become a certified “Not Muslim” in current Pakistan, was once asked that he was a great scholar in his own right and a man of considerable stature in India, what did he gain by taking the pledge at the hand of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad? He responded that he was unable to get rid of a sin no matter how hard he tried, but he became free of that sin after he took the pledge. The Maulvi became the first Caliph of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad after his death in 1908.

Hazrat Hakeem Nooruddin

Maulana Ubaidullah Sindhi, an Indian political activist and a noted religious leader (graduate of Darul Ulum Deoband), visited Qadian to meet Maulvi Nooruddin and later wrote about him:

Maulvi Noor-ud-Deen is an unmatched scholar and has a commanding personality. He has the deepest attachment to the Holy Qur’an. He was ever thinking how best the message of the Holy Qur’an could be taken and how best the people could be familiarized with the beauties and the excellences of the Holy Qur’an. He was also thinking of how to invite people to the Holy Qur’an and how their lives could be moulded in the ideal mould of the Holy Book.