Mirza Tahir Ahmad Explained

Mirza Tahir Ahmad
Caliph of the Messiah
Amir al-Mu'minin
Religion:Islam
Denomination:Ahmadiyya
Post:Caliph
Consecration:10 June 1982
Predecessor:Mirza Nasir Ahmad
Successor:Mirza Masroor Ahmad
Spouse:Asifa Begum (m. 1957–1992)
Children:Four
Father:Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad
Mother:Maryam Begum
Birth Date:1928 12, df=yes
Birth Place:Qadian, Punjab, British India
Death Place:London, England
Resting Place:Mubarak Mosque, Tilford, England

Mirza Tahir Ahmad (; 18 December 1928 – 19 April 2003) was the fourth caliph (Arabic: خليفة المسيح الرابع, khalīfatul masīh al-rābi) and the head of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. He was elected as the fourth successor of the founder of the community, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. He was elected on 10 June 1982, the day after the death of his predecessor, Mirza Nasir Ahmad.

Following the Ordinance XX that was promulgated by the government of Pakistan in 1984, which prohibited Ahmadi Muslims from any public expression of the Islamic faith, Tahir Ahmad left Pakistan and migrated to London, England, provisionally moving the headquarters of the community to the Fazl Mosque in London.[1] He is noted particularly for his question and answer sessions which he held regularly with people from around the world and for his Quranic discourses. Under his leadership, there was an acceleration in the number of Quran translations produced by the Community; and during his caliphate, the Community experienced structural and financial growth on an international level, including the launch of the first Muslim satellite television network, Muslim Television Ahmadiyya in 1994 through which he could communicate televised messages to the Community globally and have his sermons and other public engagements transmitted throughout the world through this medium.[2]

Tahir Ahmad also authored many books including, Some Distinctive Features of Islam; Christianity: A Journey from Facts to Fiction; Murder in the Name of Allah, and his magnum opus[3] Revelation, Rationality, Knowledge & Truth.

Leader as caliph

The Majlis Intikhab Khilafat (Electoral College), convened at Mubarik Mosque in Rabwah, Pakistan,[4] elected Mirza Tahir Ahmad as the fourth successor to Mirza Ghulam Ahmad and head of the community on 10 June 1982.[5]

Muslim Television Ahmadiyya

See main article: Muslim Television Ahmadiyya International. As Khalifatul Masih, Mirza Tahir Ahmad established the Muslim Television Ahmadiyya (commonly referred to as MTA). This satellite-based channel broadcast its first program (the Friday Sermon by Tahir Ahmad) on 7 January 1994 from London.[6]

International Bai'at

In 1993 Mirza Tahir Ahmad started an international initiation ceremony to be held every year at the annual gatherings of Ahmadis in which new converts join the community by pledging their allegiance to the Khalifa. The International Bai'at ceremony was broadcast live across the world. He often claimed that it was the historical fulfillment of the Pentecost that was destined to occur at the time of the Second Coming.[7]

Death

Mirza Tahir Ahmad died in London on 19 April 2003 from heart failure.[8] The newly elected Caliph Mirza Masroor Ahmad, as the Khalifatul Masih V, led the funeral prayer on 23 April 2003, attended by over 40,000 people from around the world.[9] His successor is his nephew, the son of one of his sisters.[10]

Writings, speeches and Q&A sessions

Revelation, Rationality, Knowledge and Truth

See main article: Revelation, Rationality, Knowledge and Truth. Ahmad wrote a book title Revelation, Rationality, Knowledge and Truth, which was a further development on a talk he gave in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1987. It covered many topics relating to the present-day. In this book he argued a rebuttal to the theories of biologist Richard Dawkins.[11] He argues that Socrates was a prophet of the ancient Greeks and that several other prominent figures from history were at the level of prophethood.

Quranic exegesis

Tahir Ahmad delivered annual commentaries on the Quran during the month of Ramadan. He incorporated lengthy discussions of previous commentators as well as the founder of Ahmadiyya and the Ahmadiyya Caliphs that came before him. In addition, he discussed the lexicon of the Quran and refuted many Orientalist ideas about the historicity of the Quran, Islam and the life of the Prophet Muhammad. His commentaries differed significantly from those offered by many of the classical Quranic commentators, placing emphasis on the logical and rational approach to the Quran. For example, he did not believe it was essential to rely heavily on Asbab al-nuzul (Circumstances of the Revelation) in order to understand the implications of the Quranic verses, presenting strong arguments instead that the Quran offered its own context. He delivered seven discourses on Asbab al-nuzul.[12]

Selected Books

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Khilafat.
  2. Book: No Islam but Islam. 163. 9781443874045. 20 September 2015. Moon. Farzana. 12 January 2015. Cambridge Scholars.
  3. Book: Buckley, David . Where the Waters Meet: Convergence and Complementarity in Therapy and Theology . Karnac Books . 75.
  4. The Life of Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih IV (ra).
  5. Web site: Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad . 5 March 2011.
  6. Web site: Friday Sermon 7 January 1994 . .
  7. First International Baiat, Jalsa Salana 1 August 1993 .
  8. News: Obituaries: Deaths Last Week . 13 March 2011 . 11 May 2003 . Chicago Tribune.
  9. Web site: Obituary of Hadhrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad . 13 March 2011 . Asian Outlook . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20030514203425/http://asianoutlook.com/articles/April/35.htm . 14 May 2003 . dmy-all .
  10. Book: Gualtieri . Antonio . Gualtieri . Roberto . 2004 . Ahmadis: Community, Gender, and Politics in a Muslim Society . Montreal . McGill-Queen's University Press . 157 .
  11. Web site: The 'Blind Watchmaker' Who Is Also Deaf and Dumb . Alislam.org . 2012-10-07.
  12. Web site: Introduction to the Surahs of The Noble Quran: With Brief Explanatory Notes to Some Verses.
  13. Web site: Revelation, Rationality, Knowledge and Truth . Al Islam . 2012-10-07.
  14. Web site: Swaneh Fazle Umar – Life History of Hadhrat Mirza Bashir-ud-din Mahmud Ahmad Khalifatul Masih II – Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at Urdu Pages . Alislam.org . 2012-10-07.
  15. Web site: An Elementary Study of Islam . Al Islam . 2012-10-07.
  16. Web site: Book: The Gulf Crisis & The New World Order . Al Islam . 2012-10-07.
  17. Web site: Christianity: A Journey from Facts to Fiction . Al Islam . 1928-12-18 . 2012-10-07.
  18. Web site: Murder in the Name of Allah . Al Islam . 2012-10-07.
  19. Web site: زھق الباطل (حضرت مرزا طاہر احمد، خلیفۃ المسیح الرابعؒ). https://web.archive.org/web/20061004155321/http://www.alislam.org/urdu/zb/. dead. 4 October 2006. alisl.am.
  20. Web site: سلسلة الخطب ردا على منشور حكومي . Alislam.org . 2012-10-07 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121018170245/http://www.alislam.org/altaqwa/arabic_books/kirtas/kirt_index.html . 18 October 2012 . dead .
  21. Web site: A Review of the Pakistani Government's 'White Paper': Qadiyaniyyat – A Grave Threat to Islam . Alislam.org . 2012-10-07.
  22. Web site: Islam main irtidad ki saza ki haqeeqat – Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at Urdu Pages . https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211217/HkrwnSYVrdA . 2021-12-17 . live. Alislam.org . 2012-10-07.
  23. Web site: Homoeopathy – Like cures like . 2012-10-07.
  24. Web site: Some Distinctive Features Of Islam . Alislam.org . 2012-10-07.
  25. Web site: Introduction to the Surahs of The Noble Quran: With Brief Explanatory Notes to Some Verses . rehanqayoom.com .