Leadership: 27/May/1908 – 13/Mar/1914
Lifetime: 1841 – d. 13/Mar/1914
Hazrat Maulana Hakim Nur-ud-Din was born at Bhera, in Shahpur District, Punjab `present-day Pakistan`, in 1258 Hijrah (or 1841 A.D). He was a direct descendant of Hazrat ‘Umar, the second successor of the great Arabian Prophet `The Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)`. While still a child, he learnt the Holy Quran from his mother. Here he imbibed that love for the Holy Book which afterwards became a passion with him.
He also read Arabic and Persian at home under several teachers who, fortunately, knew the art of teaching and did not spoil his brain by having him simply memorise as was the custom with the ustads (teachers) of the time. His faculties were thus well developed till his youth when he joined the Normal School at Rawalpindi `in present-day Pakistan`. There he achieved the First Class Certificate in the final examination and was appointed as Headmaster of the Pind Dadan Khan Middle Vernacular School.
Once, while he was there, an Inspector came to visit the school. The Inspector could not find any fault with his work but Nur-ud-Din did not know flattery, which inspecting officers were generally used to and fond of. His straight-forward manner of speaking annoyed the officer. The Inspector remarked very seriously: "You appear to be proud of your First Class Certificate." The maulana `learned man` took the certificate from his pocket and tore it and said, "This is not my God; I care little for this certificate or this service." Then he resigned his post and went to Lahore where he studied the post-Unani `Greek` System of Medicine in Persian. In order to complete the study of medicine he went to Lucknow `India` and sat for three years at the feet of Hakim Ali Hussain, a celebrated physician of the time. He also studied Hadith, Fiqah, Mathematics, Euclid and Algebra there with several other teachers and became well-versed in all those branches of study.
Just when the maulana was thinking of leaving Lucknow, the Nawab of Rampore `India` sent for Hakim Ali Hussain, who took Maulana Nur-ud-Din with him. He studied there for some time and then went to Bhopal `India` for the study of Islamic theology. Then he went on pilgrimage to Mecca, visited Medina and travelled in Arabia for the acquisition of knowledge.
Now comes the turning point of his life. While at the Kashmir Durbar `administrative court` he heard of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Sahib and at once started for Qadian `India` to see him. He was a great admirer of Mirza Sahib for his deep piety and burning love for the religion of Islam. Maulana Nur-ud-Din knew that Mirza Sahib was often blessed with revelations from God and that a simple and unostentatious man like him could not be a hypocrite. So when Hazrat Mirza Sahib claimed to be the Promised Messiah and Mahdi in obedience to some commandments which were revealed to him by God, Maulana Nur-ud-Din was the first man to accept him and from that day he identified himself with the `Ahmadiyya` Movement started by Mirza Sahib and wrote to him that he was ready to sacrifice his life and property. Later on he moved to Qadian, and both the master and the disciple had such a deep love for each other that they could not think of separation anymore. Henceforth, he devoted all his powerful energy to the service of Islam by his writings, speeches, conversations, teaching of the Quran and prayers. Like his great master `Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad`, he submitted entirely to God and whatever he did, he did for His sake.
His mind was as open as nature itself. He saw the expression of the Divine Will not only through Allah’s Revealed Book but through nature and the history of nations as well. Hence, he studied the history of various nations. He also studied modern European science and philosophy through translations in Arabic. His library has a wonderful collection of rare books on religion and history. He did not care for books which could be easily had. These he read and then distributed among poor students. But he took particular care in collecting rare books and spent thousands of rupees for this purpose. There are three libraries in India famous for Arabic and Persian books: at Bhopal, Rampur and Bankipur. But Maulana Nur-ud-Din's library would yield to none so far as valuable and rare books on history and religion were concerned. His thirst for knowledge continued even to his last days. A few days before his last illness he said that he had just finished two volumes of the Charak and Sasrut books on the Indian system of medicine comprising some three thousand pages.
He devoted all he could to helping the poor, the needy, poor students and other works solely for the service of Allah. He gave in charity like a prince, but himself lived like a beggar. His dress as well as his food was of the simplest kind. He often used to say: "Some of my friends tell me: you do not save anything. You have a wife and little children. How will they be maintained after your death? I tell them: God is living, not dead; He is omniscient. If I serve Him, will He not look after my family?"
Maulana Nur-ud-Din succeeded the Promised Messiah in 1908 and became the leader of the community founded by Hazrat Mirza Sahib. He had many difficulties as the spiritual head of the movement but he guided his followers with strength, wisdom and patience.
The world, the civilised world had lost its faith in the Unseen and was sunk in materialism. This saint tried to turn his followers into true Muslims who would be entirely of God and of no other and who would hold aloft the torch of faith before the world. He sent missions to hold aloft the torch of faith before the world. He sent missions to foreign countries, the most prominent of these being the one sent to England, headed by Khawaja Kamal-ud-Din B.A., LL.B., which has done immense good by removing many of the prevailing misrepresentations against Islam and has succeeded in gaining a number of converts in high spheres of society.
It is not possible for ordinary mortals to fathom the depth of a sage like this maulana. Like his master, the Promised Messiah, and the Prophet of Arabia, he was in this world and yet not of it. He had a wife and children and no husband was more loving, no father more affectionate, yet his heart was always with God. Neither honour nor disgrace, neither wealth nor poverty, neither the company of intimate friends nor the loss of a dear son could ever for a moment disturb his soul. He had prefect assurance of the beneficence of Allah and cheerfully accepted everything from Him, be it bitter or sweet. His soul was like a mountain rising high above the clouds so that thunder and lightning, smoke and dust, could never reach its top which smiled in eternal sunshine |
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