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The following extracts are taken from the opinions expressed by prominent Muslims about Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad upon his death in 1908. These were published in Muslim newspapers and journals at that time.

1. Maulavi Bashir-ud-Din, editor of Sadiq-ul-Akhbar, Rewari (U.P., India), wrote as follows in his obituary:

“As Mirza sahib, with his forceful speeches and magnificent writings, shattered the foul criticism of the opponents of Islam, silencing them forever and proving that truth is after all the truth, and as he left no stone unturned in the service of Islam by championing its cause to the full, justice requires that one should condole the sudden and untimely death of such a resolute defender of Islam, helper of the Muslims, and an eminent and irreplaceable scholar.”

(Sadiq-ul-Akhbar, May 1908)

2. The editor of the Lahore Municipal Gazette wrote:

“The Mirza sahib was specially renowned for his knowledge and scholarship. His writings were also eloquent. In any case, we are grieved by his death for the reason that he was a Muslim. We believe that a scholar has been taken from the world.”

3. Maulana Abdullah Al-Imadi, editor of Wakeel, of Amritsar, wrote:

“Although Mirza sahib had not received systematic education in current knowledge and theology, yet an assessment of his life shows that he had a unique nature not granted to everyone: by the aid of his own study and his upright nature, he had attained sufficient mastery over religious literature. In about 1877, when he was 35 or 36 years old, we find him charged with unusual religious fervour. He is leading the life of a true and pious Muslim. His heart is unimpressed by worldly attractions.

The state of ecstacy created by reading his invaluable books which were written to counter other religions and to uphold Islam, still has not faded. His Barahin Ahmadiyya overawed the non-Muslims and raised the spirits of the Muslims. He presented to the world a captivating picture of the religion [of Islam], cleansed of the blots and dust that had collected upon it as a result of the superstition and natural weaknesses of the ignorant.

“As to his character, there is not the slightest trace of a blot on it. He lived a virtuous life, the life of a righteous, God-fearing person.”

4. Maulavi Siraj-ud-Din was the editor of the leading Muslim Urdu daily paper, the Zamindar of Lahore, at the time of Hazrat Mirza’s death. He wrote:

“Mirza Ghulam Ahmad sahib was a clerk near the district of Sialkot in about 1860 or 1861. He would be about 22 or 23 years of age at the time. We can say from personal experience that, even in his youth, he was a very virtuous and righteous person. After work all his time was spent in religious studies. He did not much meet people. In 1877 we had the honour of his hospitality at his home in Qadian for one night. In those days too, he was so engrossed in worship and devotion that he conversed little, even with guests. ... We have often said, and we again say, that even if his claims were the result of mental pre-occupation, he was innocent of pretence or fabrication. ... Scholarly figures such as Maulavi Nur-ud-Din and Maulavi Muhammad Ahsan, and products of modern education such as Khawaja Jamal-ud-Din, B.A., Khawaja Kamal-ud-Din, B.A., and Maulavi Muhammad Ali, M.A., are among his followers. Though we personally did not have the honour of believing in his claims or revelations, nonetheless we consider him to be a perfect Muslim.”

5. Mirza Hairat of Delhi

He was editor of the Curzon Gazette. In his obituary of Hazrat Mirza, he wrote:

“The services of the deceased, which he rendered to Islam in confrontation with the Christians and the Arya Samajists, deserve the highest praise. He completely changed the flow of the debate, and laid the foundations of a new literature in India. ...

The incomparable books which he wrote in refutation of the Arya Samaj and Christian creeds, and the shattering replies he gave to the opponents of Islam, we have not seen any rational refutation of these except that the Aryas have been hurling abuse at the Founder and the teachings of Islam in an uncouth manner, without being able to give a sensible reply. Although the deceased was a Punjabi, yet his pen was so powerful that today in the whole of the Punjab, even in the whole of India, there is no author of such power. ... and it is true that, on reading some of his writings, one goes into a state of ecstasy. …

His followers are not only common and unlearned people, but include able and bright graduates, viz., B.A., M.A., and very learned Ulama. It is a matter of no small pride for a religious leader of this day that persons educated on traditional lines as well as persons educated on modern lines, both types, should become his followers.”

6. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad

He was a very famous Islamic scholar, author and journalist in India this century. He was also President of the Indian National Congress before independence, and after the independence of India he held high posts in the federal cabinet of India. He wrote in his obituary of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad in May 1908:

“The literature produced by Mirza sahib in his confrontation with the Christians and the Aryas has received the seal of general approval, and for this distinction he needs no introduction. We have to acknowledge the value and greatness of this literature from the bottom of our hearts, now that it has done its work. This is because that time cannot be forgotten nor effaced from the mind when Islam was besieged by attacks on all sides, and the Muslims, who had been entrusted with the defence of Islam by the Real Defender, as the means of defence in this world of causes and means, were lying flat sobbing in the aftermath of their shortcomings, doing nothing for Islam or not being able to do anything for it. ...

So, this service rendered by Mirza sahib will place the coming generations under a debt of gratitude, in that he fulfilled his duty of the defence of Islam by joining the front rank of those engaged in the jihad by the pen, and he left behind him as a memorial such literature as will last so long as Muslims have blood flowing in their veins ...”