History of the Movement

The Ahmadiyya Movement was founded by Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) (1835-1908), in March 1889, when he was about 54 years of age. Ahmad (as) belonged to a noble and ancient Mughal family of the Punjab which had migrated to India from Samarkand in or about the reign of the Emperor Babar. The first ancestor of Ahmad (as) to come to India was Mirza Hadi Baig who, says Sir Lepel Griffin in his Punjab Chiefs, ‘was appointed Qazi or Magistrate over seventy villages in the neighbourhood of Qadian which town he is said to have founded, naming it Islampur Qazi from which Qadian has, by a natural change, arisen. For several generations the family held offices of respectability under the Imperial Government and it was only when the Sikhs became powerful that it fell into poverty.’

The headquarters of the Movement were established by Ahmad (as) at Qadian, a small town in the Punjab (India), to which he belonged, and which is situated at a distance of about 11 miles to the north east of Batala, a railway station on the N. W. R. system. In spite of the violent opposition offered to him by the followers of every religion in India and the unsympathetic attitude of the Government officials towards him in the beginning, the Movement founded by him continued to make steady progress in all parts of India, so that at the time of his death, which occurred in May 1908, his followers ould be counted by hundreds of thousands, and the Movement had spread into the neighbouring countries of Arabia, Afghanistan, etc.

After the death of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as), my revered teacher Hazrat Maulawi Noor-ud-Deen (ra) was elected the spiritual head of the Movement, and on his death, which occurred in March 1914, I was elected to succeed him.

It may not be out of place to mention here that, as was the case in the early days of Islam, the Ahmadiyya Community is guided and governed by a spiritual head, who is elected by the Community. It is not necessary that the head of the Community should be, in any way, related to the holy founder of the Movement, as, for instance, his first successor was not related to him either by blood or by marriage, nor, on the other hand, is it necessary, that the Head of the Community should not be related to the holy founder of the Movement, as, for instance, I have the honour to be his son.

By this time the Movement has spread to almost all parts of the world and its members number over half a million, the majority of whom are to be found in India (and Pakistan) and the countries adjacent to it. Owing, however, to the violent opposition and persecution to which the members of the Movement are subjected, many people, who have accepted it at heart, are unable to join it openly, and such persons are to be found in large numbers among the Sikhs, the Hindus and the various sects of Islam.

People of all ranks and classes i.e., those belonging to the self-styled higher castes, as well as those belonging to the so-called low castes have joined the Movement. For instance, during the last two years about three thousand persons, who had originally been members of certain low castes in the Punjab and the United Provinces have joined the Movement, and this number is being added to every month. Similarly, several hundred low-caste people in the Hyderabad State have been under the instruction of the Movement during the last year.

Followers of the Movement are to be found in every province of India, and in both the Pashto speaking and Persian speaking parts of Afghanistan.

Of the countries to the south and east of India, members of the Movement are to be found in Ceylon, Burma, the Malay States and the Straits Settlements. Two papers, in the Malay and English languages, are issued by the members of the Ahmadiyya Community in Ceylon.

There is no regular mission in China, but a book named, The Muslim World, printed at Istanbul in Turkish, written by a famous traveller, Sheikh Abdur Rashid Ibrahim, who is one of the learned men of Qazan and is a member of the Russian Parliament, mentions that members of the Movement are to be found in that country also, although those in the interior have not yet been able to establish connection with the headquarters of the Movement at Qadian.

Several people in the Philippines and Sumatra have also joined the Movement.

Of the countries to the north and west of Pakistan members of the Movement are to be found in Bokhara, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Syria.

In Africa, regular communities have been formed in Egypt, Zanzibar, Natal, Sierra Leone, Gold Coast, Nigeria and Morocco, and also in the island of Mauritius. A paper in the French language is issued by the Movement from Mauritius.

In Europe the Movement has so far found adherents only in England and France.1 The English mission was established about ten years ago.

In America a mission was established only three years ago where hundreds of Americans have accepted and are continuing to accept Ahmadiyyat. A quarterly journal is issued by the Movement from Chicago. The Movement has also spread to Trinidad, Brazil, and Costa Rica in South America.

Australia also shares this great blessing, and, relying on the Word of God, we firmly believe that the rest of the world, before long, will also participate in it.