I have been asked to write a brief preface to the English translation of the book Hamara Khuda [Our God], written in Urdu by my father, Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmad, when he was in the prime of his youth.
My deepest and abiding impression about my father centres around his total submission and unbounded love for Allah, the Holy Prophet(saw) of Islam, and the Promised Messiah(as). It seemed as if his whole life revolved around them. In family gatherings, particularly when addressing his children, he would narrate some story about each of his three loves and his eyes would be filled with tears through intense emotions. In my mind, I can see him now as if this happened only today, when in fact the incidents relate to some seventy odd years ago. It is no surprise that this should be so, because of the total sincerity and utter devotion with which he addressed us.
It is therefore no coincidence that he wrote books on these three topics which directed his life and consumed his attention. Apart from his book Hamara Khuda [Our God], written largely for the youth who were being swept by the onslaught of atheist literature, after great research he also wrote a Siratun-Nabi1 in three volumes. This was received with great appreciation and jubilation, even among eminent non-Ahmadi personalities like Sir Muhammad Iqbal. What impressed the readers most was his convincing defence and clarification of topics which had attracted a great deal of criticism in the West, such as slavery, polygamy, the true concept of Jihad, wars of self-defence and total prohibition of pressure or use of force in matters of faith and conscience.
His other book in this category is the work related to Sirat-ul-Mahdi,2 again published in three volumes. It was also written with great love and devotion ensuring the chain of command through which the incidents in the Promised Messiah’s(as) life were recorded.
Let me in the end make a humble request for prayers for my father. Please, whenever possible, offer a little prayer for him; his soul will rejoice and his children will remain eternally grateful.
M.M. Ahmad
Amir
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, USA
July 2002
1 Refers to the Urdu title, Sirat Khatamun-Nabiyyin, which has been translated into English under the title of The Life and Character of the Seal of the Prophets (2 vols.). [Publisher]
2 Life of the Mahdi(as) [Publisher]