Mirza Tahir Ahmad

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Mirza Tahir Ahmad
مرزا طاہر احمد
KhalifaIV Surrey.jpg
Mirza Tahir Ahmad in 2000
Title Caliph of the Messiah
[
Personal
Born(1928-12-18)18 December 1928
Died19 April 2003(2003-04-19) (aged 74)
London, England
Resting place Mubarak Mosque, Tilford, England
Religion Islam
SpouseAsifa Begum (m. 1957–1992)
ChildrenFour
Parents
Denomination Ahmadiyya
Muslim leader
Consecration10 June 1982
Predecessor Mirza Nasir Ahmad
Successor Mirza Masroor Ahmad
Post Caliph

Mirza Tahir Ahmad (مرزا طاہر احمد; 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.

Contents

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

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

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 due to their accomplishments and their influence.

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

Related Research Articles

Rabwah, officially known as Chenab Nagar, is a city in Chiniot, Punjab, Pakistan on the bank of Chenab River. It was the headquarters of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community from September 20, 1948 when the community relocated from Qadian, India to the newly created state of Pakistan, where the community leased the area of present-day Rabwah from the government to establish its home. This continued until 1984 and the establishment of Ordinance XX. In 1984, the headquarters were moved to the United Kingdom with Mirza Tahir Ahmed, first to London and then in 2019 to the Islamabad compound in Tilford, Surrey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mirza Ghulam Ahmad</span> Indian religious leader (1835–1908)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ahmadiyya Caliphate</span> Leadership of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">MTA International</span> Islamic TV Station

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mirza Nasir Ahmad</span> Ahmadiyya religious leader (1909–1982)

Mirza Nasir Ahmad was the third Caliph of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. He was elected as the third successor of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad on 8 November 1965, the day after the death of his predecessor and father, Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad</span> Ahmadiyya religious leader (1889–1965)

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<i>Tafseer-e-Kabeer</i>

Tafseer-e-Kabeer is a 10 volume Urdu exegesis of the Quran written by Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmud Ahmad, the second Caliph of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, over a period of 20 years. It is often seen as a masterpiece by some scholars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mirza Masroor Ahmad</span> Spiritual leader of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community

Mirza Masroor Ahmad is the current and fifth leader of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. His official title within the movement is Fifth Caliph of the Messiah. He was elected on 22 April 2003, three days after the death of his predecessor Mirza Tahir Ahmad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prophethood (Ahmadiyya)</span>

In Ahmadiyya theology, the view on the Prophets of God differs significantly from Mainstream Islam. The main difference centres on the Quranic term Khatam an-Nabiyyin with reference to Muhammad which is understood by Ahmadis in terms of perfection and testification of prophethood instead of chronological finality. Accordingly, Muhammad is held to be the last prophet to deliver a religious law to humanity in the form of the Quran whose teachings embody a perfected and universal message. Although, in principle, prophets can appear within Islam but they must be non-lawbearing prophets dependent upon the sharia of Muhammad. Their prophethood is reflective of that of Muhammad, that is, within his Seal; and their role is merely that of reviving and purifying the faith. They cannot be prophets in their own right and cannot change, add to or subtract from the religious law of Islam. As such, Ahmadis, regard their founder Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835–1908) as a subordinate prophet who appeared as the promised Messiah and Mahdi in accordance with Islam's eschatological prophecies. In contrast to mainstream Muslims who believe Jesus was raised to heaven and one who would return himself towards the end of time, Ahmadis believe Jesus to have died a natural death and view the coming of such an independent, Israelite prophet to amount to breaking the Seal of Prophethood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ahmadiyya views on evolution</span> Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam universally accepts a process of divinely guided evolution

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ahmadiyya</span> Messianic movement within Islam

Ahmadiyya, officially the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at (AMJ) is an Islamic messianic movement originating in British India in the late 19th century. It was founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835–1908), who said he had been divinely appointed as both the Promised Mahdi and Messiah expected by Muslims to appear towards the end times and bring about, by peaceful means, the final triumph of Islam; as well as to embody, in this capacity, the expected eschatological figure of other major religious traditions. Adherents of the Ahmadiyya—a term adopted expressly in reference to Muhammad's alternative name Aḥmad—are known as Ahmadi Muslims or simply Ahmadis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jalsa Salana</span> Annual gathering of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community

Jalsa Salana is a formal, annual gathering of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. It was initiated in 1891 by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of the community, in Qadian, India. Usually, the gathering spans three days, beginning with the flag hoisting ceremony following the Friday Sermon. Although the convention held in the UK is deemed to be the major and 'international Jalsa' attended by Ahmadis from across the world, Ahmadis in other countries hold their own national Jalsas, sometimes attended by the Khalifatul Masih.

Bahishti Maqbara, located originally in Qadian, India, and then in Rabwah, Pakistan, is a religious cemetery established by the Ahmadiyya Community as a directive from the community's founder Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, made known in his booklet Al-Wasiyyat. Mirza Ghulam Ahmad established it in his will after he saw an angel showing him the place of his burial.

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