"Love for all, hatred for none"

The third caliph of the Ahmadiyya Community who travelled the world to spread the words of the Quran.

Khaifatul Masih III in 1967; Image source: Wikipedia

Mirza Nasir Ahmad was born on 16 November 1909 in Qadian in Amritsar, India. His father was Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad, the second successor of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. Since he was a child his father told him stories about God and instances about the almighty taking care of all humans alike. He was deeply influenced by his father's words.

By the time he was thirteen, he had the entire knowledge of the Quran, committing all 114 chapters to memory, making him a Hafiz, a guardian of the Quran.

He graduated from the Government College Lahore after which he left for England for further studies. While he studying at the University of Oxford, he greatly impressed all of his teachers with his deep thinking about the World. After completing his studies when he came back to England, one of his former professors invited him to stay at his place. This professor spread the word in the community that Nasir had marks of a great person and he would one day make an even greater leader.

After the visit to his professor before returning back to India he set out for Egypt to master the Arabic language. While his stay there he travelled and visited numerous historical sites. He also met his brother who discussed the progress of their community in Cairo. That is when Nasir realised why his father insisted on him studying abroad. He always wondered as to why his father was spending so much when India had great places to learn as well. Travelling through London and Cairo he realised it was for the worldly exposure that he had gained. As a future leader, it was his job to spread his community beliefs and in exchange learn about cultures around the globe.

After he came back to India he became a professor at Jamia Ahmadiyya. He was later appointed the principal and remained there for five years. After partition in 1947, he moved and became the principal of Tamil-ul-Islam College in Rabwah, Pakistan.

Post partition saw harsh days for the Ahmadiyya community and Nasir Ahmad. The anti-Ahmaddiya riots also known as the Lahore RIots of 1953 turned violent against the marginalised faith of Ahmadiyya mainly in the city of Lahore, the rest of the Punjab and Pakistan. Nasir Ahmad was imprisoned during this phase. The Pakistani Army subsided the entire anti-movement by putting martial law and Nasir was released on 28 May 1953.

After his release, he served in the offices of the community. On the 9th of November 1965, Mirza Nasir Ahmad was elected as the Khalifatul Masih III, the third successor of the Ahmadiyya community at the Mubarik Mosque in Rabwah, Pakistan.

After this, he embarked on a journey to different parts of the world. He went on a tour nine-week tour to various African countries where he inspected the educational, social and spiritual services given by the Ahmadiyya community in African countries. He started the Nusret Jehan scheme, which appealed for financial card contributions from the people of the community and the fund was used for social causes. Ahmadi doctors and teachers were to serve in various parts of Africa by running clinics and schools.

While he tried contributing to the welfare of people, back home the prime minister of Pakistan was facing pressure from religious leaders to declare the Ahmadiyya community as Non-Muslims. Mirza Nasir Ahmad along with other Ahmadi scholars faced an eleven-day inquisition where Nasir personally answered all the allegations against them. However, the other religious leaders believed that the Ahmadiyya community's practices were non-muslim in nature and forced the National assembly of Pakistan to declare them as non-Muslims.

However, Mirza Nasir continued his ways. In 1978, he travelled to London to participate in the conference of Jesus’ Deliverance from the cross. The conference was attended by scholars belonging to all faiths with the knowledge of papers regarding the Cruxification of Jesus. In the conference, the Ahmadiyya community's views of crucifixion were presented which became a point of controversy. On this occasion, Nasir gave a lecture on the subject of Jesus survival from death upon the cross, his travel to the east, the Unity of God**.**

He travelled to Spain in 1980 where he laid the foundation of the first Mosque to be built in Spain in over 750 years. It was there he delivered his motto "Love for All, Hatred for None." This mosque is the Bashrat Mosque in Pedro Adad. However, Mirza Nasir couldn't see the completed Mosque as he suffered from a severe heart attack and died on 9 June 1982 in Islamabad in Pakistan.