The Qadiani Saint Paul

Hakim (Hakim means a physician practicing the traditional system of Greek- Arabian medicine (Translator)). Nuruddin Bhairawl occupies a position of unique importance in the history of Qadianism, second only to that of its founder. In fact, some observers are of the view that the said Hakim was the real brain behind the movement, that the intellectual currents of this -movement sprang from his mind.

Birth and Early Education
Hakim Nuruddin was born in. 1258 A.H. (1841 A.D.) in Bhaira, District Sargodha (Punjab). (These are based on Akbar Shah Khan Najibabidi's Mirqt al-raqzn Hayat Nuruddin. Najibabadi was a pupil of the Hakim. These biographical details were related to him by the Hakim himself at the time when Najibabadi was his student as well as a devout follower.) Thus in 1857 he was 16 years of age, and was younger than the Mirza by just one or two years. His father, Hafiz Ghulam Rasul, was an imam in a mosque in Bhaira, and was a Faruqi by lineage.

The Hakim's early education took place in his home-village. He read the books on Fiqah in Punjabi language under the guidance of his mother. Then he went to Lahore. He was taught Persian by Munshi Qasim Kashmiri and learnt calligraphy from Mirza Irhim Dayrawi. But neither of the two attracted him. Both his teachers were Shias. In 1272 A. H. aka 1855 A. D.) he returned home and remained for some time studying under Mir Haji Sharfuddin. It is around this time that he began to learn the Arabic language systematically.

Under the influence of a bookseller who belonged to the movement of Sayyid Ahmad Shahid, there arose in him the urge to translate the Holy Qur'an, and he anxiously read Taqwiyatul Iman and Mashziriq-al-Anwar. A little later, he returned to Lahore and acquired some knowledge of Medicine. While his education was at, a very advanced stage, he took employment with the Normal School, Rawalpindi. There he taught Persian and at the same time learned Arithmetic and Geography from another teacher. After passing a tahsil examination, he became headmaster in Pindi Dandan Khan and once more resumed the study of Arabic. After four years, he ceased to remain in service and began to devote all his time to his own studies. For some time, he studied under Maulavi Ahmaduddin (who was known as Buggiwale Qazi Sahib). Then, his love for knowledge made him travel to several parts of India. In Rampur he resumed his studies, studied Mishkat-al-Masbih under Maulana Hasan Shah, Sharah-i-Wiqayah under Maulavi Azizullah Afgbani, Usul of al-Shashi and Maibazi under Maulina Irshid Husain; the Diwan of al-Mutanabbi under Maulavi Sa'dullah; Sadra, etc., under Maulavi 'Abd al-'Ali, and the higher books on Logic like Mir Zahid Riaalah and Mir Zahid Mulla falal, half-heartedly. At this time, he enthusiastically supported Isma'il Shahid and sometimes used to speak to his teachers with great boldness. From Rampur he went to Lucknow and began to study medicine under a famous physician, Hak-im 'Ali Husain. When 'Ali Husain went to Rampur on invitation from Nawab Kalb-i-Ali Khan of Rampur Nuruddin accompanied him. During his stay in Rampur he further studied literature under Mufti Sa'dullab. On the whole he remained with Hakim 'Ali Husain for a period of two years and then went to Bhopal in order to complete his education in Arabic and to study Hadith. Bhopal, in those days, had become a great centre of learning. The Governmental patronage of knowledge and learning had attracted a good number of scholars. In Bhopal he stayed with and was patronised by Munshi jamaluddin Khan, the Chief Minister. During his stay, Nur'uddin took lessons in Bukhari and Hidayah from Maulina Abdul Qayyum (the son of Maulana Abdul Hal Burhanwat, who was a Khalifah of Hazrat Sayyid Ahmad Shahid). From Bhopal he went on a visit to the Holy cities- Mecca and Medina-in order to complete his education and also in order to attain other-worldly felicity-' ( An interesting anecdote is related in this connection, which was narrated by Nuruddin himself. While leaving for the Holy cities, he asked Maulana Abdul Qayyum to tender him some advice. He said, "Never become God or Prophet." Abdul Qayyum explained that by 'not becoming God' what he had meant was that if any of his desires were frustrated, he should not feel greatly dejected, for to be able to do what one likes is the attribute of God alone ; by 'not becoming the Prophet' he meant that if people rejected his fatwas, he should not deem them to be condemned to hell, for it is the disobedience of the Prophet alone which condemns one to hell (Mirqat al-yaqin, p. 79).

In Mecca, he studied Abu Da'ud under Shaykh Muhammad Khazraji, Sahih Muslim under Sayyid Husain and began, to study Musallam al-Thuhut under Maulana Rahmatullah Kayranawl, 'the author of Izhar al-Haqq. Sometimes, he had heated discussion with his teachers and showed trends towards non- conformity and exaggerated confidence in the soundness of his own views and intelligence.' (Mirqat at-laqin p. 95-97.)

At Mecca be finished his study of Abu Daud and Ibn Majah under Shaykh Muhammad Khazraji. In the meantime Shah 'Abdul Ghani Mujaddidi had arrived in Mecca. Later on when Shah Mujaddidi returned to Medina, the Hakim joined him and after taking an oath of allegiance to him remained as his student for six months.

Occupation
After pilgrimage and, visit to the Holy places, Nuruddin returned to his native place, Bhaira and stayed there for some time. During his stay be debated with people - as to whether the current customs and usages conformed to the teachings embodied, in the collections of Hadith which turned some people against him. This led him to realise the ignorance and stagnation of the common people and his own superiority and intellectual excellence. He also went to Delhi during the Durbar of Lord Lytton and there met Munshi jamaluddin Khan, the Chief Minister of Bhopal, who brought him to Bhopal. After a short stay at Bhopal, Nuruddin once more went back to Bhaira and -started practising medicine there. Soon his reputation as a successful physician spread and, he was invited by the Maharaja of Jammu to serve him as his personal physician. For a considerable period of time he served the ruler of Jammu, Poonch and kashmir and gained considerable influence there by dint of li-is ability as a physician, and his eloquence, know- ledge and wit. He had become a very close- confidant of the Maharaja and thus quite powerful.

An Ardent Follower of Mirza
There were many similarities of character and temperament between Hakim Nuruddin and Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. It is difficult to say how they came into contact with each other. Their first meeting, however, took place at Qadian in 1885. When the Mirza wrote Bardhin-i-Ahmadiya, Nuruddin wrote a book supporting it. His admiration for the Mirza increased so much so that he took an oath of allegiance at his hands and accepted him as his spiritual guide, his leader, and pledged to follow him' The following letter of Nuruddin shows the depth of his Attachment to the Mirza.

"My master, my guide, my leader: Assalam-o-Alaykum wa Rahmat ullah,
It is my prayer to be ever present before you and to learn from you all that for which the Imam of the age has been made the Mujaddid. If it is permitted, I would resign my job and spend day and night in your exalted service; or if it is ordered, I would give up my present engagements and go around the whole world, summoning people towards the true religion and would lay down my life in this cause. I am a martyr in your cause: whatever I have is not mine; it is yours. Respected guide and mentor, with utmost sincerity I say that -if all my wealth and belongings are sacrificed in the cause of religious preaching, I will have achieved my purpose. If the buyers of Barahin in advance are uneasy at the delay in the publication of the book, please permit me to render the humbl6 service of paying them all their dues from my pocket.

"Respected pir and guide: this worthless one, ashamed of himself, says that if this offer is accepted it would be a pleasure for him. What I mean is that I may be permitted to bear the entire cost of printing Barahin and that what- ever proceeds there might be from its sale, should be spent on your needs. My relationship with you is the same as that of Faruq (with the, Prophet) and I am prepared to sacrifice all in this path. Please pray that the end of my life be like that of Siddiqs (the truthful ones)."

Nuruddin's faith in the Mirza was very deep indeed. It so happened that when the Mirza wrote 'Fath-i-Islam and Tawdih al-Maram someone asked Nuruddih, before he had seen these books, if any other Prophet could come after the Holy Prophet. "No", he replied. "And if someone claims to be a Prophet ?" lie was asked. 'Nuruddin replied that if someone did claim so, it would be seen whether he was truthful or -not; and that his claim would be accepted if he was truthful. After narrating this incident, Nuruddin himself adds:

"This was just the case of prophetbood. My faith is that even if the Promised Messiah were to proclaim himself to be the bearer of, a Shariah and abrogate the Quranic Shariah, I will not reject that claim. For, when we have accepted him (i.e. the Mirza) to be truthful and to have been commissioned by God, then whatever he will say will 'Of necessity be true and we will have to think that the (Quranic) verse in respect of Khatim at yin (the last of the Prophets) has a different meaning." (Sirat al-Makd;, pp. 96-99.)

During Disassociation with the Court of Jammu, Nuruddin wrote Fasl-ul-Khitab in four volumes under the guidance of the Mirza in which he refuted Christianity. He kept on contributing very magnanimously to the publication of the works of the Mirza and quite often the Mirza took large sums of money as loans from him' and praised him for his religious enthusiasm' his readiness -to help the religious cause and his large-hearted generosity. The famous couplet of the Mirza about Nuruddin is:

"How good would it be, were every one - in the Ummat a Nuruddin;

That would be so, if the light of faith burnt in the heart of everyone."'

For several reasons, particularly , the intrigues of the courtiers, the Maharaja's attitude towards Nuruddin subsequently changed. In 1893 or 1894, his service with the Maharaja was terminated and Nuruddin returned to Bhaira. After a brief stay and practice of medicine there he moved to Qadian permanently and dedicated his life to supporting the Mirza and spreading his movement.

Accession to Khilafat
On the Mirza's death on May 26, 1908, he became his first Khalifah. The followers of the Mirza paid their allegiance to him and be was proclaimed to be the "Khalifah of the Promised Messiah", and "Nuruddin the Great." For quite some time Nuruddin remained hesitant whether he should consider those who did not believe in the Mirza's prophethood to be unbelievers. Later, he was converted to the view that they were unbelievers.' There was some controversy about his nomination as the Khalifah. Some people strongly opposed it. On one such occasion he said:

" I say by God that it is God Himself who had made me the Khalifah. So, who now has the power to snatch from me the robe (literally the covering sheet) of this Caliphate? It was the Will of God Himself, and was in the light of His Own wise consideration, to make me your Imam and Khalifah. You can attribute to me a thousand short-comings. They, in fact, will be attributable not to me, but to God Himself who appointed me the Khatifah." (Review of Religions, Qadian, V61.14 No 6, p. 234"(cited from Ilyas Barni's Qadiyani Mazhab).) On another occasion he said:

"God has made me the Khalifah. Now, neither can I be dismissed (from Caliphate) by your biddance nor has anyone the power to remove me. If you force me any further, bear in mind that I have at my disposal many Khalid bin Walid who will punish you as (Khalid bin Waild had punished) the apostates. ( Tashkhiz at-Azhan, Vol. 9 No. 11 cited by Barni. )

Nuruddin remained the Khalifah of the Qadiani movement for six years. In 1914 he fell from a horse and died on March 13, 1914. A few days before his death, his tongue had ceased to functional. ( The Daily Al-Fadhl, Qadian, 23 Februlry, 1932, (cited from Qadiani Mazhab),) He nominated Mirza Basbiruddin Mahmood, the eldest son of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, to be his successor and Khalifah.

Temperament -
A study of Nuruddin's life shows that he possessed a mercurial nature and remained a prey to mental conflicts during the greater period of his life. From the very beginning he had a bent towards "free-thinking". First of all, he freed, himself from the bonds of the four Muslim schools of jurisprudence and carried his non-conformism to an extreme. Then he came under the influence of Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan's literature and assimilated his way of thinking. This was the time when some elementary knowledge of physical sciences was finding its way to India and the rationalists among Indian Muslims were becoming deeply impressed by it. Those who had a religious inclination attempted to harmonise Quranic teachings with scientific knowledge. If this harmonisation presented any difficulty, they tried to overcome it by offering far-fetched interpretations of Quranic verse and, the Quranic terminology. Nuruddin's teaching of Tafsir was, representative of this intellectual trend." ( A good example of his way of thinking is found in the Tafsir of his pupif Maulavi Muhammad Ali Lahori (His Tafsir is found in English as well as Urdu). )

In Sirat al-Mahdi, Mirza Bashir Ahmad writes:
"In the beginn ing Hazrat Nuruddin, the first Khalifah, was deeply under the influence of the way of thinking and the work of Sir Sayyid. But, subsequently, due to contact with Hazrat Sahib, this influence gradually wore off."(Sirat al-mahdi, Vol. 1, p. 159.)

But a study of his ideas as well as those of his disciples makes it evident that either because of the influence of Sir Sayyid's ideas, or because of his own predilection he remained the same all his life. His mind lead been moulded into a rigid frame and his mental attitudes had become too hardened to change.

A more careful study of his life reveals that along with his enlightenment and rationalism, there was a strong superstitious element in his personality. Despite all his non-conformism and rationalism he attached great importance to 'dreams' and 'inspirations'. It has been observed that not infrequently people who stand for intellectual freedom, in fact, for intellectual revolt, also have an inherent trait of superstitiousness. Their frame o f mind is basically apologetic. Such people keep on raising the banner of revolt all their lives against certain institutions or personalities, but, at the same time, when they submit before someone, their power of free-thinking and independent judgement-is totally paralysed. Man's life is a strange combination of action and reaction; and his personality a complex -of diver- gent, even mutually conflicting elements. Nothing is more difficult to, understand and analyse than the driving urges of a man's personality.

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