Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood | |
|---|---|
مرزا بشیر الدین محمود احمد | |
 Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad | |
| Title | |
| Personal | |
| Born | 12 January 1889 |
| Died | 7 November 1965 (aged 76) |
| Resting place | Bahishti Maqbara, Rabwah, Pakistan |
| Religion | Islam |
| Spouse | 7 spouses
|
| Children | 13 sons
|
| Parents |
|
| Denomination | Ahmadiyya |
| Signature |  |
| Muslim leader | |
| Consecration | 14 March 1914 |
| Predecessor | Hakeem Noor-ud-Din |
| Successor | Mirza Nasir Ahmad |
| Post | Caliph |
| Website | www |
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Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad (Urdu: مرزا بشیر الدین محمود احمد, romanized: Mirzā Bashīr ud-Dīn Maḥmūd Aḥmad; 12 January 1889 – 8 November 1965) was the second caliph of the Ahmadiyya from 1914 to 1965. The eldest son of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad from his second wife Nusrat Jahan Begum, Mahmood Ahmad was elected as the second successor of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad on 14 March 1914 at the age of 25, the day after the death of his predecessor Hakim Nur-ud-Din.
Mahmood Ahmad's election as second caliph saw a secession within the movement in which a party refrained from pledging allegiance to him on account of certain differences over succession and theology; and possibly owing to a clash of personalities. He led the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community for over half a century and is known for establishing virtually the entire organisational structure of the Community (including five Auxiliary Organisations), improvement of its administration, formally establishing the Majlis al-Shura (Consultative Council), consolidating and formalising the system of financial contributions of the Community and directing extensive missionary activity beyond the Indian subcontinent. He is also known for his Tafsir-i Kabir, a ten-volume exegesis of the Qur'an. A renowned orator, Mahmood Ahmad was also an active political figure especially in pre-independence India. He was also one of the founding members and the first president of the All India Kashmir Committee set up for the establishment of the civil rights of Kashmiri Muslims. Following the Partition of India and the creation of Pakistan in 1947, he carefully oversaw the safe migration of Ahmadis from Qadian to the newly found state, eventually building a town on a tract of arid and mountainous land bought by the Community in 1948 which now became its new headquarters and was named Rabwah. A 26 volume compilation of his works called Anwār ul-ʿUlūm contains over 800 writings and lectures (excluding the many thousands of sermons). Mahmood Ahmad is regarded by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community as the Musleh Ma'ood (Promised Reformer) and the "Promised Son" that Ghulam Ahmad foretold God would bestow upon him.