Hakeem Noor-ud-Din
Maulana Hakeem Noor-ud-Din, the first Successor to Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian was born at Bhera, Distt. Shahpur, Punjab in 1841.He was the youngest of seven brothers and two sisters. He was the 34th in direct make lineal descent from Umar b. Khattab, the Second Caliph of Islam. His family had a tradition of memorzing the Holy Quran (Hifz). His mother, Noor Bakht belonged to Awan clan.
Childhood and Education:
Maulana's mother was his first teacher. He used to say that he was fed the love of Quran through his mother's milk. He went to a local school for his early education. His father Hafiz Ghulam Rasul, being a devoted Muslim and an affectionate parent stressed a lot on his children's education. Maulana recalled his fathers love for knowledge to someone, which is recorded in his biography, Hyaat e Noor, by Abdul Qadir Saudagar Mal (Page 2).
My father had great interest in education of his children. There was a Hindu scholar named Madan Chand who contracted leprosy. People made him a home away from the town. My father sent my brother to him to study. People asked, why are you destroying the life of such a handsome boy? My father replied, If after gaining as much knowledge as Madan Chand, he bacomes a leper, I will not mind that. You should be such a father to your children. If he (my father) was alive today, he would have sent me to America (for studies).
He spoke Punjabi as his mother tongue, but once hearing a soldier speaking Urdu, he fell in love with the language and learnt it by reading Shah Waliullah's books.
Interest in Eastern Medicine:
Maulana's eldest brother, Maulive Sultan Ahmad was a learned Divine who owned a printing press in Lahore. Once when Nooruddeen was 12 years old, he accompanied his brother to Lahore, where he fell ill and was successfully treated by Hakeem Ghulam Dastgir of Said Mitha. Impressed by his manner and his rerenown, Nooruddeen became eager to study medicine; but his brother persuaded him to study Persian and arranged for him to be taught by a famous Persian teacher, Munshi Muhammad Qasim Kashmiri.
Education in Persian, Arabic and Quranic studies:
Maulana learnt his Persian in Lahore where he stayed for two years. His brother, then taught him Arabic. In 1857 a travelling bookseller come to Bhera from Calcutta. He urged Noordudeen to learn the translation of the Quran and presented him with a printed copy of five of the principal chanpters of the Holy Book together with their Urdu translation. Shortly after, a merchant from Bombay urged him to read two Urdu books, Taqviatul Iman and Mashariqul Anwar, which were commentaries on Holy Quran.
Return to Lahore:
After a few years, Maulana went back to Lahore and started studying medicine with famous Hakeem Allah Deen of Gumti Bazaar. This turned out to be a short stay and the study was postponed.
Rawalpindi and further Education:
Maulana was then sent to Rawalpindi to study at Normal School in Rawalpindi. He was 17 when he joined the school. He graduated with a Diploma at the age of 21. He was a brilliant pupil and due to his qualities he was appointed the headmaster to a school in Pind Dadan Khan at the young age of 21.
It was probably Rawalpindi whrere Maulana had his first contact with Christian missionries. Maulana recalled during his stay at Rawalpindi, as quoted in Hyaat e Noor, by Abdul Qadir Saudagar Mal (page 14).
When I was in Rawalpindi, there was a bungalow belonging to an Englishman, Alexander, next to our house. Once someone took me there and he gave me two beautifully printed books, Meezanul Haq and Tareeqatul Hayat. I read them intently. Although I was still a child, I had great love of Quran even then. I found both those books vile. In those days, I did not even know what the Holy Spirit was.
Mecca and Madina
In 1865-66, at the age of 25, he traveled to the cities of Mecca and Medinah. He stayed there for nearly one and a half years to acquire religious knowledge.
Return to Bhera
He returned to Bhera, his home town, and started a religious school where he taught the Holy Quran and the Hadith. He also started practice in the Eastern medicine. In a short time he became well known for his healing powers skill in medicine. His fame came to the notice of the Maharaja of Kashmir, who appointed him his court physician in 1867.
Views of Maulana Ubaidulla Sindhi
Maulana Obaidullah Sindhi was a great admirer of Khalifatul Masih I and often used to visit Qadian to see him. He states (Irshaadaat by Hadhrat Maulana Obaidullah Sindhi, p. 400):
Maulavi Noor-ud-Deen is an unmatched scholar and has a commanding personality. He has the deepest attachment to the Holy Qur'an. He was ever thinking how best the message of the Holy Qur'an could be taken and how best the people could be familiarized with the beauties and the excellences of the Holy Qur'an. He was also thinking of how to invite people to the Holy Qur'an and how their lives could be moulded in the ideal mould of the Holy Book.
References
- Hyaat e Noor, by Abdul Qadir Saudagar Mal
- Ifādāt va malfūẓāt-i Ḥazrat Maulānā ʻUbaidullāh Sindhī
by Muḥammad Sarvar; ʻUbaidullāh Sindhī Type: Urdu : Book Publisher: Lāhaur : Sindh Sāgar Akādemī, 1972.