15 March 1889: The Promised Messiahas was in Hoshiarpur on this day. Huzooras blessed the marriage ceremony of Sheikh Mehar Ali Sahib’s son with his presence.
15 March 1891: The Promised Messiahas sent a personal letter to Hazrat Mian Muhammad Sanorira while he was in Ludhiana, expressing, “Correspondence work is piling up due to my chronic health condition. If you could come here and assist me for the next two months, it would be very helpful. I am staying at the same residence in Iqbal Ganj of Ludhiana.” In those days, Huzooras was engaged in a written debate with Maulvi Muhammad Hussain Batalvi about his claims and mission.
15 March 1907: The Promised Messiahas issued an announcement for Muslim clerics and invited them to read his book Haqiqatul Wahi with deep consideration.
15 March 1917: The Promised Messiah’sas prophecy about the Tsar of Russia was fulfilled on this day when the abdication of Nicholas II of Russia took place after his decades long reign. Huzooras predicted in one couplet of his famous Urdu poem:
مضمحل ہو جائیں گے اُس خوف سے سب جن و انس
زار بھى ہوگا تو ہوگا اس گھڑى باحالِ زار
“Men, high and low, will be consumed with fear; And the Tsar himself will, at that hour, be in a pitiable state.”
16 March 1903: Pandit Nand Kishor visited Qadian on this day and had the opportunity to seek blessings from the company of the Promised Messiahas before Isha prayer. He was a renowned scholar of Sanatan Dharam and a great orator of his age.
17 March 1896: Hazrat Ahmadas wrote a letter to Hazrat Nawab Muhammad Ali Khanra in which he mentioned the publishing of his book on linguistics, Minan-ur-Rahman (The Blessings of the Gracious God). Huzooras informed him that the press had stopped printing after initial copies. This book – a monument of methodical research about Arabic as the mother of all languages – was published in 1922.
17 March 1897: The Promised Messiah’sas Arabic book Hujjatullah (God’s Final Argument) was printed on this day at Zia-ul-Islam Press, Qadian. In this book, he highlighted various signs which God had shown in his favour. He also pointed out the error of his Shia opponents. In a graphic and eloquent manner, Huzooras explained that the Shia beliefs were not right because the Khulafa– Hazrat Abu Bakrra, Hazrat Umarra and Hazrat Usmanra – were the rightful Khulafa and Hazrat Alira had acknowledged this also.
17 March 1901: The Promised Messiahas wrote a two-page announcement for the general public warning them about the pandemic of the plague that was claiming lives. This message was to caution the local populace to take precautionary measures to protect themselves.
18 March 1966: Hazrat Mirza Nasir Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih IIIrh introduced the scheme of Waqf-e-Arzi. Through this scheme, every Ahmadi is able to take part in missionary work for a limited period.
20 March 1907:The Promised Messiahas issued another announcement about his book Haqiqatul Wahi, and this time, he addressed Christian priests and asked them to ponder over his book without being hasty.
21 March 1894: The lunar eclipse occurred after sunset on Thursday, 13 Ramadan. According to Calcutta time, the lunar eclipse was visible in India in the evening between 7-9:30pm, in accordance with the Hadith narrated by Hazrat Imam Baqir Muhammad bin Ali, son of Hazrat Ali bin Hussain, Zain-ul-Abidin (may Allah have mercy on them):
“For our Mahdi there are two signs that have never appeared before since the creation of the heavens and the earth, namely, the moon will be eclipsed on the first night in Ramadan (i.e. on the first of the nights on which a lunar eclipse can occur) and the sun will be eclipsed on the middle day (i.e. in the middle of the days on which a solar eclipse can occur), and these signs have not appeared since God created the heavens and the earth.” (Sunan al-Darqutni, Kitab-ul-Eidain)
21 March 1905: Hazrat Babo Muhammad Afzal Sahib, Proprietor and Editor of the newspaper Al Badr, passed away on this day. Owing to the services provided by this newspaper for the spread of his divine mission along with Al Hakam, Huzooras referred to them as his two arms.
21 March 1908: Sir James Wilson, Financial Commissioner of Punjab came to Qadian for a day’s visit. His camp was settled in an open ground outside the village of Qadian. He made a request for a meeting with the Promised Messiahas. Huzooras, accompanied by some of his devoted disciples, went to see him in the evening at 5 o’clock. During this meeting, Huzooras explained to Sir James the beauties of Islam and told him that the religion of Islam was based on sound reason and very clear signs from the Almighty God. He told him that Islam would win through reason and not with the sword. Every battle fought by the early Muslims was a defensive battle. The idea that Islam spread by the sword was totally erroneous and was a mere fantasy of the enemies of Islam.
The financial commissioner wished to continue the talk further about matters not relating to religion. But Huzooras said, “You are a worldly ruler. God has appointed me a ruler of the spiritual domain. As you have fixed times for certain matters, so are our times fixed for various works. Now is the time for our prayer.” Saying these words, Huzooras stood up and returned.