22-28 March

22 March 1897: The Promised Messiah^as wrote a detailed announcement which bore principle guidelines for the loyalty of citizens towards their government. This piece can be seen as an efficient outreach effort. 

23 March 1889: The Promised Messiah^as accepted the first Bai‘at in Ludhiana, at the house of Hazrat Sufi Ahmad Jan in Muhalla Jadid on 20 Rajab, 1306 AH. The building in which the foundation of the Ahmadiyya Jamaat was laid was a small, unpretentious one. Hazrat Ahmad^as sat in a corner of the room, Hazrat Sheikh Hamid Ali^ra was posted at the door and the Companions^ra were called in as Huzoor^as desired. Hazrat Maulvi Nuruddin^ra was called in first. Then were called Hazrat Mir Abbas Ali^ra, Hazrat Mian Muhammad Husain Moradabadi^ra and Hazrat Mian Abdullah Sanauri^ra. One or two more were thus called in as named by Huzoor^as, after which Hazrat Sheikh Hamid Ali^ra was told to admit them one by one. At the beginning, the Bai‘at was taken of each person in private, but afterwards people entered the Bai‘at even in groups. 

The ceremony was very simple. Huzoor^as sat on the covered floor, stretched out his right hand and held the right hand of the disciple who repeated after Huzoor^as. The words of the Bai‘at were as follows:

“I repent today, at the hand of Ahmad, of all the sins and bad habits to which I was addicted, and most truthfully and solemnly do I promise that, to the last day of my life, I shall eschew, to the best of my ability, all manner of sin. I will hold my faith above all worldly considerations. I shall try as far as I can to observe the ten conditions of Bai‘at laid down in the leaflet dated 12 January 1889. I seek forgiveness of God for my past sins.”

These words were repeated in Urdu; and after this, the following words were repeated in Arabic:

اَسْتَغْفِرُاللّٰهَ رَبِّيْ ، اَسْتَغْفِرُاللّٰهَ رَبِّيْ ، اَسْتَغْفِرُاللّٰهَ رَبِّيْ مِنْ كُلِّ ذَنْبٍ وَّ اَتُوْبُ اِلَيْهِ۔ اَشْهَدُ اَنْ لَّا اِلٰهَ اِلَّا اللّٰهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيْكَ لَهُ، وَاَشْهَدُ اَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَ رَسُوْلُهُ۔ رَبِّ اِنِّي ظَلَمْتُ نَفْسِيْ وَاعْتَرَفْتُ بِذَنْبِيْ فَاغْفِرْلِيْ ذُنُوْبِيْ فَاِنَّهُ لَا يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوْبَ اِلَّا اَنْتَ۔

“I seek pardon from Allah, my Lord; I seek pardon from Allah, my Lord; I seek pardon from Allah, my Lord, for all my sins, and turn to Him. I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah; He is One and has no partner. And I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and messenger. O my Lord, I have wronged my soul and I confess all my sins. Pray forgive me my sins as there is none other who can forgive.”

The Promised Messiah^as then lifted up both his hands in prayer. The disciple also did the same. When the prayer was finished, the ceremony was completed. 

25 March 1895: A solar eclipse occurred in the Western world. This eclipse was not visible from Qadian, but when the eclipse occurred, the date in Qadian was 28 Ramadan 1312 AH.

25 March 1898: The Promised Messiah^as wrote a letter to Hazrat Seith Allah Rakha Abdur Rahman^ra, which shows that Huzoor^as was experiencing ill health in those days. Moreover, on 28 March, in another letter, Hazrat Ahmad^as mentioned the same condition of his health persisting.  

26 March 1891: The Promised Messiah^as challenged the scholars of the age to have a written debate.

28 March 1884: The Promised Messiah^as had a close relationship with Hazrat Sufi Ahmad Jan. It is reported that the righteous people of Huzoor’s^as era had already requested him to accept Bai‘at (spiritual allegiance) before 1889. Hazrat Sufi Sahib was one of those who requested this. The Promised Messiah^as sent him a letter and added that after he had written the letter, the following Persian couplet of an eminent personage came to him as a revelation:

هرگز نميرد آنكه دلش زنده شدبعشق

ثبت است بر جريده عالم دوام ما

“Never dies the one whose heart has come alive with love. Our permanence is inscribed on the pages of the universe.”