Birth and Early Life
Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad was born to Mirza Ghulam Ahmad and Nusrat Jehan Begum on January 12, 1889 in Qadian, India, the same year in which Ghulam Ahmad founded the Ahmadiyya Movement. Accounts of his early childhood describe him to be mischievous, playful and carefree. However, due to excessive illness Mahmood Ahmad was unable to attend to secondary education. During his youth, he remained an active member in the service of his father's Movement by founding a journal entitled Tash-heezul Azhaan and accompanied him on many of his journeys.
In 1907, he claimed to have been taught the commentary of Surah Al-Fatiha, the opening chapter of the Qur'an by an angel, by way of a vision. According to Mahmood Ahmad, this vision signified that God had placed the knowledge of the Qur'an in his mind in the form of a seed. From that point forward, he is said to have been gifted with the special knowledge of the commentary of the Qur'an.
He taught for a long time. When he reached Thee alone do we worship and thee alone do we implore for help he said 'All previous commentators have been able to interpret up to this point. But I want to teach you further.' I said 'Go ahead'. Thereafter, he continued to teach me until finally he had imparted to me the commentary of the whole of Surah Fatiha ... Since then, not a single day has passed that I have not reflected upon Surah Fatiha and Allah has always taught me new points and opened for me diverse branches of knowledge. In his limitless Grace, He has explained to me all the difficult subjects discussed in the Holy Quran.
— Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad, Al-Mau'ud, Anwar-ul-Ulum, Vol.17 p.570
On May 26, 1908 Mirza Ghulam Ahmad died in Lahore when Mahmood Ahmad was 19 years old. The next day on May 27, 1908, Mahmood Ahmad gave the oath of allegiance to Hakeem Noor-ud-Din, the first successor of Ghulam Ahmad. After the passing of his father, Mahmood Ahmad continued to study the Quran, Sahih Bukhari, the Masnavi and some medicine under the tutelage of Noor-ud-Din, with whom he developed a close friendship. Noor-ud-Din would eventually become one of the leading influences in Mahmood's life. He also began writing articles for various periodicals for the Community and would often engage himself in theological debates with various scholars of the Community.
Mahmood Ahmad visited Egypt and Saudi Arabia in September 1912 during the course of which he performed Hajj. Upon his return to Qadian in June 1913, he started a newspaper, titled Al-Fazl. Within the Community, the newspaper serves as a vehicle for the moral upbringing of its members, preaching Islam and the preservation of history of the Community.
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