Hazrat Hafiz Sheikh Hamid Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), son of Sheikh Fateh Muhammad, was a resident of Thay Ghulam Nabi, Gurdaspur. This town was situated six miles northwest of Qadian. His colour was reddish-brown, his body thin, his height middling, his beard thin. Both of his parents were companions of the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him). He served as the person in charge of Langar Khana and worked as a correspondent.
Though he called himself Kakazai by caste and he was a near relative of members of the caste, Hazrat Hafiz Roshan Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) related that Hazrat Khalifatul-Masih I (may Allah be pleased with him) used to say that Hafiz Hamid Ali was a Syed and that his family tree matched that of the Sadaat of Multan, descendants of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Nonetheless, he never prided himself on being of the Sadaat, rather his pride was that he was an Ahmadi and had accepted the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) when the world did not know him [Al Hakam Qadian, March 21, 1934].
Hazrat Sheikh Yaqub Ali Irfani (may Allah be pleased with him) recounted that he first met Hazrat Hafiz Hamid Ali in 1889, and thought nothing of him, but soon found him to be a Waliullah [lit. friend of Allah, i.e., a saint] and a close friend who would often consult him [Al Hakam Qadian, March 21, 1934].
Arrival in Qadian
Regarding his arrival in Qadian in 1880 or 1881, it has been related that Hazrat Hafiz Hamid Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) used to be ill, so he once went to Amritsar for treatment, and en route, he met the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him). The Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) told him to come to Qadian, his treatment would happen as well. Hazrat Hafiz Hamid Ali recounted that his illness vanished a few days after he arrived in Qadian. He said, “I felt sick upon thinking of leaving Qadian, so I preferred to remain in the company of the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him).”
Soon after his arrival, Hazrat Hafiz Mueen-ud-Deen also arrived. While others, such as Mirza Ghulamullah, Mirza Isma’il Baig, Mirza Deen Muhammad, Mian Jaan Muhammad (may Allah be pleased with them) remained in the company of the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him), Hazrat Hafiz Hamid Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) was the foremost among them [Hayat-e-Ahmad, vol. 2, p. 105].
Hazrat Hafiz Hamid Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) was a quiet man of few words who adopted the methods of worship the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) practiced.
Journeys with the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him)
Hazrat Hafiz Hamid Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) had the opportunity to accompany the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) on many of his journeys.
He travelled with the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) on October 22, 1905 from Qadian to Batala and on to Amritsar and Delhi and Ludhiana [Al Hakam Qadian, November 24, 1905, p. 5; Badr, October 27, 1905 p. 3].
He travelled with the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) when he went to Hoshiarpur in January 1886 and March 1889, in April 1889 to Aligarh, in 1891 to Ludhiana, in May 1893 to Amritsar for the famous debate later titled Jang-e-Muqaddas (The Holy War) with Dr. Henry Clark and Abdullah Atham, in November 1893 to Firozpur, and on September 30, 1895 to examine the items of Baba Nanak [Tarikh-e-Ahmadiyyat, vol. 1, p. 376, 533; Zikr-e-Habib, p. 10, Hayat-e-Tayyibah, p. 74, 152, 182, 2017 ed.].
He did Bai’at at the hands of the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) on March 23, 1889. He is recorded as the ninth person to take the Bai’at, and he instructed other Companions to come in one by one to take the Bai’at [Tarikh-e-Ahmadiyyat, vol. 1, p. 344; Life of Ahmad, p. 206].
Exemplary Obedience
Hazrat Sheikh Zainul Abdeen (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that when Hazrat Hafiz Hamid Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) arrived in Qadian, he would smoke a lot of hookah and would secretly go to Mirza Nizam-ud-Deen’s property to smoke hookah. Mirza Nizam-ud-Deen was a cousin of the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him), but opposed him severely.
The Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) came to know of Hamid Ali’s (may Allah be pleased with him) secret, so he said, “Hamid Ali! Take this money and buy a hookah from the bazaar, and bring tobacco, and when needed, smoke in this house. Do not go near those people.” So Hazrat Hamid Ali bought the hookah and continued to smoke. Guests also used to smoke the same hookah.
After six or seven months, the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) said, “Hamid Ali! How great would it be if you left this hookah?” He responded, “Very well,” and immediately gave up hookah.
The Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) wrote his name amongst the residents of Qadian on the last page of his book Noor-ul-Qur’an.
Service to the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him)
The Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) praised him in his book Izalah-e-Auham, saying that Sheikh Hamid Ali has been in my service for seven or eight years now, testifying to his consistency in prayers, and his constant companionship in travel, and presenting him as a witness to the signs of the Messiah. He further wrote that Hamid Ali only receives three rupees as payment for his service, and eagerly pays his Chanda out of this meagre amount.
Serving Guests of the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him)
Hafiz Hamid Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) was an attendant of the guests of the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him), as is evident from the following narration of Hazrat Amir Khan (may Allah be pleased with him). He relates that he saw Hamid Ali in a dream about to serve dried Arabian dates to the guests. However, as he serves the dates, they become large and luscious and Hamid Ali Sahib says, “these dried dates from Arabia are being served to you after being turned succulent”.
Divine Protection
Hazrat Shaikh Zainul Abdeen and Hazrat Hafiz Hamid Ali (may Allah be pleased with them) recounted their journey to eastern Africa that they boarded the ship which had a thousand travellers aboard. There were a few days before reaching Africa when the captain suddenly announced that the ship has been ruined in a storm and there is no hope for the ship. People should pray. Hamid Ali awoke Zainul Abdeen and told him why people were crying. Zainul Abdeen said that the ship will not sink as two companions of the Messiah are aboard. The divinely appointed one gave me glad tidings that you two brothers will go to Africa and come back in good health and having benefitted. Hamid Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said it is possible the words have another meaning, but Zainul Abdeen said certainly not. It will happen exactly as the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) said. After about an hour and a half later the captain announced that now they were secure and the ship was out of danger. Around the fourth day we reached eastern Africa and the ship stayed there eight days. Then it left for Zanzibar and was destroyed en route [Ashab-e-Ahmad, vol. 13, p. 23, 24].
Dream of the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him)
Hazrat Mirza Bashir-ud-Deen Mahmood Ahmad, Khalifatul-Masih II (may Allah be pleased with him), wrote:
“A dream of the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) from December 8, 1902, is: ‘It seems that I am floating in the air. There is a big ditch, like a large circle, which extends from here to the house of Nawab Sahib from Masjid Mubarak to the house of Nawab Muhammad Ali Khan Sahib (may Allah be pleased with him). I am floating from here to there and then back. Syed Muhammad Ahsan Sahib was standing at the edge [of the ditch]. I said to him that Hazrat Isa (peace be upon him) used to walk on water, and I can float in the air. Hamid Ali is with me, and we have circled this ditch several times and have not moved our hands or feet and are floating around with ease.’” [Al-Badr, December 12, 1902]
Later Years
After the passing of the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him), Hafiz Hamid Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) remained attached to Khilafat-e-Ahmadiyyat. He received a pension, and ran a small shop in Qadian [Sirat Hazrat Masih-e-Mau’ud, p. 338]. Hazrat Khanzada Amirullah Khan (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that he saw a dream in which the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) told him to take care of Hamid Ali (may Allah be pleased with him). So he went to Jalsa Qadian and gave one rupee to Hamid Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), writing a letter to Hamid Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) explaining the instruction of the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) he had received in a dream. Hamid Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) cried upon hearing this, and said, “How bountiful and merciful are the prophets! They even care for their servant. So would he not care for his beloved sons, the Ahl-e-Bait of the Messiah (peace be upon him), who the shameless one in Lahore and his followers wrongfully attack?”
Demise
He passed away on September 8, 1919 [Tarikh-e-Ahmadiyyat, vol. 4, p. 224].
The Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) said, “The help Sheikh Hamid Ali Sahib has rendered me, no one else has, and he has always lived with me and he will be with me like this in Jannah” [Al Hakam Qadian, March 21, 1934].
May Allah enable us to follow in the footsteps of the pious companions of the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) and raise the flag of Ahmadiyyat in all corners of the globe. Ameen!