1. As regards our Imam, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, he personally believed that Jesus was born without the agency of a father. He wrote:

[i.]"One of the doctrines we hold is that Jesus Christ and John the Baptist were both born miraculously…And the secret in creating Jesus and John in this manner was the manifestation of a great sign…And the first thing He [God] did to bring this about was the creation of Jesus without a father through the manifestation of Divine power only."

(Mawahib ar-Rahman, pp. 70--72)

[ii.]"The ground on which this is based is his [Jesus Christ's] creation without the agency of a human father, and the detail of this is that a certain section of the Jews, i.e. the Sadducees, were deniers of the Resurrection, so God informed them through some of His prophets that a son from among their community would be born without a father, and this would be a sign of the truth of Resurrection."

(Hamamat al-Bushra, p. 90)

[iii.]"The [Arya Samajist] lecturer also objected to Mary bearing a child by the Holy Spirit and to Jesus being born from Mary alone. The reply is that this was done by the same God who, according to the Arya Samaj teachings, creates millions of people in the beginning of every new creation, just as vegetables grow out of the earth. If, according to the Vedic teachings, God has created the world millions of times, nay times without number, in this manner, and there was no need that men and women should unite together in order that a child should be born, where is the harm if Jesus Christ was born similarly?"

(Chashma Ma`rifat, p. 217)

2. Exactly the same view was advanced by Shah Wali-ullah of Delhi in his book Ta`weel al-Ahadith, written in the eighteenth century.

3. When 'Master' Imam-ud-Din of Gujrat was about to write his book Al-Tanqih fi wilada-tul-Masih, in which he proved Jesus to have a father, he wrote letters to various Muslim theologians including Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, asking for their opinion on this issue. By order of Hazrat Mirza, the following reply was sent:

"In reply to your post-card of 19 September 1894, it is stated that at the present time the Promised Messiah is engaged on such important religious matters that he cannot devote his attention elsewhere. He says that if the Almighty God were to reveal something to him about this, you would certainly be informed. One's concentration does not work under one's own direction. When God wishes to reveal something in the interest of mankind, He directs His servant's attention towards that point.

"Yours humbly, Abdul Karim, Qadian, 23 September 1894."

Those who come from God do not say or do anything without the command of God. Hence Hazrat Mirza replied that God had not disclosed anything to him about the birth of Jesus. If God were to reveal something, he would let him know.

4. Hazrat Mirza was also a great research scholar. Apart from expressing his personal beliefs on this point, he also wrote about the Law of Creation in a general context as follows:

[i.]"Man originally was not created from sperm, but one being was created from another. After that, the second law took effect, by which human beings are created from sperm."

(Chashma Ma`rifa, p. 215)

 

[ii.]"Every human being is born of a male and a female. If you follow this chain to its origin, then mankind will prove to have descended from Adam and his wife."

(10 June 1903)

 

[iii.]"Every sensible person must admit that the first era was a period of pure Divine creation, when the general law prevailing was that everything was accomplished without means…To draw a parallel between that era and the circumstances of the present times is not correct; for instance, no child is now born without a mother and a father. If, however, man's creation in the beginning had depended upon the pre-existence of parents, how would the world have come into being?"

(Barahin Ahmadiyya,Part IV, p. 335)

 

5. When refuting certain exaggerated beliefs about Jesus, Hazrat Mirza made the following points for the purposes of argument:

[i.]"Jesus worked with his father Joseph for 22 years as a carpenter."

(Izala Auham, footnote, p. 303)

[ii.]"One should not at all be surprised that Jesus, like his paternal grandfather Solomon, may have shown this miracle of wisdom to the opponents of the time."

(ibid., p. 304)

[iii.]"The Christians cannot stand their ground against Islam because they have taken as god a man who had a father, four brothers and two sisters, and was constantly persecuted by the Jews."

(Ruhani Khaza'in, No. 2, vol. x, p. 53)

6. As the question of the birth of Jesus is not decided conclusively in the Holy Quran, but ambiguously, when people read this scripture some draw one conclusion and some take the opposite view. Hazrat Mirza undoubtedly held the belief personally that Jesus was born without the agency of a father, but he gave his followers freedom in interpreting the Quran. This is why they had the best understanding of the Holy Book. As a result of this freedom, some even differed with Hazrat Mirza himself on some points. In his life-time, some of his followers held the belief that Jesus had a father (for instance, his right-hand man and successor Hazrat Maulana Nur-ud-Din, for whose views see the section titled 'Views of followers of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad'). Hazrat Mirza always showed tolerance and broadmindedness, as shown by the following recorded incident:

"Once Hazrat Mirza asked Shaikh Qamar-ud-Din of Jhelum to show him the verses of the Quran from which the Shaikh had concluded that Jesus had a father. At first, the Shaikh sahib, out of respect for Hazrat Mirza, remained silent. But upon Hazrat Mirza repeating the question, he mentioned the arguments from the Quran that he knew. Hearing the arguments, Hazrat Mirza said: `Your arguments are certainly strong, but until God gives me to understand this point, I will follow the views of the majority of Muslims'...Hazrat Mirza said to Hakim Fazal Din [who had complained about Shaikh sahib's belief]: `How can you declare as heretic someone who bases his arguments on the Quran?'"

(Mujaddid Azam, Life of Hazrat Mirza, vol. ii, p. 1342)