Mirza Nasir Ahmad was born in Qadian on November 16, 1909. He committed the entire Qur'an to memory at the age of thirteen and thus became a Hafiz. He also learnt Arabic and Urdu at a young age. After having completed his education at the Madrassa Ahmadiyya, and having graduated from Government College Lahore. He was sent to England by his father, the second Caliph. In England he was educated at Balliol College, Oxford, where he obtained a Master of Arts degree in Egyptology in 1938. From 1939 to 1949 he was the president of the Majlis-Khuddam-ul Ahmadiyya, professor and later principal of the Jamia Ahmadiyya (theological college).[3]
During the Anti-Ahmadiyya riots in 1953, Mirza Nasir Ahmad was incarcerated under the Martial Law regulations. Upon his release he served in various other offices of the community, until his election as Khalifatul-Masih upon the death of his father, the second Khalifa.
