A resident of [Ludhiana], he was one of the early supporters of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad.
He carried on a long correspondence with Mirza, and shared strategies and progress with him. Shah also supported Mirza financially and due to his long service in the British government, was well-versed in English. Mirza included him in the Original 313 and said that God had told him by Ilhaam that Shah was 'with strong roots whose branches were in the sky'.
Shah recanted his support for Mirza when the latter claimed to be the Promised Messiah and advertised his withdrawal of support on 12 December 1891. Mirza responded thus:
- Mir Abbas Ali Shah misunderstood the Delhi debates.
- He thinks that I am a naturist (rationalist), denier of miracles and of Lailatul Qadr, and I claim to be a prophet, and I ridicule past prophets, and turn away from the principles of Islam.
- He thinks that I failed to engage with him on his terms when he became suspicious of my prophecies.
Shah was involved in the initial publication of Braheen-e-Ahmadiyya and was an accomplice in the One Year Stay Challenge that derailed the publication of Volume 5 of that book.