Note: The Alislam Team assumes full responsibility for any errors or inaccuracies in this translation of the Friday Sermon.

أَشْھَدُ أَنْ لَّا إِلٰہَ اِلَّا اللّٰہُ وَحْدَہٗ لَا شَرِیکَ لَہٗ وَأَشْھَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُہٗ وَ رَسُوْلُہٗ

أَمَّا بَعْدُ فَأَعُوْذُ بِاللّٰہِ مِنَ الشَّیْطٰنِ الرَّجِیْمِ- بِسْمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِ

اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّٰہِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِیْنَ۔ اَلرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِ۔ مٰلِکِ یَوْمِ الدِّیْنِ۔ اِیَّا کَ نَعْبُدُ وَ اِیَّاکَ نَسْتَعِیْنُ۔

اِھْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِیْمَ۔ صِرَاطَ الَّذِیْنَ اَنْعَمْتَ عَلَیْھِمْ غَیْرِالْمَغْضُوْبِ عَلَیْھِمْ وَلَاالضَّآلِّیْنَ۔

Today, I will again present some incidents from the time of the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) in connection with Hazrat Musleh Mau'ud (may Allah be pleased with him). Even if some of these are already within our knowledge, the manner in which Hazrat Musleh Mau'ud narrates them brings certain matters to light from different angles, and through this, we come to know, in yet another dimension, the station and rank of the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) and the divine support that accompanied him.

In verse seventeen of Surah Yunus, Allah the Almighty has stated a principle regarding the truthfulness of a Prophet: لَبِثْتُ فِیْکُمْ عُمُرًا مِّنْ قَبْلِہٖ اَفَلَا تَعْقِلُوْنَ "I have indeed lived among you a whole lifetime before this. Will you not then understand?" Allah the Almighty instructed the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) to say this, or rather, he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said it to the disbelievers. In any case, this is a principle of a Prophet's truthfulness: that his past life is a testimony to the nature of his character.

Hazrat Musleh Mau'ud states in a speech on one occasion — and the occasion for this speech arose in this manner: some of the leading hostile clerics of the opponents gathered in Qadian and spoke with great slander against the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him), delivered lengthy speeches, and organized that gathering with great scheming, intending to cause disorder. However, Allah the Almighty blessed them such that they could not cause any disorder, though they uttered every foul word and filth that could be uttered. After this, Hazrat Musleh Mau'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) also organized a gathering — or rather it was in the form of a session — where he both answered the objections of those who had raised them, and established the truthfulness of the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him).

In any case, I shall not recount all of those matters; I shall take one or two excerpts from them. He said: "When we look at the life of Hazrat Mirza Sahib before his claim, he repeatedly and publicly declared to the Hindus, Sikhs, and Muslims of this area: 'Can any of you raise a single objection against my earlier life?' Yet no one had the courage — on the contrary, they were compelled to acknowledge his purity." The principle that Allah the Almighty has stated in the Holy Quran — لَبِثْتُ فِیْکُمْ عُمُرًا مِّنْ قَبْلِہٖ — every single person bore witness under this principle that his earlier life was completely pure, or at the very least, no objection could be raised against it. He then says that Maulvi Muhammad Husain Batalvi, who later became the most bitter of opponents, bore witness in his journal to the purity and blamelessness of his life, and the father of Mr. Zafar Ali Khan testified in his newspaper regarding the early life of the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) that he was a man of exceptional moral integrity. Therefore, a person who remained blameless for forty years and whose life was pure — how did he suddenly become something entirely different overnight and go astray? Scholars of the human mind have acknowledged that every moral fault and deficiency develops gradually. (Those who are experts in psychology say the same: that moral vices develop gradually.) There is no sudden moral transformation. So, look at how flawless, unblemished, and luminous his past was — that no one had the courage to say otherwise. (Miyar-e-Sidq, Anwarul Ulum, Vol. 6, p. 61)

Then Allah the Almighty says in Surah Al-Mu'min: اِنَّا لَنَنۡصُرُ رُسُلَنَا— "Verily, We do help Our Messengers." (Al-Mu'min: 52) How do we see this help manifested for the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him)? Hazrat Musleh Mau'ud says: *"Attempts were made in various ways to have him killed. People were assigned to kill him, which came to light, and they failed in their intention. False cases of attempted murder were filed against him. Dr. Martin Clark filed a false case of attempted murder, and a person even claimed that Hazrat Mirza Sahib had assigned him to do it. The magistrate who had come with the boast — 'Why has no one arrested this claimant to Mahdihood and Messiah-hood so far? I shall arrest him!' — yet when the case was heard, that very same magistrate declared: 'In my view, this is a false case.' He said this repeatedly, and eventually, the person who had made the allegation was separated from the Christians and placed under the custody of a police officer. That person then wept and admitted that the Christians had coached him, and Allah the Almighty obliterated that false accusation." The remaining details I will present later.

He further says: "In the same way, our community's enthusiastic missionary Maulvi Umar Din Sahib Shimla-wi used to narrate his own account — that he too embraced Ahmadiyyat based on this very standard. He would recount that in Shimla, Maulvi Muhammad Husain, Maulvi Abdur Rahman Sayyah, and a few others were consulting one another as to what approach should now be adopted against Mirza Sahib. Maulvi Abdur Rahman Sahib said, 'Mirza Sahib has already announced that he will no longer engage in debates. We will issue a debate challenge — if he agrees to the contest, we will say he told a lie because he had previously announced he would not debate with anyone; and if he does not agree to the debate, we will create a clamour that Mirza Sahib has been defeated.' At this, Maulvi Umar Din said, 'What is the need for all this? I will go and kill him.' Maulvi Muhammad Husain replied: 'Boy! What do you know — all of this has already been tried.' This remark settled deep in the heart of Maulvi Umar Din — that whoever Allah was protecting so extensively must surely be from Allah. When he took the oath of allegiance and was returning, he encountered Maulvi Muhammad Husain Sahib at the Batala station, who asked: 'Where are you coming from?' He replied: 'I have come from Qadian, having taken the pledge of allegiance.' … (Maulvi Sahib said:) 'You are very mischievous; I shall write to your father.' He replied: 'Maulvi Sahib! Whatever has happened, has happened through you yourself.'" (Miyar-e-Sidq, Anwarul Ulum, Vol. 6, pp. 61–62)

So the opponents wish to kill, yet Allah the Almighty protects him. Indeed, if the one who harbours enmity possesses a righteous disposition, he himself returns wounded — his own heart is surrendered in the process.

I had earlier mentioned the murder case — that case had been brought by the Christians. Hazrat Musleh Mau'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) has narrated the details of it. This was the Martin Clark case, and Maulvi Muhammad Husain Batalvi had also appeared as a witness in it. How did Allah the Almighty arrange for their humiliation? Hazrat Musleh Mau'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) writes — rather, has mentioned it in a sermon — that: *"Martin Clark claimed in court that Mirza Sahib had sent a man to kill him. Those among the Muslims who called themselves scholars also joined him in this clamour. Indeed, Maulvi Muhammad Husain Sahib Batalvi even came to testify against him in the case. The Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) had been informed in advance by Allah the Almighty that a maulvi would appear in opposition, but Allah the Almighty would humiliate him, though even so, with the revelation having informed about his humiliation, it is still necessary to make a legitimate apparent effort for a revelation to be fulfilled." (But what actually happened?) Hazrat Musleh Mau'ud says: "Maulvi Fazl Din Sahib himself told me — he was a lawyer in Lahore and was conducting the case on behalf of the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) — that when I wished to ask a question which would have humiliated Maulvi Muhammad Husain Sahib, he (peace be upon him) prevented me from presenting that question. … In cases, witnesses are asked such questions as reveal them to be persons of no worth. (Certain questions are asked to expose a person's real worth.) When Maulvi Fazl Din Sahib recited to the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) the questions he intended to put to Maulvi Muhammad Husain Sahib, upon hearing one of those questions… the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) said: 'We cannot permit such a question.' Maulvi Fazl Din Sahib said: 'If this question is omitted, the case against you will be weakened, and if it is not asked, you will face difficulty — for the witness is presenting himself as the leader of Muslims, and it is necessary to establish that he is not so distinguished.' But he (peace be upon him) said: 'No. We cannot permit this question.' Maulvi Fazl Din Sahib was not an Ahmadi; he was a Hanafi and a leader of the Hanafis, and an active member of the Anjuman Luqmaniyyah and similar bodies. He was therefore religiously biased. Yet whenever any gathering of non-Ahmadis attacked the person of the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him), he would vehemently rebut it and say: 'The question of beliefs is a separate matter — but I have witnessed that his morals are such that none of our scholars can match them. And in terms of morals, I have tested him on such occasions where no maulvi could have stood where he (peace be upon him) stood.' Now observe — on one hand, there is the revelation concerning the humiliation of the witness; on the other, his testimony would make him (peace be upon him) appear guilty. Yet the very thing which would have lowered the witness's standing, he himself does not permit it to be asked. But the God Who had foretold the humiliation of Maulvi Muhammad Husain before it came to pass: on one hand, He manifested his morals and thereby established his honour (so that even the non-Ahmadi lawyer held him in the highest esteem), and on the other hand, through extraordinary means He also brought about the humiliation of Maulvi Sahib. And this is how it happened — (the humiliation of Maulvi Sahib) — that the very Deputy Commissioner who had previously been so hostile, the moment he laid eyes on him (on the one hand he was saying, 'I shall arrest him'; but when he saw his face, when he looked upon his countenance), his inner state changed entirely. And despite the fact that he had appeared before him in the capacity of an accused, he had a chair brought and placed beside his own and seated him upon it. When Maulvi Muhammad Husain Sahib arrived to give testimony, he had come hoping that perhaps Hazrat Mirza Sahib would be in handcuffs, or at the very least be standing in a state of disgrace. When he saw that the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) had been seated by the magistrate on a chair beside him, he was overcome with rage and promptly demanded that he too be given a chair. Maulvi Sahib said: 'I am from a noble family and I am given a chair even when I meet the Governor.' The Deputy Commissioner replied: 'At a meeting, even a sweeper is given a chair — but this is a court. Mirza Sahib's family is a family of landlords. Their case is different.'" (Khutbat-e-Mahmud, Vol. 17, pp. 553–555)

Now, the change that occurred in the conduct of a Deputy Commissioner — and an Englishman at that — merely upon seeing the face of the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him), a man who had boasted, "I shall arrest him" — this was no trivial matter. Captain Douglas's opposition was no ordinary opposition; it had taken on a religious hue. Elaborating on this further, Hazrat Musleh Mau'ud says: *"A few days earlier he had said: 'A person in Qadian has claimed to be the Messiah and is thereby dishonouring our Lord — why has no one arrested him yet?' When the file arrived (the Deputy Commissioner wished to issue a warrant), the reader of the file said: 'Your Honour, this is not a warrant case — it is a summons case; therefore, a warrant cannot be issued; only a summons can be sent.' In those days, there was a police inspector named Jalaluddin who was not an Ahmadi but was a man of great sympathy. He also drew the Deputy Commissioner's attention to the fact that it would be a great injustice to issue a warrant — this is a summons case, not a warrant case, and therefore a summons ought to be sent instead of a warrant. Accordingly, a summons was issued in the name of the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him), and this same Jalaluddin Sahib was sent to Qadian to serve it. On the appointed date, he (peace be upon him) duly appeared in Batala, where the Deputy Commissioner had come on a tour. When he arrived at the court, that very Deputy Commissioner who had said just a few days before, 'This man is dishonouring Lord Jesus — why does no one arrest him?' — gave him great honour. (As has already been mentioned,) A chair was offered to him in court, and he was also told to answer his questions while remaining seated. In this case (as has already been mentioned), Maulvi Muhammad Husain Sahib Batalvi also appeared as a witness. At that time, there was a large crowd outside the court, and people had come with great eagerness to hear the proceedings. When Maulvi Muhammad Husain Sahib arrived at the court and (as has been described) saw the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) seated on a chair, he was consumed with fury, for he had come with the thought that when he arrived, Mirza Sahib would be in handcuffs and in a state of utter humiliation. (But the reality was proving to be the complete opposite.) The case was being heard in the court of an English Deputy Commissioner; the plaintiff was also an English pastor, Dr. Martin Clark. (It is commonly said that he was English, but in reality, he was descended from a Pashtun who had married an Englishman, and he was also the adoptive son of an Englishman.) A scholar as renowned as Maulvi Muhammad Husain Sahib was appearing as a witness, yet even so, the enemy remained unsuccessful and humiliated. While the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) was honoured, his opponents had to face disgrace and ignominy. When Maulvi Muhammad Husain Sahib saw that he (peace be upon him) had been given a chair"* (as already described) "while he himself had been made to stand in the witness box, he was greatly incensed. He told the Deputy Commissioner to give him a chair as well. 'At that time, the English held maulvis in very low regard. He (the Deputy Commissioner) said: "It is our choice who we seat on a chair and whom we do not."' He said: 'I have seen that his family is of the chair-sitting class, so I have given him a chair. What standing do you have?' Maulvi Muhammad Husain Sahib said: 'I am the advocate of the Ahl-e-Hadith and I visit the Governor'" (and made grand claims). He replied: 'You seem to me to be an ignorant man. Anyone who visits the Governor will be offered a chair. This is a court, not the Governor's durbar.' In any case, he was not appeased. Then Maulvi Muhammad Husain Sahib began to argue with the Deputy Commissioner. "The Deputy Commissioner also became angry and said: 'Stop your babbling. Step back and stand among the shoes.' The orderlies were watching to see in which direction the Deputy Commissioner's gaze was directed. When the orderly heard the Deputy Commissioner's words, he took Maulvi Muhammad Husain Sahib by the arm and brought him to stand among the shoes. When Maulvi Sahib saw that he had been humiliated, and that thousands of people were standing outside — if they learned of his humiliation, what would they say? — he exited the courtroom. In the veranda, there was a chair. Maulvi Sahib thought this was the best opportunity to conceal his humiliation. He quickly grabbed the chair and sat on it, thinking that people would see him seated on a chair and assume he had been given a chair inside as well. The orderly noticed — he had already witnessed the Deputy Commissioner's manner. Seeing Maulvi Muhammad Husain Sahib seated on the chair, he thought that if the Deputy Commissioner saw him seated there, he would be displeased with him. Upon this thought, he had Maulvi Sahib vacate that spot as well and told him to give up the chair. So the veranda chair was also lost. He came outside, where people were sitting on their seats waiting to hear what the verdict of the case would be. He saw some space on one sheet and went and sat there. This sheet (Hazrat Musleh Mau'ud says) belonged to the late Mian Muhammad Bakhsh Sahib Batalvi, who was the father of Maulvi Muhammad Husain Sahib, the missionary of the Movement. (The one whose sheet it was — his son later became a missionary.) At that time, this Muhammad Bakhsh Sahib) was a non-Ahmadi (had not yet become Ahmadi — he later did.) In any case, he says the sheet belonged to him.) When he saw Maulvi Muhammad Husain Sahib seated on his sheet, he became angry and said: 'Leave my sheet! You have defiled my sheet. You, a maulvi, have come to testify in support of the Christians.' So he was made to vacate that sheet as well, and in this way, Allah the Almighty humiliated him at every turn. So see how these are clear signs — how Allah the Almighty acquitted the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) from the hand of an enemy. And it did not stop there. Allah the Almighty showed Sir Douglas yet more signs which remained with him until his dying breath — and (Hazrat Musleh Mau'ud says) he himself narrated them to me. In 1924, when I went to England, he recounted the whole story to me. Sir Douglas had a head clerk named Ghulam Haidar, who was from Rawalpindi and later became a Tehsildar. (He was perhaps from Sargodha.) He himself narrated this account to me and said: When the case of Dr. Henry Martin Clark occurred, I was the head clerk of the Deputy Commissioner of Gurdaspur. When the court concluded, the Deputy Commissioner said: 'We wish to leave for Gurdaspur immediately. Go at once and arrange a railway compartment for us — book it on the train.' So I came to the railway station to make the necessary arrangements. I had come out of the station and was standing in the veranda when I saw Sir Douglas pacing up and down on the road — going one way, then the other. His face appeared troubled. I went to him and said: 'Sir! Why are you wandering outside? I have laid out chairs in the waiting room — please come and sit there.' He said: 'Munshi Sahib! Please say nothing to me. I am feeling unwell.' I said: 'Do tell me what it is. After all, why have you become unwell, so that appropriate treatment may be arranged?' At that, he said: 'From the moment I saw the face of Mirza Sahib, it seems to me as though an angel is pointing toward Mirza Sahib and saying to me: "Mirza Sahib is not guilty. He has committed no wrong." Then I concluded the court and came here — and now, as I pace and reach this end, I see the face of Mirza Sahib at the edge, and it says to me: "I did not do this. All of this is false." Then I go to the other side, and there too the face of Mirza Sahib appears at the edge, saying: "I am innocent. All of this that is being done is a lie." If this condition of mine continues, I shall go mad.' I said: 'Sir! Please come and sit in the waiting room. The Superintendent of Police is also here — he is an Englishman too. Let us call him; perhaps his conversation will give you some peace.' The Superintendent of Police's name was Lamar Chand. Sir Douglas said: 'Call him.' So I called him. When he arrived, Sir Douglas said to him: 'Look at the situation — I am going nearly mad. I am pacing at the station, and when I go in agitation to this side, I see Mirza Sahib standing at the edge, and his face tells me that he is innocent, that a false case has been made against him. Then I go to the other side, and at the edge I see Mirza Sahib's face again, and it says: I am innocent. All that is being done is false. Seeing this, my condition has become like that of a madman. If you can do something about this, do so — otherwise I shall go mad.' The Superintendent of Police said: 'The fault is not someone else's — it is your own. You have left the witness in the custody of the padres. The witness says he was sent to kill him, yet you have left him with the padres. Whatever they coach him to say, he comes to court and says it. Hand him over to the police, and then see what he says.' At that very moment, Sir Douglas called for paper and pen and gave the order that Abdul Hamid be handed over to the police. In accordance with the order, Abdul Hamid was taken from the padres and handed over to the police. The next day — or perhaps the same day — he immediately confessed: 'I have been telling lies.' The Superintendent of Police states: 'When I told him to give a truthful statement, he at first insisted that the account was entirely true — that Mirza Sahib had sent him to kill Dr. Henry Martin Clark. But I understood that this person was afraid of the padres. So I told him: "I have obtained an order from the Deputy Commissioner that you will no longer be sent to the padres. You will remain in police custody." At that, he fell at my feet and said: "Sir! Save me. I have been lying all this while."' He told me: 'Sir, did you not notice that whenever I appeared in court to testify, I always looked toward my hand? The reason for this was that when the padres told me: "Go and testify in court that Mirza Sahib sent me to kill Henry Martin Clark and directed me to go to such-and-such Mistry's house in Amritsar" — {Hazrat Musleh Mau'ud says: this dear friend was Mistry Qutb Din Sahib, whose grandson was at the time studying at the Jami'ah. He says that he said, "I don't know the Ahmadis there. I won't be able to remember the name." So they would write Mistry Sahib's name on my palm in coal. Whenever I came to testify, and the Deputy Commissioner asked me at whose house I had been sent in Amritsar, I would raise my hand, look at the name written on it, and say: "Mirza Sahib sent me to such-and-such Ahmadi." (Each time, different names would also be written for different witnesses.)' In short, he disclosed everything — and on the next hearing, Sir Douglas acquitted the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him).

So see — all of these incidents are clear signs for us. But Allah the Almighty also produced further clear signs for Sir Douglas. One such clear sign was that as he paced, he would see the image of the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him), and that image would say: "I am innocent. I have no guilt." (Hazrat Musleh Mau'ud says:) He then himself narrated to me that one day, he was sitting at home when an Indian ICS officer came to visit. He asked me to recount one remarkable incident from my life, and I narrated to him this very account of Mirza Sahib. While I was recounting this, his bearer — his servant — came and handed him a card, saying there was a man outside who wished to meet him. I said, "Call him in." When the person came inside, I said: "Young man, I don't know you — who are you?" The young man said, "You know my father; you are acquainted with him. His name was Padre Waris Din." I said, "Yes, I was just mentioning him." The young man said, "A telegram has just arrived — Padre Waris Din has passed away." Waris Din was a padre who had orchestrated all this activity on behalf of Dr. Martin Clark in order to please him. (He had arranged the case and so on.) But Allah the Almighty had opened the truth before the Deputy Commissioner, and the witness himself had admitted that all that was being done was a lie. Yet at the very moment Sir Douglas was mentioning Waris Din, his son arrived there and delivered the news of his father's death — what a remarkable coincidence. Sir Douglas, until the day of his death, would narrate this incident to every Ahmadi he met. He narrated it to me, to Chaudhry Fateh Muhammad Sahib Syal, and to Chaudhry Zafarullah Khan Sahib as well. (Hazrat Musleh Mau'ud says:) In 1924, when I came to London, his health was good. He says this incident was 32 years old, and by then, he (Sir Douglas) had passed away at the age of 93. In 1924, he was 61 years of age. Hazrat Musleh Mau'ud says: When I went again in 1953 and called upon him, he sent his apologies, saying: 'I have grown old and very weak. It is difficult for me to move about now.' Hazrat Musleh Mau'ud says: When I later heard that he had passed away, I was grieved — we had a motor car; we could have brought him in the car, or gone to his home ourselves. So (he writes), these are clear signs through which Allah the Almighty continues to manifest the truthfulness of His Prophets in the world. A believer must strive to become a true believer in the real sense. If one becomes a genuine believer, Allah the Almighty assuredly creates from the unseen such conditions as keep one's faith ever fresh. And indeed, without such faith there is no real joy. What benefit is there in a faith that does not open the eyes and leaves a person in darkness? Whoever remains blind in this world shall remain blind in the next as well. And whoever cannot see the clear signs in this very world shall not see the clear signs in the next world either. If clear signs are seen in this world, clear signs will also be seen in the next. (Adapted from Al-Fazl, 30 March 1957, pp. 6–7, Vol. 46/11, No. 77)

Now, since the subject is signs, this chain of signs continues to this day. Although more than a hundred years have passed since one of those great signs manifested, that very sign is now being revealed in the following manner: the grandson of Captain Douglas sent me a message expressing his desire to take the pledge of allegiance, and said: "I think — what act of goodness did my grandfather perform, and what a great act of goodness it was, that an intense desire is being born in my heart to join Ahmadiyyat." And this is the sign: that today his grandson feels that the truth which was shown to Sir Douglas — though he himself did not accept it — upon seeing that truth, he today accepts it. And the account of the great-great-grandson of Martin Clark you have already heard — it has been narrated before — that he came here (to the Jalsa) and openly declared that his great-great-grandfather was wrong and Hazrat Mirza Sahib was truthful.

Hazrat Musleh Mau'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) says: "Therefore, a believer must always remain engaged in prayers and the remembrance of Allah, so that the day may be granted to him when Allah the Almighty opens to him the truth of Islam and of His own existence, and the luminous face of Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and the radiant face of Allah the Almighty become visible to him. When that happens, then nights and days and years — be they years of hardship or years of joy — all become equal to him. If only the face of Allah the Almighty is seen, if only the face of your beloved Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is seen, then no feeling of joy or sorrow remains. Only one feeling remains, and in that very love a person remains immersed. He says: whatever may happen, such a person is always happy and at peace and fears no one. Just as when the Karam Din Bhainwala case was brought against the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him), the magistrate was a Hindu, and the Aryas had incited him, telling him he must give some punishment to the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him), and he had promised to do so. When Khwaja Kamaluddin Sahib heard this, he became alarmed. He said: 'Huzoor! This is a matter of great concern. The Aryas have extracted a promise from the magistrate to give you some punishment. Please somehow return to Qadian. Do not stay in Gurdaspur any longer. If you remain in Gurdaspur, the magistrate will certainly give you some punishment tomorrow.' Huzrat Sahib replied: 'Khwaja Sahib! If I go to Qadian, I can be arrested there too. Then where shall I go? The magistrate has authority — if I go to Qadian, a warrant can come there too; and if I go elsewhere from there, that will not be a safe place either — warrants can be issued there as well. So where would I keep running?' Khwaja Sahib said: 'Huzoor! The Aryas have extracted a promise from the magistrate to give some punishment.' At that moment, the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) was reclining. He sat up and said: 'Khwaja Sahib! Why have you become distressed? Who can lay a hand upon the lion of God?' And indeed, that is what happened. There were two magistrates in whose courts the case was presented. Both of them received very severe punishment: one was suspended, and the son of the other went mad and died by jumping from the roof. Furthermore, (Hazrat Musleh Mau'ud says) the effect of this was that (once) I was going to Delhi when he met me at the Ludhiana station and said: 'Please pray. I have another son — may Allah the Almighty save him. I have committed many wrongs.' In short, the word of the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) was fulfilled — that who can lay a hand upon the lion of God — and the Aryas did not succeed in their purpose.

Therefore, if a person becomes wholly devoted to Allah the Almighty, then everything in the world becomes his. Just as Allah the Almighty had said to the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) in a revelation: "جے تُو میرا ہو رہیں سب جگ تیرا ہو" — that is, "If you become God's, the whole world shall be yours." Nothing in the world shall be able to harm you, and no enemy shall be able to carry out any mischief against you. So become Allah's and keep supplicating that you may become Allah's — and in this way, you too shall come into peace, and your children and other loved ones and friends shall also come into peace. Remember: as long as the community is not at peace, you too cannot be at peace; and the community can only remain at peace when your future generations are at peace. (Adapted from Al-Fazl, 30 March 1957, pp. 6–7, Vol. 46/11, No. 77)

He then narrates regarding this same case in one place: "I remember that when Padre Martin Clark filed the case against the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him), I, in a state of distress, prayed. At night, in a dream, I saw that I was coming back from school and was trying to enter my home through the lane that passes beneath the house of the late Mirza Sultan Ahmad Sahib. There I saw a large number of uniformed police. At first, one of them stopped me from entering, but another said: 'This person belongs to the household — he should be allowed in.' When I entered through the doorway and proceeded inside, there was a basement there which our late grandfather had built. Beside the entrance, steps were descending into the basement. Later, only firewood and barrels were kept there. (It was used as storage for odds and ends.) As I was entering the house, I saw that the police had made the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) stand there, and before him and behind him were piled heaps of dried dung-cakes. Only his neck was visible to me. I saw that the soldiers were pouring kerosene oil on those dung-cakes and trying to set them alight. When I saw them setting fire to them, I stepped forward to try to extinguish it. Just then, two or four soldiers seized me — one grabbing me by the waist, another by the shirt — and I was in great distress lest these people set the dung-cakes on fire. Just at that moment, my gaze suddenly lifted upward, and I saw, written above the door in extremely large and beautiful letters: "Who can burn those who are the beloved servants of God?" Then (he says), not only in the next world, but in this world too, there is peace for the believers. We witnessed with our own eyes dozens of such incidents in the life of the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him): that although he had neither sword nor any other means of protection, yet Allah the Almighty made arrangements for his protection." (Sair-e-Ruhani (3), Anwarul Ulum, Vol. 16, p. 383)

In the account that Captain Douglas Sahib narrated to an ICS officer, he also mentioned: "I was in great distress that the case was false," and then said: "In any case, I made my decision, and the truth was established." After that, he said: *"I have never seen anyone with as broad a heart as Mirza Sahib. Despite having been endangered by a grave charge laid against him, when the court told him that he could file a suit for defamation against them, he said: 'I do not wish to do so.'"* (Adapted from Supplement, Newspaper Al-Fazl Qadian, 21 October 1927, pp. 21–22, Vol. 15, No. 33)

Despite all the opposition which the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) had to face, this was his spirit. In accordance with the promise of Allah the Almighty, not only was he kept safe, but his community continued to grow, and Qadian continued to progress.

Speaking of this very progress, Hazrat Musleh Mau'ud says: "There was a time when Ahmadis were not allowed to enter the mosques here. The doors of the mosque were shut. Pegs were driven into the square so that those going to pray would stumble. They were not allowed to draw water from the well. The oppression reached such an extent that even the potters were forbidden to sell their vessels to Ahmadis. Even those who made earthen vessels were told not to sell to them. There was a time when all these difficulties existed — but where are those people now? Their own descendants have become Ahmadis. The very people who tried to extinguish Ahmadiyyat — their offspring are now busy spreading it. This very school (he was addressing in a school) — according to old local tradition, jinn used to dwell here. (The earlier belief was that jinn lived in this place.) And no one could pass through this path alone, even at midday. Now see how those jinn fled. I remember that while passing through that (High School) ground, the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) narrated a vision of his in which Qadian extended all the way to the Beas, and its population had spread far to the north as well. At that time, there were only eight to ten Ahmadi households here, and they too were in straitened circumstances. The rest came merely as guests. But now see how much progress Allah the Almighty has granted it." (Al-Fazl Qadian, 9 February 1932, p. 6, Vol. 19, No. 95)

Today, by the grace of Allah the Almighty, Qadian continues to expand even beyond that area. Ahmadis are building beautiful homes and apartments. The community, too, is constructing guest houses, flats, and residential quarters. So we continue to witness the growth of the town of the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him). And now that opposing Hindu who used to become enraged in Masjid Aqsa and fight with the Ahmadis — because children would make noise and too many people had gathered there, as his house was located on the eastern side of the Masjid Aqsa courtyard and was joined to it — that very house, with the extension of Masjid Aqsa, has by the grace of Allah the Almighty now become a part of Masjid Aqsa.

Speaking of the opponents' boycott and acts of persecution, he says: "We also witnessed the boycott of the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him). We also saw the time when the sweepers were prevented from cleaning and the water-carriers from filling water. Then we also saw the time when, whenever the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) went anywhere, stones were thrown at him by the opponents, and they would mock and ridicule him in every possible way. But despite all this opposition, what happened? At that time, Hazrat Musleh Mau'ud was delivering the sermon. He says: 'Of all of you who are seated here at this moment, ninety-five percent are those who at that time were opponents or were among the opponents — but now those very ninety-five percent are, by the grace of Allah the Almighty, joined with us. Then, after the passing of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih the First (may Allah be pleased with him), a great clamour arose within the community. What became of it? The ringleaders of that fitnah were those who had gained dominance over the Sadr Anjuman and used to say contemptuously: "Are we to submit to the authority of a child?" But Allah the Almighty cast such awe of that very child upon them that they fled Qadian and have never come back to this day. Those very people had said at the time with great arrogance: "Ninety-eight percent of the community is with us, and two percent with them" — (meaning with the Khilafat). "But now, by the grace of Allah the Almighty, not even two percent remains with them, and ninety-eight percent — indeed more — has joined our community."' (Khutbat-e-Mahmud, Vol. 15, p. 207)

At the time when Hazrat Musleh Mau'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) was delivering that sermon, the number of people seated before him must have been far fewer than those I believe are seated before me here in London at this moment — indeed, the Friday Prayer is also being held at Masjid Fazl and there may perhaps be even more people gathered there. So this too is a sign of the special divine support of Allah the Almighty, in how many parts of the world He has spread the community.

So these matters are proof of the truthfulness of the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) and proof of the divine support and assistance that accompanies the Khilafat established after him, and they are means of increase in our faith. May Allah the Almighty enable us to always keep these matters before us, and may these matters forever continue to increase the faith of our generations.