Ahmadiyyat - The Renaissance of Islam — Page 216
216 AHMADIYY AT It was also agreed that all of them should continue to pray during the latter part of the night for Divine guidance and should observe a fast the next day. The following day it transpired that a tract which had been drawn up by Maulvi MuhammadAli Sahib and had been printed before the demise of Khalifatul Masih I was being widely distributed, among other places, at Batala railway station to the members of the Community who were arriv- ing in large numbers from all directions on their journey to Qadian. The purport of the tract was that the Sadar Anjuman Ahmadiyya was the true successor of the Promised Messiah and that anyone else who might be elected as Khalifa, and there could be several such persons, would have only an honorific position, but would exercise no authority. There was a subtle hint that the Sahibzada Sahib, and those who were in agreement with him on the points of difference that had emerged, did not qualify even for an honorific position under the terms of the will of Khalifatul Masih 1. By the midday of 14 March more than a thousand members of the Movement had arrived in Qadian from outside. In the afternoon of that day Mirza Bashirud-Din Mahmud Ahmad held a consultation with all members of the family of the Promised Messiah and their close relations on the situation that confronted the Movement at the moment. After some discussion he pointed out to those present that their main concern should be to maintain, by whatever means it might be possible, the unity of the Community. With this 0 bject in view he proposed that the one fundamen- tal requirement was that there must be a spiritual head of the Movement. If the dissident group would agree to that, then the question would be who should be elected to the office. For that purpose the view of those members of the Move- ment who were then present in Qadian should be ascertained and should be accepted. Should the dissident group be not prepared to agree to such a course, a person not identified with either side might be agreed upon and elected. If this should also not be acceptable, anyone of the dissident group