Ahmadiyyat - The Renaissance of Islam — Page 87
THE RENAISSANCE OF ISLAM 87 He had a large family and a great number of followers. The conditions of his imprisonment were painful in the extreme, but all the privations and pains and discomfort that he suf- fered over this long period did not in the least shake his determination to adhere firmly to his faith. It appears that the Amir himself did not consider that the Sahibzada Sahib had been guilty of any serious offence and was anxious to find, if possible, some excuse to deal gently with him, but was afraid of a head-on collision with the orthodox divines to whom the Sahibzada Sahib's newly accepted doctrine was anathema and who were determined to bring about his ruin. The Amir had directed the incarce- ration of the Sahibzada Sahib in the citadel in which he himself resided so that he should have no difficulty in approaching the Sahibzada Sahib himself, or through his emissaries, for the purpose of persuading him to repudiate his erroneous doctrine. His continuous efforts in that behalf did not, however, have the least effect upon the Sahibzada Sahib. One matter that must have upset the Amir was that the Sahibzada Sahib during his imprisonment did not hesitate to affirm that there was no justification in the present time to carryon Jehad with the sword and that the teaching of the Promised Messiah in this context was that this was the time of propagating Islam through reason and argument and that the concept of Jehad by the sword that was current among the Muslims was not in accord with the teachings of Islam. After the expiry of four months the Amir summoned the Sahibzada Sahib into his presence and adjured him publicly that ifhe would repudiate the claim of the Qadiani pretender and his teachings, his life would be spared and he would be set at liberty with honour. The Sahibzada Sahib replied that it was not possible for him to resile from the truth and that the torment that a government could inflict upon him would end with his death, but that he could not offend Him Whose torment would be everlasting. He urged, however, that the divines who were opposed to his belief should enter into a discussionwith him on the question of the correctness of the