Ahmadiyyat - The Renaissance of Islam — Page 333
THE RENAISSANCE OF ISLAM 333 labour. For a person of his temperament and high capacities this was a disappointing prospect. But there was no help for it. He was still able to carryon a comparatively active life, but the pressure on his nervous system, instead of being eased with the passage of time, tended to be intensified progressi- vely. One of his prophetic titles was Fazle Umar, indicating his spiritual affinity to Hazrat Umar, the Second Successor of the Holy Prophet, peace be on him. The Khalifatul Masih not only became the Second Successor of the Promised Messiah, the spiritual reflection of the Holy Prophet, but several of the projects undertaken by him, and his achievements in diverse spheres, bore a close resemblance to the achievements of Hazrat U mar; even the almost fatal tragedy to which he was subjected by his assailant was identical with the tragedy that brought the Second Khilafat of the Holy Prophet, peace be on him, to a sudden and premature end. Hazrat Umar was also attacked in the middle of the Prayer service that he was leading by a non-Muslim who had worked up some grudge against him and who inflicted with a dagger severe injuries upon him which proved fatal. During his visit to Europe in 1955, the Khalifatul Masih inspected the various missions in Europe and held a confer- ence in London of all the missionaries working in the differ- ent European countries, in which he checked up on their activities and progress and gave them directions and fur- nished them with guidance with regard to their future work. Having in mind the crisis with which the Movement had been confronted on the demise of Khalifatul Masih I, he had already established an Electoral College for the election of a Khalifa, when the sacred office should become vacant by the Khalifa's death. The college was composed of the following, subject to the essential qualification that every elector must be a member of the Movement and should be a supporter of the Khilafat: (I) The surviving sons of the Promised Messiah. (2) The President of the Sadar Anjuman Ahmadiyya.