Arba'in — Page 195
Number Four 195 otherwise, a great sign would have been shown by Hadrat P i r Sahib in expounding the profound meanings of the Quran and manifesting his eloquence and fluency in the Arabic language. Therefore, God Almighty has put this thought in my mind today which I submit as a conclusive argument, and I am certain it shall expose the true nature of P i r Mehr Ali. The whole world is not blind. There are also such people among them who are fair- minded to some extent. That plan is as follows, in reply to all the published articles in favour of P i r Mehr Ali Shah, my response today is that if P i r Mehr Ali Shah is uniquely qualified the world over, in the knowledge and insights of the Quran, and the literary and eloquence and fluency of the Arabic language, and, certainly, these powers will still be present in him since a prolonged period has not gone by since he came to Lahore, I therefore suggest that I unilaterally write a commentary of S u rah al-F a ti h ah, in chaste, pure, fluent Arabic, and through it establish the truth of my claim and also present those fine points and details of this lofty S u rah that are associated with it. And countering me, Hadrat P i r Sahib should, in opposition to me, prove the advent of the Messiah from heaven and the bloodthirsty Mahdi from it [ S u rah al-F a ti h ah ]. He may draw inferences from S u rah al-F a ti h ah in whatever man- ner he so desires to write decisive arguments and extraordinary insights in fluent, eloquent Arabic. Both these books should be published 1 ٭ within seventy days from 15 December 1900. People of knowledge will then be able to 1. ٭ That is, the duration of seventy days, from 15 December 1900 to 25 February 1901, is for writing the commentary, and it includes the time for printing. Within seventy days, the books of both the parties should be published. Author