Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya Part III — Page 255
An Apology and an Announcement 1 The long delay in the publication of Part III at this time 2 may have utterly dismayed many buyers and readers. It would not be surprising if some of them might even have started harbouring various kinds of doubts and suspicions. But let it be clear that the delay was not on my part. The fact is that sufficient funds for publication had been accu- mulated by May 1881, and the sections of the book were sent to the Saf i r-e-Hind Press in Amritsar for printing and it was expected that Part III would be printed and published within two months at most. However, destiny, which is beyond the control of man, who is weak by nature, intervened. The manager of the Saf i r-e-Hind Press faced some unexpected crises and difficulties, and due to these difficulties the press remained closed for a long time. Since this delay was beyond his con- trol, it was basic human decency to patiently wait until he regained his composure. So, al h amdulill a h [all praise belongs to Allah] that, after some time, his difficulties began to fade away and the printing of Part III has started recently. However, since there has already been an extended delay due to the aforementioned hindrances, I have deemed it appropriate, with a heavy heart, not to wait for the printing of the whole part, and instead to dispatch to the buyers whatever portion has been printed thus far, in order to satisfy and reassure them. The 1. Note by Hadrat Maulana Jalal-ud-Din Shams ra : This announcement was in- cluded at the end of the 1882 [Urdu] edition of Part III. 2. The reference is to the two-year delay between the publication of Parts I-II (1880) and Part III (1882). [Publisher]