Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya Part IV — Page 198
BarĀhĪn-e-a H madiyya — Part Four 198 It is clear from my entire exposition how lofty a verity is proclaimed in 1 ِمْسِب ِهّٰللا ِنٰمْحَّرلا ِمْيِحَّرلا. It comprises such an excellent means of making pro- gress in true Tau hi d, in servitude, and in sincerity, whose match is not to be found in any other scripture; and if anyone makes such a claim, let him set forth that verity along with all of the other verities that I shall mention below. An objection has been advanced against the eloquence of بسم ہللا [ bis- mill a h ] by some short-sighted and ignorant opponents. One of these objectors is a padre named Imad-ud-din, who has set out the following objection in his book Hid a yatul-Muslim i n. Another is B a w a Narain Singh, a lawyer in Amritsar, who, deeming the objection of the padre to be valid because of the rancour of his heart, has repeated the same absurd objection in his journal Viddy a Park a shak. I deem it appropriate to set forth this objection together with its answer, so that unbiased people may realize how the overwhelming prejudice has pushed our opponents to the extremes of dark-heartedness and spiritual blindness so that they are perceiving intensely bright light as darkness, and the finest perfume as foul stench. So let it be known that the objection raised by the above-mentioned people against the eloquence of ِمْيِحَّرلا ِمْسِب ِهّٰللا ِنٰمْحَّرلا is that ar-Ra h m a- nur- Ra hi m, which appears in بسم ہللا [ bismill a h ], has not been used in accord with the norms of fluency. The fluent style and proper sequence should have been [ ar- ] Ra hi mur-Ra h m a n inasmuch as the name Ra h m a n for God is on account of that mercy which is abundant and general. The word رحیم [ Ra hi m ] in juxtaposition to رحمٰن [ Ra h m a n ] sig- nifies the mercy that is limited and special, and eloquence calls for pro- ceeding from limited towards the abundant and not from abundant to limited. This is the objection that these two gentlemen have raised with closed eyes against that discourse, the eloquence of which was admitted 1. In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, the Ever Merciful ( S u rah al-F a ti h ah, 1:1). [Publisher]