Bounties of the Gracious God — Page xi
FOREWORD Mustafa Kamil Pāshā, the Egyptian editor of the newspaper al-Liwā', came across an English announcement that mentioned the claim of the Promised Messiahas and the promise of Allah the Exalted that he and his true followers will be safeguarded from the plague. It further stated that due to this divine protection the Promised Messiahas and those dwelling within his 'four walls' will not require inoculation. The editor assumed that by declaring the vaccine to be unlawful, the Promised Messiahas had abandoned material means, and had set a criterion for the trust in Allah to forsake medicine which was opposed to the teachings of the Holy Quran and the reliance in Allah. In response to this allegation the Promised Messiahas pub- lished his Arabic treatise Mawāhibur-Rahmān [Bounties of the Gracious God] in January 1903. This book not only covered a detailed rebuttal of the Egyptian editor's accusation, but the Promised Messiahas also elucidated his beliefs, the teachings for his Community and recorded those signs that had manifested within the previous three years. The Promised Messiahas states,