Bounties of the Gracious God — Page 118
118 should take the oath that you will divorce your wife three times, or that if you find yourself incapable of writing a commentary of the Quran which is as full of knowledge and eloquence and expres- siveness as is mine, you will forthwith, without presenting any excuses, pledge allegiance to me. If you cannot accept this, then we are not going to pay any more attention to you. I have already shattered you with the arrows of my argument. How can then I give you any preference while you claim that you are more knowledgeable than others. And, then the others also claim that they are more knowledgeable than you. Hence, how can I give you precedence over them until this dispute is settled and this fight has been decided? The mantle of excellence is like a gift; whosoever wins, snatches it from the other, and the one who is overawed is robbed of it. Excellence is not something available for free; rather it is achieved only through a compelling argument. Whosoever proves his gold to be shining better than the other, his beauty, allure and grace are acknowledged by everyone. If you are made a representative of the scholars and you con- front me in the battlefield and prevail like the knowledgeable people in respect of expounding verities and speaking like the eloquent writers, I will present to you not a paltry prize but a huge reward. However, your bragging, while you have already fled the competition, utterly surprise me. I wrote my book I‘j a z- e-Ahmad i for your sake, but you went into hiding and did not come out to compete, so what makes you brag now and talk about a contest with me? Have you forgotten how just a day ago you were rendered dumbfounded and silent, or have you just become unaware of it? In doing so, you probably seek to please the base lot, so that they consider you to be like a bright lamp. O wretched