Chosen Saints of God and the Bigoted Mullas — Page 15
as a great commentator of the Holy Quran. He was also a great mystic and a very pious devotee". (Tabqaat-ul-Hambalia Li Ibni-Abi Y'alaa). This most venerable Imam, the sage and the admitted saint of the age, also had to face the disreputable conclave of the bigoted Mullas to prove to their satisfaction whether he was really a true Muslim. They tried their best to bring him round to their own way of thinking, but he would not budge an inch and stuck fast to his own logical interpretations. . Writing about this venerable Imam, Maulana Raees Ahmad. Jaffri has stated, "The faith brought down by the Holy Prophet for this world now stood in need of fresh sacrifice for which the venerable Imam was the only suitable victim. Because, he being the spiritual monarch of that age, would not bow down to the worldly kings and their lackeys; he would not yield to the sycophant Mullas. In order to uphold the true teachings of the Holy Quran and to point out the true path for those who were to come later he boldly intervened between the true faith and the pedantry in power at the court. The venerable Imam, acting upon the Quranic command which says: "Have patience, then as had the Messengers of strong determination . . . (46: 36), firmly opposed the conclave". . He was thrown into the prison and, bowed down with the weight of four heavy chains, was brought from Tarsus to Baghdad on foot. He could move only with the greatest of difficulty. . But no one took pity on him. During the month of Ramadhan, while he was with a fast, he was made to sit in the burning sun and given lashes on his bare back in the most barbarous manner. . It is reported that as one executioner got tired he was relieved by another who continued the beating. Every time the lash fell on his back, the Imam said, "Quran is not a creation like the rest of His creatures”,-the very subject of contention. We must also remember that the beating was given during the 'last tenday period of the holy month. The Imam himself later said that they continued to beat him mercilessly until nature took pity on him and he fell down and lost consciousness". (Seerat-iAemma Arb'ah: p. 613-615) 15