A Critical Review of the Pamphlet, 'Fateh-e-Qadian' — Page 19
i‘j a zul-Ma si h —A Miracle of the Promised Messiah as 19 not let him enter, and asked him to leave with the message that ‘P i r [Meher ‘Al i ] will not reply’. (For details see W a qi‘ a t-e- S a hih ah, published by Anw a r-e-Ahmad i , Lahore, 1900, pp. 44–45, 47) Earlier, on June 27, 1900, the Ahmadis in Lahore had published an announcement for a standing challenge to any scholar or custodian of any shrine, who considered himself to be following the truth in opposition to the Promised Messiah as , to take part in a prayer duel with the Promised Messiah as. The method suggested for the prayer duel was that a few incurable patients and other afflicted people should be distributed equally between both contestents according to the the drawing of lots. The contestants should then engage in prayer for the recovery of their particular group of invalids. Within 40 days, the information that the contestants receive from God as a result of their prayers should be published, indicating which of their patients would recover fully. The contestant whose patients recover or their afflictions are eased should then be considered to be in the right. After a lengthy silence, a written announcement in answer to this straightforward and simple challenge was distributed in Lahore on August 25, 1900—the date of the above-mentioned incident at the P i r’s house. In this statement Maulav i Muhammad Gh a z i and other disciples of the P i r conceded quite clearly that they neither had the backing of God nor could the sick be healed with their prayers. They asked that H a dr a t Mirza Ghulam Ahmad as should perform this miracle on his own and heal the sick. (For details see W a qi‘ a t-e- S a hih ah , published by Anw a r-e-Ahmad i , Lahore, 1900, pp. 19–20) After these negotiations completely fell through, H ak i m Fa d l Il a h i and Mi an Mai‘r a jud-D i n ‘ Umar sent a registered letter