The Devotion of Life — Page 461
461 Peshawar, in spite of being opposed to Ahmadiyyat, wrote stirring words of admiration for the ‘Darweshan’ of Qadian, giving reference to their number of 313 and coming together for the sake of Allah like the Companions of the Holy Prophet (May Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) who fought in the battle of Badr. The commendation offered a vivid portrayal of events: “The 313 Companions of the Holy Prophet (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) defeated the Meccans. Later on Mecca was conquered. Today, following in their footsteps, 313 followers of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani, son of Mirza Ghulam Murtaza, resident of Qadian, Tehsil Batala, District Gurdaspur, are persevering in Qadian. It is their irrevocable determination that following in the footsteps of the Companions of the Holy Prophet (Peace and blessing of Allah be upon him), they are protecting the Mubarak Mosque of Qadian, Jami’a Ahmadiyya and ‘Bahishti Maqbara’ where Mirza Sahib is buried, ready to lay down their lives and occupied in the remembrance of God, seeking the help of God. Amongst these, there are many ‘Hafiz’ scholars (those who know the Holy Quran by heart) and ‘Sufis’ (the mystics). ” Then Mr. Shorish Kashmiri, the editor of the Magazine ‘Chetan’ , published from Lahore, who was a bitter opponent of Jama’at Ahmadiyya, putting to shame the other care-takers of Islam wrote in 1961: “Anyone can gather people. Mirza Ghulam Ahmad also gathered people, but a large number of scholars