Elucidation of Objectives — Page 2
Tau di h-e-Mar a m 2 were raised, and could lay down my reasons and argu- ments at fuller length, in view of the critics' perceptions. On second thought, however, this idea does not seem to be without blemish. I now feel that my silence is more likely to be misconstrued, not only by the Muslim laity, but also by some of the clergy, who, on account of their warped thinking—which is the unavoidable conse- quence of their decadent condition—and their being influenced by an old hackneyed belief, will rise up in protest and reject my claim out of hand. And, as party to their own cherished opinion, they will be eager at all costs to establish its bona fides. Indeed, it would be hard and rather impossible for them to retreat from a publicly declared position. It is common experience that once a Mull a h has expressed his opinion publicly and pronounced it to be final, he finds it worse than death to retract it. Hence, before they should get entangled in the meshes of hidebound obduracy by confronting me, I decided that, as an act of pity, I should try on my own to bring home to them the truth with such clear and cogent reasoning as should adequately satisfy any intelligent and fair-minded seeker after truth. Later on, the occasion may arise when I am required to elaborate further for the sake of those who happen to be naïve and of lesser intellect and are unaware of the metaphors, terminology, and subtle and abstruse exegeses common to the revealed scriptures. They rather fall under the