Fazl-e-Umar — Page 141
Fazle Umar 141 While attending to these matters he had to devote a great deal of his time and atten- tion to safeguarding the Community against the misleading and virulent propaganda which was started by the dissentient Lahore group. The task that confronted him was indeed formidable and the problems that awaited solution necessitated delicate but firm handling. As the narrative unfolds we shall see, how the new Khalifa proved to be more than equal to the demands made upon him. In the 52 years he occupied the exalted position of Khalifa, the Community passed through great trials and vicissitudes but at each stage and on every occasion the undaunted courage and farsighted wisdom of its leader safeguarded it against every danger. His anxious and solicitous nurture of the tender plant that was committed to his care so many years ago was converted into a firm rooted tree with wide spreading branches affording grateful shade and secure shelter and bringing forth healthy and abundant fruit. The winds of opposition and persecution sometimes rose to a hurricane but this sturdy tree under the wise and fostering care of its ever alert and watchful keeper stood foursquare to all these opposing winds and far from endangering its security they merely served to add to its strength and beneficence.