Fazl-e-Umar — Page 66
Fazle Umar 66 This incident is worth pondering because if any other child were to experience such an episode they would become very frightened. And this fear would have become etched on their memory. Without doubt circumstances could have become very dan- gerous for Huzur and his innocent companions at the instigation of the old lady. At the time this incident took place the population of Qadian was very small and it was not held in awe by the surrounding villages as it was to be observed later. However, in the later period when the prestige of Qadian subsided, boys from Qadian were afraid to step into some notorious Sikh villages because tales of their wild and criminal behaviour were popular. These Sikh youths sometimes became enraged at the slightest provoca- tion and gave the boys a good beating. Reports of their quarrelling and sometimes violent clashes even with grown ups were an everyday occurrence. Therefore, one can say with confidence that in the light of this background, if children remember such incidents they are always because of mental commotion and fear. When they relate such incidents they commonly end the story by saying that at the time they almost died out of fear or their legs began to tremble with fear or that they fled in fear or they prayed that O Lord! Only you can save us now! But Hadhrat Sahibzada Sahib’s reac- tion was completely different. His state of mind is like a philosopher who struggles to unravel the complicated events of history. He was amazed by this incident because on the one hand were innocent children in sight of simple Sikh youths together shar- ing the natural pleasure associated with hunting; on the other hand was a religiously prejudiced born instigator as a result of which their inclination changed and prejudice dominated the natural pleasure. Why did all this happen? To what extent was it right and to what extent was it wrong? This anxiety dominated his mind not just then but year after year Huzur continued to pore over this incident. He remembered it because of the unique circumstances. Hadhrat Musleh Mau’ood’s following remarks exemplify his old habit of pondering: