Fazl-e-Umar — Page 131
Fazle Umar 131 The Ansarullah was doing splendid work but it was sadly handicapped by the lack of an organ by means of which it could reach a wider circle of sympathisers than was possible by word of mouth. The need was pressing and once more the “boy” – that selfsame never-do-well who had not even a Matriculation Certificate to his credit – rose to the occasion like a man. He thought that a newspaper was required to improve contact between the Centre and the Community at large. He staked every penny he could raise, even the jewellery of his wife, and started a weekly newspaper for which the name of Al-Fazl was chosen by Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih I [ra] , who had approved of the venture and given it his blessings. “Memory of days gone by” gives us a rare peep into the mind of Hadhrat Sahibzada Sahib when he took this great financial risk. He writes: “After this came the year 1913. The life-giving days of the Promised Messiah [as] were receding into the distance and a kind of rust, which had laid its hold upon certain minds, began to be felt. It looked as though the Movement was crumbling to pieces. The present was distressing and dark but the future seemed darker and more full of peril. The hearts of many had given way and there were those who began to despair. The silent vow I had taken upon the death of the Promised Messiah [as] prompted me to keep my resolution high, but apart from that I was helpless. “The columns of The Badr were closed to us on account of the policy pursued by that paper. The Al Hakam, in the first place, was practically non-existent, as all that it could manage to do was to come out now and then; secondly, even when it did come out, it had a directness of approach and a way of saying things which made it unpopular with the powers that be. The Review of Religions (of which Maulvi Muhammad Ali was the editor) was so far removed from us that we could never dream of using it to further our aims. And I had no money. There