Guidance for Perceiving Minds — Page 10
h a d rat Mirza ghulam AHmAD as 10 their misguidance? Yet, I noticed that the proprietor of al-Man a r was revered in the eyes of these malevolent individuals, and his testimony was highly esteemed by some of the fire bearers. They would mention it fervently, both day and night. Their whispers reached me, I uncovered their secrets, and discerned their plots. I was informed that they ridiculed me, and their scorn grew daily. When I saw that they were deceived by the luminaries of the seabed and the pebbles of the land, and had increased in stub- bornness and corruption, I feared that their putridity would spread over this country. I observed as they looked at me distrust- fully, clapping their hands, toying with me and bothering me for the sake of humour. They made the words of al-Man a r a ploy for ignorance, transgression, and contempt. I prepared myself like someone devoted to Jihad; one who strikes an axe in the head of the enemy that throws stone. By [God] the One whose mercy preceded His wrath, and Whose compassion escaped His Poignancy, I initially harboured good thoughts toward the proprietor of al-Man a r. I believed that he spoke with utility in mind rather than intending harm. However, it became evident to me that he did not exercise restraint in his speech as expected of honourable individuals of good nature. He persisted in demeaning me in his newspaper, leading envious individuals to eagerly consume his words like one eating something delicious. They seized upon his words, reigniting their animosity after it had waned, a characteristic of the foolish. They treated his words as sharp weapons, publishing them in Indian newspapers. They wrote everything that was extremely difficult for innocent people to hear, causing harm to my heart, in accord- ance with the behaviour of the vile, the foolish, and the most