Haqiqatul-Wahi (The Philosophy of Divine Revelation) — Page 373
POSTSCRIPT-SIGN NUMBER 126 373 126. [ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-SIXTH] SIGN-In Ludhiana, there was a gentleman named Mīr ‘Abbās ‘Alī. He was among those who had entered into baiat [pledge of allegiance] with me. Within a few years, he made such progress in his sincere devotion that, on the basis of his spiritual condition at that time, I once received the revelation: أَصْلُهَا ثَابِتٌ وفَرْعُهَا فِي السَّمَاءِ. Its roots are firm and its branches spread into heaven. This revelation only meant that at that time he was a firm believer. At that time he displayed signs that supported this. There was no incantation for him besides talking about me, and he used to copy out, in his own hand, every letter that I wrote to him considering them to be extremely blessed, and he admonished and advised other people. Even if there was a dry piece of my leftover bread, he would eat it, considering it to be blessed. He was the one who was the first from Ludhiana to come to me in Qadian. At one time, I was shown by God that 'Abbas 'Ali would stumble and draw away from me. Even that letter of mine he copied into his collection of my letters. Thereafter, when he met me he expressed surprise over my vision saying, 'How can that be, for I am ready to lay down my life for you?' I replied that whatever is destined for you, shall be fulfilled. Subsequently, the time came when I put forward my claim of being the Promised Messiah. He found the claim unpalatable. In the beginning he was disgruntled in his heart. Later on, at the time of my debate with Maulawi Abū Sa'id Muḥammad Husain in Ludhiana, he had the opportunity of associating with my opponents for a few days. Then the divine decree became manifest and he clearly revolted. He deviated completely, so much so that the conviction of his heart and the light of his face all vanished and the darkness of apostasy became evident. After he had rejected me, he met me once at Pir Iftikhar Aḥmad's residence in Ludhiana and proposed, 'You and I can settle the matter if we are locked up in a room and remain locked for ten days, then the one who is a liar, shall die. ' I replied, 'Mir Şahib, why resort to such tests that are