Haqiqatul-Wahi (The Philosophy of Divine Revelation) — Page 437
POSTSCRIPT-SIGN NUMBER 157 437 when I proclaim here the martyrdom of Ṣāḥibzādah Maulawi ‘Abdul- Latif to be a grand Sign, it is not because he was killed unjustly and was martyred; rather, it is because he demonstrated such steadfastness at the time of his martyrdom that there cannot be any greater miracle than that. On three different occasions, the Amir counselled him gently that if he would only renounce the oath of allegiance to the man from Qadian who claimed to be the Promised Messiah, he would be freed, and, indeed, he would be honoured even more than before; otherwise, he would be stoned to death. But every time he replied: 'I am a man of learning and have experienced the world. I have entered into his bai'at [pledge of allegiance] by way of enlightened conviction. I know him to be better than the whole world. ' He was kept in prison for many days and was gravely tortured. He was tied from head to foot with a heavy chain. He was then counselled time and again and was promised honour if he renounced his bai'at, for he had a long-standing relationship with the State of Kabul, and pos- sessed privileges in the state due to his services. But he repeatedly said: ‘I am not insane. I have found the truth. I am absolutely convinced that the Messiah who was to come is none other than the one in whose hands I have pledged bai'at. Then, despairing of him, they put a string through his nose, and led him in chains to the ground for stoning. Just before stoning him to death, the Amir once again advised him, 'There is still time for you to revoke the bai'at and renounce. ' He replied, 'This shall never be. Now my end is near. I would never prefer the life of this world over my faith. ' It is reported that after witnessing such perseverance on his part, hundreds of people were awestruck and their hearts trembled and they declared: 'How unshakeable is this faith! We have never seen any- thing like it. ' And there were many who said, 'If the man, to whom he pledged allegiance had not been from God, Ṣāḥibzādah 'Abdul-Latif