Hazrat Ahmad — Page 25
HADHRAT AHMAD 25 he was destined to serve the cause of Islam in a different manner. . Still the work, so far as it was carried, was sufficient to open the eyes of the world. Friends and foes alike acknowledged the high merits of the author. Among the opponents of Islam the work inspired such awe as prevented any of them from venturing upon a refutation. To the Muslims it brought such joy that even in the absence of any claim on his part, they recognized him as the. Promised Mujaddid (Reformer) of the age, and many of the eminent theologians of the time acknowledged without any hesitation the superiority of his genius. One of them, Maulvi. Muhammad Hussain of Batala, who was at that time the leader of the Ahl-i-Hadis sect and was held in more than ordinary esteem by that community and who, in consequence, was also respected by. Government, wrote a long article in commendation of the book, and went so far as to say that the like of it had not been compiled in support of Islam during the last thirteen hundred years. . In this book the Promised Messiah had, among other things, recorded some of the revelations received by him from time to time. Two or three of them may very appropriately be mentioned here because some of the events mentioned later will bear out their truth. "A warner came unto the world, but the world accepted him not; yet God will accept him and manifest his truth by mighty attacks. " "All manner of things will come to thee from all directions, multitudes will come from every side. " "Kings will seek blessings from thy clothes. ". These revelations were published in the Barahin-i-Ahmadiyya in 1884 when he was but little known. No sooner, however was the book published than his name spread to the farthest of India and many an eye was fixed upon him in the hope that he would champion the cause of Islam and safeguard it from the attacks of its foes. These people were justified in this hope, but God had determined to fulfill the hope in a way different from that which they had come to expect and were to show that those very persons who professed that they were ready to lay down their lives for his sake would later on prove most thirsty for his blood and endeavor by all means to bring him to naught. The acceptance of his claim