Hazrat Ahmad — Page 27
HADHRAT AHMAD. The Oath of Discipleship 27. As the renown of the book and of its author, began to spread many a person wrote to him praying that he might accept from them the covenant of discipleship. But he replied that in all things he depended upon Divine guidance and that he had not been directed to initiate disciples. . In the month of December 1888, the revelation came to him that he should accept from people the covenant of discipleship. . Accordingly the first covenant ceremony took place early in the year 1889 at Ludhiana, in the house of a sincere follower of his named Mian Ahmed Jan and the first to make the covenant was. Maulana Maulvi Noor-ud-Din (may God be pleased with him). . Altogether 40 persons made the covenant that day. . The Promised Messiah. They were slowly followed by a few others, till in the year 1891 a remarkable event occurred. Ahmad was informed by revelation that Jesus of Nazareth, in whose second advent both the. Muslims and the Christians believed, had died a natural death and could not return to the earth in person, and that what was meant by his second advent was that a person should appear in the power and spirit of Jesus and that he himself was that person. When repeated revelations commanded him to publish the same to the world, he had no choice left but to take up the burden. The revelation was received by him at Qadian, and he told the members of his family that the task that had been entrusted to him was sure to arouse fierce opposition. He then proceeded to Ludhiana and issued a manifesto announcing his claims to the Messiahship. . No sooner was the announcement made than there was a great stir all over the country and an unprecedented storm of opposition was raised. Those very theologians who had formerly commended him now stood up to denounce him. Maulvi Muhammad Hussain of Batala, who in his paper Ishaat-us-Sunnat had showered very high praise upon him, now moved heaven and earth to thwart him. . He wrote: "I was the person who raised this man up and now I will bring him down. " meaning that it was through his support that the claimant had attained to some eminence, but that now he would oppose the claimant so bitterly that he would lose his place in public esteem and would be altogether discredited.