Hazrat Ahmad — Page 47
HADHRAT AHMAD 47 uttered a blatant lie concerning the Promised Messiah and the latter had, in one of his books, referred to him as a 'Kazzab' which means both a liar and a hardened liar. He also referred to him as 'laeem', which literally means base, but is sometimes used in the sense of bastard. The complainant urged that he had been called a hardened liar and a bastard, whereas the only thing proved against him was that he had uttered a simple falsehood. The court thereupon entered into a lengthy investigation of the various connotations of the words. A few other questions of a like intricacy were also raised and such a lengthy discussion was carried on upon them that almost two years were taken up in coming to a decision. . During the course of the trial a rumor gained currency that the magistrate was under pressure from his co-religionists to take advantage of the situation and to send the accused to jail even if it was only for a day. Friends who heard the rumor came to the. Promised Messiah in great perturbation and anxiously reported what they had heard. The Promised Messiah was at that time reclining. As he heard the story a glow came over his face and raising himself slightly on one arm he said with great emphasis: 'What! Would he lay his hand on God's lion? If he does that, he shall see what end he comes to. ". It is not known whether the report had any basis in fact, but it so happened that just at that time the magistrate was transferred from the station and was deprived of his criminal jurisdiction and a short while later he was reduced in rank. The magistrate to whose calendar the case was now transferred also spun out the proceedings and though the Promised Messiah was used to being given a chair in the court of the District Magistrate, this magistrate, in spite of the Promised Messiah being seriously indisposed, refused to show him any such consideration. On one occasion, the magistrate would not even allow him to have a drink when he felt thirsty. After a protracted trial he convicted the Promised Messiah and inflicted upon him a fine of Rs. 500. . An appeal was preferred against his finding and was heard by the Sessions Judge of Amritsar, who was a European, Mr. Hurry by name. When he had looked into the record of the case, he expressed his surprise at the magistrate having dragged the frivolous case on to such inordinate length and added that if he had been in the place of the trying magistrate he would have dismissed