Hazrat Maulvi Nooruddin - Khalifatul-Masih I — Page 124
WISE COUNSELLOR Hadrat Maulw i Nur-ud-D i n ra — Khalifatul Masih I 124 person acquires proficiency in reading and writing he becomes known as an educated person; when he advances further in the acquisition of knowledge he becomes a philosopher; when he masters moral and spiritual values he becomes a Su f i (mystic); what does a Su f i become when he rises higher?" Sir Sayyid wrote back: "He becomes N u r-ud-D i n. " 45 Maulaw i ‘In a yatur Ras u l Chiry a kut i was a learned divine who was proficient in Hebrew and Greek and had made a deep study of Jewish and Christian Scriptures. He suggested to Sir Sayyid that for the comparative study of the Torah and the Holy Quran, a commentary on the Torah from the Islamic point of view was called for and offered to compile one. Sir Sayyid approved of the project and wrote to Maulaw i N u r-ud-D i n ra soliciting his cooperation in carrying it into effect. He readily agreed, but unfortunately Maulaw i ‘In a yatur Ras u l was, for some reason, unable to initiate the project and the matter went no further. Sir Sayyid was somewhat of a free-thinker. He held that supplication for the achievement of a concrete purpose was only a type of worship and a spiritual exercise which did not contribute towards the achievement of the specific purpose the supplicant had in mind. He also did not believe in the possibility of verbal revelation. According to him that which was described as verbal revelation was no more than inspired thinking. The Promised Messiah as , at the suggestion of Maulaw i N u r-ud-D i n, refuted both these notions as erroneous in his booklet Barak a tud Du‘ a , wherein he observed that by propounding these ideas Sir Sayyid had in effect sought to disrupt altogether the relationship between the Creator and His creatures. He offered to demonstrate the acceptance of