The Holy War — Page 47
Proceedings—Debate 24 May 1893 47 24 May 1893 Reply of h a d rat Mirza [Ghulam Ahmad] sahib 1 ِمْسِب ِهّٰللا ِنٰمْحَّرلا ِمْيِحَّرلا ۰۰ The questions of yesterday remained somewhat incomplete, and I will answer those first. Mr. Abdullah Atham asks me what is istiqr a [Reasoning from Induction] and what is the definition of istiqr a. In reply to this, it should be clearly understood that istiqr a is the method whereby the results obtained by studying—as far as possible—the observable elements of a class, are assumed to apply to the entire class. In other words, to the extent that we can see various elements of a class of things, or can find proof of them from history, then that one spe- cial quality or one distinctive feature that they possess inherently, we should take it to be a characteristic of all elements of that class of such things, till the time that we observe an element from the same class that does not, in fact, manifest that same characteristic. For example, as I have already said before, studying all individual human beings, as far as is within the realm of possibility, this fact has become proven and acknowledged that man has two eyes. Thus, the issue of having two eyes will remain established and in force until, in opposition to this—for example—the having of four or more eyes does not become proven. It is on this very basis that I had said that this rational argument of Allah, the Lord of Glory : 1. In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful. [Publisher]