Invitation to Ahmadiyyat — Page 145
145 religions and they opposed him on account of his interest in reli - gion. Yet, all of them—Hindu, Sikh, Christian, Muslim—agreed that, even prior to his claim, Mirza Sahib had led a blameless life, had practised the highest morals, and had never let go of hon - esty and truthfulness. Such was their trust in his honesty that, even in matters where they disagreed with his family, they would insist that he arbitrate between them and would accept what he decided. In short, all who knew him considered him to be most honourable and trustworthy. While Christians, Hindus and Sikhs had strong religious differences with him, they nonetheless testi - fied to the purity of his life and character. As an example of this, I will present the writing of a man who, after Hadrat Mirza Sahib made his claim, became his bitter enemy and issued a verdict of heresy against him. Nor was he a common man, for he was none other than Maulaw i Muhammad Hussain of Bat a la, the acknowledged leader of the Ahle- H ad i th sect. Before the Promised Messiah as had made his claim, this cleric had writ - ten the following review on Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya in his journal Ish a ‘at-us-Sunnah : Few among my contemporaries would be aware of the thoughts and circumstances of the author of Bar a h i n-e- Ahmadiyya as I am. The author does not only belong to my district but we went to the same elementary school in our early years and studied Qutab i and Shara h Mull a together. Since then we have communicated constantly in person and through written communication. Therefore, it should not be considered an exaggeration on my part when I say that I know the author very well indeed. 4