Life of Ahmad — Page 166
CHRISTIANS TAKE UP ARMS as 166 1884-1896) in writing of his having done so. In answer to this, Fate h Mas ih declared that he did not really mean to claim that he was the recipient of revelation; but that he had merely put forward a counter-claim in the previous meeting in a meaningless manner because he was sure that Ahmad’s as claim was also void of truth. R a ’i Bashambar D a s, a leading Hindu of Batala, and Babu Gurdit Singh Mukhtar publicly censured the Christian missionary on the spot for making such a false claim. He was thus humiliated in the eyes of the public, and the meeting dispersed. Ahmad as issued a leaflet (printed at the Shamsul Hind Press, Gurdaspur) on May 24th, 1888, in which he announced that he would stay at Batala till the end of Ramadan and that if any European Christian wished to come forward for the purpose, he would warmly welcome him. He specially addressed the Rev. H. U. W. Stanton, who was at that time in charge of the Christian Mission there. If the Rev. Mr. Stanton openly declared that Christians did not possess such powers, Ahmad as was prepared to make one-sided prophecies. He proclaimed, however, that they would admittedly be of an extraordinary character; and that if he did not do so, he would offer, Rs. 300 as damages for having wasted the valuable time of the Christian missionary. But there was one thing which was essential and it was this that if the Rev. Mr. Stanton was satisfied that Ahmad’s as prophecy was really of a supernatural character, it should be