Life of Ahmad — Page 373
as MUBAHALA WITH ABDUL H AQ 373 was publicly accepted by Ahmad as on the 30th of the same month. The dates fixed were the 10th or 11th of Dh i qa‘da, 1310 A. H. The Mub a hala was to take place at Amritsar in the Eidg a h near the Mosque of Khan Bah a dur Haji Muhammad Shah. When Ahmad as reached Amritsar Abdul H aq wanted to postpone the Mub a hala. But Ahmad as wrote a letter to Abdul H aq on the 7th of Dh i qa‘da 1310 A. H. saying that he had come to Amritsar for the Mub a hala with his family and friends (about 40 in number). He also told him that he was prepared to accept the proposal that he should not make any speech on the occasion and that he would only pray to God, affirming that he was a Muslim and that if the affirmation was a lie, God might curse him. He was also prepared, he said, to alter the words of the prayer as Abdul H aq desired. The Mub a hala must take place now. A special leaflet was also issued by Ahmad as on the 9th of Dh i qa‘da announcing that the Mub a hala would take place between him on the one side and Abdul H aq and his friends on the other at 2 p. m. Muhammad Husain of Batala was specially asked to join; he was present in the Eidg a h but he did not join in the Mub a hala. The Mub a hala took place as arranged on Saturday the 10th of Dh i qa‘da, 1310 A. H. Several hundred persons were present, including some English clergymen. As has been mentioned above, Ahmad as was not really anxious for it. He did not like it in principle. If Abdul H aq had not insisted, Ahmad as would never have desired it because Abdul H aq was a