Life of Ahmad — Page 501
as END OF A THIM 501 the suggestion that Ahmad as had made for setting a limit to the spirit of religious controversy which was fanning the flame of hatred and bitterness among the various classes of His Majesty’s subjects. So he wrote a book entitled Anj a m-e- A thim 119 and issued leaflets and invited the leaders of Christianity to have a prayer contest which did not involve the uttering of any curse. Each party should pray to God that He might distinguish truth from falsehood by some heavenly sign. The wrath of God, each one should pray, should 119 It was completed and published in the beginning of 1897. It covered 284 pages with 64 pages of supplement. Most of this book is in Arabic, having a Persian translation running underneath. The death of A thim was a sign not only for Christians but for the whole world. Therefore Ahmad as did not address only the Christians of India and the Near and Middle East but also the Muslims of India and all other Muslim countries. That is why the book was chiefly written in Arabic and Persian so that all may benefit by it. It was sent to all countries. It is really a collection of four different pamphlets as indicated on the title. The central theme is that he has been truly commissioned by God and that he is not a self-styled Messiah. A supplement of 64 pages was added to the book, in which Ahmad as enumerated, in answer to a question, a number of signs that God had shown in his favour. He also published a letter which Miy a Ĕ Ghulam Far i d of Chachran, a well-known P i r of India, had written to Ahmad as on Rajab 27th, 1314 A. H. In it the P i r wrote: 'O dearest friend, know that I have cherished feelings of deep respect for you from the very beginning in order that I may have its reward. Never has any word of disrespect been utterred by me about you. Now I have to inform you that 1 acknowledge your goodness and there is no doubt about it. I am sure that you are a righteous servant of God. ' Ahmad as also referred to the prophecy contained in Sh. Ali H amza’s book, Jaw a hirul Asr a r , (840 A. D. ). The Holy Prophet sa said that the Mahdi would appear in a village called Kad‘a and that he would have a printed book in which the name of his companions would be written and that their number would be 313. Ahmad as gave a list of his 313 Companions in the book to show that the prophecy was fulfilled in his person. (See Appendix I).