Life of Ahmad — Page 92
HE STAKES HIS ALL FOR ISLAM as 92 The fifth part appeared in 1905 20 , but it was a new book altogether and not a continuation of the original. As a matter of fact the book, which consisted of 300 arguments and was completed by May 1879 was not the police. Then he became a D il‘ad a r , after which he was appointed superintendent of the deputy commissioner’s office at Gurdaspur. He was the custodian of the traditions and the heritage of his ancestors. He managed the whole estate while Ahmad as remained busy with his own work. Mirza Ghulam Q a dir’s wife was known as T a ’ i Sahiba. She became a follower of Ahmad as many years after his death, at the hands of Ahmad’s as illustrious son and second successor. They did not leave any children. They had a daughter, ‘I s mat, and a son, Abdul Q a dir, but both died in infancy. So they treated Mirza Sultan Ahmad as their son and he practically became their heir. The property really reverted to Ahmad as , who refrained from taking possession of it out of regard for their wishes. Mirza Ghulam Q a dir was a brave man. General John Nicholson gave him a certificate saying that the Qadian family showed greater loyalty in 1857 than any other in the district. 20 In its preface Ahmad as says that the fifth part was delayed for about 23 years and that during this period he had written about eighty books, 'out of which some were quite voluminous. But I could not attend to the completion of this hook. Several times I even felt regret at the long time for which the Br a h i n-e-Ahmadiyya was postponed, but in spite of every effort and in spite of the fact that its subscribers most insistently demanded the book—during this long period of postponement opponents raised such objections in this respect as were extremely steeped in mistrust and abuse; in fact the long delay should have created objections in the minds of the people—the exigencies of Divine Decree did not allow me to complete this book. It shows that man cannot really go beyond the limits set by the decree of God. I am sorry, nay, I am pained to think that many of the subscribers of this book have left this world before its completion. But, as I have already written, man is under the decree of God. If the will of God does not agree with his will, then man cannot fulfil it however much he might try in a thousand ways. I had originally intended to write fifty parts, but now five are sufficient instead of fifty. The difference in (writing) the two numbers (in Urdu) is just a dot, hence that promise is fulfilled by the five parts'. In thus declaring five equal to fifty Ahmad as had probably in mind the words of God reported in a sacred tradition. God had intended to enjoin fifty obligatory prayers upon Muslims, but when the Holy Prophet sa in his Mi‘r a j went before God to have them reduced, God said, 'These are five and the same are fifty' ( Bukh a r i ).