Life of Ahmad — Page 150
ADDRESSES THE A RYA SAM A J as 150 1886. The total cost of printing 31 was about Rs. 800, Rs. 500 of which he had borrowed from Munshi Abdul H aq ra. About a hundred of the 1,000 copies printed were at once distributed free among non- Muslims. Maulaw i N u r-ud-D i n ra32 and Ch. Rustam Ali ra helped a great deal in the sale of the book. 31 Ahmad as was in debt in those days. A S a huk a r of Qadian pestered him at Ambala with letters demanding a paltry sum of Rs 40/- or Rs. 50/-. There was Babu Muhammad at Ambala who was in distress and needed Rs. 150, the amount he had lent to Ahmad as. He promised payment to his creditors as soon as he received the sale proceeds of the publication for the production of which Ahmad as had borrowed the money. He was anxious to pay them off and did not like to disappoint them. He could not injure the feelings of Babu Muhammad by openly giving preference to the Hindu S a huk a r from whom probably, he had borrowed much earlier. So to ease the situation Ahmad as wrote two confidential letters to the Hindu S a huk a r to come to Ambala personally (as soon as he was asked) for payment. But Mammon worshippers are absolutely void of fine sentiments and the Banya mentality is impervious to all such niceties. Those private and confidential letters were maliciously published in an A rya pamphlet in February 1887, with a view to throwing discredit upon Ahmad as. 32 Born at Bhera, 1841. Came to Lahore at the age of 17. Learnt Persian and Arabic. Joined the Normal school at Rawalpindi in 1858. He was ap- pointed headmaster at Pind Dadan Khan where he remained for four years. He again started his studies in religion and medicine. His love for good books was intense and he was a voracious reader. His insatiable thirst for knowledge and spiritual advancement took him to Rampur, Rohilkhand and Bhopal. Then he proceeded to the Holy Places in Arabia. At Mecca he studied under Sh. Muhammad Khazraj i , Sayyid Husain and Maulaw i Ra h matullah. He went to Medina and sat at the feet of Shah Abdul Ghan i , at whose hands he also took Bai‘at. He stayed there for about a year and then returned to Mecca. He came back to India after finishing his studies. After staying at Bhera for some time he went to Jammu, where he gained influence and renown as State physician. His righteousness, rectitude and daring trust in God brought him at last in touch with Ahmad as , whose first letter addressed to him is dated March 8th, 1885. Out of his deep devotion to God he migrated to Qadian, most probably in 1893. His soul was then at rest. He lived a very simple and austere life. In learning he was supreme but he sat like a babe at the feet of Ahmad as , his spiritual master. He wrote several books in defence of Islam