Life of Ahmad — Page 201
as BAI‘AT AT LUDHIANA 201 favour; on the other hand, he selected a time which, according to human and worldly calculation, was the least fitted for such an enterprise. On December 1st, 1888, he issued an Ishtih a r inviting people to Bai‘at. On January 12th, 1889 (9 Jam a d i I, 1306 A. H. ) the blessed day when his Promised Illustrious Son Mahm u d Ahmad was born—Ahmad as announced the conditions of initiation into the movement. He said: 'The man who accepts Bai‘at should firmly make up his mind—First, that up to the day of his death he shall abstain from Shirk , i. e. , setting up equals to God. Secondly, that he shall keep away from falsehood, adultery, looking at women other than near relatives, cruelty, dishonesty, riot and rebellion, and, in short, every kind of evil: And shall not allow himself to be carried away by his passions, however strong they may be. Thirdly, that he shall pray five times a day without fail according to the commands of Allah and His Messenger, and to the best of his ability shall try to offer his Tahajjud prayers (prayers in the latter part of the night), to invoke the blessings of God ( Dur u d ) upon His Prophet sa , to ask pardon for his sins and the help of God and, remembering the blessings of God, he shall always praise Him. Fourthly, that he shall in no way harm God’s creatures in general and Muslims in particular under the influence of his passions— neither with his hands, nor with his tongue, nor