Life of Ahmad — Page 261
as THE PHARISEE OF BATALA 261 wanted to say in his defence. The people could draw their own conclusions. But Muhammad Husain did not care so much for truth as for his personal status and position. In his letter dated April 16th, Ahmad as wrote to Muhammad Husain that if he did not receive any reply from him till April 20th, his letter of the 16th, would be published. Muhammad Husain sent two replies: (1) No. 200, dated April l7th, and No. 207, dated April 18th, (published in the Ish a ‘atus Sunnah No. 1, Vol. 13). But he would not come to the point. Ahmad as again wrote to him on April 20th, 1891, from Iqbal Ganj, Ludhiana, summarising the situation and asking him not to waste any more time in irrelevant matters. But Muhammad Husain insisted on the same thing in his letter No. 225 dated April 22nd, from Lahore. Ahmad’s as letter dated April 16th, and Muhammad Husain’s dated April 22nd, were published in a supplement to the Akhb a r Punjab , Sialkot, dated April 25th. The editor of the paper added his own opinion and remarks also, which displeased Muhammad Husain, and he wrote another letter (No. 149, dated April 26th, from Lahore, published in his journal No. 3, Vol. 13) to Ahmad as , who ended the meaningless correspondence by his final letter which ran as follows: 'Received your kind letter. I do not find in it any new point necessitating a reply. My claim to be the Promised Messiah as is based on Divine revelation. If you had proved that this claim