Life of Ahmad — Page 293
as CHIEF SCRIBE OF DELHI 293 arrived with Muhammad Husain and Abdul Maj i d. They were seated in the adjoining veranda. It was the time of ‘Asr. Ahmad as and his disciples had already offered their prayers at home and the rest of the assembly offered their prayers there immediately before the proceedings began. Ahmad as sent a note to Nadh i r Husain asking him to start the discussion on the subject mentioned in his challenge or to take the oath. But he was not prepared to do anything of the kind. He wanted to discuss a new subject, probably the question of Ahmad’s as being the Promised Messiah as. As the conception of the second advent was intimately connected with the death of Jesus as , it was impossible to discuss the one without the other. If Jesus as was still alive, the question of Ahmad’s as Messiahship could not arise at all. It was a sheer waste of time. Moreover, it was not the subject agreed on for discussion. And if a departure were once made, the debate would drift from one subject to another and would never come to an end. Nadh i r Husain 59 then declared that as Ahmad as did not believe in miracles, the Mi‘r a j , and the angels, he was an infidel and therefore no discussion was possible with Ahmad as on any subject unless he 59 Born at Surajgarh, District Mongher, in 1805 A. D. Came to Delhi in 1828. Kept in Rawalpindi Jail for one year, (1864—65) under suspicion. Died on October 13th, 1902. During the last quarter of the century, his judgment was affected, and his fatwas issued during this period are not trustworthy. (See his Life written by Fa d l Husain, Akbar i Press, Agra, 1908. pp. 81, 307).