Life of Ahmad — Page 465
as REGULATION OF CONTROVERSIES 465 and emphasised the necessity and the importance of the proposal. Ahmad as had received the signatures of over 5,000 people and intended to submit a memorial signed by 10,000. But Muhammad Husain neither did anything himself nor let Ahmad as do anything in the matter. It may be noted that the mullahs of Amritsar— Abdul Jabb a r, San a ’ullah, Ghulam Ras u l, and Ahmadullah—publicly opposed this memorial to the extreme disappointment of the Muslims of India. They alleged that the legislation proposed was directed against them. every way just as he deserves. But Christians have presented to us a Jesus who claimed to be God and declared that, excepting his own self, all men, the first and the last, were accursed, viz. he looked upon them as guilty of misdeeds punishable with God’s curse. We too regard such a one as deprived of the mercy of God. The Quran has not informed us of such an impertinent and foul mouthed Jesus. We wonder very much at the person who permitted death for God and himself laid claim to divinity and abused such pure people as were a thousand times better than him. So in our discourse we mean everywhere the imaginary Jesus of the Christians; and the humble servant of God, ‘Is a bin Maryam as , who was a Prophet and who is mentioned in the Quran is not at all meant in the harsh addresses. We have adopted this form after continually hearing abuse from Christian missionaries for no less than 40 years. ' Ahmad as wrote a letter also to Fate h Mas ih on 1-2-1896, in which he said that the harsh words in his answer were not used in any fit of temper, but only to teach the Christian missionary how to behave in such matters.