Life of Ahmad — Page 573
as RIGHTEOUS INDIGNATION 573 Ahmad as also exposed and condemned their iniquity. And just as some people find fault with Jesus as in this respect and accuse him off injustice, bitterness and unjustificable wrath, in the same way it was necessary that some people should find fault with Ahmad as also for using strong and piercing words of denunciation. 'Yet is sin never to be rebuked? Is hypocrisy never to be unmasked? Is moral indignation no necessary element in the righteous soul?' God had commissioned Jesus as and Ahmad as to do this work. Besides, the enemies of Ahmad as had insidiously given the District Magistrate an impression during the proceedings of the court case that the hard words of reproach which Ahmad as had used in his writings were objectionable in the eyes of the law. There was no opportunity for Ahmad as to say anything in the court in self-defence. Therefore to justify himself before the authorities 137 and the public Ahmad as wrote Jesus as used the words: 'Serpents,' 'generation of vipers. ' (Matt. 23:33) 'a wicked and adulterous generation' (Matt: 16:4); 'dogs' and 'swine' (Matt: 7:6); 'ye cursed' (Matt. 25:41); 'ye are of your father the devil' (John 8:44); 'thieves and robbers' (John 10:8); 'fox' (Luke 13:32), etc. The Holy Quran has denounced the vilifiers of sacred persons in the following words: Sharrul-bariyya , i. e, 'the worst of creatures' (Al-Bayyinah 98:7) Mathalil-Kalbi , i. e. , 'like the dog' (Al-A‘r a f 7:177); Auliy a ’ ush- shait a n , i. e. , 'friends of satan' (Al-Nis a ’ 4:77); h umurummustanfirah , i. e. , 'like asses taking fright' (Al-Muddaththir 74:51); Al-qiradata wal khan a z i ra wa‘abada t-ta gh u ta , i. e. , 'apes and swine and those who serve the devil' (Al- M a ’idah 5:61); ‘ Utullin-ba‘da dh a lika zan i m , i. e. , 'low and mean, and base- born to boot' (Al-Qalam 68:14). The word Zan i m also means 'son of an adulteress. ' 137 Apart from the charges of blasphemy the enemies of Ahmad as represented him as a dangerous man who disturbed the peace of the country. They said he provoked the anger of the people and their leaders said that