Malfuzat – Volume II — Page 179
179 Then, the Promised Messiah as said: “I find it utterly shameful for a man to be in a state of conflict with a woman. God has made us men, and in reality, this is a completion of His favour upon us. The gratitude that we owe for this is to treat women with kindness and tenderness. ” On a certain occasion, the harsh nature and foul tongue of a certain friend was mentioned to the Promised Messiah as and a complaint was made to him that the individual in question treats his wife in a harsh manner. His holiness was deep- ly grieved and said: “Our friends must not be as such. ” The Promised Messiah as continued to discuss how men should live lovingly with their wives. In the end he stated: “As for me, I once raised my voice to my wife. At the time I felt that this louder-than-normal voice of mine was mixed with sentiments of grief. Even though I had said no hurtful or harsh words, I later sought forgiveness from God continuously for a very long time. I offered voluntary Prayers with great humility and lowliness, and gave alms as well; for I felt that the sternness I had shown to my wife was due to some unconscious weakness in my obedience to God Almighty. ” Forgiveness and Pardon There is a certain incident that took place when Mahmud 1 was four years of age or so. His holiness was inside writing away as was his custom. He had placed his written copies aside. Miyan Mahmud had a matchstick and came with a crowd of children. Initially the children played and fought with each other as children do. Then, they did whatever their hearts desired and set these written drafts on fire, whereafter they began clapping in amusement. The Promised Messiah as was busy writing and did not raise his head to see what was happening. During this time, the fire died down and these valuable drafts were turned into a pile of ash. After this, the children began doing something else of interest. His holiness felt the need to consult his previously written pages to link the context of a certain passage. He asked one of them, but there was silence, then he asked another, but he too was afraid of being scolded. Finally, one child spoke up and said: “Miyan Sahib has burned the papers. ” The women, children and other members of the household were in shock and anxiously looked on to see what would happen now. The Promised Messiah as smiled and said: “Wonderful. In this must be great wisdom of Allah the Exalted. Now God Almighty desires to disclose upon me an 1 Hazrat Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmud Ahmad, the Promised Reformer, may Allah be pleased with him.