Malfuzat – Volume II — Page 222
222 Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad line with my objective is a dry branch. If a gardener does not cut it off, what is he to do? A dry branch that is attached to a flourishing one sucks water but cannot become verdant itself. In fact, the dry branch causes the green branch to wither away as well. So have fear. One who does not cure themselves will not remain with me. Since I will provide a detailed explanation of all this in my book, now I shall say a few words in Arabic to fulfil my obligation. ” 1 The Murder of Two Englishmen During these days, a cruel Pathan murdered two innocent Englishmen in the region of Peshawar. On this, His Holiness as addressed a gathering and said: “This incident where two Englishmen have been murdered, is this Jihad? It is vile people like these who have given Islam a bad name. What this man ought to have done was care for these individuals and treat them in such an excellent manner so that they could have observed his morals and good conduct, and then become Muslims themselves. The duty of a believer is to crush his own ego. It is written that Hazrat Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, was engaged in battle with a disbeliever. Hazrat Ali ra had subdued the man and just as he was about to bury his sword into the man, he spat on Hazrat Ali ra. On this, Hazrat Ali ra got up off of the man’s chest. The man was surprised and asked: ‘O Ali! What is the matter?’ ‘I was fighting you for the sake of God,’ responded Hazrat Ali ra , ‘but now that you have spat on my face, my own ego has a part in this, so I have left you alone. ’ This act of Hazrat Ali ra had a deep effect on the man. Whenever I hear such reports about these sorts of people, I am extremely grieved at the fact that they have become greatly distanced from the Holy Quran; they believe that the killing of innocent human beings results in spiritual reward. Certain individuals from among the Muslim clergy call me ‘Antichrist’ because I have not deemed it permissible to wage war against the British. But what I find extremely regrettable is that these people call themselves maulvis (religious schol- ars) and then give Islam a bad name. Someone ought to ask them, what harm have the British done to them? What suffering have they caused them? It is a shame that a people whose arrival in this land has given us every kind of peace and com- fort, and whose coming delivered us from the bloodthirsty claws of the Sikhs, and who provided us every opportunity and facility to propagate our religion, have been thanked for their favour with the killing of innocent British officials. 1 Al-Hakam , vol. 4, no. 14, dated 17 April 1900, pp. 2-9