Malfuzat – Volume III — Page 264
264 Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad and falsehood do not imply that in that era the government would be oppres- sive. Those who subscribe to this notion are gravely mistaken. In the time of the awaited Messiah, it was necessary for the ruler to be just and for a state of peace to prevail. And I thank God Almighty for having given us a government so just and peace-loving that no equal can be found today from among any other government of the world. In the same manner, the Roman government was also renowned in the time of the Messiah for its justice and equity. However, our government is many times greater and far more just than the Roman government. This was best demonstrated when Reverend Henry Martyn Clark filed a case against me in the days that Captain Douglas was the Deputy Commissioner of Gurdaspur. Although certain unwise people harboured misgivings on account of the fact that the case had been filed by an esteemed Reverend, this just judge uncovered the truth and discovered that this court case had been instigated as a result of the cunning of certain ignoble men. Captain Douglas, who serves as the Deputy Commissioner of Delhi at present, will always be renowned for his unparalleled example of justice. This is an example of just one government official; there are thousands, nay, hundreds of thousands of similar examples. Hence, it is narrated in the Hadith that when the Promised One would come, the world would be filled with injustice and falsehood. This means that at that time, polytheism and deceit would be vigorously rampant. As such, just observe how the worship of idols and crosses, and the worship of the dead, and other diverse forms of worship is prevalent, and the real, true God has been abandoned. 1 The Need for a Reformer Now, a wise person ought to reflect over all of these aspects collectively and tell me whether these are points that can be cast aside with a cursory glance. Or are these matters over which a person should reflect and contemplate fully? Have I made my claim at the head of the century or not? Even if I had not come, it was incumbent on every sensible and God-fearing person to search for the one who was destined to appear, because the head of the century had arrived; and now that twenty years have passed since the dawn of this century, people ought to have shown even more concern in this regard. The present disorder in the world was proclaiming aloud that some individual ought to be raised for the purpose of reformation. The Christians have advocated such freedom and unrestraint that 1 Al-Hakam , vol. 7, no. 2, dated 17 January 1903, pp. 2-3 p. 242