Malfuzat - Volume IX — Page 421
19 SEPTEMBER 1907 421 The Meaning of Tawaffi The Promised Messiahas said: Once three people came to me in Delhi and one of them said, 'You claim that Jesus of Nazareth has passed away, and you are the awaited Messiah; you present the meaning of tawaffi as tak- ing the soul, whereas its meaning is also to fulfil. And he recited the following line of a couplet in its support تُوَفَّى كُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَا ضَمِنَتْ [Every person is to be given in full what he is liable for]. I responded, 'Being a maulawi and a commentator, how can you say this? First tell me for what purpose or reason is this şighah [tense or form] being used?' He began saying that he had made a mistake. (Tawaffi would means 'to give in full measure' when it appears in the morphological form Tafil, and it means 'to take away the soul' when it appears in the morphological form Tafa'ul. ) The Belief of Mir Karāmat 'Ali Khan of Delhi The Promised Messiahas said: This is a strange matter that he rejected me and made a Christian a messiah. It is hoped that it will be proven to be a frivolous prophecy. Otherwise, for a Muslim to declare such a person to be the messiah who worships a man and makes a man into God and believes in what amounts to kufr [disbelief] in the eyes of the Muslims cannot be based on good intent. It appears only to be a jest and sport.