Malfuzat - Volume VIII — Page xxxix
FOREWORD The Malfuzat are a compilation of discourses, letters, and narrations of the Promised Messiahas, Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian. They offer a unique insight into the interactions between the Promised Messiahas and his eager audiences-great and small-and how his Divinely inspired wisdom and intellect quenched the souls of a world thirsting for guidance. These enchanting experiences compelled eye- witnesses to record them in an attempt to seize those special moments for future generations, in the hopes that they might somewhat behold the magnetic aura radiating from the long-awaited Imam of the Age. This present edition of Malfūzāt is the complete English transla- tion of the Urdu Volume 8, covering the interval from 1 October 1905 through 28 October 1906. This is a period when some of the most dear and devoted followers of the Promised Messiahas had passed away. The deaths of Maulawi 'Abdul-Karimra, Maulawi Burhān-ud-Dinra, Munshi Jalal-ud-Dinra, Maulawi Jamāl-ud-Din Syed Walahra, Maulawi Sher Muhammadra of Hojin, Jalāl-ud-Dinta of Pir Kot, and several others weighed heavy on the heart of the Promised Messiahas. Nevertheless, he took solace in the comforting words of God that others would be raised in their stead. Speaking of his own impending death, the Promised Messiahas describes the mighty revelations in which the Noble Lord assures him that he will leave this world with great honour, although rampant death and destruction would follow across the globe. These 'earthquakes' will give the disbelievers a taste of the Day of Judgment, but the believers shall have nothing to fear. He also details a grand scheme for those who wish to make exemplary personal and financial sacrifices for the cause of Islam, and the establishment of a cemetery called Bahishti Maqbarah [the Heavenly Graveyard]. The Promised Messiahas expressed delight