Malfuzat – Volume X — Page 427
4 May 1908 427 4 May 1908 (After Asr Prayer in Lahore. ) Advice to the Jama’at The Promised Messiah as said: The very purpose of meeting is to reflect somewhat upon mat- ters of the Faith. I have repeatedly stated so many times that our Jama’at and the other Muslims both appear to be the same on the surface. You are Muslims and they are also called Muslims. You are reciters of the Kalimah. They are also reciters of the Kalimah. You claim to be followers of the Quran. They are also claimants of being those very followers of the Quran. So, in short, you and they are both the same in [your] claims, but Allah the Almighty is not pleased with mere claims until they are accompanied by reality and in support of that claim there is some practical proof and a palpable change in [one’s] condition. It is for this reason that I am oftentimes dealt a severe blow from this grief. Evidently, there is a great increase in the number of followers. Every day pledges are increasingly on the rise, coming in by means of both, letters and in person. In today’s mail as well, there is a long list of initiates who pledged allegiance, but one should attain a full awareness of the true essence of the pledge and should act upon it. The true essence of the pledge is that the initiates foster a genuine transformation within themselves and cultivate the fear of God within their hearts, and, realizing the true objective, exemplify