The Need for the Imam — Page 43
D ar u rat-ul-Imam 43 It has now been a long time since the solar and lunar eclipses occurred during the month of Ramadan. I have also been barred from the Hajj. The plague, in accor- dance with the Hadith, has spread in the land. Countless signs have been shown through me, which have been witnessed by thousands of Hindus and Muslims, and I have not mentioned here. In view of all this, I am the Imam of the age, and God’s support is with me. He guards me with a sharp sword. Also, I have been in- formed that whoever mischievously stands up against me, will be disgraced and put to shame. Look! I have communicated the injunction with which I was en- trusted. I have frequently written about these issues in my books, but the incident that has induced me to return to them once again, is an error of judgement by a friend of mine, having learnt of which I wrote this booklet with a great anguish in my heart. The details of this episode are as follows: In Sep- tember, 1898 A. D. , which conforms to Jam a di-ul- Awwal, 1316 A. H. , a friend of mine—whom I be- lieved to be innocent, devout and God-fearing, and of whom I have always thought well 40 ( ) but whom I now believe to be mistaken in some of his thinking, and I remain anxious lest it should cause 40 God is the One to judge him. [Publishers]