Proceedings of the Prayer Meeting — Page 27
The Sermon 27 colour. One who proceeds in a hypocritical manner and adopts two colours is eventually exposed. There is a famous adage: �ورا گ غ � درو ه ابندش ظ احف� [‘A liar has no memory. ’] Now I wish to state another important point which is that rulers often have to embark on military campaigns that also serve to protect and safeguard their subjects. As you have seen, our Government has had to fight wars on the [Afghan] Frontier on several occasions. Although the Frontier people are Muslims, in my opinion they are in the wrong. Their war against the British has no justification from any religious aspect or point of view, nor do they, in fact, fight for any religious motive. Can they dare offer the excuse that the Government has denied freedom to the Muslims? The Government, truly, has allowed freedom the like of which cannot be found, even when living in Kabul or its suburbs. We have not heard the Amir spoken of in good terms either. Greed is the only motive for which these insane Frontiersmen are fighting. A petty sum like ten or twenty rupees is enough to dampen their warrior spirit. They are fanatics who spoil the good name of Islam. Islam establishes the rights of the ruler of the time and those of the benefactor, whereas these mean-spirited people transgress the limits of Allah for their selfish ends. The fact that they readily murder a human being for a piece of bread is a strong proof of their meanness, stupidity, and brutality. Our Government is currently at war with a small republic, Transvaal, which is no bigger than the Punjab. It was an act of sheer folly on its part to have engaged in warfare with such a great empire. But now that the fighting has begun, it is incum- bent upon every Muslim to pray for the victory of the British. As