Seerat-i-Tayyiba — Page 49
49 faults of others, as does our God in heaven. ” ( Seerat Masih-i-Mauood, by Irfani) Lest someone hastily rise to the conclusion here that this was a sort of encouragement of theft, let me explain here that the rice involved was the property of the Promised Messiah, and the guilty woman was hungry and destitute. So when the Promised Messiah ordered that some rice should be given to her, he was not encouraging thieving, but only wanted to give food to a hungry and needy person who was in distress from poverty. It is well established on the basis of hadeeth that in circumstances of this kind, where the culprit was a poor man or woman, and stole a quantity of food, the Holy Prophet did not consider the case as one of theft, and was disposed to overlook the weakness displayed. 17 Once when the Promised Messiah had been out for a walk and was entering his home, a beggar, some distance behind, called out to him with a request to be given something. But in the noise of the people around him, the voice did not properly carry to the ears of the Promised Messiah, or it reached his ears but failed to hold his mind, and he went in. A few moments afterwards, however, when he was free of the noise, the voice of the beggar ran in his ears and penetrated to his consciousness. Immediately he came out, and inquired were the beggar had gone. But he was told that the man went away immediately, no one knew where. The Promised Messiah again went in, but his heart was troubled. Only a short while afterwards the voice of the same beggar again reached his ears from outside his door. He came out in great hurry and put some money in his hand, at the same time expressing regret at his failure to respond to the appeal when made in the first instance. He said he had also prayed to god that the beggar come back again. ” ( Seeratul Mahdi, Part I, pg. 286) 18 And last of all I finished this discussion with a somewhat comprehensive note on the subject written at my request a long time ago my maternal uncle, Hazrat Dr. Meer Muhammad Ismail. In the course of this article he wrote: “The Promise Messiah was very gen tle and mild of heart and temperament, merciful and