Seerat-i-Tayyiba — Page 36
36 Douglas, who later rose to the rank of Colonel, and who died only recently, addressed himself to the Promised Messiah, and asked: “Do you desire that Mr. Clarke should be prosecuted for bringing this false charge against you? If you want to do so, you have every right under the law. But without the slightest hesitation the Promised Messiah replied that he had no wish to do so in any earthly court, for he knew he would be vindicated in heaven. ” ( Seerat Masih-i-Mauood, by Irfani. Pg107) 5 Maulvi Muhammad Husain of Batal, chief of the Ahl-I-Hadith sect, is very well known for his bitter opposition to the Promised Messiah. In his youth he had been a fellow student with the Promised Messiah, and had been one among his close friends. When the Promised Messiah brought out his first book, namely, Braheen- I-Ahmadiyya, Maulvi Muhammad Husain reviewed the publication in the most glowing terms. In fact, he wrote in plain words that during the last thirteen hundred years, in the history of Islam, no other book of such grandeur had been written. However, when the Promised Messiah put forth his claim that he was the expected Reformer of this age, Maulvi Muhammad Husain turned into a bitter and implacable opponent. He issued a decree of Kufr against the Promised Messiah and called him an imposter ( Dajjal), and fanned a fire of hatred against him all over the country. He also went to the extent of appearing as a witness against the Promised Messiah in the case instituted by Dr. Clarke. The Promised Messiah’s counse l, Maulvi Fazl Deen, not himself an Ahmadi, desire during cross-examination of the witness to ask him certain questions which threw humiliating reflection on his parentage, intending thereby to damage his reliability as a witness. But the Promised messiah very firmly stopped him, hurriedly raising his hand to the lips of the counsel, in his anxiety lest some of the deadly words drop from his mouth. At a time of extreme danger to his own life and honor, the Promised Messiah thus behaved with exemplary forbearance and kindness towards a bitter enemy by not allowing his counsel to ask some searching questions in regard to the position and reliability of an important prosecution witness. Maulvi Fazl Deen the counsel in question, was naturally most deeply impressed by the extraordinary magnanimity shown by the Promised Messiah; and in after years he often used to refer to the