Truth Prevails — Page 135
( 135 ) “The task to which God has appointed me, with great force I put myself on oath before God, that I can never make myself put away this mantle. If you, and the whole world, were to turn against me, in the least I do not care for you. Under this contract, discharge your duty properly and fully; then wait to see how rapidly you will march ahead; how, and to what extent you succeed… What I have said here, I have said under a sense of great need. With me abides a promise that He would always befriend me. I do not need to call for a fresh oath of allegiance. Stay firm on the pledge you have already given me. Take care you do not fall a victim to hypocrisy. It is easy to fling out a sentence from your lips; but it is very difficult to swallow the implications. Some people say they are not seeking to confine my authority; that their intention is to circumscribe the authority of the Khalifa to come after me. But how do you presume to know? He might come even greater than Abu Bakr, and the Mirza Sahib. Sheikh Sahib once said to me, ‘I have taken up residence here, and I would keep my eyes on you’. I replied he was fully welcome. There are two angles already keeping watch on me. Now you have come. Today I was to do something. But Allah has stopped me from that act; and I am overwhelmed by the immeasurable range of His wisdom… I do not turn them out of the Movement, hoping they might reform their ways… hoping they might begin to understand. I try not give them an excuse for stumbling. At the end, I say again. In your relations and dealings, among yourselves, give up jealousies and animosities. Whenever anything happy, or alarming happens to come to your ears, do not convey it, indiscriminately, to the common people. Of course, however, when a decision has been taken on the matter, then you can talk to people about it, without doing any harm. ” “Now I tell you that you have got to accept these things. Finally, you shall have to come to me and say you have come prepared to render obedience. Whatsoever I am saying to you, I am saying only for your good. May Allah keep me, and you, firmly on the guidance, and bring us all to a good end! Amen!” ( Khutba Eidul Fitr, Badr, October 21, 1909). Meaning of the Passage from Sirrul Khalifa Writes Mr. Faruqi: “According to the Promised Messiah ‘ Khilafa ’ (he seems to mean ‘ Khalifas ’) are of two kinds. One kind is that which falls under the verse of ‘Succession’, and the second kind falls outside this sphere. At page 20 of his book Sirrul Khalifa , he mentions the caliphate of Hazrat Ali (the fourth Khalifa after the Holy Prophet) during which there was hardly any peace in the land; and Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) was put into great trouble and