The Truth Revealed — Page 7
It seems good logic to reason from the announcement pub- lished in a supplement of the N u r Afsh a ń on 12 May 1893 that either Dr. Clarke has been taken in by the Shaikh’s contention that Islam’s recognized ulema have declared me an apostate, or that he himself wishes to mislead oth- ers. Therefore, to apprise the people, I deem it necessary to write that those ulema who are blessed with the knowledge and practice of religion and have been be- stowed with the light of faith are with me and they are al- most forty in number. The converse is true of the mau- law i s aligned with my opponents who are maulaw i s in name alone and are devoid of practical and scholarly ex- cellences. If Dr. Clarke considers this a hyperbole, he should attend a gathering or a debate between those ule- ma who oppose me and those who follow me so as to for- mulate a fair and just opinion. Indeed, not long from now, on 15 June, 1893 such a debate is scheduled between one of my opponents, Maulaw i Ghul a m Dastag i r, and with him the ulema of Lahore who share his temper and disposition, and a small number of my learned followers. Then the clergyman [Dr. Clarke] can judge for himself on which side of the divide stand the righteous and distinguished ulema and on which side stand those who carry the title of mau- law i but are in actual fact inarticulate and nescient. As the old adage has it, seeing is believing. The partisan discours-