Why Islam is my choice — Page 46
46 become a true Muslim but to my surprise, the response was just the opposite. My mother arrived in Bahawalpur within days of the receipt of my letter. She would cry and beg me to give up “Qadianiyyat. ” She even threatened me that she would kill herself by jumping from the roof of the building, if I did not listen to her. My mother’s pleas were heart rendering and no matter what I did to calm her she would not stop. I was faced with a choice between my mother and my faith. All ā h granted me the strength to remain steadfast to my faith. After all else failed, my mother pleaded before the owners of the business to remove me from the employment but the owners were not about to get rid of me so easily. One of the owners did advise me that my faith was a matter of my personal choice but I should be careful in discussing it with everybody as that could harm me down the road. My mother finally picked up my two younger brothers and took them back home on the pretext that I would be a ‘bad’ influence on them. On her return my mother discussed the situation with my stepfather who advised that my marriage should not be delayed any further. I was asked to take some leave of absence and return to the village for the marriage. I did accordingly. While preparations were underway, I realized that everybody was asking the question about my conversion to the A ḥ madiyyah Muslim Jam ā ‘at. However, on the day of the marriage, there was a big fuss raised over this issue by some. My stepfather told me that I should go before the people who had gathered for the wedding ceremony and make an announcement that I was not an A ḥ mad ī. I politely told him that I could not lie as the religion did not permit doing so under any circumstances. Hearing my reply, he lost his temper. He went inside and returned with a shotgun. Pointing the shotgun at me, he yelled that I had the last chance to do as he commanded or else I should prepare to die. I said nothing and stood still. A few moments passed and then I suddenly saw his hands drop