The Afghan Martyrs — Page 158
a matter for conjecture, but even death could not shake the moullah's belief that he had been to Mecca, and that his guide was a true prophet. So the Arnir, when he heard of all this, sent word to the moullah to return, and the moullah did so, preaching the new religion as he came, and as soon as he was well within the boundaries of the country, he was made prisoner and brought to Kabul. Here he was examined by the Arnir, but the Arnir could find in the moullah's clever replies nothing against the true religion which would make him an infidel, and therefore worthy of death, for a Mussulman, according to the Koran, who becomes an apostate, must be stoned to death. He was then sent for examination to Sirdar Nasrullah Khan, who is regarded as more than a moullah in knowledge of his religion, but the prince could not convict the man out of his own mouth, and so a jury of twelve of the most learned moullahs was convened, and even their examination of the accused could elicit nothing on which the man might be killed, and they reported this to the Arnir. But the Arnir said the man must be convicted, and so he was again sent to the moullahs, who were told that they must sign a paper, saying the man was an apostate and worthy of death. Again the majority of the moullahs made affirmation that he was innocent of anything against their religion, but two of the moullahs, who were friends of Sirdar N asrullah Khan, and had been talked over by him, gave their verdict for death, and on the finding of these two moullahs the man was condemned by the Arnir and stoned to death. Before being led away from the Arnir's presence to be killed, the moullah prophesied that a great calamity would overtake the country, and that both the Arnir and the Sirdar would suffer. About nine o'clock at night the day the moullah was killed, a great 158