The Afghan Martyrs — Page 6
him but according to Ahmad Noor Kabuli who was a pupil of the Sahibzada, there were only ten. Amongst them was a Punjabi Indian from Gujrat named Doctor Abdul Ghani who was known to be a bitter opponent of Ahmadiyyat and he was nominated as the Umpire for this debate. The debate was in writing and the government in Kabul kept the proceedings a secret and never published them. It appears that they were kept a secret because the arguments put forward by the Sahibzada were so potent that they feared that if the proceedings were published the Sahibzada's beliefs might find acceptance all over Kabul. Again according to Martin, apart from Abdul Ghani and one other who was under the direct influence of Nasrulla Khan the Governor of Kabul, all other divines who participated in the debate held that the Sahibzada was a true Muslim. They could find no fault with his beliefs and found that his faith was in direct accord with the Holy Quran and Islam. Thereupon Nasrulla Khan instructed the nominated divines to sit again and review their conclusions. He said that if they decided in favour of the Sahibzada then the political situation could get out of hand. Again according to Martin, when the question was under review the vast majority of the divines felt that the Sahibzada was not at fault. They held that as his beliefs were in direct accord with the Holy Quran and as the arguments advanced by him were wholly logical then he certainly was not guilty of apostasy. As Nasrulla Khan had already made up his mind to have the Sahibzada's life ended by stoning he arranged for a large number of people to agitate in the streets and loudly demand an end to the debate and a firm verdict against the Sahibzada. Before the recommendation of the divines reached Ameer Habeebulla Khan his brother Nasrulla Khan saw him and told him that the general public were aroused and that there was genuine fear of a revolt. He pleaded that due to the gravity of the situation he personally had been forced to approach the King. 6