Ahmadiyyat - The Renaissance of Islam — Page 197
THE RENAISSANCE OF ISLAM 197 so deeply affected that all of them were thrown into a paroxysm of emotion and loud weeping. This spiritual ex- perience appeared to have cleared the minds of the vast majority of any lurking doubts on the subject matter of the question that had to be discussed. When the time came for the consultative meeting there was an attendance of about two hundred and fifty delegates representing the various branches of the Movement. They all felt that they had to pronounce on a matter that was of fundamental importance with regard to the future of the Movement. The Khalifatul Masih arrived and delivered a short address, the purport of which was that the Khilafat was a religious institution, without which the Movement could not make any progress. He said: God has told me that if anyone of the members of the Movement were to discard it, He would bestow upon me a whole group in place of such a one. I am; therefore, not dependent upon any of you. I believe firmly that by His grace He will help me. He then made reference to the replies sent in by Khawaja Kamalud-din Sahib and Maulvi Muhammad Ali Sahib, and observed: I am told that the only function of the Khalifa is to lead the prayer services and the funeral services and make announcements of weddings and to take the covenant of new entrants into the Movement. He who thinks in those terms is stupid and imper- tinent. He should repent, otherwise he will suffer loss. Those of you who have acted in this manner have caused me great pain and have affronted the office of the Khalifa. He also expressed his displeasure with those who had con- vened a meeting in Qadian in support of the Khilafat. He pointed out that as he had summoned delegates to Qadian for a consultation, no one had the right to hold any meeting in support of or in opposition to any position with respect to the matter which was the subject of consultation. At the end of his speech he invited those present to express their views.