Ahmadiyyat - The Renaissance of Islam — Page 219
THE RENAISSANCE OF ISLAM 219 Hazrat Maulvi Syed Sarwar Shah Sahib and on espying him in the middle of the turmoil called him and said: 'Maulvi Sahib this burden has fallen upon me suddenly and unexpec- tedly and I cannot even recall the formula of Ba'iat. Will you kindly instruct me in it. ' Thus he took the Ba'iat of those present repeating after the Maulvi Sahib the words of the covenant. At the end of the Ba'iat he offered a silent prayer in which everyone joined, and after the prayer he made a brief speech. Thus the troubled, scattered and bewildered Com- munity was, by Divine grace, again united together and Divine mercy and comfort were perceived as descending upon all hearts. Everyone appeared to be in the grip of deep emotion. Immediately thereafter the newly elected Khalifatul Masih II led the funeral prayers ofHazrat Khalifatul Masih I in a vast. open space next to the Masjid N ur. When the bier was being carried to the graveyard it was followed by a huge concourse of people of all sects and communities, Muslims and non- Muslims, as a token of their respect for and their homage to the memory of a great and gracious personality whose bene- ficence had recognized no boundaries and limits. Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II was made the target of many objections, criticisms and false charges, in answer to which all that he said was: I would beg to be excused that I am unable to reply to all these allegations except to state that God Almighty is witness, and I make oath in His name, that I have never tried that I should become Khalifa; nor has any such idea ever crossed my mind. Those who have given expression to such an idea concerning me have been morally guilty of my murder and are accountable to God for their calumnies against me. The entire press of the country paid tribute to the memory of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih I in superlative terms. For in- stance, The Daily Zamindar of Lahore wrote: In today's Indian Telegraphic News the intimation that Maulvi Hakim Nurd-Din Sahib, who was a great scholar and a dis-