Ahmadiyyat or The True Islam — Page 141
141 ing him in his paper, the Ish a ‘at-us-Sunnah : 'The author of the Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya (this was the name of a book written by the Promised Messiah as before he published his claim) has been so steadfast in serving Islam with his example, his energy, his substance, and his pen and tongue that it would be difficult to discover his equal among those Muslims who have gone before him. ' The expression, 'serving Islam with his example,' is significant and meant that the life of the Promised Messiah as was such a perfect model of good morals and conduct that people who saw it were drawn to Islam and that few such lives could be found among the Muslims who had gone before. Those who are aware of the tendency of religious writers to exaggerate the virtues and merits of those who have preceded them, can judge what it would cost a Maulaw i to have to admit that a certain living man had surpassed all those who had gone before. Particular value attaches to the testimony of this Maulaw i for the reason that he was a resident of Batala, which is only a short distance from Qadian, and he was, therefore, familiar with the life of the Promised Messiah as from his childhood upwards. In addition to this testimony of one of his most inveterate enemies, every person who knew him was convinced and bore testimony to his purity and good- ness. Men belonging to different religions, Hindus, Sikhs and non-Ahmadi Muslims of Qadian, who are perhaps bitterer enemies of the Promised Messiah as than those who live at a distance—for a Prophet is not hon- oured in his own city—are all agreed that from his