Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya Part IV — Page 13
The Perilous Condition of the Muslims & the British Government 13 I had hoped that in a matter of days this country would make remarkable progress in righteousness and piety, but experience and observation seem to show that very little progress had been made in this regard. (Meaning that most people have not yet converted to Christianity and the ‘pure group’ of Christians still remains a minority. ) Nevertheless, we should not despair, for the work of the missionaries is not without benefit, nor will their efforts ever go in vain; rather, it being a good teaching does affect hearts and the hearts of many people are subtly being prepared to accept it. For example, hardly a month ago, I was visited by an hon- ourable chieftain and we had an hour-long discussion about religion. It appeared that his heart required some preparation. He said that he had studied many religious books, but the weight of his sins had not been lifted and he knew very well that he could not do good deeds, and he was greatly agitated by this. In response, I explained to him, in my broken Urdu, about the blood that purifies and cleanses all sins, and about that righteousness which cannot be earned through actions, but is granted ex gratia. He replied that he had studied the Gospel in Sanskrit and had even prayed to Yas u ‘ Mas ih [ Jesus Christ] once or twice, but now he would study the Gospel more closely and pray to ‘ I s a Mas ih [ Jesus the Messiah] much more fervently. (Meaning that he was much affected by his [i. e. the Governor’s] words and was now totally inclined towards the Christian faith. ) What needs to be noted here is the effort made by Naww a b Lieutenant-Governor Bah a dur to draw a Hindu chieftain towards his religion. Although it is true that some chieftains do indulge in