Conditions of Bai'at and Responsibilities of an Ahmadi — Page 242
C ONDITIONS OF B AI ‘ AT AND R ESPONSIBILITIES OF AN A H MAD I 242 Staying Away from Arrogance The condition of bai‘at also include that one would stay away from arrogance. I shall give the example of Sayyed Sarwar Sh a h ra in this regard: Despite having a very high status in religious scholarship and academia, unlike the so-called ‘ulem a of this day and age, his temperament was so simple and humble that if at any time a small child wished to talk to him, he could do so without any hesitation. He would listen most affectionately and would respond in a very pleasing manner. [Maulav i Muhammad H af i z Baq a pur i relates an incident from his childhood. ] One of his close relatives had a newborn baby. When the news came through letter he decided to ask Maulav i Sahib for a name for the baby. He was perhaps going to or coming back from Aq sa Mosque for dars of the Holy Qur’an. He went towards him; he stopped as he saw him coming towards him and was most affectionate and courteous, and on his request suggested a name for the newborn and prayed for the baby. ( A sha b-e-Ahmad, vol. 5, part III, p. 35) I shall now relate an incident of Hadrat Maulav i Burh a n-ud- D i n ra in this regard. It is already clear from earlier examples that he had no ostentation, formality, or pretense. Further- more he had absolutely no scholarly airs and vanity, despite the fact that he was an unequalled scholar. During his stay in Qadian if someone addressed him as Maulav i Sahib he would promptly ask them not to call him Maulav i , saying: ‘I only just started learning the ABC from Mirz a Sahib’ [the Promised