A Critical Review of the Pamphlet, 'Fateh-e-Qadian' — Page 25
i‘j a zul-Ma si h —A Miracle of the Promised Messiah as 25 An Easy Condition of Debate for the P i r At the end of the above-mentioned Announcement, the Promised Messiah as put forward the following suggestion, with a view of fulfilling the P i r’s demand for a debate: If P i r Mehr ‘Al i Sh a h is incapable of participating in a face-to-face contest of writing a Quranic commentary in Arabic as is evident, then there is another easy method which is different from the kind of debates I have undertaken to avoid. The method is that after the above mentioned acceptance of responsibility [by the three chiefs 12 ] I should arrive in Lahore and should be allowed to speak for three hours, explaining my claim and its supporting arguments in a public meeting, where the aforementioned three chiefs should also be present. My address will not contain any direct reference to P i r Meher ‘Al i Sh a h. After my speech, Meher ‘Al i Sh a h should take the stand and should likewise address the public for three hours, presenting his arguments from the Quran and Hadith for the physical advent of the Messiah from the Heavens. People can compare and judge between the two speeches themselves. If P i r [Meher ‘Al i Sh a h] were to agree to any one of the two options, then having received in writing the assumption of responsibility by the aforementioned chiefs, I will gladly come to Lahore. ( Majm u ‘ah Ishtih a r a t , vol. 3, published by Ash-Shirkatul Isl a miyyah Ltd. , Rabwah, Pakistan, p. 354) 12 Naw a b Sheikh Ghul a m Ma h b u b Subh a n; Naw a b Fate h ‘Al i Sh a h; and retired Extra Assistant, Syed Barkat ‘Al i Kh a n. See page 23 above. [Publishers]