The Essence of Islam – Volume III — Page 367
Repeated Challenges 367 less books in Arabic, against which my opponents have not published even one during the past ten years, it occurred to me today that as those books not only possess high literary merit but also comprise many Qur'ānic truths and insights, it is possible that my opponents might make the excuse that they are not conversant with truths and insights, and that if it had been an Arabic poem of high merit like the average type of odes, they would certainly have produced its match. It also occurred to me that if Maulavi Thanā'ullāh Sahib were invited to compose a book matching my book I jāz-ul-Masiḥ, he would be sure to demand proof that the book had been written within seventy days. If he were to claim that I had taken two years in writing this book and that he too should be allowed two years for writing a comparable book, it would be difficult to convince him that I had written my book within seventy days. I, therefore, thought it proper to supplicate to God Almighty that He should enable me to compose, with the help of the Holy Spirit, an ode describing the debates that took place at Mud, so that no one should find it difficult to determine the period during which the ode was composed. My supplication was accepted and I completed the compilation of the ode within five days. If I had not been otherwise engaged, the ode could have been composed in one day, and if no delay had been encountered it could have been published on 9th November, 1902. . This is a great sign, to which Maulavī Thanā'ullāh Ṣāḥib is himself a witness, as the ode itself shows that it was written after the debate to which he was a party. The debate took place on 29th and 30th October 1902, and I started writing the ode on 8th November upon the return of our friends. It was completed on 12th November along