Fazl-e-Umar — Page 21
Fazle Umar 21 martyred defending national honour and with whom the Promised Messiah [as] had no other connection besides Islam. This incident also has a lesson for those who have the audacity to allege that the Promised Messiah [as] was an agent of the English. A heart that was filled with a sense of national honour and who respected so highly Sultan Fateh Ali Teepu only for the reason that instead of submitting to the English, he heroically sacrificed his life. How is it possible that one can entertain the least doubt for a man with such a keen sense of honour of being an agent of a foreign power? Importance of Performing Religious d uties Despite being extremely kind and affectionate, the Promised Messiah [as] never liked to leave a child who showed negligence in the performance of his religious obli- gations without reprimand and expressing displeasure. Recalling such an incident, Hadhrat Sahibzada Sahib observes: “Once Huzur could not go to the Friday prayers because of ill health. At that time I was not mature to the point where obligations that come with maturity would apply to me. Nevertheless, I was going towards the mosque for the Friday prayers when I met someone along the way. According to my age at the time, I should not remember the man’s face but the incident had such a profound effect upon me that I clearly remember the man’s face to this day. Mohammad Baksh is the gentleman’s name… I asked him, ‘You’re coming back, have the prayers finished?’ He said, ‘There were too many people, there was no room in the mosque and so I came back. ’ I also turned back upon hearing this and offered my prayers at home. On observing this Hadhrat sahib enquired, ‘why did you not go to the mosque to offer prayers?’ It was by God’s Grace that from a very early age I used to greatly respect Huzur on account of him being a prophet. I