Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume II — Page 161
161 active young man , which is why I appointed him as a guard. I instructed him that no one was to enter the room. I also said, “Look, sometimes a man makes a mistake. Sometimes, an important person comes, and one thinks that maybe this instruction is not for him. So, remember this , whether he is an ordinary man or an important one, do not let anyone enter except for the doctors or those of us who are on duty. ” He replied, “ Sure, absolutely. ” When I came back in the evening, I saw that so me people were creating a fuss. Naik Muhammad Khan was a young man. He came to Qadian when he was sixteen or seventeen years of age, and he came from a noble Pathan family. His father was a respected man and so there was no doubt that he was a Pathan. H owever, there is another group of Pathans in our c ountry whose forefathers came here almost four to five hundred years ago. Since such a long time has passed [since they came], it is difficult to know exactly who they are. It is possible that they are Pathans and it is possible they are from another tribe and because the Pathans lived there, they began to identify themselves as Pathans. However, they at least say that they are Pathans. T here was a friend of our Jama'at by the name of Akbar Shah Khan Sahib Naje ebabadi. H is tribe also called themselves Pathan. Although h is forefathers came to India many years ago, he took great pride in being a Pathan. He also came to look after Ha z rat Khalifat - ul - Masih I ra. Who can really know how much love he had in his heart for Hazrat Khalifat - ul - Masih I ra , h owever, he did express that he had a very strong love to wards him? When he heard that Ha z rat Khalifat - ul - Masih I ra had fallen from his horse and was unconscious, he came and anxiously hoped to see him. Naik Mohammad Khan was standing at the door and stopped him from going in. Some people take too much pride in their nationality. Akbar Shah Khan was one of them even though his forefathers had come to India hu ndreds of years ago. [When stopped from going in] he asked , “W hat do you mean? ” Naik Muhammad Khan said , “It is forbidden to enter. ” He replied , “ I do not know who has forbidden me to enter, but I will most definitely go in. ” Consequently, he moved forward. At this, Naik Muhammad pushed him [ away from the door ]. That made him very angry and he said to Naik Muhammad , “Do you rea lize who I am? I am a Pathan. ” In other words, a Pathan of four to five hundred years [since migration to India] began to instruct his awe upon a newly immigrated Pathan. Naik Mohammad Khan was a new Ahmadi and because of accepting Ahmadiyyat, he had suffered hurt and persecution,