Haqiqatul-Wahi (The Philosophy of Divine Revelation) — Page 566
566 HAQIQATUL-WAḤI—THE PHILOSOPHY OF DIVINE REVELATION of the wrath of God. In like manner, the name of Maulawi 'Abdul- Majīd of Delhi is included in the list concerning the mubāhalah, and he died of cholera in Delhi during February 1907. ¹ Similarly, many others who styled themselves as ulema and custodians of shrines, did not desist from their invectives and abuse even after the invitation to the mubahalah. As a result, God made some of them taste the cup of death, while others fell victim to all kinds of humiliation, yet others succumbed to the filthy past-time of deceit, fraud, and mundane pur- suits to the extent that they were deprived of faith. Not a single one escaped the impact of this curse. And because Sa'dullah had surpassed all others in abusive language, not only did he die full of frustration, but he also partook of every kind of humiliation, and despite lifelong employment, he still hungered for more. In the end, when he was at death's door, he took up employment in a Christian school and, in addition to suffering much humiliation, he was forced to suffer this last ignominy and accept employment with the Christian missionar- ies a group who are the enemies of Islam and in whose schools a condition of employment is that one must lecture against Islam and where it is the practice to pronounce on a daily or a weekly basis such teachings about the ‘divinity' of Ḥaḍrat ‘Īsā [Jesus Christ] as are a source of misguidance. In Arabic, [abtar] also means s[mu'dim] i. e. a pauper who has lost all his savings. Thus, he qualified himself to being an [abtar] of this kind too, because had he been finan- cially blessed he would not have knocked upon the door of Christian 1. When I first visited Delhi, ‘Abdul-Majid himself came to my residence and said, 'These revelations are satanic. ' He compared me to Musailimah al-Kadhdhāb [the Great Liar], and added, 'If you do not repent, you will face the consequences of falsehood and pretence. I replied, 'If I am an impostor, I shall of course suffer the consequences of imposture; otherwise, whoever denounces me to be an impostor, shall not escape the reckoning. In the end 'Abdul-Majid died in my lifetime after this verbal mubahalah. He had also published at the time a harsh public announcement against me which was probably sold at the rate of pennies. (Author)