Haqiqatul-Wahi (The Philosophy of Divine Revelation) — Page 713
A SHINING SIGN—SIGN NUMBER 198 713 of his words, these people still do not desist from mischief. Is this their righteousness? At the very least, why did they not hold their tongues!!** 1. Those who do not fear God raise such objections arguing along the lines of which even the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, would come under their criticism. For instance, some foolish people say 1 that certain members of the Ahmadiyya Jama'at also died of the plague. Among such objectors is Dr. ‘Abdul-Ḥakīm Khān. He writes rather gleefully that such and such Ahmadis who belonged to Sanaur died of the plague. In reply to such bigots I say that the case of some persons from our Jama'at dying of the plague is like the case of some Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) of the Holy Prophets being martyred in the wars of Islam. It is established on the basis of Quranic texts that the wars of early Islam were by way of chas- tisement descending upon the disbelievers alone as Allah the Exalted says in the Holy Quran, ‘If I so wish, I would rain punishment on them from on high or raise punishment for them from the earth or let them taste wars with one another. ' But nevertheless, the fact remains that the Companions of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, continued to be mar- tyred during those battles. But the end result of it was that the number of the disbelievers continued to fall and that of the Muslims continued to rise and, for the Muslims, those wars proved to be a great blessing and they uprooted the disbelievers. In the same vein, I claim with full confidence and emphasis that if one person of our Jama'at dies of the plague, 100 or even more enter into our Jamā‘at in his place. This plague continues to increase the number of our Jama'at and continues to decimate our opponents. Each month, at least 500 and, at times, 1,000-2,000 new persons enter the fold of the Jama'at on account of the plague. Thus, the plague is a boon for us, but a bane and a chastisement for our opponents. I am sure that if the plague continues to remain rampant as it is now for another ten to fif- teen years, the entire country will be filled with the Ahmadiyya Jamā‘at. It is an established fact that the plague continues to increase the numbers of our Jama'at and decrease those of our opponents. And if someone can prove otherwise, I solemnly declare under oath to God that I shall pay 1,000 rupees in cash to such a person. Is there anyone to challenge this offer and collect the reward from me? What a pity that these opponents have become so blind. They fail to realize that the plague is our friend, but it is their enemy. The amount of progress we have made in the last three to four years with the help of the plague would not have been possible even in fifty years otherwise. Hence, blessed be the God who sent the plague into the world so that with its help we should grow and prosper and our opponents should be made to vanish and disappear. This is why God informed me through revelation long