Hazrat Ahmad — Page 22
22. HADHRAT AHMAD brother for a division of the property, but left the management of the whole to him, remaining content with whatever his brother chose to give him out of the proceeds. Thus his elder brother came to occupy for him the place of his father. But since he was in employment and lived at Gurdaspur, the younger brother had to endure considerable hardship and had even to suffer want in respect of daily necessities of life. These difficulties continued till the death of his brother. . This was, in fact, a period of trial for him. The patience and fortitude with which he bore the trial was an unmistakable proof of the greatness of his soul, for though he was entitled to an equal share of the property left by his father, yet seeing how fond his brother was of the things of the world, he refrained from demanding his share and remained content with bare subsistence. . It is true, his brother in his own way would try to meet his needs and even entertained a sort of affection and regards for him, yet since their two natures were so divergent, the one altogether immersed in worldliness, the other altogether averse to the world, there was ample room for misunderstanding. . His brother, in fact considered him to be a reactionary of slothful habits and would sometimes express his regret that he would not occupy himself usefully. On one occasion, when his younger brother applied to him for a small sum of money to subscribe to a certain paper, he turned down the modest request with the observation that it was a piece of extravagance, and that while he was reluctant to undertake any gainful work, it was not proper that he should waste his time in the useless study of books and papers. Thus the brother being engrossed in worldly affairs, could not appreciate his needs and was not disposed to meet them. . This proved a considerable source of hardship for him. What has been more trying was that as his brother, for the most part, lived outside Qadian, during his absence his employees constantly slighted and vexed his younger brother. . Holy Exercises. It was during these days that the command came to him that to win Divine blessing it was necessary for him to undergo a certain amount of holy exercises and that he should observe fasts. In obedience to this command he kept on fasting for six successive