Hazrat Maulvi Nooruddin - Khalifatul-Masih I — Page 164
STATUS OF KHALIFA Hadrat Maulw i Nur-ud-D i n ra — Khalifatul Masih I 164 By this Maulaw i Muhammad ‘Al i may have meant to imply that even if Maulaw i N u r-ud-D i n ra were to be acknowledged Khalifatul Masih in the true meaning of that expression, it did not follow that the institution of Khilafat would continue after him. But any doubt on that score was set at rest by the Khalifatul Masih by his pronouncement: "You cannot derive any benefit from this controversy. No one will make you Khal i fa , nor can anyone else become Khal i fa in my lifetime. When I die only that one will arise whom God chooses, and God will Himself raise him. " It will thus be appreciated that the gravamen of the budding controversy was the institution of the Khilafat. Other doctrinal differences were invented and given prominence by the opponents of the institution as supports and buttresses of their stand on that question. On that central question they were, however unwillingly and reluctantly, prepared to acknowledge Hadrat Maulaw i N u r-ud-D i n ra as Khalifatul Masih. Under the stunning impact of the sudden death of the Promised Messiah as , they had committed themselves too far to leave room for a bare-faced volte-face. They had themselves tied their own hands too tightly. They soon realised that they had made a mistake, and began to cast about for devices to help them pull back from a difficult situation with the minimum loss of face. A direct confrontation with the Khal i fa would not be tolerated by the bulk of the community and would, therefore, be unwise. The Khalifatul Masih ra was verging on seventy, and was not in too robust a state of health. Soon the question of a Successor would come to the fore. The Community’s thinking should be directed towards the concept that the supreme authority was vested in the S adr Anjuman , and that