The Holy War — Page 281
(5 June 1893) 281 (5 June 1893) THE LAST PAPER BY h a d rat MIRZA [GHULAM AHMAD] Sahib This is my last paper which I will write today in reply to Deputy [Abdullah Atham] sahib, but it saddens me greatly that Deputy sahib paid no regard whatsoever to the conditions under which this debate was begun. The condition was that just as I have continued to pres- ent every claim and argument of mine with support from the reasoned arguments from the Holy Quran; similarly, Deputy sahib would do the same, but he has not been able to fulfil this condition on any occasion. Well, the readers will now be able to judge for themselves. In this response to the reply of the reply, it is sufficient for me to say that the verse from S u rah at-Taubah that Deputy sahib has presented and thinks that even after accepting the faith, the punishment of killing should apply, this is his misunderstanding. The reality is that this verse proves what I have already explained, that if a person, by his free will, accepts Islam, then even if he is subject to the punishment of death, he will be granted freedom. Thus, Allah the Exalted here states that those who do not benefit from this concession and do not accept the faith by their free will, they will be subject to the death penalty by way of punishment for their crimes. How does this prove that here there is coercion to believe? It is only a concession that has been left to their willingness. The ‘seven nations’ that you mention that they were killed and no leniency was shown to them, this is against the explanation of the verse. Look in Judges 1:28–30 where it is stated that a Jizyah [tax] was