Malfuzat – Volume II — Page 280
280 Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad the prophecy. In fact, if any objection remains in this respect, then it lies with Atham, who set a seal on the truth of this prophecy, by holding his peace and not responding to my requests. When this prophecy clearly stipulated a condition, even a man of legal bent would view it in two ways—in the case that the condi- tion was met, Atham would be saved, and if not, Atham would die. Now in the case that he was saved, the point that a believer ought to determine is whether Atham met the condition or not. It ought to be borne in mind that in this prophecy there was a clear and evi- dent condition that stipulated ‘in the case that he does not incline to the truth. ’ However, there are certain prophecies of divine punishment which do not appar- ently state a condition, yet even they, in reality, are conditional. The incident of Prophet Jonah as is clearly before us. One may consult the commentaries and see what is written. Despite the fact that such a precedent exists in the Holy Quran and in all the past scriptures, but with regards to me, due to this very ill-thinking of which I speak, these people have gone so far as to ignore a determined law of Allah the Exalted. My prophecy contained a clear condition. The fact that Atham survived and was saved is proof of the fact that he benefited from the condition stipulated in the prophecy. In fact, I have even more arguments in support of the fact that Atham benefited from the condition in the prophecy, which even an obtuse individual would be able to comprehend. I repeatedly published an- nouncement after announcement and invited him to take an oath; and I even said that if he took a false oath, and subsequently did not die within a period of one year as a punishment, I would consider myself a liar. I even offered to give him a reward of 4,000 rupees to take this oath. I even proved to him that it was not a sin as per the Bible to swear an oath of this nature, but rather, it was more of a sin to refuse. I also said that if I was false, then he should bring legal action against me. The Christian priests instigated and encouraged him as well to file suit against me, but despite such an effort, Atham did not come forth; and in doing so, by his silence, and by abstaining from his criticism of Islam and publishing writings against Islam, he demonstrated that in reality, he benefited from the condition stipulated in the prophecy. The very condition in this prophecy was a prophecy in itself. If Atham was not going to benefit from the condition, why would this prophecy be condi- tional? Now, an honest and God-fearing person ought to reflect over whether Atham benefited from the condition of ‘inclining to the truth’ or not. Moreover,