Malfuzat - Volume VIII — Page 73
27 October 1905 73 [Lefroy] Sahib in Lahore. Thousands of people had gathered, and it was an immense gathering. He presented the excellence of Jesus by saying that he is alive and the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, has died. So, no Muslim could reply to him. However, Muft i Muhammad Sa diq from our Jam a ‘at, who was present there at that time, said, I will prove that according to the Quran, Hadith, and the Bible, Jesus has died. So, he proved it, and the bishop could not give any response and refused to engage in discussions with our Jam a ‘at. Islam was Never Spread by the Sword I pity these clerics who, in an attempt to humiliate me, attack Islam, disrespect Islam, and say that when the Mahdi comes, he will spread the religion with the sword. O ignorant ones! Are you supporting the objection of the Christians that Islam was spread by the sword? Remember that Islam was never spread by the sword. The Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, never took up the sword to spread the religion by force. On the contrary, he undertook fighting to stop the enemies’ attacks, and that too, after great forbearance and patience, to save the poor Muslims from the injustices of the disbelievers. Moreover, in this [regard], the Muslims were never the aggressors. This indeed, is the essence of Jihad. The attacks of Christians today are not with the sword but with the pen. So, they should be answered with the pen. A true belief cannot be spread by the sword. Some foolish savages get a hold of Hindus and force them to recite the Kalimah, 1 but 1. The declaration of faith in Islam: L a il a ha illall a h Mu h ammadur-Ras u lull a h, ِ سُوْل ُ هللا َّ َّ هللا ُ مُحَمَّد ٌ ر اْل ِ إِلٰه َ إ َآ اْل ِ سُوْل ُ هللا َّ َّ هللا ُ مُحَمَّد ٌ ر اْل ِ إِلٰه َ إ َآ اْل —‘There is no one worthy of worship except Allah; Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. ’ [Publisher]