Malfuzat – Volume X — Page 184
Malfuzat - English translation of Urdu Volume 10 184 3 March 1908 (Before Asr Prayer) The Essence of Bai’at and its Aims and Objectives A person submitted that he had performed the Bai’at previously by let- ter and asked whether that alone was sufficient? The Promised Messiah as replied that: There are thousands of people for whom travel to Qadian is arduous because they do not have the capability due to worldly difficulties and they have done Bai’at only through correspond- ence. The purpose of doing Bai’at is to become cognizant of the essence of Bai’at. A person who does the Bai’at by sitting face to face and putting his hand in mine, but does not compre- hend the real aim and objective or does not care about it—his Bai’at is of no benefit and has no value in the sight of God. But another person who does Bai’at while sitting a thousand miles away with sincerity of heart and having embraced the essence of Bai’at and its aim and objective, and then reforms his life accordingly by acting upon this declaration, such a person is a thousand times better than the one who does Bai’at face to face but does not act upon its essence. Look at the example of Maulawi Abdul Latif, the Martyr. He was stoned to death because of this very Bai’at. For one full hour, he was pelted with stones continuously till his body became hidden in them, but he did not utter any sound of distress. He did not scream even once. Before this most cruel