Mirror of Charm and Beauty — Page 19
from those who flocked round him; nor had foundation of the. But, in obedience he yet laid down the. Ahmadiyya Movement. to Divine command, this step was taken early in 1889, from which time began a steady recruitment into a heavenly army. Having received Revelations to this effect, the Promised. Messiah, soon after, put forth the claim that he was the Promised Messiah, and Mehdi. . This gave rise to a furious storm of opposition on all sides, which raged without abatement till the time of his death, in 1908. In fact, the opposition continued to increase in volume, range, and ferocity, all sects and sections of the people looking upon Participation in this unholy campaign as a matter for great pride. As stated by the Holy Quran, thus was the Divine Sunnat fulfilled, that no. Reformer ever comes from God, except that he is denied by his people, violently opposed, and subjected to vile abuse and ridicule (Sura. Ya-seen, verse 31). . After receiving the Revelation which called him to the Divine mission, the Promised Messiah lived for slightly over 26 years. After he had started taking bai'at, he lived in this world for about 20 years, counted in lunar years, which period makes neary 21 years. On one side, all this long period was spent in extreme 19