Some Prophecies of Hazrat Ahmad - A Critical Study — Page 42
Athim, hence, found himself in an extremely embarrassing situation. If he remained silent any longer, he was sure to lose the little respect, if any, he enjoyed. If he took the oath, Athim was certain he would not survive a year. Hence, the Christian padre devised a scheme to evade the real issue and declared that he was 'still a Christian. '36. When Athim failed to make a satisfactory response to Hadhrat. Ahmad'sas demand, Hadhrat Ahmadas called upon the padre yet again to 'make a sworn public declaration that he had not, during the preceding fifteen months, changed his attitude towards Islam. ' At this juncture,. Hadhrat Ahmadas questioned Abdullah Athim's reluctance to take the oath and enquired: 'Could the false god of Christianity not save Athim for a period of one year despite the fact that Athim is not so advanced in age? On the contrary, he is only a few years older than I. What kind of an incapacity overpowers this fictitious god that he cannot save him for a year. To expect salvation from such a god who is incapable of providing security for even a year is extremely dangerous. Have we not stated that our God will definitely save us from death in this year and He will certainly cause. Athim to die because He is the only True God whom the unfortunate. Christians who deify a human being like themselves, deny. '37. To encourage Abdullah Athim to take the oath, Hadhrat Ahmadas, increased the reward to 3,000 Indian Rupees. In this offer of 5th October, 1894, Hadhrat Ahmadas also appealed to Athim's religious sentiments and stated: 'If in your sight, there is an iota of respect for the Messiahas born to the righteous Maryas, then I beseech you in his name and I swear you to oath in the name of God Almighty, to take the oath you are being challenged to swear in this leaflet. '. But Athim evaded the issue once again and announced that 'it was not permissible for him to take an oath except in the course of a judicial proceeding as his religion did not allow him to take an oath on any other occasion. '38 36. Noor Afshan: 21st September, 1894 38. Noor Afshan: 10th October, 1894 37. Tabligh Risalat: Vol 3, pp 144/145 42