Scattered Pearls — Page 12
11 of mind, where the honour of Islam and the fair name. of the great men of this religion was concerned, he deemed it necessary that he should caution them in: this respect. . In this connection there is also another incident which should be mentioned. Hazrat Ahmad believed that for the follower of an Imam in Prayer it was necessary to recite the Surah Fatiha, along with the recitation of this. Surah on the part of the Imam officiating at the service; and he used to lay great emphasis on this point, the Surah being a part, in fact an epitome, of the Holy Quran for which. Book the Promised Messiah had an overwhelming amount of love. It so happened on one occasion that he was expressing his belief in this respect with great force when a man out of the audience inquired if the Prayer was not acceptable with Allah without the recitation of Surah. Fatiha. On hearing this the Promised Messiah suddenly halted in his fluent discourse, even as as a vehicle, running. smooth and fast, should be abruptly called to a halt by an application of the brakes. And quickly he replied: “ No No, I do not say that; because a large number of the righteous people among the followers of the Hanafee School have held this view that in Prayer behind an. Imam recitation of the Surah Fatiha, with the recitation of the Imam thereof, was not binding; and I do not, by any means, consider that the Prayers offered by these righteous people were not acceptable in the sight of Allah. " (Silsila Ahmadiyya and Seeratul Mahdee, Part II). This interesting incident carries an important and very delicate lesson for not only the youngmen of the. Ahmadiyya Movement, but also for the Muslims at large, that even while sticking firmly to one's own point of view,. we should be considerate and respectful towards those who think differently from us. . There is an old and very wise saying, of which one version was frequently