Seerat-i-Tayyiba — Page 16
16 namely, the rock-like faith and conviction of the Promised Messiah in Divine help and succor. As many of you must be aware, these lines were written in 1899, from which a time a mere sixty years have rolled by to this moment. A period of sixty years is nothing, when counted in the life of nations, but even in this short period, in response to this highly appealing prayer, the measure of success for the Ahmadiyya Movement which God has been pleased to grant in the teeth of the bitterest opposition, the way he spread the Movement in the four corners of the world, and the way he has elevated it in honor and prestige, is most astounding; and some idea of the measure of this extraordinary success may be formed from our Annual Gatherings, from the original two or three hundred in the first Gathering, the attendance having grown to seventy, or even eighty thousand representatives present to take part in the proceedings this year. And through the Ahmadiyya Movement, the banner of Islam has been raised aloft in most of the free countries of Asia, Africa, Europe, and America. People who formerly delighted to heap abuse on the name of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, through the endeavors of the devoted servants of Ahmad vie with each other in calling for the blessings of Allah on him, and on all those who uphold his cause in the world. At the end I wish to close this portion of my talk which deals with the Promised Messiah’s Love for God, with these words t hat Hazrat Ahmad was not content with the Love he had in his heart for God. 12 What he longed for, with a depth of the keenest and highest emotions, was that this fire of love should be kindled in the heart of others as well. In his well-known book entitled Kashti-i-Nuh He says: “How unfortunate, indeed is the man who does not know he has a God with power over everything. Our paradise is our God; all our highest enjoyments and tastes are centered in God, for we have seen Him, and all beauty we have found in Him. This is a treasure that most well deserves that we should take hold of it; and this is a jewel which one must purchase, even if in doing so one has to lose one’s entire being itself. O ye who have no share in this blessing run to this Spring, for it will quench your thirst. O ye who have no share in this blessing run to this Spring, for it will quench your trust. This is