Tabligh Guide — Page 75
(American Edition) 75 the entire Christian world wanted to snuff out the candle which guides one to God, viz Islām, perceiving it to be an outpost of resistance, getting in the way of their own destination. And the powerful forces of mind and wealth were vying with each other to provide the backing of this assailant. But on the other hand, the feebleness of defense was such that there did not exist even arrows to fight against the cannons. Neither did the capability to launch an offensive exist, nor was there any potential for self-defense … Th en the Muslim resistance began, of which Mirzā Ṣāḥ ib ’s contribution forms a part. It not only blew to pieces the initial influence secured by Christianity — which was due to the tutelage of the British Government and was, in fact, its mainstay — causing hundreds of thousands of Muslims to escape it’s much more dangerous and likely-to-succeed attack, but even the magic of Christianity itself started to blow up in smoke … In short, this service by Mirzā Ṣāḥ ib will keep future generation weighted down under debt for having led from the front those engaged in Jih ā d by the pen and for having performed the duty of defending Islām and leaving such a vast body of literature that as long as blood courses in the veins of the Muslims, and the defense of Islām remains the hallmark of their national character, this literature will endure. ” (Quoted in Al-Badr, 18 June, 1908, pp. 2-3, cf Daily Millat, Lahore, 7 January, 1911, pp. 13-15) Ṣā diq-ul-Akhb ā r, Rewarhi: “Through his forceful decla mation and splendid writings, Mirzā Ṣāḥ ib has delivered a coup de grace to the lecherous objections raised by the opponents of Islām, and has silenced them forever. He has demonstrated that the truth is, after all, the truth. And there is no doubt that Mir zā Ṣāḥ ib left no stone unturned in the service of Islām by himself being the paragon in the defense of Islām. Justice demands that we must mourn the sudden and untimely death of such a stalwart defender of Islām and a helper of the Muslims, who was a scintillation of erudition … an irreplaceable scholar. ” (Quoted in Al-Badr, 20 August, 1908, p. 6, 1-2) The editor of Curzon Gazette, Mirzā Ḥ airat Dehlvi wrote: “The sterling services rendered by the deceased in favor of Islām, against the Aryas and Christians, are indeed worthy of effusive praise. He completely transformed the style of religious debate, and laid foundation of modern literature in India. As a Muslim, and also as a researcher, I acknowledge that even the greatest among the great Aryas, or the greatest among the great