Truth Prevails — Page 126
( 126 ) have been quite possible if only everyone had been as firm in faith as he has been. ’ It has been decided that all members of the Movement, old and new, should take bai’at at his hand as Khalifatul Masih, in which capacity his wishes and orders shall have the same authority for us as the wishes and orders of the Promised Messiah. ” ( Badr , June 2, 1908, page 6) Among the signatures, there are some Trustees of the Sadr Anjuman , including the names of Maulvi Mohammad Ali and Kh. Kamaluddin. Both in the announcement by Kh. Kamaluddin, and the request reproduced above, it has been held that a pledge of bai’at at the hand of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih would be binding on all members of the Ahmadiyya Movement, now in the fold, and those who join the Movement in the future. Mr. Faruqi, therefore, has no basis when he says that the taking of bai’at for Ahmadies who had given the pledge to the Promised Messiah, in his lifetime, was not held necessary. Therefore, when the first Khilafat became established in the Jama’at, and all members of the Movement, old and new, gave the pledge of loyalty and devotion to Hazrat Khalifatul Masih I, there came into existence a precedence, and pattern, to be followed when Hazrat Khalifatul Masih I passed away from this world, and the Second Khalifa had to be elected. On this occasion, those who did not yield the pledge of bai’at to Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II, and went off to Lahore, to create there a new Anjuman, and a Centre for their activity, in fairness and justice, they had no right to do this because an Anjuman founded by the Promised Messiah himself was present in Qadian, the Centre of the Community. Besides, the Sadr Anjuman Ahmadiyya which was present at the time of the Promised Messiah could not be held a Successor of the Promised Messiah, in the sense and meaning of Qudrat-i-Thania , because with respect to the Qudrat-i-Thania the Promised Messiah has written quite categorically that it could not, and would not come while he himself was present in this world in flesh and blood. This position belonged to Hazrat Khalifatul Masih I, and to Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II, after the death of the first Khalifa. Mr. Faruqi, quite arbitrarily, has applied the Ilham “Count this work, this affair, at the head of Three Centuries”, to the Muslih Mau’ud. There is no justification for this. In Tazkira , second edition, pages 764 and 833, there is no note on this Ilham that it applies to the Muslih Mau’ud. On the other hand, the Promised Messiah set a clear time limit of nine years for the birth of the son destined to be the Muslih Mau’ud. Without doubt, one manifestation of the Qudrat-i-Thania is the Muslih Mau’ud as well, for whom it was necessary that he should be Sahib-i-Ilham , i. e. one to whom Ilham came from the Lord God. But Promised Messiah has nowhere given indication that he would be a Mamur , i. e. specifically ordained by the Lord for a specifically appointed mission; nor did the Promised Messiah ever visualised him as such. If he had visualised him as a Mamur from