Truth Prevails — Page 154
( 154 ) hold the belief what you had written in the first chapter of A’ina-i-Sadaqat , page 35, that all those Muslims who did not yield a pledge of bai’at to Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, even if they had never heard of him, they are kafirs , and outside the pale of Islam? The reply from Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II was: “It is evident from this statement itself that the people here I have in mind I take as Muslims. Therefore, when I use the word kafir , I have in my mind kafirs of the second kind which I have defined already, i. e. , they are not driven or thrown out of the Millat. When I say they are outside the pale of Islam I have in my mind the view, by Mufradat-i-Raghib on page 240, where Islam has been shown to be of two kinds: one lower than the stage of Iman ; the other above the stage of Iman. In Dunal Iman , in the stage of lower than common Iman , are included people whose Islam remains at a level lower than a proper Iman and in the stage of higher than the common Iman are Muslims who stand at a level of distinction in their faith, higher than the common level. This is why I said that some people fall outside the pale of Islam, I had in my mind people who come under the category of Dunal Iman. There is an authentic Hadith in Mishkat as well, where the Holy Prophet said: ‘Whosoever helps a man who is unjust, he puts himself thereby out of the pale of Islam. ’” We cannot help feeling rather mystified that in regard to those Muslim people who believe Hazrat Isa to be the creator of some kinds of birds, the Promised Messiah, on the ground of this belief, holds them as outside the pale of Islam, these words sound sweet for Mr. Faruqi who immediately interprets them without any difficulty. But when the same words, in the selfsame meaning are used by Hazrat Khalifiatul Masih II, they taste extremely bitter. Is not all this a sure sign of jealousy and malice somewhere in the heart, where Hazrat Khalifiatul Masih II is concerned? What is stranger still is the fact that before the Inquiry Commission, the meaning of “being outside the pale of Islam” given by Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II, has been omitted in the quotation Mr. Faruqi has given in his book. Evidently there is something here which Mr. Faruqi is doing his level best to conceal. Then Mr. Faruqi has reproduced two questions asked by the Inquiry Commission, and replies given by Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II: Question: Are the differences between the Ahmadis and the non- Ahmadis of a basic nature? Reply: If the sense of the word “basic”, here, is the same in which the Holy Prophet took it, the differences are not basic. Question: If the word “basic” is taken in its general meaning, what would be your reply?