Chief of the Prophets — Page 236
236 Saudāgarmal received his primary education in his village, Gorna Pathāna, and passed the middle school from Middle School Lālian, District Jhang. Proposals for further education were under review when Allah decreed to bring him in the fold of Islam. He started helping his family in business, which, by then had moved from District Sargodha to Zakhīra Beranwāla, Tahsīl Hāfizabād, District Gujrānwāla. In the village of Tahsīl Hāfizabād, where Saudāgarmal lived as a bright Khatrī youth, a sincere Aḥmadi and a compassionate Muslim by the name of Miān Muḥammad Murād also had a cloth store. Miān Sāhib’s piety and righteousness were well known in a vast area. Our dear friend, Saudāgarmal, (now Sheikh ‘Abdul-Qādir) somehow was introduced to Miān Muḥammad Murād. He, seeing signs of piety and auspiciousness in this young man, started preaching him Islam. The logical teachings of Islam started to have a profound impact on him. Miān Murād visited Qādiān in 1924 to attend the Jalsa Salāna (the Annual Convention). He also took a local resident, Allah Jawāya Musallī, with him for the sake of introducing him to Islam. Allah Jawāya returned from Qādiān greatly impressed with Qādiān and its spiritual environment. However, when people asked him about Qādiān, he said that Qādiān was a materialistic marketplace and thugs lived there. This greatly puzzled Saudāgarmal. He observed that the local representative of Qādiān, Miān Muhamamd Murād, lived an admirable and chaste life, and people praised his morals but Allah Jawāya said that Qādiān was a materialistic marketplace and thugs lived there. In order to find the truth, Saudāgarmal decided to privately meet Allah Jawāya. He called Allah Jawāya to come alone to his brother’s shop at night and, after seating him on the cotton pile, asked him, “You say that Qādiān is a marketplace and thugs live there, but Miam Muḥammad Murād is miles away from being a thug, and lives a life of piety. Tell me the truth?” Allah Jawāya without hesitation said, “I was lying. I am an ordinary worker of the village. The landlords of the village are against the people of Qādiān; therefore, I cannot openly speak the truth. I say what they want to hear to please