The Descent of the Messiah — Page 170
2 [continued] THE DESCENT OF THE MESSIAH occur. Nonetheless, it was by God's grace that, despite thousands of hindrances by the people and the Mau- lawis, He accepted my prayer recorded on page 242 of Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya - رَبِّ لَا تَذَرْنِي فَرْدًا - and caused His servants to be drawn toward me. When I said, "O my God, do not leave me alone," He answered, "I will not leave you alone. " When I said that I was poor and that He should give me financial help, He said that help would come from every path and those paths would become deep. This is what occurred. Due to the profusion of horse-drawn carriages, the road to Qadian was damaged several times and became full of potholes, and the British Government had to repair it by filling it with soil. Before this, the condition of the road to Qadian was such that horse-drawn carriages were a rare sight. Now, the road becomes more depressed each year due to the passage of carriages. Moreover, this year, God has increased this Community to nearly seventy thousand. Can anyone from among my opponents prove that I had even seven people with me at the beginning when I received this rev- elation? Since then, thousands have offered their oaths of allegiance to me. The manner in which people entered my allegiance in droves at the time of the plague is a particular manifestation of God's power. It would seem that while the plague came to devour others, it served to increase our numbers; and it is too early to say how more progress shall come about through the blessing of the plague. This year, all those entering my allegiance have taken it upon themselves to make monthly contributions towards this Movement. Thus, an income of thousands of rupees was received in just one year, while thousands of people have entered and continue to enter my alle- giance. The revelation was fulfilled during the days of the 1 See Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya, Part III, Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, 2014. Islam International Publications Ltd. p. 208. [Publisher] 170