The Descent of the Messiah — Page 233
HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMADAS * 43 [continued] In short, this great prophecy, after it had spread so widely, was fulfilled on March 6, 1897, in the following manner: On a Saturday, which was the day after Eid, in the city of Lahore, a person whose identity remains unknown to this day, fatally stabbed Lekhram in the belly with a knife and disappeared in broad daylight; no one knows him to this day even though he had lived with Lekhram for quite some time. With the news of this assassination, a great terror fell upon all Hindus, Muslims, and Christians. The Aryas raised a great hue and cry and had the homes of prominent Muslims and Islamic organisations searched. They held large assemblies everywhere in sympathy for the murdered one and passed resolutions to fix a day on which he would be commemorated each year so that the incident would never be forgotten. They wrote elegies and lamentations in verse and prose and published them across the country. God allowed all of this to happen in order for the greatness of the prophecy to be established in people's hearts, because all of the honour bestowed on the murdered one belonged to the prophecy. If the deceased was someone low and insignificant, the prophecy would not be given much attention and would be quickly forgot- ten. Hence, God wished that Lekhram be accorded great honour by his people so as to prove the greatness of the prophecy. Further, the Aryas were inspired to establish his God has so decreed that a large number of my signs relate to the Aryas. I informed Lala Sharampat, an Arya of Qadian, who still lives here, that the sentence of his brother, Bashimbardas, would be reduced to half. I told him that God had informed me that the Court order would arrive from the Chief Court to the District and half the sentence would be remitted; however, the sentence of his companion would not be reduced by a single day. Moreover, I informed him beforehand about the death of Pundit Dayanand Saraswati. Lala Malawamal, a resident of Qadian, had become consumptive. I prayed for him and informed him of his recovery, and he conse- quently recovered from the deadly illness. O, Aryas! Ask these two brothers of yours on oath whether this is true or not. O, hard-hearted people, you saw these three signs and God's argument was completed against you; it is now extreme dishonesty and an accursed life to reject and denigrate Islam and not to enter its fold. (Author) 233