The Descent of the Messiah — Page 324
THE DESCENT OF THE MESSIAH ideas of a deceased person as your own without even acknowl- edging him. What is truly astonishing is that the very mistakes he criticises in your writings appear in the Pir's own book as well. Since the two books are in the possession of Maulawi Muham- mad Hassan's father, it is not possible to send them to you. He is quite antagonistic towards you and would never permit such a thing. What can be done is that the notes can be copied verba- tim and then sent to you; or someone from your Community can come here and look at them personally, but this will only be possible if he comes at the earliest. A postcard from the Pir that I received just the day before yesterday is being sent to you to look at. In the postcard, he has himself admitted that he has embellished Saif-e-Chishtiyā'ī by stealing Maulawī Muhammad Hassan's notes. It would, however, not be advisable to attribute these things to me. ¹ On the other hand, there is no harm in at- tributing them to Miyan Shahab-ud-Deen. This is because I do not want the Pir's followers to be angry with me. Please pray that my belief with regard to you becomes completely clear and that I am able to realise that you are truly a recipient of revelation and one appointed by God. I extend my respectful greetings to Maulawi Abdul Karim Sahib and Maulānā Noor-ud-Deen Sa- hib. A shortage of time hinders me from writing further. After greetings, the letter is closed. Peace be upon you, Muhammad Karam-ud-Deen from Bhin, District Chakwal Dated July 21, 1902 1 Maulawī Karam-ud-Deen must have forgotten that it is a grave sin to hide the truth, and the Holy Quran contains the words "his heart is sinful" (2:284) with regard to this. Righteousness requires that one gives testimo- ny without fearing blame or censure. I would, therefore, not be a party to this crime of concealment. Nor is this concealment on the part of Maulawi Karam-ud-Deen by God's command; it is simply out of the weakness of heart. May God give him strength. (Author) 324