The Descent of the Messiah — Page 53
ON THE BOOK SAIF-E-CHISHTIYĀĪ I received this book by mail on 1 July 1902. It was sent to me by Pir Mehr Ali Shah Golarawi probably to let me know that he has written a response to my books Ijāzul-Masih and Shamsul-Bāzigha. Even before it arrived, I had already received an indication that he was writing a book in response to Ijā- zul-Masih. What I did not expect was that he would respond to my Arabic book in Urdu. I had thought that since most intel- lectuals did not approve of the Pir's devious conduct in Lahore,¹ 1 The disgraceful act committed by Pir Mehr Ali Shah in Lahore was that through deception he refused to participate in a competition to which he had previously agreed to. The details of this incident are that when adver- tisements were published throughout the world on my behalf stating that I have been bestowed a sign of Allah the Almighty's approval that I should write a commentary on any chapter of the Holy Quran in fluent and elo- quent Arabic, and that Allah the Almighty has granted me knowledge that no other person, whether he is a Maulawī or a Pir, can ever write a com- mentary that can match mine. The Pir was also invited to this competition so that if he walks the right path, he ought to sit opposite me and pen his own commentary to demonstrate his knowledge and prestige or accept our 53