First Grain of Sand — Page 137
A PERIOD OF IMPROVEMENT 121 remembering Allah and praying to Allah to significantly spread the Ahmadiyya Movement in this area so that His promises can come true. Everyone watching me seemed to be in quite a strange state-upstairs, the ruling officers were quietly speaking to one another about me, while the scholarly inmates and Turkish inmates kept repeating, Subhaanallaah, Subhaanallaah; Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar [‘Holy is Allah, Holy is Allah; God is the Greatest, God is the Greatest'] while they watched me. I tell you truly that those inmates became so inclined towards me as if they were people parched with thirst seeking to run towards a fountain. And they were so sincere that they began call- ing me 'Sheikh'—a term used in this country for a religious leader at whose hands people convert to the Faith. Despite the fact that they could see members of the government opposing me and were aware of the conspiracies that were being hatched against me, their sincerity towards me did not diminish. Whenever they met me, they showed me politeness and respect, giving no care at all to the fact that government officials would also harass them for expressing love and sincerity towards me. It was a miracle of God's power that He created receptivity and respect for me in the hearts of these people. It was through His grace and benevolence that God Almighty brought people of great influence, knowledge, and wealth into the prison so that they might also learn the [blessed] name and claim of the Promised Messiahas, to the extent that even the scholar from Bukhara who lived in my prison cell accepted and converted to the Ahmadiyya Movement! What an incredible spectacle to reflect upon! One beholds the immense glory of God: my opponents feared my message and