The Miracle of Ahmad — Page 172
172 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD leaves none of them unanswered; and, if, in the same way, they manage to write a qaşīdah, which is comprised of the same num- ber of verses and recapitulates the same incidents, in refined and eloquent language and which is printed within the same amount of time, I will pay to them 10,000 rupees in cash. This is a solemn, bona fide declaration which will not be violated at all. They can pursue it even through a court of law. Now, if Maulawi Sanaullah and other opponents of mine turn away from this arrangement and persist in calling me a disbeliever and an antichrist, it will not behove them to show such temerity in the face of being van- quished and defeated; for in that case, the general public will consider them to be liars. I even allow them to join hands with each other and collectively pen an answer to the Urdu essay and the qasidah, shedding light on the events that have taken place. I will have no objection to this. And, if they manage to publish the qasidah and their response to the essay related to the qasidah, within the stipulated time, I will surely be proved a liar. What they must do, however, is that they should also give the Urdu transla- tion of each verse under every couplet-just as I have concern- ing my qaşīdah. They should consider it a condition among other conditions. This competition will settle the dispute once and for all and, God willing, on 16 November 1902, I will dispatch this book, I'jāz-e-Ahmadi, to Maulawi Sanaullah through Maulawi Syed Muhammad Sarwar. Moreover, the book will also be sent on the same date, through registered post, to all those who have been addressed in the qaşīdah. What is more, I have also agreed to give all my opponents a grace period of fifteen days to write and publish their response to the above-mentioned qasidah and the essay. For no matter how much they argue, if my qaşīdah reaches