The Mirror of the Excellences of Islam — Page 335
334 Α'ΙΝΑ-Ε-ΚΑMĀLĀT-E-ISLAM-DAFI UL-WASĀWIS The reply received from the Shaikh of Batala in answer to the letter of this humble one given above is set out below along with its rebuttal. However, as the rebuttal which has been sent from me to the gentleman from Batala does not contain a reply to all the absurdities and slanders that his letter contains, and as it is possible that the readers of his letter may not be aware of the fabrications that have been placed in his letter for the purposes of deception, I have deemed it appropriate to refute some of Shaikh Şāhib's fabrications, braggings, and slanders before I proceed to transcribe his letter. Therefore, I set out the response below in the form of 'His Statement' and 'My Statement':¹ His Statement: I consider to be true and I believe in the truthfulness of the Quran and the former Scriptures, and the religion of Islam and for- mer faiths, and the Prophet of the Last Age and the former Prophets; and it is the essential consequence and requirement of all this that I should regard you as a liar. My Statement: Shaikh Şahib! If you considered the Quran to be true and believed the Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, to be a true Prophet you would not have declared me a kāfir [disbeliever]. Does your belief in the truth of the Noble Quran and of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, mean that a man who believes in Allah and the Messenger-who faces towards the Qiblah in Prayer, who professes the Holy Kalimah [the declaration of faith in Islam], who considers salvation to be limited to Islam, and who is devoted with all his life and soul to the way of Allah and His Messenger—is to be declared by you not only a kāfir but the greatest kāfir and that you deem him to deserve everlasting Hell, you 1. In the letter that was sent to the gentleman from Batala, no mention was made of his absurd statements in order not to prolong it. Now that he has ventured to publish that letter himself, the response has to be published perforce-Author