A Verdict Required — Page 52
52 A VERDICT REQUIRED ☆ they concluded that there would be no better opportunity to raise an uproar than the period that Atham remained alive. So first of all, in Amritsar, they raised a clamour¹ contrary to the facts simply out of mean-spiritedness. Parading Atham through the streets and alleys, they spewed such outrageous slanders the likes of which had never been seen since the establishment of 1. The prophecy made concerning Atham's chastisement was articu- lated in exceptionally clear and manifestly unambiguous terms. It con- tained the stipulation that the punishment of death would descend upon him only if he did not incline towards the truth. And for the duration of fifteen months, which constituted the prophesied period, Atham abstained from religious debates and discourses and remained silent against his accustomed behaviour to such an extent that his si- lence indeed testified that his heart had inclined towards the truth. Subsequently, after the expiration of the stipulated period, he began to give spurious excuses, claiming, 'I was indeed fearful, but that fear stemmed from the trained snake and other attacks that were perpe- trated against me. So it was said to him that all these allegations are unsubstantiated and irrational and on top of that they have been set forth after the prescribed period. They should be substantiated by either taking an oath or filing a lawsuit, or by some other private means. However, he elected not to pursue any of these options. Even when a reward of 4,000 rupees was promised for taking an oath, he failed to establish his innocence through sworn testimony and took the entire burden of these accusations with him to his grave. The Divine ilham [revelation] had also stated that if he concealed his testimony he would die quickly. Thus, he passed away within seven months of my final published announcement. Now, was there any ambi- guity in this prophecy to warrant such a clamour from the Christians? Certainly not. They were well apprised of Atham living in a constant state of fear, so much so that on one occasion, during an illness, Atham exclaimed in anguish, 'Alas! I have been seized!' However, it was the Christians' intention to obscure the truth. Grave injustice was commit- ted by them in raising this uproar. Author