Hazrat Mirza wrote the book Nuzul-ul-Masih to refute the criticism of certain opponents, and in particular to respond to the slanderous attacks of the newspaper Paisa Akhbar, exageration by the Lahore based Shia jurist, Ali Hairi, and the contentions of Pir Mehr Ali Shah Golarwi contained in his book Saif-e-Chishtiyyai. The book was composed in July and August of 1902.
Response to the slanderous attacks of the newspaper Paisa Akhbar
Hazrat Mirza had prophesied in his book Daafe-ul-Bala that the town of Qadian would not experience the sort of destruction and panic by the plague that would take other towns in its grip. The editor of the newspaper Paisa Akhbar who was an inveterate enemy of the Ahmadiyya Movement was greatly displeased by this prophecy. He had always been on the lookout for ways to discredit and falsify Hazrat Mirza. He now took it upon himself to prove this prophecy wrong.
On the basis of unsubstantiated reports originating from Hazrat Mirza’s opponents, the editor began publishing stories with names of plague fatalities in Qadian, and alleged that Hazrat Mirza’s prophecy had proven false.
In fact, Hazrat Mirza had neverprophesied that Qadian would be com- pletely immune from the plague, but only that it would not be hit by a large scale plague epidemic causing widespread disease and fatalities — the kind that results in the destruction and death of a town. This is exactly what tran- spired during those years of the plague epidemic. Every year, the plague wreaked havoc in the neighboring countryside of Qadian, but relative tran- quility prevailed in Qadian, especially in the section of the town inhabited by the disciples of Hazrat Mirza.
The occurrence of one or two cases of the disease in Qadian did not in any way falsify Hazrat Mirza’s prophecy.
But such facts are irrelevant to those bent upon falsifying — falsification and derision are their only concerns. So the editor of Paisa Akhbar resorted to the artifice of enumerat- ing as casualties of the plague even those people who had died from other causes such as tuberculosis, and in some instances reported people who were in fact alive and well as having died of the plague.
Although the Qadian based newspaper Al-Hakam regularly refuted the false reports appearing in the Paisa Akhbar, HazratMirza refuted these reports personally in Nuzul-ul- Masih. He reiterated his prophecy regarding the spread of the plague epidemic inPunjab and the relative immunity of his disciples from the dread- ed disease. He clarified the aspect of his prophecy that related to Qadian and exposed the reality of the fictitious plague victims of Paisa Akhbar’s editor.
Refutation of Ali Hairi
The Shiite community was extremely roiled at the publication of Daafe-ul-Bala because Hazrat Mirza had, while refuting certain Shiite beliefs, mentioned his own excellence over Hazrat Imam Husain (peace of Allah be upon him).
The Shiite jurist Ali Hairi of Lahore subsequently pub- lished a magazine in which he claimed that all prophets had received God’s succor and deliverance from distress through the agency of Hazrat Imam Husain. He stated that the repentance of Adam and the prayers of all the prophets were not accepted by God until they had invoked the name of Hazrat Imam Husain. Similarly, the deliverance of Noah from the deluge, ofAbraham from the fire, of Moses from the Pharaoh, of Jesus from the Cross and the Holy Prophet from the attacks of the disbelievers were all for the sake of Hazrat Imam Husain.
Thus, in Ali Hairi’s fanatical view, Hazrat Imam Husain excelled all the prophets. Hazrat Mirza refuted this claim in a very rational and logical manner in Nuzul-ul-Masih. He argued that belief in the basic righteousness and piety of a spiritual leader should not impel us to believe in exaggerated claims about his spiritual status. In short, Hazrat Mirza refutedwith logical arguments claims that had been made with no sup- porting arguments.
Reply to the book Saif-e-Chishtiyyai
Next Hazrat Mirza refuted Pir Mahar Ali Shah Golarwi’s arguments in
Saif-e-Chishtiyyai. Hazrat Mirza began his response as follows:
I received this book (Saif-e-Chishtiyyai) by mail on July 1, 1902. I thought that Pir Mahar Ali Shah Golarwi had perhaps sent methis book to apprise me that he had written a response to my book Ijaz-ul-Masih and also Shams-e-Bazgha. Even prior to receiving this book (Saif-e- Chishtiyyai), I had received information that he was writing a book in opposition to my book Ijaz-ul-Masih…But sadly I was mistaken. When I received his book Saif-e-Chishtiyyai, my initial reaction on holding this book in my hands was one of joy because I thought that I would now see his Arabic commentary, and a comparison would further man- ifest the worthiness of my commentary for the masses.
But when I examined the book, and found it to be only in Urdu and without any (Quranic) commentary, I could not help but feel sorry at his plight. This book was not worth even a single glance because the author had not written a competing Arabiccommentary as he was sup- posed to do, and despite the lapse of a long time had utterly failed to achieve the stated objective.Instead, by turning his face from the com- petition he put a seal on his helplessness and provided testimony himself that Ijaz-ul-Masih is a sign from God, the like of which he is unable to produce. Nevertheless, I examined the Urdu book carefully andfound that apart from absurd criticisms there was nothing in it wor- thy of consideration.
Absurd criticisms by Pir Golarwi
Hazrat Mirza then proceeded to respond to Pir Golarwi’s absurd criti- cisms, addressing them one by one, with very appropriate and reasonable arguments. There were essentially two points that Pir Golarwi had laid great stress on in the book. First, he had alleged,quite incorrectly, that two or three sentences in Ijaz-ul-Masih had been plagiarized from another book Muqamaat Hariri. Second, PirGolarwi had claimed that since Hazrat Mirza’s revelations were not prophetic revelations, therefore why should they not be consideredas meaningless dreams, that could not be relied upon. Hazrat Mirza responded to these objections with cogent and irrefutable argu-ments.
Reply to the charge of plagiarism
In response to the charges of plagiarism, Hazrat Mirza penned a pro- found explanation of how the same theme can occur in the writings of independent authors. He rebutted the allegation of Pir Golarwi conclusively and stated:
Why is it that despite the passage of such a long time, Pir Mahar Ali Shah Sahib has not been able to compose a book comparable to Ijaz- ul-Masih? His major accomplishment so far has been to point out from a two hundred page book, comprised of twelve and a half printer’s booklets and containing four thousand lines of text, just three or four sentences that are same or similar to certain well known examples and citations. Does his effort provide any evidence of his personal merit?
An impartial person will agree that surely Pir Golarwi couldn’t have possibly achieved anything significant during the proposed commen- tary-writing competition in Lahore, given the fact that he was not able to write even a few pages that could compare with my work Ijaz-ul- Masih, despite being given an extended period of time, as well as the luxury of privacy and solitude. Howthen can that feeble old man stand up on his own, when he could not do so even when he had assistance available from others? Isthis honesty that Pir Mahar Ali Sahib stated in his announcement: “I have arrived in Lahore to participate in the competition for writing a commentary on the Quran but I have a pre- condition. There will first be a verbal debate on the disputed articles of faith which will be adjudicated by MaulviMuhammad Husain.” Further, if the judge declares that Pir Mahar Ali Shah’s beliefs are true and correct and that he has provided full proof thereof, then it will be incumbent on the opposing party, which is me, to forthwith pledge my allegiance to Pir MaharAli Shah. After this, the contest for writing the commentary of the Quran can also take place.Just consider the deviousness of this plan. Maulvi Muhammad Husain and Pir Mahar Ali Shah Sahib concur in their belief regarding the descent and ascension of the Messiah, then how is it possible for Maulvi Muhammad Husain to say that Mahar Ali’sbeliefs are incorrect or his reasoning is false. When the beliefs of the two are the same then how could he belie Pir Mahar Ali. Butin the matter of adjudicating the scholarship and eloquence of the commentary in Arabic, both Muslims and non-Muslims can discern with justice. Not even an enemy can have the audacity to give a certificate of excellence to that person whose writing is inferior, feeble, and replete with grammatical and syntactical errors.
With the publication of my book Ijaz-ul-Masih, Pir Mahar Ali Shah is being given a second chance to nullify my excellence withhis scholar- ly ability – an excellence that is attracting hundreds of people into my allegiance. But his situation is that of a dumb person with whom it is difficult to communicate even with signs. His only accomplishment is that he has presented three or foursentences out of a two hundred page book as an example of work plagiarized from Muqamaat Hariri etc. He has declared one or two typographical errors as being grammatical mistakes and through his ignorance has considered certain eloquent and correct sentence structures as incorrect. Such are the hereditary religious leaders of this country who by assuming to be maulvis (cler-ics), have tarnished themselves forever.
It makes sense too that there would be no need to pilfer a few sentences from some other book by a person who can compose thousands of pages of scholarly and eloquent Arabic that is unrivalled by his contemporary Arab and non-Arab scholars of the language. If the charge was against a person who plagiarizes a passage here and a passage there to compose his book then there would be some merit to the charge. However, it is ridiculous to allege that a person who writes thousands of pages in scholarly Arabic about hisclaim and on many new and varied topics would plough through the pages of an old Arabic book to steal two or three sentences. It is equally hard to comprehend why a person who has challenged the entire world to a compe- tition of writing eloquent Arabic would ruin his own plan by pilfering a few sentences from some book?
The fact is that the expression of the same idea in identical or similar words is a phenomenon that has been observed in the works of many great scholars about whose authorship there is no dispute. Hazrat Mirza has pre- sented in his book some such examples. Tocall such occurrences as plagiarism is totally meaningless and unjust.
Reply to the charge that Hazrat Mirza’s revelations were unreliable
Hazrat Mirza next responded to the objection that his revelations were not fully trustworthy because they were not prophetic revelations. Hazrat Mirza first narrated the ways in which he received revelations. Then he explained the signs that constitute thedistinctive characteristics of revelation from God. Following this, he stated that when one attains the station of per- fect sainthood then the revelation of a saint also becomes fully trustworthy. An excerpt of this discussion is reproduced below:
But I have just stated that the heart upon which the sun of revelation truly shines does not harbor the darkness of doubts and conjectures. Can darkness dwell alongside pure light? In the manner of the mother of Moses when she received an unequivocal revelation and believing in it entirely, she cast her baby into peril. Yet she was not adjudged as guilty of attempted murder in the eyes of God, the Most High. Then is the Muslim nation worse than the women of the family of Israel?
Similarly, Mary received an unequivocal revelation and putting her trust in it, did not care what her nation thought. Then shame onthis dis- graced nation that it is even inferior to these women. In that case, how can this nation be considered the best of nations, itshould be the worst of nations, as well as the most ignorant of nations.
Similarly, Khizr was not a prophet, but was granted Divinely-inspired knowledge. So if Khizr’s revelation was conjectural andnot certain, why did he thus willfully carry out those actions per which he was Divinely directed? If the revelation received by theCompanions (peace be upon them) of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that Prophet Muhammad’sbody should be washed (before burial), was not absolute and certain, why then did they act upon that revelation?
So if a person denies my revelations because of personal lack of spiri- tual insight and vision, and yet he calls himself a Muslim and is not an atheist in disguise, then it should be part of his faith that Divine reve- lation marked by certitude is possible. Men and women in previous nations received revelations that were marked by certitude, and yet they were not prophets. Similarly, the existence of such revelations in this nation is essential, so that it is not regarded as the most inferior of nations but as the bestof nations. So God showed a perfect and absolute example of this phenomenon in this the last era. One should not lookaskance at these events.
After this, Hazrat Mirza enumerated one hundred and twenty three heavenly signs and prophecies that proved the Divineorigin of Hazrat Mirza’s revelations beyond any doubt.
Two recent signs
In his book Nuzul-ul-Masih, Hazrat Mirza also mentioned two new heavenly signs regarding Pir Golarwi and his associates:
• First Sign: Proof of Pir Golarwi’s plagiarism
One of those signs was Pir Golarwi’s plagiarism. While Hazrat Mirza was writing Nuzul-ul-Masih, he received a letter from Mian Shahab-ud-Din, who was a friend of Maulvi Muhammad Hasan Faizi, resident of the town of Bheen. Mian Shahab-ud-Din had written:
I was perusing Pir Mahar Ali Shah’s book when perchance I met a man who was asking around for directions to Maulvi Faizi’s house. He was carrying some books and upon inquiry, the man stated: “Pir Mahar Ali Shah Golarwi had borrowed some books from Muhammad Hasan Faizi, and I have come to return those books.” When I examined those books, one of them was Ijaz-ul-Masih and it had notes written inside, in the handwriting of the late Muhammad Hasan Faizi. Another book was Shams-e-Bazgha, and Muhammad Hasan Faizi had written notes in it too. Incidentally, I had the book Saif-e-Chishtiyyai in my posses-sion at that time. When I compared the notes with this book, it became quite evident to me that Pir Mahar Ali Shah Golarwi had lifted verba- tim the notes of Muhammad Hasan Faizi and copied them in his own book in a clear act of plagiarism. In other words, Pir Mahar Ali Shah Golarwi’s book Saif-e-Chishtiyyai was nothingmore than a plagiarism of those handwritten notes! I was amazed at how Pir Mahar Ali Shah Golarwi had attributed those notes to himself, and this dishonesty and plagiarism astonished me. I can show this shameful pilferage of Pir Mahar Ali Shah Golarwi toanyone who is interested.
Hazrat Mirza published the actual letter from Mian Shahab-ud-Din in his book Nuzul-ul-Masih.
In order to fully investigate the matter, Hazrat Mirza directed Maulvi Abdul Karim to write to Mian Shahab-ud-Din and inquirewhether the books Ijaz-ul-Masih and Shams-e-Bazgha on which Muhammad Hasan Faizi deceased had written his notes could be borrowed for examination or alter- natively could be purchased by them. In response, Mian Shahab-ud-Din wrote a second letter inwhich he stated:
I would have had no objection to come but they won’t give me the books on which the notes are written i.e., Shams-e-Bazgha andIjaz-ul- Masih. The harsh language used in Saif-e-Chishtiyyai is mostly that of Muhammad Hasan Faizi. This is the reason why his death was so admonitory. For three days he kept making sounds like a … but the kalimah tayyaba (Muslim confession of faith) did not issue from his lips. Those present with him were shocked by his condition. With the exception of close relatives, everyone was asked to leave. In a way, he was punished right here as well. What happens in the Hereafter only remains to be seen.
My letter has elicited a confession from Golarwi. This card written to Maulvi Karam-ud-Din by Golarwi is in his own handwriting. In short, Golarwi has strongly urged Muhammad Hasan’s father not to show the books to me. Golarwi writes in the card that it (the plagiarized text) was written with the permission of Muhammad Hasan. But this acknowledgment is not because of the exigencies of uprightness, but issues only because his secret has been divulged to us. He was embar- rassed and was leftwith no alternative but to confess. The second letter contains Golarwi’s card that he wrote with his own hands before dis- patchingit. You may see it for yourself.
Actually what had happened was that Mian Shahab-ud-Din had brought up the issue of Pir Golarwi’s plagiarism with MaulviKaram-ud-Din, brother in law of the deceased Maulvi Muhammad Hasan Faizi. Maulvi Karam-ud-Din agreed with the charge and sought an explanation from Pir Golarwi. In reply, Pir Golarwi had sent the postcard that Mian Shahab-ud- Din has mentioned in his letter. In the postcard, Pir Golarwi had put forward the excuse that the late Maulvi Muhammad Hasan Faizi had given him per- mission to print the book under his own name. But this excuse just compounded his original transgression. If Pir Golarwi actually had permis- sion from Maulvi Muhammad Hasan Faizi, why did he not mention this factin the book? And why did he claim that he had compiled the book himself? It is an act of gross dishonesty to attribute the authorship of the entire book of a deceased person to oneself and not even to mention his name.1 Subsequently, Maulvi Karam-ud-Din wrote a letter to Hazrat Mirza and this letter too is reproduced in Nuzul-ul-Masih. An important excerpt from the letter is given below. MaulviKaram-ud-Din wrote:
I have been reading your books for some time now, and I greatly admire your writings. On several occasions, I have seen good things about you in my dreams and I frequently take issue with your oppo- nents. I have not yet become your disciple because it is my belief that a great deal of caution needs to be exercised in this matter. Unless one is fully satisfied after a face to facemeeting, it is not prudent to make a pledge. Nevertheless, I am your admirer even without meeting you…
Yesterday, I received a registered letter from Maulvi Abdul Karim, delivered to me by my dear friend Mian Shahab-ud-Din, astudent. The letter contained a mention of Pir Golarwi’s book Saif-e-Chishtiyyai. I had also informed Mian Shahab-ud-Din about the fact that the greater part of Pir Golarwi’s book consists of the late Maulvi Faizi’s reflec- tions that he had noted in the margins of the books, Shams-e-Bazgha and Ijaz-ul-Masih. Pir Golarwi had borrowed both these books from me and now they have been returned to me.
A comparison revealed that the notes had been copied verbatim into the book. It is a gross act of plagiarism to take credit for thereflections of a dead man and to pass it off as one’s own scholarship without even mentioning the deceased’s name. What is odd, examples of the faults that he had found with your writing are present in Pir Golarwi’s book as well! Since Maulvi Faizi’s father is antagonistic towards you and those books are in his custody, it is difficult to send the books to you; he would never permit thisto happen. But it would be possible to make a copy of those notes and to send it to your attention. It would also be feasible if a designated member of your Organization could come here and see those notes for himself. However, this shall be possible only if you act swiftly. I am also sending in original for your perusal, a post- card that I received only two days ago from Pir Golarwi in which he confesses to embellishing Saif-e-Chishtiyyai by plagiarizing the notes of Maulvi Faizi. It would not be prudent toassociate me with this expo- sition, but it would not be objectionable if Mian Shahab-ud-Din’s name is mentioned. I do not want to offend Pir Golarwi’s organization…
Sincerely,
Muhammad Karam-ud-Din Bheen, Tehsil Chakwaal. Date 21st July 1902
Hakim Fazal-ud-Din was the chief printing and publication officer in Qadian, and upon receipt of this letter, he wrote to Maulvi Karam-ud-Din, and asked him if it was possible to purchase the books Shams-e-Bazgha and Ijaz-ul-Masih that contained the handwritten notes of Maulvi Faizi. Maulvi Karam-ud-Din replied on August 3, 1902, and wrote:
The boy (son of the deceased Maulvi Faizi — author) arrived home on July 31. We immediately approached him regarding thismatter. Initially, he refused outright and said that the books belong to Jaffer Zatali. He recognizes the writing of Maulvi Faizi and he urged me to send the books at once to Zatali in Lahore. But after employing many strategies, and coaxing the boy with somemoney, he finally agreed for a consideration of six rupees. After copying the notes of Ijaz-ul-Masih onto another copy of the book,I am sending you with the bearer of this letter the original book which has Maulvi Faizi’s notes in his own handwriting. After receiving the book, kindly send me back a receipt with the bearer of this letter. If the sum is available, kindly also give six rupees to the bearer so that the amount may be given to the boy to avoid difficulties in obtaining the other book, Shams-e-Bazgha. Assoon as you send me an unbound copy of the book Shams-e-Bazgha, I shall send to you the copy of the book that contains Maulvi Faizi’s written notes. You should rest assured; God willing, I will not renege upon my promise… Please obtain a copy of Shams-e-Bazgha expedi- tiously and dispatch it to me because the boy is home on leave for only a month. At the end of this period, he will take the book to Lahore and then it will become very difficult to obtain it …
So both books, Shams-e-Bazgha and Ijaz-ul-Masih, containing the handwritten notes of Maulvi Faizi, were purchased from his son for twelve rupees, and came into the possession of Hazrat Mirza. The acquisition of the books furnished the final proof of PirGolarwi’s plagiarism. The book
Saif-e-Chishtiyyai was a verbatim copy of Maulvi Faizi’s notes and had no intellectual contribution whatsoever by Pir Golarwi. An incident like this is enough to put any self respecting person to shame.
The facts are worth reiterating. Pir Golarwi had managed to avoid the Quran commentary writing contest with Hazrat Mirza by making frivolous excuses. Then Hazrat Mirza wrote an exhaustive commentary of Al-Fatihah (chapter of the Holy Quran titled TheOpening) in Arabic and published it in his book Ijaz-ul-Masih, and challenged Pir Golarwi to respond in a like man- ner by writing a commentary in response, but he was unable to do so. After many months of scratching his head in puzzlement, Pir Golarwi finally pub-lished a book in Urdu, Saif-e-Chishtiyyai, in which he allegedly leveled some criticism at Ijaz-ul-Masih. But it turned out that Saif-e-Chishtiyyai was noth- ing more than the plagiarized notes of the unfortunate Maulvi Faizi. Pir Golarwi’s position was the equivalent of a thief who is caught red handed with the stolen property. If Pir Golarwi and his disciples had any self-respect, they would have died ofshame upon the exposure of their action.
So the Divine revelation received by Hazrat Mirza that “He who seeks to disgrace you shall be disgraced by me” was clearly fulfilled. Pir Golarwi had charged Hazrat Mirza with plagiarism by pointing to a few sentences in Hazrat Mirza’s book Ijaz-ul-Masih, although these were clearly instances of coincidental sameness of theme. It is absurd to suggest that a person who has written thousands of pages of scholarly and eloquent Arabic would stand in need of plagiarizing a few sentences. The manner in which God caught PirGolarwi and exposed his plagiarism, for his seeking to disgrace Hazrat Mirza, is an example from which people should learn a lesson. It is such a clear and manifest sign that a discerning person cannot help but acknowledge its greatness and veracity.
• Second Sign: The death of Maulvi Muhammad Hasan Faizi, resi- dent of Bheen.
Hazrat Mirza had written on the title page of Ijaz-ul-Masih: “Whosoever shall try to reply to it and display beastliness, then he shall be humiliated and shall die the death of a failure.” And so it came to pass. Maulvi Faizi decided to respond to Ijaz-ul-Masih and even made some notes critical of the book in a harsh and offensive language. It was not long before Maulvi Faizi departed this world – an unsuccessful and unfulfilled man. Even the manner of his death was an admonition for others.
Pir Golarwi was incapable of writing a response to Ijaz-ul-Masih, and he resorted to plagiarizing Maulvi Faizi’s notes to save himself the embarrassment of going without a response. But his plagiarism was caught and the world got to know the full measureof his piety, knowledge and scholarship. Pir Golarwi stood fully exposed and humiliated. It is infinitely preferable to die, than to live on in humiliation, and from this perspective Maulvi Faizi fared better than Pir Golarwi.
Delay in the publication of Nuzul-ul-Masih
Hazrat Mirza undertook the work of writing Nuzul-ul-Masih in the months of July and August 1902. The printing of the book proceeded simul- taneously with its writing, and as sections of the book were written, they were sent off to the printer to be typeset and printed.
Sheikh Yaqub Ali Torab published an article in the September 17, 1902 issue of Al-Hakam in which he reproduced the entire aforementioned corre- spondence between Maulvi Karam-ud-Din and Hakim Fazal-ud-Din. Maulvi Karam-ud-Din did not take kindly to this for he feared a backlash from Pir Golarwi’s disciples. He expressed his displeasure with the Ahmadiyya organ- ization by issuing a threat to get even. Shortly thereafter, a letter appeared in Siraj-ul-Akhbar of Jhelum under the name of Maulvi Karam-ud-Din onOctober 6, 1902 and then a poem on October 13, 1902. In these publications, Maulvi Karam-ud-Din alleged that the letters were forgeries and he did not write them. He added that he had tried to test the veracity of Hazrat Mirza’s claim of receiving revelation by sending him deceptive letters containing fraudulent information written by him or by others at his behest. As for Maulvi Faizi’s notes, those were not his notes at all; Maulvi Karam-ud-Din claimed in his article that he had them written by a child. There was much more in a similar vein in that article and in the poem, including a tirade against Hazrat Mirza. Later on, these letters proved to be a preamble to a huge and protracted legal battle.
The book Nuzul-ul-Masih was written in response to Saif-e- Chishtiyyai, and Hazrat Mirza had included in it the letters whoseauthenticity was now being disputed. Until such time that a court of law ruled on the authenticity of the letters, it was not proper to include them as part of the book. Hazrat Mirza, therefore, stopped further work on Nuzul-ul- Masih. Besides, Hazrat Mirza had only recently on September 1, 1902, written and published the book Tuhfa Golarwiyya in reply to Pir Golarwi’s book Shams-ul-Hidaya. So Hazrat Mirza did not consider it necessary to publish this second book, Nuzul-ul-Masih, immediately. It was considered prudent todelay the publication till after the end of litigation.
The litigation to which I have alluded turned into several court cases that lasted for approximately two and a half years. During the proceedings, Maulvi Karam-ud-Din’s false allegations were exposed, and his correspon- dence with Hakim Fazal-ud-Din and the handwritten notes of Maulvi Faizi, were proven to be authentic. However, Hazrat Mirza became engrossed in composing another lengthy book titled Nusrat-ul-Haq, which was later pub- lished under the name of Barahin Ahmadiyya Volume 5. While this volume was under print, Dr. Abdul Hakim Khan of Patiala recanted his Muslim faith, and it became necessary to dispel the misgivings that arose as a result. Hazrat Mirza immediately undertook this task and wrote a voluminous seven hundred page book titled Haqiqat-ul-Wahy. Hazrat Mirza planned to finish the books Nuzul-ul-Masih and the fifth volume of Barahin Ahmadiyya after thecompletion of Haqiqat-ul-Wahy, but events transpired otherwise.
An article written by Hazrat Mirza was read out in a gathering of Arya Hindus. The Arya Hindus responded with a scurrilousspeech abusing Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Some members of the Ahmadiyya Organization were present in the audience, and when they reported the incident to Hazrat Mirza, he was deeply grieved, and wrote a 350 page book in response called Chashma Marifat (The Fountain of Wisdom). Only a few days after the publication of this book, Hazrat Mirza conceived the idea of writing Paigham-e-Sulh (The Message of Peace). He had just finished writing Paigham-e-Sulh when Allah summoned Hazrat Mirza to Himself. Consequently, the book Nuzul-ul-Masih was published after his death in an unfinished form on August 25,1909. Even so it is a com- plete book in itself, except that those heavenly signs that Hazrat Mirza had wished to include did not getincorporated. But the fact is that all those other heavenly signs got separately addressed and discussed in the book Haqiqat- ul-Wahy.Another unfinished task in Nuzul-ul-Masih was a promise to include an Arabic composition which was to be a touchstone inanother challenge to Pir Golarwi and the Shiite leader, Ali Hairi, for writing a comparable text.
However, even this task had been accomplished in another publication of Hazrat Mirza, Ijaz-e-Ahmadi, which was published after the suspension of work on Nuzul-ul-Masih. For this reason, Hazrat Mirza gave Ijaz-e-Ahmadi the subtitle, Supplement to Nuzul-ul-Masih. In Ijaz-e-Ahmadi, Hazrat Mirza wrote a scholarly and eloquent encomium in Arabic, and challenged Maulvi Sanaullah of Amritsar, Pir Golarwi and Ali Hairi to produce a comparable composition in Arabic. But none of them rose to the challenge. A discussion ofthe work Ijaz-e-Ahmadi appears later in this biography.
Footnotes
- Hazrat Mirza has reproduced Pir Golarwi’s post card in his book Nuzul-ul-Masih.
The Great Reformer 