The Essence of Islam – Volume V — Page 64
64 Essence of Islam-V period of fifteen months. Having received this revela- tion, I addressed 'Abdullah Ātham on the day that the debate was concluded. This was before a large gather- ing, which included Dr. Martyn Clark and about thirty other Christians, as well as about thirty or forty mem- bers of my Jamāʻat. Among these were brother Maulavi Hakīm Nūruddin, brother Maulavi 'Abdul Karīm, brother Shaikh Rahmatullāh, brother Munshi Tājuddin (Accountant Railway Office, Lahore), brother 'Abdul 'Azīz Khan (clerk in the Office of the Examiner, Railway, Lahore), brother Khalifa Nūrud- dīn, and others. I said to Deputy 'Abdullah Atham: 'Although this debate has ended in the intellectual and rational sense, there is still another ongoing con- test that remains to be decided, and it has been ordained by God. It is as follows: In your book, Andrūna-e-Bible, you have called our Holy Prophetsa Dajjal, whereas I believe him to be a true Messenger, and I firmly believe Islam to be from God. Now this is something that will be decided by heaven. The heavenly decree is that whichever of us is false in his statement and unjustly declares the true Messenger to be a liar and Dajjal, and whichever of us is an enemy of the truth, shall be cast in hāwia [hell] within fifteen months from today, in the lifetime of the truthful one, unless he turns to the truth, i. e. , desists from calling the Righteous and True Prophetsa Dajjal and refrains from impertinence and abuse. I said this because the mere denial of a religion does not merit punishment in this world, it is audacious,