Oftentimes, overly zealous critics, especially Sheikh Muhammad Husain of Batala, who scrutinize my Arabic books with the intent of finding petty faults, include so much as a clerical oversight under the heading of an error out of the darkness of religious bigotry. Nevertheless, the fact of the matter is that a grammatical or syntactic error of mine is only the one in contrast to which it does not appear written correctly elsewhere in my books. However, when an error inadvertently transpires at one juncture, yet that same construction or word is found correctly written elsewhere in some ten (10), twenty (20), or fifty (50) places, then if there is impartiality and sincerity, it should be construed as a clerical inaccuracy, not an error [in the true sense]. Notwithstanding, if the rapid pace with which these books have been written is kept in view, they would confess their grave injustice and realize these books are miracles. Apart from the Holy Quran, the writing of no man is free from error or omission. The gentleman from Batala himself acknowledges that people have exposed errors even in the works of Imru’ al-Qais and Hariri, but can such a person who perchance identified one error be considered to be of the stature of Imru’ al-Qais and Hariri? Most certainly not. To bring fine points into being is a difficult thing but to nitpick is easy and even a man of lowest competence—indeed, even a fool—can do it. I had set the end of June 1894 CE as the last date by which a treatise was to be written in competition with my Hamamatul-Bushra and Nurul-Haqq. That date came and went but no maulawi came forward with the intent to write a competing treatise and to demand the deposit of the promised reward money—and now that time has long gone. Notwithstanding—yes, indeed!—they exhausted every possible means to carry out nitpicking as is the wont of the unworthy and envious, while some simpletons, upon discovering some scribal inaccuracies or inadvertent errors, grew eager in anticipation of the reward, yet failed to open their eyes to the fundamental condition that the reward for every error found was contingent upon the person first writing a treatise in competition. Otherwise, greedy nitpickers who possess no treasure of personal knowledge are readily available throughout the world in the thousands; nay, rather in the hundreds of thousands! To which of them shall the prize be granted?! What is required is that, for example, first a treatise should be written to compete with this treatise Sirrul-Khilafah and then, if their treatise is found free of error and equal to mine in stature from the perspective of eloquence and fluency, then they are entitled to claim from us—apart from the reward that we had already pledged for writing a competing treatise—an additional award of two rupees per error. Failing this and then proceeding to indulge in petty scrutiny far deviates from the demands of decorum. والسَّلامُ علیٰ من التَّبع الھُدٰی. [And peace be upon him who follows the guidance].
Humbly,
Ghulam Ahmad