Many years have passed since I published the claim that I am a recipient of revelation and divine converse. However, even if the period spanning from the publication of Barahin-e-Ahmadiyyah to the present time is calculated, a period of twenty years has elapsed. One ought to ask our opponents — who call me a liar and assert that I have forged this false claim — that when God Almighty does not grant respite to a deceiver who falsely claims to receive divine revelation or converse, to the extent that even the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was addressed by God that ‘If you had attributed false statements to Us, We would have seized you by your jugular vein,’ then what concession can there be for anyone else? This statement of God clearly demonstrates that anyone who falsely attributes revelation to Allah Almighty can never enjoy respite. Now, I would like to ask that if my community was not established by God Almighty, then do show me an example from the history of any nation, where someone attributed such falsehood against God and was then granted respite.
As far as I am concerned, a clear criterion is available to us. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, received revelation for a lengthy period of twenty-three years. Allah the Exalted has granted me an era that is almost equivalent in time to the era of our Truthful and Perfect Prophet, because twenty years have passed since the publication of Barahin-e-Ahmadiyyah — which in the view of my unwise critics — is the period in which I began this ‘forgery’. The era that I present in relation to myself is similar to that of a man who is accepted as being truthful; in fact, he is the crown of all those who are truthful, yet these cruel people go on saying even now that my claim is a lie. It is unfortunate that they are so blindly absorbed in disproving me that they fail to see the manner in which even the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, is caught in the crossfire of their denial. For if God were to support a false man for even twenty or twenty-two years, all I can do is stand astonished. In fact, my heart trembles at the thought of what argument such people could then present in favour of the truthfulness of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. A Muslim and a true follower of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, will never accept — after witnessing a claimant to revelation receive such a long period of respite — that a false claimant and a liar can also receive such a long period of respite. If no other sign or argument in favour of the truth of such a claimant can be found, even still, a true Muslim is bound to give them the benefit of the doubt in view of faith and must not reject such a person, because the period of their claim bears a resemblance to that of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
If a Christian asserts that a false man can enjoy respite, then it is on them to furnish evidence to that effect. But a Muslim cannot make this assertion. Now, our opponents ought to tell us whether a liar, Antichrist and one who forges a lie against Allah can partake of characteristics that serve as argumentation in favour of prophethood? One must accept that this is absolutely impossible. Such people ought to reflect over my claim and then ponder over the time period that constitutes the era which establishes prophethood. Hence, from every aspect, various points to ponder can be found for those who reflect, and a prudent individual can derive benefit from them.
(Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas, Malfuzat, Vol. 2, pp. 21-22)