Continuation of an extract from Victory of Islam, an English rendering of the Urdu Fath-e-Islam, written by the Promised Messiah and Mahdi, Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad(as).
If faith evaporates to the Pleiades, this Persian will bring it down to earth
This is the prophecy of the Holy Prophet(saw). Its meaning has been made clear to me by divine revelation. All its details have been made manifest. The meaning is that the Messiah son of Mary was a restorer of faith who appeared 1400 years after Moses(as); at a time when the Jews had become very weak in faith, when they had come to suffer from evils of various kinds, all symptoms of this one malady viz., weakness of faith. So, now about 1400 years after the Holy Prophet(saw)’s advent, this Ummah [Muslim community] also has come to suffer from the same evils from which the Jews had come to suffer in their time in order that the prophecy may be fulfilled which had been made about them. So, for the Ummah also, a Messiah similar to the first Messiah has been raised to restore to them their faith. God Almighty has done this out of his Infinite power and mercy: The Messiah that was to come has come. Accept him if you will.
Those who have ears to hear let them hear. This is the work of God Almighty, wondrous in people’s eyes. If there be those who will reject, then remember, true claimants have been rejected before. John or Elijah son of Zachariah(as) was rejected by the Jews and yet the Messiah had witnessed to his truth, saying it was he who had been raised to heaven and whose second coming from heaven had been foretold in the holy books. God’s speech is full of metaphors. It is common for someone, similar to someone else in power, character, and capacity, to be named after this other. One similar to ‘Umar, the Farooq, is ‘Umar Farooq according to Him.
You read the Hadith, which says, “If this Ummah were to have Muhaddathin to whom God speaks then such a Muhaddath would be ‘Umar?” Would you say that, therefore, Muhaddathiyyah is over after ‘Umar? No! The meaning of this Hadith is that whoever in spirit and power is like ‘Umar, will be a Muhaddath when the time for his advent comes. It was in this sense that this humble one once received the revelation: “You have been endowed with the character of ‘Umar.”
This humble one is similar in character to other holy ones. The subject is described in detail in my [book], Barahin-i-Ahmadiyyah. But the similarity to Jesus Christ(as) is more pronounced.
Because of this similarity, this humble one has been sent in the name of Jesus Christ(as), so that the belief connected with the Cross may be banished. I have been sent to break the Cross, to kill the swine. I have come from heaven with angels on my right and left; angels whom God will send, nay, is already sending into willing hearts and this, to help complete my mission. Even if I speak or write nothing, even then the angels who have descended with me will carry on their work. They have maces in their hands, given to them so that they may break the cross and break the idol of man-worship. Maybe the ignorant will ask, what does it mean – this descent of angels from heaven? Let them know it is the custom of God that when a prophet or apostle or saint descends from heaven to reform and restore a people to faith, then angels also descend with him, in his company.
These angels enter human hearts willing and ready. They draw them to virtue and keep drawing them, until unbelief and misguidance disappear and the dawn of belief and righteousness shows its face. As indeed God Almighty Himself says in the Holy Qur’an:
In it – the Night of Power – descend angels and a New Spirit, all by the command of their Lord and charged with every kind of affair. Peace it is, peace – till the rising of the dawn. (Ch.97:Vs.5-6)
The descent from Heaven, that is to say of angels and the Holy Spirit, takes place only when a great human – an elect – draped in vicegerency and blessed with divine revelation, descends upon this earth. The Holy Spirit is specially charged to work for this man. And the angels descend upon willing hearts all over the world. Then wherever there are men of goodwill and ability, the light emitted by this man [(Vicegerent)] descends. The whole world is then under the influence of a pervasive light. Angels enter men’s hearts and set them in the right direction. Love of the One God begins to attract. Simple and straight hearts become charged with the love of and search for truth. The weak are endowed with strength. Everywhere a wind of wholesome change begins to blow. The cause of the reformer beings to prosper? A hidden hand moves men to righteousness. Whole nations begin to feel the push, so much so that the ignorant among men begin to think the world has taken a turn towards the right, all on its own. In reality the change is the work of angels who descend from Heaven along with the vicegerent of God, and lend special strength for the acceptance and understanding of truth. They awaken those who were asleep and alert those who were lost. They give hearing to the deaf, quicken those who were dead, and raise the entombed out of their graves. Then do men suddenly open their eyes and begin to perceive and understand what was hidden from them before. The angels who help the Vicegerent are not beings apart from the Vicegerent. They are the light that shines on his face. They are the many signs and symptoms of his courage and will. This light, that is, these signs and symptoms, draw towards themselves by their magnetic quality men suited to the change. Physical distance may or may not separate them; the men drawn may be friends or complete strangers.
In short the stir towards a new conscience, a new enthusiasm for truth that marks the change, come of the influence emanating from the angels, who descend along with the Vicegerent. It may be the people of Asia or Europe or America. It is angels who move them. This is the law of God. You will find no change in it and it is so easy and simple to grasp. It will be your misfortune if you heed it not. This humble one has come from God with Truth. You will see signs of Truth on all sides. Time is not far, nay it is very near, when you will see angels in troops descend from heaven, moving men in Asia, in Europe and in America.
You know from the Qur’an that angels must descend along with the Vicegerent so that they may turn men’s minds towards the truth. It is better, therefore, that you wait for the appearance of this sign. If no angels descend, and no visible sign of their influence, not a general but a more than ordinary movement towards the truth, takes place, then you may think no one has come from heaven. But if all this comes to pass, beware lest by rejecting the truth you become a people rebellious in the sight of God.
There is a second sign. It is the sign of the bounties of God reserved for His favoured servants: Of these, this humble one has received a large and special portion, and this others may not claim. If you doubt it, then come and contest it openly. Take it for certain that you will never be bold enough to contest it. You have tongues but no heart, you have bodies but no life, eyes but no light. May God endow you with light that you may see.
A third sign is that the Holy Prophet(saw) has mentioned me, this humble one, in his recorded utterances – in the Sihah, for instance. You claim to believe in the Holy Prophet(saw), but you pay no heed to what he has said. Do you not thus reject the Holy Prophet(saw) himself? Maybe this comes of your unconscious hostility to him. Your thinking encourages a rejection of the Holy Prophet(saw)’s utterances, not their affirmation.
Many among you will now write Fatwas [(edicts)] of Kufr [(disbelief)]. Many would have proceeded to assassinate were that possible. It so happens that this Government is different. It is not run by a people easy to provoke, or poor in understanding or tolerance. It does not encourage ‘Jewish’ ways, ‘Jewish’ thinking. True, this Government knows little about true beliefs – their beauties and blessings. But it is many times better than the Government of Herod with whom the Messiah son of Mary had to deal. It is also better than present-day Muslim Governments in providing for security and welfare services, for freedom, for civil rights, for education, for justice through courts and control and punishment of delinquents. There is a significant parallel here. Out of divine wisdom, Jesus(as) was not sent in the time of Jewish supremacy and under Jewish suzerainty. Similar care has been observed by God in the case of this humble one.
If, therefore, there are disbelievers today who dismiss me with derision, there is nothing to be sorry about, for, disbelievers of earlier times meted out to their prophets treatment much worse than this. The Messiah son of Mary was derided and mocked. His own brother, born of the same mother, conspired to have him imprisoned as an insane person. His enemies attempted several times to murder him. He was stoned and spat upon and, of course, put on the cross and, as they thought, put to an end. Yet he survived, his bones had not been broken and a secret believer and well-meaning citizen rescued him. He was raised to heaven after he had lived the remaining years of his life. His followers, companions and friends also proved weak. One of them deserted him for a bribe of thirty rupees, another cursed him, openly pointing at him. The rest, who also professed loyalty, disappeared. They had come to have doubts of various kinds about the Messiah. But he was true in his claim. Therefore, God restored to life his mission after he had died. The resurrection of Jesus(as) as entertained by Christians, is not physical. It is not a resurrection of his person. It is a resurrection of his creed. It was the creed that was resurrected. Similarly did God give me the glad tidings: “I will give you a new life after death.” God also said that the near ones of God come to life again after their death. And He said: “I will show Myself as by lightning. I will show My power by raising you.”
My second life foretold here means the life of my mission and objectives. But there are not many who would understand these secrets. To do so would be to challenge God. True, there are men steeped in darkness or in thoughts of their own. They will not accept. But the time is near when God will make plain to them their error. God has said:
“A warner came into the world but the world accepted him not. God, however, will accept him and manifest his truth by mighty signs.”
These words proceed not from the mouth of man. They are God’s words, words of the Mighty Lord Himself. The mighty attacks mentioned in this prophecy are near.
But these attacks are not by physical weapons, not swords or guns. These are spiritual weapons, which will come as help from God. A battle with the ‘Jews’ of our time will ensue. And who are these ‘Jews’? They are worshippers of external forms who have acquired complete resemblance with the Israelites of yore. The sword of heaven will cut them up, the ‘Jewish’ ways will be destroyed. All those who resemble the Anti-Christ, those who love this world over-much and who have only one eye, having lost the eye for spiritual truth, all of them will be destroyed by the sword of solid, unanswerable arguments. Truth will prevail. A bright new day will dawn again for Islam, as it did before. The sun of Islam will rise in full glory, as it did before. But this will not happen at once. It is imperative that this should not happen until we have proved our worth by devoted hard work, by offering our life-blood, by sacrificing our rest and peace and by accepting all indignities for the dignity of Islam.
The new life of Islam demands a great sacrifice from us. What is this sacrifice? It is our lives: on this sacrifice now depends the life of Islam, the life of Muslims, the manifestation of God in our time. Sacrifice is of the essence of Islam. And this is the Islam that God wants to restore. To bring about this great transformation, it was necessary that God Himself should establish a workshop, adequate and efficient in all respects. So, He Who is Most Wise, Most Powerful, let this workshop come into being by sending this humble one to undertake the work of reforming mankind. This workshop He had divided into several branches, all devoted to the dissemination of truth, the propagation of Islam. Of these branches, one branch is concerned with the preparation of books – one of the tasks assigned to this humble one. To perform this task I have been gifted with special knowledge; knowledge which is not within man’s capacity, which can be acquired only by the Help of God, which comes not through human effort but through the Holy Spirit. Instruction by the Holy Spirit has dissolved our difficulties.
A second branch of this workshop is concerned with the publication of leaflets which, also under divine command and for the satisfaction and conviction of all concerned, has already been undertaken. More than 20,000 leaflets on Islamic truths and arguments have been published. The process is continuing according to the need in the future.
The third branch of this Divine workshop relates to visitors and inquirers, those who choose to travel and come to me in search of truth or for other purposes: they have heard of this workshop and so they come to me. This branch of the work also keeps growing. The pressure of visitors no doubt varies. Not much on certain days, but very much on other days. During the last seven years there could have been about 60,000 or more visitors. God alone knows what I was able to do: talking to those who were eager to listen, helping solve their difficulties and encouraging them in different ways.
Talking to people and answering their questions sometime proves more useful than reaching them through books and leaflets. The method makes for speedy and effective communication. That is why prophets have relied on this method. Prophets have had their revealed teaching recorded and published, so as to reach all and sundry. Whatever else they had to give was in the form of speeches made by them on different occasions and adapted to those occasions. What they received as revelation from God was certainly written down and circulated with special care. But the general custom of prophets has always been to speak to those who would listen and speak appropriately. They keep the needs of their audiences in view. They do not speak like the speakers of today, who speak to show how learned they are, or who speak to delude simple folks into accepting all their bad logic and sophistries – making their own passage to hell so much the easier. No, not thus, but rather in a simple and sincere manner, prophets have communicated whatever happened to move their own hearts. Their speeches are pure and holy, suiting the occasion and fitting the needs of listeners. Nor do they speak only to entertain and amuse. Their approach is the approach of those who find spiritually sick persons around them and who then proceed to counsel these listeners suffering delusions of various kinds. In that case they try to remove these delusions by powerful arguments. Always choosing words economically, putting more meaning in fewer words. This is what this humble one also keeps doing. Visitors and inquirers have their needs and their spiritual ailments. Speeches are adapted accordingly in keeping with their abilities.
this article/book is great