[I have no power except through God. Lord, make us speak with the truth and reveal the truth to us, and guide us to the manifest truth. Amin, again amin].
A very significant objective before me in writing this epilogue is to record all those matters and revelations that were mentioned briefly in the first four parts [of Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya], or the prophecies that were recorded in those parts, but at that time had not been fulfilled; however, in due course afterwards they came to fruition—to document the incidence and occurrence of all those events in this epilogue, and to discuss the true connotation of those matters whose true purport has since become evident.
Thus, this fifth part is really an exposition of the first four parts, and it was not in my power to give this exposition until God Almighty had provided all the means with His own hand. The promise has been vouchsafed in the revealed prophecies that are recorded in the previous parts that many Signs shall be shown, and there is also the promise that God Almighty shall teach this humble one the truths and verities of the Holy Quran. In those very parts I have been named Maryam [Mary], ‘Isa [Jesus], Musa [Moses], and Adam—indeed, I was given the names of all the Prophets. This mystery, as to why I was so named, was not understood. It was impossible for me to understand all these matters without the ability bestowed by Allah Almighty.
The manifestation of heavenly Signs, in particular, is a matter indubitably above and beyond the range of human power. And the will of God Almighty had decreed a time frame for all these things to transpire, and Part V of this book was meant to be the commentary on these matters. How was it possible, then, for Part V to be penned prior to the unfolding of all the events that were like a commentary for the first four parts. And those events were to be the subject matter of the fifth part. And when the twenty-fourth year of the deferment dawned, the breeze of divine favour shed light from every perspective on all matters that were hidden and veiled in the previous parts of Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya.
On the one hand, the prophecies whose fulfilment was awaited were fulfilled to a large extent. On the other, the insights and verities of the Holy Quran that were to bring knowledge to perfection became abundantly clear. Moreover, the mystery concerning the names of the Prophets—the names of the Prophets that were assigned to me in the previous parts—that laid hidden in the first four parts, became fully elucidated, i.e. as to why God had named me after all the Prophets, may peace be upon them, in the previous parts of Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya, as well as the hidden wisdom of why I was given the names of both ‘Isa, who is the Khatamul-Anbiya’ [Seal of the Prophets] with respect to the Israelite Prophets, and the name of Islam’s Khatamul-Anbiya’ [Seal of the Prophets], which is Ahmad and Muhammad (may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). All these hidden truths were elucidated. And my being named ‘Isa etc. in heaven was the mystery that God had kept hidden, just as He had kept Ashab-e-Kahf [the People of the Cave] hidden for hundreds of years.
It was necessary that all those mysteries should remain sealed up till the Hour comes which had been ordained from the very beginning. And when that hour came and all these things came to pass, then the time arrived to write of the fifth part. It was this very constraint that kept the completion of Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya in abeyance for twenty-three years. These are the mysteries of God which man cannot fathom unless he is informed by Him. Anyone who reads this fifth part will be forced to admit that if this part had been written before these prophecies and other mysteries unfolded, it could not have served as the mirror to reflect the truth of the previous parts; rather, it would have been disjointed and disconnected. Thus, God, who is Wise and the Knower of the unseen, and all of whose actions have a determined time, indeed desired that first all those prophecies and all those truths that had not yet manifested at the time the previous parts were written, should be fulfilled and then the fifth part should be written, so that He should announce the manifestation and completion of all the matters that had hitherto remained secret and hidden. In fact, the point at which the writing of the earlier parts ended left a state of expectancy that could not have been addressed without this kind of Part V.
This was so because a large portion of those four parts comprises prophecies in which news is given that God shall cause such and such things to happen. And until those prophecies were fulfilled, how could anyone appreciate that all those revelations, in which these prophecies are vouchsafed, were from God? It was for this very reason that all my opponents rejected these prophecies. But God did not will that those prophecies be considered false. It was also against the norms of research that, instead of providing the proof of the truth of the previous parts, an unrelated fifth part be penned. It was, therefore, warranted that decree and destiny of God Almighty should have prevented this humble one from writing the fifth part for such a prolonged period till all those prophecies and other matters that laid hidden and concealed in the first four parts should become manifest. So, praise and gratitude is due to God, that in this period, which was twenty-three full years, all those things came to pass and God Himself made all these provisions.
Apart from manifesting these Signs, glorious visions from God revealed to me the truth of Islam and made me comprehend many difficult portions of the Holy Quran. Otherwise, it was beyond my ability to uncover those sublime mysteries on my own. But after the provision of this resource, I became able to write, in the fifth part, the exegesis concerning those precepts from the first four parts, which I could not have written in those earlier times. Once these provisions were granted, I decided that I should first write, in this epilogue, about the truth of Islam, and what Islam means. Then I should write briefly about the sublime and perfect teachings of the Holy Quran, referencing its verses, and demonstrate that the spirit of Islam serves as the focal point for all the verses of the Holy Quran, and all the Quranic verses are revolving around it.
And then after this, I should give an account of the Signs that were to be displayed at my hands—as vouchsafed in the previous parts of Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya—which are a consequence of obedience to the Holy Quran. And following all these, I should write an exegesis on the revelations in which God has named me ‘Isa or has identified me by the names of other Prophets, as well as other revealed pronouncements that He has vouchsafed which require explanation. Thus, in keeping with the above-mentioned requirements, this epilogue has been divided into four parts:
PART ONE—in elucidation of the truth of Islam.
PART TWO—in elucidation of the sublime and perfect teaching of the Holy Quran.
PART THREE—in elucidation of the Signs the appearance of which was promised in Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya; and which God manifested at my hand.
PART FOUR—in explanation of the revelations in which I was named ‘Isa or I was given the names of other Prophets or other revealed pronouncements which He has vouchsafed that merit explanation. God willing, I will now discuss these four parts below in accordance with this delineation.
[I have no power except through God. Lord, make us speak with the truth and reveal the truth to us, and guide us to the manifest truth. Amin, again amin].