An Admonition

I am well aware, based on the age-old experience of the Prophets, may peace be upon them, of the value that will be placed upon the sympathetic message that I desire to convey to my dear countrymen by means of this treatise. To start with, I shall suffer from hearing insults from the maulavis of Islam, the priests of Christianity, and the pundits of Hinduism. I shall be given all sorts of hurtful names. I know only too well that this is bound to happen. But I have given precedence to sympathy for mankind over the consideration of being troubled by widespread abusive language; for, there is a possibility that from among these hundreds of thousands of slanderers, some may emerge who, at a time like this—when a shower of fire is raining down from the heavens and is, indeed, expected to significantly intensify in the winter to come—may read this publication carefully and not be quick to spurn this well-wishing counsellor, and they may try the prescription he offers, because no recompense or remuneration has been sought in return for this sympathy. It is only out of true sincerity and benevolent intentions, and to deliver the people, that a tried and tested measure has been proposed. Hence, as there are people who resort to even drinking the urine of certain animals and making recourse to other abhorrent treatments as a cure for their ills, what harm is there for them to adopt this wholesome remedy to save their lives. Even if they choose otherwise, one day they shall come to know in the course of this rivalry [between different faiths] which faith from among the religions of the world can be established as the intercessor, and be given the honourable title of ‘saviour.’ All people long for the true saviour and possess great love for him. Hence, the days have now come for the identity of the true saviour to be established.

No doubt, I consider the Masih ibn Maryam [Messiah, son of Mary] to be a righteous person, who was better than most1 of the people of his time. Allah knows best. But he was not the true saviour. It is a false attribution upon him that he was the true saviour. The true saviour is, and will remain until the Day of Judgment, he who provides the fruit of salvation and was born in the land of Hijaz, and was commissioned for the salvation of the entire world and for all times, and he has come again now as well, but in the form of buruz [spiritual reflection].

1 Let it be known that when I state that Hazrat ‘Isa [Jesus], peace be upon him, was better than most of the people of his generation, this is a statement by way of goodwill. Otherwise, it is possible that in the time of Hazrat ‘Isa, peace be upon him, there were other righteous ones on God Almighty’s earth who, in their piety and relationship with Allah, were greater and loftier than Hazrat ‘Isa, peace be upon him. For Allah the Exalted has said in regards to him: [surah Al-e-‘Imran, 3:46]. Meaning that, he too was one from among those who were granted nearness to God during his time. This does not prove that he was greater than all those who had been granted nearness to God; rather, it raises the possibility that others in his time were greater than him in this regard.

It is evident that he came only for the Sheep of Israel, and had no relation to any other country or people. Hence, it is possible—and even likely—that some Prophets, who are included among [i.e. those not mentioned by Allah in the Holy Quran, surah al-Mu’min, 40:79] may be better and more exalted than him. In the time of Hazrat Musa [Moses], a man emerged about whom God said: [‘Whom We had taught knowledge from Ourself,’ surah al-Kahf, 18:66]. Now ‘Isa was lesser in rank than Musa, and was a follower of his Law. How then can it be assumed that ‘Isa, who brought no complete law himself but followed the laws of Musa in circumcision, matters of jurisprudence, inheritance, prohibition of swine, etc., was definitely greater than all the righteous ones in his age? Those who have deified ‘Isa, such as the Christians, or those who have idly ascribed divine attributes to him, such as our so-called Muslim foes who are opponents of God, are free to elevate him higher and higher until they raise him to heaven, or seat him on the Throne [of Allah], or proclaim that he too, like God, created birds. When man dispenses with modesty and justice, he says and does as he pleases; but there is no evidence to suggest that the Masih [Messiah] excelled other righteous ones in his time. In fact, it can be supposed that in one respect Yahya [ John the Baptist] possesses a superiority over him in that he did not drink alcohol, nor is it recorded anywhere that a prostitute ever came to him and massaged his head with perfumed oil purchased from her own earnings; or ever touched his body and rubbed it with her hair; or that a young woman who had no relationship with him was placed into his service. For this very reason, God has referred to Yahya and not ‘Isa as [chaste] in the Quran, for such stories stand as a hindrance in the Masih being referred to as such. Moreover, ‘Isa, may peace be on him, repented of all his sins at the hand of Yahya, whom the Christians call Yuhanna [John the Baptist] and who was later identified as [the second coming of] Ilya [Elijah]— and became one of his special followers. This justifiably establishes the superiority of Hazrat Yahya—for it has not been proven that he ever repented at someone’s hand. It is thus clear that he lived a pure and innocent life.

The actual purport of the commonly held belief among the Muslims that ‘Isa and his mother were free from the influence of Satan is misunderstood by the unlearned. The fact of the matter is that those who were corrupt from among the Jews had levied extremely foul allegations against Hazrat ‘Isa and his mother, and would accuse them both of—God forbid—satanic deeds. So it was necessary that they be exonerated. Hence, this statement only means that the indecent allegations that were levelled against the two were false and in this sense they are free from the influence of Satan, and no other Prophet has ever required such an exoneration. —Author