Answer to Question No. 3

The objections raised by the Christian gentleman are not three objections, they are, in fact, three misunderstandings which have found their way into his heart through lack of deliberation. To these three misunderstandings we will turn one by one.

The answer to the first misunderstanding is that it is never a distinctive sign of a true Prophet to know everything of the unseen, just like God. It is solely God’s prerogative to possess the knowledge of the unseen in His own right and as a personal attribute. Since time immemorial, men of God have believed the Necessary Being to be the Knower of the unseen, and have believed all other existents to be excluded from this knowledge. That is to say, they believed that God has to be the Knower of the unseen, and that this attribute is the exclusive prerogative of His Being. It is not the prerogative of all existents—whose being is liable to pass into non-existence and non-reality—to share with God this or other such attributes. Just as no one can be the partner of God in His Person, the same prohibition stands in respect of His attributes. Therefore, all other existents are barred from the knowledge of the unseen, regardless of whether they are Prophets or Muhaddathin or Saints. Yes, receiving knowledge of the unseen through Divine revelation has always been the privilege of His chosen ones, and today we find it only in the followers of the Holy Prophet(sa) and in no one else.

It is the way of God that, from time to time, He favours His chosen ones with some of His special secrets, and the bounty of the knowledge of the unseen rains down upon them at the appointed and predetermined time. In fact, those who are truly close to God are tested and recognized by the fact that they are given knowledge of some future events, and some hidden secrets are revealed to them. But all this is not by their own authority and their own choosing, rather these bounties are given to them by the will and choice and authority of God.

It is the practice of the Benevolent One to hear most of the supplications of those who do as He wills, and become solely and wholly His, and are lost in Him, and He also occasionally reveals to them knowledge of His past action or future intention. But they can learn nothing without Divine communication. True, they are close to God, but they are not God. They only understand what they are made to understand, they only know what they are told, they only see what they are shown, and they only speak what they are made to speak; they are nothing in themselves. They only speak when the Supreme Power urges them to speak through revelation, and they only see when it makes them see, and they only hear when it speaks to them. Until God reveals to them something of the unseen, they have no inkling of it. The lives of all the Prophets bear testimony to this fact.

Take the example of the Messiah(as), how he acknowledges his own ignorance and says: But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. (Mark 13:32). He again says: I do nothing of myself (I cannot do anything); but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things. It is not for me to raise anybody to the height of righteousness.1 Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is, God. (Mark)2

In short, no Prophet has ever claimed omnipotence or omniscience. Look at the humble man who is known as the Messiah, and whom ignorant creature-worshippers have taken for God, and see how on every occasion he proved, through his word and deed, that he was but a poor, weak and frail man, possessing no personal good or merit, and in what beautiful words he made his final admission as his life drew to an end. It is written in the Gospels that the Messiah (learning of his imminent arrest) became extremely anxious and grief-stricken, and said to them (his disciples): My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. And he said: Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me.3 That is to say, You are All-Powerful and I am only a weak and humble man. Only You can remove this calamity. And he finally gave up his ghost crying Eli, Eli, lama Sabachthani?, which is translated as: "My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?"4

Now, although the prayer was not heard—for it was irrevocably destined not be heard, and what power would a poor creature have before the definite will of the Creator!—still, upon the hope that it might be accepted, the Messiah(as) took the admission of his humility and submission to the extreme. If he had indeed known beforehand that his prayer would be rejected and would never be heard, would he have gone on praying all night till dawn? And would he still have fervently employed himself and his disciples in this vain exercise? Here the critic would agree that Jesus(as) was sure that only God knew and he knew not.

Likewise, the reason why so many of Jesus’(as) prophecies turned out to be false was his ignorance of matters of the unseen, which caused him to misunderstand and misinterpret Divine prophecies.

For instance, he once said: "In the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye (O my twelve disciples) also shall sit upon twelve thrones." (See Matthew 20:28) But it is evident from the same Gospel that Judas Iscariot ended up being deprived of the throne. Though he heard the prophecy that he would sit on the throne, this is not what was destined for him. The question is, if Jesus(as) had truly known beforehand that this man was going to become an apostate and that his end was going to be an evil one, why did he make him the false promise that he would sit on a throne? Similarly, Jesus once saw a fig tree from a distance and went to it so that he could eat some figs, but when he found not a single fig on the tree, he became extremely annoyed and cursed the tree in anger, which had no effect on the tree. If he indeed possessed knowledge of the unseen, he would never have gone up to a barren tree to eat its fruit.

On another occasion, when a woman happened to touch his cloak, he looked around and asked who had touched him. Had he possessed even a little knowledge of the unseen, it would not have been a great matter to know who had done it. On yet another occasion, he prophesied that men of his generation would not pass away without witnessing all that he had promised, (i.e., his second coming, the falling of the stars, etc.) But no stars fell on earth from heaven, nor did Jesus(as) come to sit in judgement over men, even though his own century went by, and eighteen more centuries have gone by since, and even the nineteenth century is coming to an end.

These few testimonies—which have been drawn from the four Gospels themselves—are enough to prove that Jesus(as) did not possess any knowledge of the unseen. The same is true of other Hebrew Prophets. No doubt, Jacob(as) was a Prophet, but he remained unaware of what was happening to his son in a wilderness in his own village. Daniel(as) knew nothing of dreams and their interpretations, until God Himself revealed to him the meaning of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. It becomes clear from this study that when a Prophet professes ignorance of a certain matter, and says that only God knows about it, he is right in saying so. It is in keeping with his dignity as a Prophet, and in it lies his pride of being a humble man of God. This, in fact, further raises his status in the eyes of his Merciful Master, and does not in any way detract from his status as a Prophet. If anyone should want to know what share the Holy Prophet(sa) had of the knowledge of the unseen which is revealed by God, I am prepared to produce strong arguments to prove that the prophecies of the Holy Prophet(sa) are a thousand times greater, both in quantity and quality, than the prophecies of all Prophets of the Old and New Testaments put together. These prophecies have been detailed in the books of Hadith, which have been compiled with great care. The Quranic description of these prophecies, though brief, is quite satisfactory and effective. What is more, Muslims do not live by old tales alone, as do the followers of other religions. In every century, Muslims have told followers of other religions that these blessings are ever-present in Islam, and even today Muslims continue to invite them to come and test this claim before they accept it, but they do not pay heed. God’s argument has been completed against them, for we invite them and they do not come; we show them but they refuse to see; they have completely turned away their eyes and ears from us lest they should hear and see and be guided.

The critic’s second misunderstanding—that the Holy Quran has given an inaccurate account of the number of the People of the Cave—is a mere assertion. The critic does not say why this account is wrong and, as against this, what is the correct account. Nor does he advance any arguments so that they may be analyzed and answered to satisfaction. If the critic had any objection to the Quranic text, he ought to have given his reasons, for, it does not behove a seeker after truth to reject something without giving any reason for it.

The third misunderstanding which has arisen in the mind of the critic relates to the Holy Quran’s account of a king (whose travels have been described in the Quran), who, during his travels, came to a place where he saw the Sun setting in a murky pool. Treating the metaphor as a literal expression, the Christian gentleman asks how it could be possible for the Sun, which is so big, to hide in a small marshy pool? This objection is akin to saying, 'The New Testament describes Jesus(as) as the lamb of God. How can this be possible, when a lamb has horns on its head, and wool on its skin, and walks like quadrupeds with its head down, and eats what they eat.' My dear sir, from where and from whom did you learn about the Holy Quran claiming that the Sun actually hid in a marshy pool? The Holy Quran merely reproduces the perception of the traveller, and says that, to his eyes, the Sun appeared to be setting in a marshy pool. Hence, the description here is of what the man saw, and how he came to a place where the Sun did not appear to be setting behind a hill or a habitation or behind some trees, as is commonly observed, but to be setting into a marshy pool. The meaning is that there were no habitation, no trees and no hills, nor was there any sign of these things as far as the eye could see; there was only a marshy pool into which the Sun seemed to be setting.

Look at the context of the verses carefully, do you find any scholarly research? All you find is the account of a man travelling far and wide, and the purpose of all the description is to show the kind of wilderness in which he found himself. Trying to relate all this to astronomy is simply taking things out of context.

For instance, if someone says that overnight the sky had become so clear and cloudless that the stars seemed to shine like dots, will you start arguing with him and ask how can stars be as small as dots, and will you start quoting from books of astronomy? If you do, you will be acting foolishly, for the speaker never intended his statement as a literal fact, all he was doing was expressing himself in a metaphor, just as all people do. O, you who eat the flesh of Christ and drink his blood during the Holy Communion, are you unaware of the use of metaphors and symbolic expressions? Who does not know that in the language of every country there is a wide room for the use of symbols and metaphors. Divine revelation also makes use of the same metaphors and symbols which common people have innocently adopted in their everyday speech.

It is not the way of Divine revelation to abide by abstruse philosophical terms at every place and occasion. Since the revelation is addressed to the masses, it is important that it should speak in their own idiom and according to their own understanding. There is, no doubt, a time and place for speaking in terms of fact and scientific detail, but it is impossible for a man to simply abandon the use of metaphors and figurative speech when his first and foremost duty is to speak to the common man at his own level, so that they may understand and their hearts may be moved by his words. Admittedly, there is no revealed book which has distanced itself from the use of metaphors and symbols, or has considered this practice to be wrong. Has there ever been such a revealed book? If we reflect, we will find that in our own speech we make use of hundreds of metaphors and idioms everyday, and no one finds fault with them. For instance, when one says, "The first moon is fine as a hair", or, "The stars are like dots", or, "The moon is hiding in a cloud", or, "Though three morning hours have passed, the Sun has risen no higher than a pole", or when we speak of having eaten a plate of pilau or having drunk a glass of sherbat; on hearing all these expressions, no one wonders how the moon of the first night can be as thin as a hair, or how the stars can be as small as dots, or how the moon can hide behind a cloud, or how can the Sun—which is so fast that it covers thousands of miles a day—travel no more than the length of a pole in the span of three hours; nor can eating a plate of pilau or drinking a glass of sherbat, lead anyone to think that the plate and glass have also been swallowed; rather, everyone would understand that only the rice and water contained in them have been consumed. Even an opponent, if he is wise, will not like anyone to object to things that are so obvious. I have myself heard from some fair-minded Christians that people who raise such objections are either totally ignorant or completely biased.

When the same metaphors and idioms have been used in Divine revelation, would it be fair to take them literally and to make them a target of criticism? In such a case, not a single Divine Scripture would escape unscathed. Do not sailors, when travelling in a ship or a steamer, observe, day after day, the spectacle of the Sun rising from water and setting into water? And do they not describe its rising and setting to one another exactly as they see it? If, during such a discussion, one was to start countering them with arguments relating to astronomy and the solar system, he would only be inviting the retort, "You fool, are you the only one who knows of these matters, and do you think we are ignorant?"

Though the Christian critic has tried to find fault with the Holy Quran, he has ignored the writings of the New Testament, which genuinely attract such criticism. For example, it is written in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark that you will see the Messiah coming to judge mankind when the Sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give its light, and the stars shall fall from heaven.5 Here, the same science of astronomy presents us with the problem of how the stars can fall upon the earth and break into pieces and get lodged in some nook of the earth, and yet mankind should survive and emerge unscathed, regardless of the fact that the falling of even a single star is enough to destroy all its inhabitants. Another point worth considering is how, when the stars have fallen on earth and have wiped out all earthly creatures, will the words of Jesus, 'You shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven,' come true? Who will witness the descent of Jesus when mankind shall be lying dead under the debris of thousands of stars? How will the earth itself remain secure and firm in its orbit, when its own survival is dependent upon the gravity of the stars? And who shall be the chosen ones (mentioned in the Gospels) whom Jesus(as) will gather together from the farthest parts of the earth, and whom shall he warn and reprove, while the falling of stars necessitates universal death and destruction, and would, in fact, turn the earth upside down. Just consider, do the above statements not go against the science of astronomy? The New Testament attracts yet another objection from the same point of view: It is written in the Gospel of Matthew, "And lo, the star, which they (the Magi) saw in the East, went before them till it came and stood over where the young child was." (2:9)

Will the Christians kindly tell us, in the light of astronomy, the name of the wonderful star that moved along with the Magi. What kind of movement was it, and to which laws did it conform? I cannot see how the Gospel of Matthew can escape criticism from astronomers. Some Christians get frustrated and respond: "These are not the words of Jesus at all. They are only the words of Matthew, and we do not consider Matthew’s statements to be the revealed word." What an answer! It completely exposes the true nature of the New Testament as a revealed book! Even if we accept, for the sake of argument, that these are not the words of Jesus(as), and are in fact the words of Matthew or someone else, Jesus’ own statement (which is believed to be the revealed word and regarding which I have just raised an objection) is of a similar nature and spoken in the same style. Let them at least try to conform his statements the laws of astronomy! And if this statement is not a revealed one, and is only a man-made addition in the New Testament, then why do you claim that each and every statement of the Gospels you possess is the revealed word? Why do you not proclaim, clearly and unambiguously, that, apart from the little that came from Jesus’ own mouth, everything else in the Gospels was written by their compilers according to their own way of thinking and in their own wisdom and understanding, and it cannot be considered free of errors. This concept, as I have learnt from the everyday writings of clergymen, is now being expressed publicly. It is now being commonly admitted that the miracles which the Gospels mention as historical facts, are not the revealed word, but have been written by the compilers of the Gospels in view of their own surmise, hearsay, or whatever they learnt from external sources. With this admission, the clergymen have sought to deflect much of the criticism that is levied at the Gospels, and they now admit that about nine-tenth of the Gospels is the word of man and only one-tenth revelation. One of the many losses they have incurred due to this admission is that they have forfeited the miracles of Jesus(as), and no longer have any evidence to prove them. Although the Gospel writers have recorded Jesus’ miracles as historical facts, his own unsullied account, which is called the 'revealed word', appears not only to be at odds with their account, but presents quite the opposite picture. Jesus(as), in his own statements that are known as 'revealed', has often refused to show any miracles, and clearly refused to show miracles to those who demanded them. Even Herod, when he asked Jesus(as) for a miracle, was not shown any. Many other people also wanted to see his signs and asked him to show them, but he declined and could not do so. So much so, that he prayed to God all night for the sign that he should remain safe from the hands of the Jews, but even this he was not granted, and his prayer went unheard. Then, after he had been put on the cross, the Jews, in all sincerity, said that they would all believe in him if he could only come down alive from the cross, But even this he could not do. It is clear from these instances that, as far as the revealed text of the Gospels goes, Jesus was not a man of miracles. Any statements, which might lead us to think that Jesus(as) showed some miracles, are in fact multi-faceted and admit of more than one interpretation. There is no reason whatsoever to take them literally, or to stretch their meaning so far as to associate them with the miracles related by the writers of the Gospels on their own authority. There is not a single statement uttered by Jesus(as) himself, which manifestly proves the occurrence and existence of those miracles. On the contrary, his own emphatic statements show that not a single miracle was ever manifested by him.6

I cannot understand why Christians do not trust Jesus’ own 'revealed' words. Why do they rely upon other statements and stretch them more than they deserve, when, according to their own admission, they are not revealed, and have been included in the Gospels as historical narratives, and are altogether unconnected with revelation, and are completely at variance with the revealed statements. Hence, when the revealed and un-revealed statements are completely at odds with one another, the only way to resolve the incompatibility is to consider the un-revealed statements to be unreliable and mere exaggerations by the Gospel writers. The fact that they did exaggerate here and there is quite apparent, as we find in the last verse of John, with which the Holy Gospel ends. It reads:

"And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written."

Can exaggeration go any further? Is the world, which contains all the wonders of heaven and earth, unable to accommodate a description of what Jesus did during three or so years of his life! Who will give credence to the statements of people who make such exaggerations!

Hindus have written similar books regarding their Avatars. With cunning and deception, they too have built an edifice of lies. They too were influenced by these fabrications, and from one end of the country to the other, their hearts became filled with Ram and Krishna. Books which are replete with fabrications are like tombs that are made to look bright and shiny from outside, but contain nothing within. How is it possible for people to know the truth about these books, while they were born several hundred years later, and made to believe that these books are so holy and pristine as though they have only just descended from heaven. How can they know how these books were compiled? Few are the eyes that can cut through the veils, and fathom the truth, and catch the culprit; and countless are the souls that are liable to fall under the spell of falsehood. This is what has caused a whole world to go astray and many more continue to go the same way. These ignorant people have not considered the important question of evidence or lack of evidence, and have chosen not to be cautious of the natural tendency to contrive and scheme, which has been witnessed in mankind from time immemorial, and have thus allowed themselves to be trapped in this satanic snare. Like an evil alchemist who takes a thousand coins from a simpleton and promises to turn them into gold worth a million or two, these cunning people have deprived the ignorant of their true and pure faith and have assured them of false piety and false blessings which have no practical existence, nor any evidence. In the end, they have made their people worse than themselves, in wickedness, deceit, world-love and pursuit of their baser self.

Remember, even a fragment of evidence given by the Holy Quran with regard to the miracles and prophecies shown by the Holy Prophet(sa), is a thousand times more substantial than the evidence of a mountain of Gospels regarding the miracles and prophecies of the Messiah(as). Why? Because, according to the statements of Christian scholars themselves, the Gospels are only the words of the disciples. What is more, the accounts have not even been witnessed by the disciples first hand, nor do they provide any link of how they learnt of these events, nor even do they claim to have personally witnessed them. On the other hand, whatever is written in the Holy Quran regarding the miracles of the Holy Prophet(sa), is the testimony of the Holy and Truthful God Himself. Even a single verse would have been enough, but—God be praised—the Holy Quran is full of such testimonies. Just think of the difference: there is the testimony of God on the one hand—which admits of no lies—and, on the other, we have uncorroborated tales and testimonies that are replete with exaggerations.

7

There is nothing strange about these fabrications; such things have happened before and continue to happen to this day. Christians themselves admit that, in their early period, many people wrote books in which they described the astonishing feats of their elders, and ascribed them to God. In due course, it was even claimed that these books were from God.8

Now, since it has been the ancient practice of Christians and Jews to indulge in such fabrications, there is no reason why Matthew and the other Gospels should be made an exception of. Much like the accounts of a money-lender, which reveal their hidden secrets through obvious discrepancies and errors, the mischief which the four Gospels ventured to conceal is also revealing itself. It is for this reason that serious misgivings have been born in the minds of discerning people in Europe and America. They would much prefer to remain atheists, than to believe in the god presented by the Gospels, who is inconsistent, imperfect and made of flesh and bone. A learned American friend of mine has informed me through various letters that there is hardly an intellectual in those countries who considers the Christian religion to be unflawed, and who would not be willing to accept Islam. And though the Christians have brought out interpolated and blemished translations of the Holy Quran in Europe and America, the light which is inherent in the Holy Quran is still casting its influence on pure hearts. There is great enthusiasm among the people of Europe and America, and they have been thrown into confusion by the false doctrines of the New Testament. Some of them have even begun to say that there was no actual person called the Messiah or Jesus, and that he only stands for the Sun, while the twelve disciples stand for the twelve Constellations.

Again, the fact which exposes the reality of the Christian faith more than anything else, is that none of the signs of a true believer, mentioned by Jesus(as), are to be found amongst its people. Jesus(as) said: If you follow me you will receive every blessing and acceptance just like me, and you too will be granted miracles and signs of acceptance, and the sign of your true faith will be that you will have the power to show miracles and signs of every kind. Whatever you wish will be done for you, and nothing will be impossible for you.

But of these blessings, Christians possess nothing. They know nothing of the One God, Who hears the prayers of His favoured servants, and answers them instantaneously with His mercy and affection, and does for them many wonderful things. But true Muslims—who are heir to the righteous ones who passed before them—do recognize this God and witness the signs of His mercy. They stand as distinct from their opponents, as the Sun is distinct from darkness. I have said time and again that this claim is not without foundation. A true religion can be distinguished from a false one by a heavenly distinction as well as an earthly distinction. The earthly distinction is the distinction that is made through human reason, human conscience and the laws of nature. When Christianity and Islam are judged by this standard, it becomes clear that Islam is the religion whose principles are free from all artificiality or affectation. Its injunctions are neither unnatural nor artificial, and there is nothing in them that one has to be forced into accepting, as God Himself has said time and again. The Holy Quran only reminds us of the true philosophy of nature and its verities, unlocks for us its hidden secrets, and does not present anything that is opposed to nature; it rather reveals to us its subtleties and profundities.

On the other hand, the Christian teaching, which is attributed to the Gospels, presents an entirely new and strange 'God', on whose suicide depends man’s salvation from sin and chastisement, and on whose suffering depends his happiness, and on whose disgrace and humiliation depends his honour. It is further said that he is such a strange 'God' that he lived a part of his life free from a body and its imperfections, while in the second part, (owing to some unknown misfortune), he became forever confined to the fetters of embodiment and its limitations. Flesh, bone, etc., became essential for his soul, and, because of this incarnation which is to stay with him for all times to come, he had to undergo all kinds of afflictions, under whose unbearable burden he finally died. He came back to life, but was again captured by the same body, which shall keep him forever, and he will never be able to free himself from it.

Can a true nature accept this doctrine? Can a pure conscience testify to it? Can even a part of the law of nature justify that God—Who is perfect and free from all weaknesses and shortcomings—should fall into such a calamity and misfortune, that He has to die for the salvation of His creatures whenever He creates a new universe; and that He cannot express His attribute of beneficence, nor can He do any good for His creation in this world or in the hereafter without committing suicide!

If it is indeed necessary for God to die in order to bestow mercy on His creatures, it necessitates that He must always face the calamity of death, and He must have tasted countless deaths before. It also necessitates that, like the Parmeshwar of the Hindus, His attributes must have been suspended. Just think! Can God be so humble and weak that He should be unable to do any good for His creation without first committing suicide? Can such weakness and helplessness befit the Almighty God? What was the result of the death of the Christian god? Nothing. Their god died, but Satan and his workshop remained unaffected. The same Satan and his friends are present today as they were before. The same crimes—theft, robbery, adultery, murder, fraud, drinking,9 gambling, world-worship, infidelity, unbelief, polytheism, atheism, and countless other sins—which had existed before the crucifixion of the Messiah, exist to this day with the same, nay, greater intensity.

For instance, at the time when the god of the Christians was still alive, they were in a much better state, but as soon as he was overtaken by death—which is known as the Atonement—Satan took control of them in an amazing manner, and countless doors of sin, transgression and egotism were opened for them. The Christians themselves acknowledge this fact. Reverend Pfander, author of Mizanul Haq, says that it was on account of the abundance of sin, inner immorality, and the general spreading of wickedness and debauchery among the Christians, that Muhammad(sa) was sent to punish them. It becomes evident from this discourse that the flood of sin and transgression overtook the Christians after the Messiah’s crucifixion. This also shows that the purpose of the Messiah’s death was not to slow down the surge of sin. For instance, if people had indulged in a lot of drinking and adultery before his death, or had been confirmed world-worshippers, all such sins should have vanished after his death. [But this is not what happened], for it requires no evidence to realize that all the drinking, world-worship and adultery rampant these days, particularly in the countries of Europe, was also rampant before the death of the Messiah. In fact, no one can prove that even a thousandth part of the sinfulness and debauchery had existed then. Besides, when we study the Gospels, it becomes quite clear that Jesus(as) had never wanted to be apprehended and beaten and to be put on the cross by the Jews. For if this was his desire, then why would he have cried all night and prayed for the calamity to be averted, and why did he keep crying and praying: "Abba, Father, all things are possible unto Thee; take away this cup from me." The fact is that the Messiah was apprehended unawares and against his will, and to his last breath he kept crying and praying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" That is to say, "My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?"10

This shows that the Messiah wanted to live and stay in this world for some more time, and his soul was in extreme anguish that his life may be spared. But he had to undertake this journey against his will. We also need to see what the Messiah achieved by dying for his people in the manner suggested by the Christians, and how did this benefit his people? Had he lived, he would have brought about a great transformation among them, and would have removed their weaknesses. But what did his untimely death achieve? It only brought about every kind of mischief, and caused such corruption that led a whole world to ruin. No doubt, brave people do lay down their lives for the good of their people, and put themselves in danger to save them, but not in the absurd and foolish manner that is ascribed to the Messiah. Anyone who prudently lays down his life, or puts it in danger for the sake of his people always chooses the best and most advantageous of all the available options. Even if it causes suffering to him or costs him his life, it still ensures that his people will be saved from the calamity. But one who commits suicide by hanging himself, or swallowing poison, or jumping into a well, and thinks that his suicide will do some good for his people, can only be a fool. No wise or virtuous person can do such a thing. Such a death is, in fact, completely unlawful, and only a very stupid or ignorant person ever desires it. I say truly that the death of a perfect man, who possesses will and determination, can never be good for his people, it is rather a great tragedy and an occasion to lament—except in special situations whereby it is necessary for a man to court death in order to save many other lives. And if a person, who is a source of great benefit for God’s creatures, decides to commit suicide, he will be guilty of a great sin against God, and will be held more accountable than other such sinners. Perfect men, therefore, are under obligation to pray to God for a long life, so that they are able to do for mankind all the great things that they are motivated to do. The death of a mischievous person, on the other hand, is better for himself as well as for mankind, because with his death the account of his mischief stops swelling, and mankind does not have to suffer his daily torments anymore. If it is asked, which of the Prophets put himself in the greatest danger in order to manifest the Glory of God, and who among them was most willing to sacrifice himself for his people at times of genuine need and through reasonable means—was it Jesus(as) or some other Prophet, or was it our Chief and Master Muhammad(sa)—I regret to say that it is not possible for me, in this short article, to say how passionately I wish to present the luminous arguments, manifest signs, and historical testimonies with which I am eager to answer this question. But, if life permits, I will write a separate book on this subject. Now let me just briefly give the glad-tiding that the Perfect Man, who was ever ready to sacrifice himself for his people and for all mankind, is none other than our Holy Prophet(sa).

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I have more or less explained the earthly difference between a true religion and a false one. In other words, I have written some of the points that can be decided through the use of reason and conscience. But there is another distinction disclosed to us by heaven. It is also a very important distinction, and it is so important that it is not possible to distinguish truth from falsehood without it. The distinction is that the true follower of a true religion enjoys a special relationship with God, becomes a reflection of the Prophet he follows, and serves as a mirror for the latter’s spiritual powers and blessings. Just as a grandson is also called son because of the son’s intermediary link, similarly, the person who is nourished under the benign influence of a Prophet and in his submission, is treated with the same favours and blessings that are bestowed on the Prophet himself. Just as signs are granted to a Prophet, so are his true followers given special signs to increase their Divine knowledge. Such people serve as living signs for the truth of the religion in whose support they have appeared. God supports them from heaven, hears most of their prayers, and informs them of their acceptance. They do have their share of calamities, but these are not meant to destroy them; they are only meant to show signs of special Divine power in their support. They receive honour after they have been disgraced, and are given life after they are dead, so that the extraordinary works of God are manifested in them.

A subtle point that needs to be remembered in this context is that prayers are accepted in two ways: As a trial, or as a favour. Even the prayers of sinful, disobedient and unbelieving people are at times accepted in order to try them; but this does not signify true acceptance, it is, in fact, a kind of test or trial. But for a prayer to be accepted as a favour, the person who prays must be among the chosen ones of God, and should manifest all the blessings and signs that accompany such people. For, God never truly accepts the prayers of disobedient people, He only hears the prayers of those who are righteous in His eyes and follow His commandments. Therefore, the distinction between the acceptance of prayer as a trial, and its acceptance as a favour, is that the former does not require a person to be righteous and a friend of God, nor does it necessitate that God, having accepted the prayer, should grant tidings of its acceptance through His specific communication, nor do these prayers relate to such lofty matters that their acceptance should be regarded as wonderful or extraordinary. On the other hand, prayers which are accepted as a favour, possess the following visible signs:

1. The one who prays is God-fearing, righteous and perfect.

2. He is informed of the acceptance of his prayers through Divine word.

3. Most of the prayers that are accepted are of a very high order and relate to difficult and complicated matters, and their acceptance, when it comes, strikes everyone as something beyond the power of man, and a manifestation of extraordinary Divine power which He displays only for His chosen ones.

4. Whereas the acceptance of prayer by way of trial is a rare phenomenon, the acceptance of prayer as a favour is quite a frequent one. At times, a person whose prayers are heard by way of favour, is engrossed by such grave difficulties that no one in his place could have escaped them except by committing suicide. This is exactly what happens: people who worship the world, and have forsaken God, are at times afflicted by such terrible woes and diseases and insoluble problems, that their own lack of faith makes them despair of God, and they end up taking some poison, jumping into a well, or shooting themselves. But, at such critical moments, God helps the favoured ones in a most wonderful and extraordinary manner. Divine grace comes to their rescue in such an amazing way that an intimate friend instinctively testifies that this man enjoys Divine support.

5. The one whose prayer is heard as a favour is the focus of Divine blessings, and God takes care of all his affairs. The light of Divine love, the abandoned loftiness peculiar to the accepted ones, and signs of spiritual ecstasy and bounty are all evident on his face, as Allah says:

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Let it be known that the status of being loved, accepted and befriended by God—some signs of which I have briefly mentioned—can never be achieved without following the Holy Prophet(sa). If a Christian or an Arya or a Jew wants to display the signs and blessings of acceptance, as against a true follower of the Holy Prophet(sa), let him know that he can never do it. A very clear method of putting these things to the test is that a Christian, or anyone else for that matter, should enter a contest with a righteous Muslim who truly follows the Holy Prophet(sa), and should declare: 'Whatever signs appear from heaven for your sake, or whatever secrets of the unseen are revealed to you, or whatever support you are granted by way of acceptance of prayers, or whatever Divine wonders are manifested for your honour and glory, or whatever exceptional rewards are promised to you by way of prophecy, or whatever warnings are conveyed to you regarding your antagonists who cause you pain, in respect of all these, I, too, shall display whatever you display.'

Let me tell you that it is beyond the power of any antagonist to enter such a contest, and no one will ever come forward for such a challenge, for their own hearts testify to their falsehood. They have nothing to do with the true God, Who helps the righteous and befriends the truthful, as I have already explained to some extent.

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