A Present to Kings — Page 38
( 38 ) that the beginning of every century should see the appearance of an inspired reformer. Such was the promise of God vouchsafed to the Blessed Prophet (on whom be peace) and such shall always be the case of Islam. . This evidence is of a kind which no other religion has the power to emulate, because in no other religion save Islam has the door of revelation been left open. Every one of them asserts that the door is now closed and says that such things happened in the past but have ceased to happen now. But if revelation used to be vouchsafed in the past, it ought to be vouchsafed even now, because no attribute of God can ever be defunct. If in those ancient days God used to hold converse with His righteous servants, it is certain that He would hold converse even now, and if He does not hold converse now it would follow that He did not hold any converse even in those olden days. A contrary opinion would oblige us to admit that it was possible that at some future time God's attribute of hearing might also cease to exist and so also the attribute of sight, because if it is possible for one attribute to get defunct the same is possible for the other attributes as well. . In fact, the door of Divine revelation being left open affords a test which the followers of no other religion can face. . Islam is the only champion of this field. No religion can have the temerity of even making a false profession, because it knows that in the ensuing contest the truth will be out. . Up to now thousands of men in Islam have been graced with this privilege, and no age has passed wherein there has not been present among the Muslims some claimant of Divine revelation. In the cemetery of every township inhabited by the. Muslims there may be seen the grave of some holy man or saint who claimed to have been recipient of Divine revelation and to whom, in witness of his truth, God vouchsafed information of secret events. Just as in the matter of the. Shariat (law) of Islam, there are are four recognised Imams (authorities), similarly in the matter of spiritual teachings there are on the one hand the four well-known Imams, viz. , Syed Ab-