Ahmadiyya Movement — Page 71
71 ings, but also of blessings, and the greatest proof of his truth is that he leaves behind a community through whom God contin- ues to manifest His signs. So that, if a community whose ac- ceptance of the Truth is likely to further the propagation of the Truth is desirous of witnessing such a sign, then although the Promised Messiah is dead, I am sure God will manifest such a sign, for He is Compassionate unto His servants and ever desires to lead them from the darkness into the Light. After this necessarily brief exposition of the principles of Ahmadiyyat, I desire to convey to those present and through them to all those who dwell in the East and in the West this message. Sisters and brothers, the light of God has shone forth for you, and that which the world had, owing to the lapse of time, come to regard as a romantic tale has appeared before your very eyes. The Glory of God has been made manifest to you through a prophet, whose advent had been foretold by all previous proph- ets from Noah to Muhammad (on whom be peace and the blessings of God), and God has again demonstrated to you the fact that He is not only the God of those that are dead but also of those that are living; and not only the God of those that have gone before, but also of those that shall come after. Accept ye then this Light, and let your hearts be lit up with it. Sisters and brothers, this life is but an episode, and it is wrong to imagine that it is followed by annihilation; there is no such thing as an- nihilation. The soul was not created for annihilation, but for eternal life. From the moment of his birth, man begins to tread along a never-ending path and death is not but a device to quicken his pace. How is it that you who are constantly striving to outstrip each other in small competitions are completely neglecting this huge competition which is for ever proceeding between those that have gone before and those that have taken their place ? Do you not perceive that a. righteous man was raised in the East and God has through him, caused the truth to