Ahmadiyyat - The Renaissance of Islam — Page 287
THE RENAISSANCE OF ISLAM In the spring of 1943 he stated: 287 I conceive that the war will not now last much longer. In the first half of 1945 it will either come to an end or will have reached a stage when it will become clear to everyone how it is going to end. The foundation for that end will be laid in this year, 1943. But that will not be the end of all this travail. God Almighty will prolong these tribulations till the people who have to take over the govern- ments of the world have been properly trained. In the seventeenth chapter of the Holy Quran it is stated that Moses, peace be on him, and his companion observed a wall that was about to fall down and they repaired it and put it iri good order gratuitously. Their action was prompted by the fact that under the wall there was a treasure belonging to two orphans, and God Almighty desired that the treasure should be safeguarded till they attained their maturity. The present situation is that in this case the treasure that has to be safeguarded can be preserved secure not by repairing a wall but by pulling it down. God Almighty is pulling down these worldly systems gradually and not at one stroke, because those to whom the rebuilding of this structure is to be committed are being trained in the divine academy of engineering and have not yet completed their training. If all the old structures were to be demolished suddenly there would be an hiatus. That is why God Almighty is demolishing these structures gradually. One wall is pulled down today and another is pulled down tomorrow. One roof is blown up today and another is blown up tomorrow. One room disappears today and another disappears tomorrow. In this way gradually and step by step God Almighty is pulling down, ruining and destroying all the structures, all the mansions and all the materials of the world. He does not design the complete ruin of these structures till those who are being trained in the divine academy have completed their training and are ready to take over. This is the way that God Almighty has opened for the progress of our Community. This change is bound to come about one day, but it is approaching gradually so that those who have to take over should be enabled to complete their training. The Khalifatul Masih always worked very hard and never spared himself. At the best of times he was in indifferent health and sometimes his health broke down for weeks and