Arba'in — Page 20
20 incline them towards the healing sanctuary of Islam. For when God has entrusted to him the service of proving the beauty and superiority of Islam over all other faiths from every point of view, then it is essential that he be given the knowledge of the virtues and defects of all religions. And he should have an extraordinary ability to understand the opponents and establish conclusive arguments. He should be able to inform the follower of every religion about its turpitudes, prove the excellence of Islam from every angle, and be able to cure the spiritually ill in every way. In short, the future Mu s le h [Reformer], 1 ٭ who would be Kh a tamul-Mu s le hi n [the Seal of Reformers], has been bestowed two essential qualities. One is the guid- ing knowledge, which is indicative of the name Mahdi, which is a manifestation of Muhammadiyyat; that is, knowledge given to him despite being unlettered. Second, being taught the Religion of Truth, which is an indication towards the healing breath of the Messiah. That is, being 1. ٭ Due to many similarities this humble one has been given the title ‘Messiah’. One is indeed that of curing the sick; and the other is swift movement and travel. This indicates that the reputation of this humble one will spread swiftly in the East and the West against all odds, just like lightning appearing from one direction manifests its shine instantly in the other direction as well. God willing, the same will happen in these days. Another meaning of Messiah is to be truthful, and this word is used as the opposite of Dajj a l. The significance of this is that the Dajj a l will try to make falsehood prevail, and the Messiah will strive to make the truth triumphant. Moreover, Khal i fatull a h [ Vicegerent of Allah ] is also called the Messiah, just as the Dajj a l is the Khal i fatush-Shai ta n [ Vicegerent of Satan]. Author