Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya Part III — Page 17
CHAPTER One 17 2. Internal evidence: These refer to those beauties of form and meaning of the revealed Book, the like of which human powers are utterly incapable of pro- ducing, and which, by being truly matchless and peerless, point to the Unique and Almighty God as though reflecting His very countenance. Matters Relating to the Unseen mean those matters which are pro- claimed by a person with regard to whom it is certain that their expo- sition is, in every respect, beyond his power. That is to say, by looking at these matters and by considering the circumstances of the person in question, it becomes manifestly clear that he could not have acquired the knowledge of those matters either by observation and experience, nor could he have learned them by thought and reflection; nor should it be possible to imagine that he could have obtained their knowledge from one who was familiar with them. However, the same matters may not be beyond the power of another person. This exposition makes it clear that the nature of um u r-e-ghaibiyyah [matters relating to the unseen] is relative and subjective. That is to say, when they are attrib- uted to some particular person they can be considered as matters relat- ing to the unseen, but when they are attributed to some other persons they do not possess this quality. Examples: (A. ) Person Y is born fifty years after the death of Person X, while Person X was born in the present age. Person X is not the contempo- rary of Person Y, nor does Person X have any external means to know about the life of Person Y. For Person Y, the events of his life do not fall under the category of um u r-e-ghaibiyyah because they are part of his own life as he felt and experienced them. However, if Person X were to foretell these events correctly, and in their minutest detail, Person X will be said to have revealed the unseen, for these events were not observed or felt by Person X, nor was it possible for him to know them by some external means.