Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya Part V — Page 90
NU S R AT U L- H AQ Q — HE L P OF G OD 90 following, they are merely beating the drum that they have inherited, yet they do not possess an iota of spiritual knowledge based on personal experience. True, some of them hold the absurd belief that although revelation may be received by the pious, there is no way of telling if it is from God or from Satan. Now, it is obvious that a ‘revelation’ that can also be attributed to Satan, cannot be counted among God’s favours that are beneficial to one’s faith. Instead, the dubious nature of such revelations and their resemblance to the words of Satan is a curse that can land someone in Hell. If God has accepted the prayer, 1 َطاَرِص َنْيِذَّلا َتْمَعْنَا ْمِهْيَلَع from any of His servants and has admitted him into the fold of the blessed, then, in keeping with His promise, He must have granted him a portion of the spiritual reward which consists of definitive converse and discourse with Allah. In short, this was the very issue that would have provided an oppor- tunity for the people in this blind world to vent their fury and wrath. So, for a helpless and lonely person like me, the combination of all these factors portended failure. 2 ٭ Indeed, it seemed that I was facing 1. The path of those on whom You have bestowed Your blessings ( S u rah al-F a ti h ah, 1:7). [Publisher] 2. ٭ One difficulty from among the many I faced in inviting people was on account of my claim of being a Messenger, being a recipient of divine revela- tion, and of being the Promised Messiah. It was to express my anxiety in this regard that this revelation was sent down: ًّا ی ًا مَّنْسِ ی ٰذَا وَكُنْت ُ نَسْ ھ َ قَبْل ُّ ْتَنِي ْ مِت ی ٰلَ ی َ جِذْع ِ النَّخْلَة ِ قَال ی ٰ الْمَخَاض ُ اِل ه َ فَاَجَآء The word مخاض [ makh a d ] here means matters that lead to fearful results. And جذع النخلة [trunk of a palm-tree] refers to the people who are descended from Muslims but are themselves only Muslim in name. So the interpretive translation would be, ‘The most painful invitation to the people that would result in his people becoming his mortal enemies led the ordained one to the people who had become dry like the trunk or branch of a palm-tree.