Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya Part V — Page 345
APPE N DI X to B AR Ā H Ī N-E-A H M ADIY YA — PART F IV E 345 1 َمْوَي ُفُجْرَت ُةَفِجاَّرلا اَهُعَبْتَت ُةَفِداَّرلا Meaning that, on that day the earth will make a severe agitated move- ment, and severe and fierce agitation will develop in the earth, and after that another agitation will develop in the earth which will manifest after the first one. There is no mention of ‘earthquake’ in the explicit words because, according to the lexicons, the word رجفان [ rajf a n ] means ‘severe agitation’. When ُ رَجَف َ الشَّی ْ ء [ rajafa shai’ ] is used, it means اِضْطَرَب َ اِضْطِرَابًا شَدِیْدًا [‘It suffered extreme agitation’]. However, since the earth’s agitation is often due to an earthquake, this is why I have taken ‘earthquake’ as its most probable meaning at this place. Otherwise, it is possible that this agitation may be due to some other calamity and not due to an earth- quake; or the agitation might signify some other calamity. So what I have said before remains true in this instance as well; namely, that this verse too does not conclusively refer to an earthquake, even though the greater probability is that the words تَرجف الرَّاجفۃ [‘will suffer severe agitation’] here does indeed refer to an earthquake. والل ّٰ اعلم [And Allah knows best]. When and where did I interpret the words of my prophecies as not meaning ‘earthquake’? On the contrary, what I have maintained is that probably and preponderantly the word زَلْزَلَة [ zalzalah ] means ‘earth- quake’. And yet it is possible that these words may, in conformity with the eternal practice of God, signify some other such terrible, extraordi- nary, and devastating calamity that has the appearance and character- istics of an earthquake. Metaphors do abound in the discourse of God Almighty, which men of learning do not deny, yet the literal words need to be given precedence, and the explicit words of these prophecies do, indeed, imply an earthquake. The critic has again and again questioned how this can be con- sidered a prophecy when the one making the prophecy has neither 1. S u rah an-N a zi‘ a t, 79:7–8 [Publisher]