Claims and Teachings - Ahmad The Promised Messiah and Mahdi — Page 318
B18 prophecy was to the effect that when the Reformer of the last ages would appear, two signs would be manifested for his sake upon the heavens which have never, been manifested as signs before, viz. , that the moon would eclipse in the month of Earn- zan on the first of its eclipse nights, and the sun in the same month on the middle of its eclipse days* The tradition con- taining this prophecy is accepted by both the Sunnis and tjie Shiahs, and it has been written down in books for more than a thousand years. But when it came to fulfilment in my time, ''. '. no one paid the slightest heed to it. No one accepted me g,s the rightful claimant upon the manifestation of this grand sign. Nay, it made them more insolent and bolder in hurling abuses at me, and I was called a Dajjal, a Kafir and a JSqzzab. The mercy of God manifested a sign, but they did not be/nefiti by it. They did not turn towards me when it was shown -a"nd. '. -' slighted the sign of Grod afc if it were mere trash or treated it indifferently as if it had not been sbowm Thus their insolence and their contempt for me continued to increase until the sign of heaven's wrath appeared upon earth. This sign was the plague and it appeared in accordance with the prophecies utter- ed by the Prophets of Grod. It has been raging in this country for several years, and all mortal efforts to check its progress have signally failed. The appearance of the plague in the last days is also foretold in the Holy Quran in plain words. Thus it says )^. *> k ) & ^ J <*** j ) & "Some time before the end, we would utterly destroy some of the villages and visit others with severe punishment (by send- ing down upon them a severe plague). " (xxii 5&) Similarly on another occasion the Holy Quran says : ^ IV ;^) f^* J^J-% % (Ar JU ) ^ l^. bjy. ^ ^W ) ^) r ^ ^ ; D ) ^ X). J--J. "When-the