The Essence of Islam – Volume V — Page 77
Lekh Rām 77 remain in this connection, I consider such a presumption to be premature. . I freely admit and reiterate that if, as the critics believe, this prophecy results in some ordinary fever or he [Lekh Rām] suffers a little pain or a bout of Cholera, after which he fully recovers, it will not be considered a prophecy, rather it will amount to fraud and deception, for no one is free from such illness and we all fall sick at one time or the other. In such a situation, I will still deserve the punishment that I have stated. But if this prophecy manifests itself in such a way that the signs of Divine wrath are clearly and openly witnessed, then let it be known that it is from God. The fact is that the inherent greatness and awe of a prophecy does not require that the time and day [of its fulfilment] should be fixed, and it is enough to set a time limit within which the punishment will come. When a prophecy actually reveals itself with appalling awe, it automatically draws hearts towards itself, and all the conjecture and criticism that prematurely take root in the hearts are so vanquished that people who possess judicious and sound judgement retract their previous ideas and are ashamed of them. . Moreover I too am subject to the laws of nature. If I published this prophecy as a hoax, merely on the basis of presumptions and with some common ailments in mind, then the person who is the focus of the prophecy can likewise make a prophecy concerning me, based on similar presumptions. I am quite willing