The Green Announcement — Page 18
18 revelation, that the boy had served his purpose 8 and would 8 There are two important means through which God sends down His grace and showers His spiritual blessings: (i) He tests people through trails and tribulations, and then opens the doors of His mercy and forgiveness to those who show forbearance and remain steadfast in the face of these trials. He says: (Part 2) * i. e. , It is Our practice that We cause the believers to pass through great trials and tribulations, and We bestow Our grace and mercy to those who persevere and We open for them the paths of progress. (ii) The second means by which God’s grace is manifested is that He sends His Messengers, Prophets, Imams, Saints and Khulaf a , so that people may find the right path through their teachings, and at- tain salvation by following their example. Now, through my progeny, God has willed to use both these means for manifesting His grace. First of all He sent Bashir so that He may bring glad-tidings to those believers who remain steadfast and may fulfil the connotation of his name Bashir [Bearer of Glad-tidings]. For the thousands of believers who, merely for the sake of Allah, shared the sorrow of his death, Bashir became a forerunner and an intercessor from God, and he brought them many hidden blessings. Divine revelation also made it clear that the Bashir who passed away did not come without a purpose, and that his death brought a new life to those who, solely for the sake of Allah, mourned his death and remained steadfast throughout this ordeal. In this manner Bashir be- came an intercessor for thousands of righteous and steadfast people; and the death of this innocent one, who came and went away, will atone for the sins of all such believers. In order to manifest the second method for bestowing His grace, Contd … * Al-Baqarah, 2:156-158 [Publishers]