Haqiqatul-Wahi (The Philosophy of Divine Revelation) — Page 580
580 HAQIQATUL-WAHI-THE PHILOSOPHY OF DIVINE REVELATION would belong to the House of Ismā'īl (and not to the House of Israel), then the unfortunate Jews would not have gone to Hell on account of their rejecting the Holy Prophet. Similarly, had it been stated in the prophecy concerning Hadrat ‘Īsās in clear words that Prophet Ilyas [Elijah]-whose descent from the heavens was a prerequisite— would be none other than Yahyā [John] himself, son of Zakariyyā [Zechariah], and that no one would descend from the skies, then why would the unfortunate Jews have entered Hell by refusing to accept Hadrat 'Isā? Thus, since the prophecy concerning our own Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was not free from a test-the elucidation of which would have been very beneficial and was very necessary for mankind at large—and people committed mistakes in interpreting even this prophecy, then it is very likely that other prophecies may be misinterpreted too. Similarly, the prophecy about Hadrat 'Isāas was not free from a test and trial. As such, how could the prophecy about the Promised Messiah and Mahdi be free from such trials? Did Prophet Ilyas come back into the world before the Messiah as was the general presumption and belief of the Jewish scholars, and as it-indeed, remains so today? How then is it possible to entertain the hope for the second coming of Hadrat ‘Īsās? The hall- mark of a believer is that once a certain belief has been proven false, they should never mention it again for the rest of their lives. Have the expectations of the Jews about the second coming of Ilyas been fulfilled so that now those of the Muslims should also be fulfilled? [As recorded in a hadith: [ . لَا يُلْدَغُ الْمُؤْمِنُ مِنْ جُحْرٍ وَّاحِدٍ مَرَّتَيْنِ A believer is not bitten from the same hole twice. The truth is that the reality of such immensely glorious prophecies are manifested by the age in which these prophecies are fulfilled. Prior to that, the righteous and God- fearing keep faith in the prophecies of Allah the Exalted, but they leave their details in the care of God. Meanwhile, those who meddle with them beforehand and insist upon their own interpretation are the ones who stumble and make errors.