Haqiqatul-Wahi (The Philosophy of Divine Revelation) — Page 711
A SHINING SIGN-SIGN NUMBER 198 711 prophecy was that in his book Andrūna-e-Bible he had used the name dajjal for the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. Then, in the presence of some sixty or seventy persons, about half of whom were Christians, he, adopting an attitude of extreme fear and humility, with both his hands on his ears and his tongue hanging out, announced, 'I have certainly not called the Holy Prophet the Dajjal. Later it was learnt by reliable means that he continued to cry for as many as fifteen months. God Almighty also informed me through His revelation that the prophecy had caused him a grave shock and he had become as if insane and his heart was impressed by the great- ness of Islam and he completely ceased being insolent and abusive. Furthermore, and beyond all these things, he did not dare to declare on oath that he still held fast to the Christian faith even though he had been offered a cash reward of 4,000 rupees. Oath taking is not only permissible in the Christian faith, but it is also obligatory under certain conditions, and to conceal such a thing is clearly mischievous and a sign of faithlessness. Haḍrat Īsā himself took an oath as did Paul and Peter. All these facts constitute evidence of his recantation and should suffice for a fair-minded person. Furthermore, had there been no evidence in support of his recantation, for me it was sufficient that God Himself had informed me of his recantation. Nevertheless, he died six months after my last public announcement relating to this matter. Thus, as this prophecy was conditional and signs of the fulfilment of the conditions precedent had become visible, it is not correct for any God-fearing per- son to continue raising objections by shedding all regard for decency and shame. The fact of the matter is that it is a universally accepted doctrine that prophecies presaging chastisement are conditional even if no condition is specifically mentioned therein. They can be averted because they consist of a warning of punishment for a guilty one. God, who is the True Master, can avert any punishment He Himself pre- scribes if someone repents and seeks forgiveness. For instance, He for- gave the people of Prophet Yūnus [Jonah]. All Prophets agree on this. As Allah the Exalted, Himself says: