The Heavenly Sign — Page 23
23 Sult a n-e-Mashriq as 22 in Hadith; he has to appear in an eastern country, like India; while the country of his origin must be F a ras (Persia). In fact, it is he concerning whom is written in a Hadith that even if faith ascended to the Pleiades, he would bring it back even from there. Yet another sign concerning him is that he will be a farmer. In short, it is a definite and proven fact that several Mahd i s are mentioned in the S i hah Sittah, 23 and one of them will appear in the Eastern countries. But some people have been confused by the amalgamation of these A ha d i th. However, the point which deserves most attention is that the time of advent of one Mahdi as , as foretold by the Holy Prophet sa is the same in which we live, and he has called him the Mujaddid of the 14 th century (Hijra) as, God willing, I shall later elaborate. Anyway, though it is definitely clear that a great Mujaddid will appear in India at the beginning of the 14 th century [Hijra], it is quite arbitrary to declare that this prediction applies to Sayyid Ahmad Sahib, because, as I have already pointed out, Sayyid Sahib did not even live to see the 14 th century (Hijra). Now I will present some verses of Ni‘matull a h Wal i about the Mahdi as of India with comments. 22 The Emperor of the East. [Translator] 23 The six most authentic books of Hadith. [Translator]