An Introduction to the Hidden Treasures of Islam — Page 301
301 This leaflet ( Eik Ghala ti K a Iz a lah ) marks a very great change in the Promised Messiah as ’s conception of prophethood; and in view of the later schism brought about among the community by the Lahore seceders it would not be out of place to throw here some light upon the significance of this change. For the previous ten years , the Promised Messiah as had been assuring the world that he did not lay any claim to prophethood and now in this leaflet he definitely declared that he was a prophet of God. This was due to the simple fact that the Promised Messiah as ’s conception of prophethood had undergone a change. In the al- H akam, no. 29, v. 3, 1899, a letter written by the Promised Messiah as is published in which he says that in Isl a mic terminology prophet and messenger imply that “they bring a perfect Shar i ‘ah (Law) or cancel some of the edicts of the previous Shar i ‘ah or they are not called the followers of the preceding prophet and keep in touch with God directly without receiving any benefit from any other prophet. ” But in this leaflet, Eik Ghala ti K a Iz a lah , he emphatically declared that it was not necessary for a prophet to bring any new Shar i ‘ah. He declared that, according to the Divine term, prophethood only implies to the making of numerous prophecies about the future which are fulfilled. (See Chashma’-e-Ma‘rifat p. 325; Al-Wasiyyat p. 12; Lecture Sialkot , pp. 17, 18, etc) It is clear that the two views are not identical. The Promised Messiah as himself indicates that this change in his conception of prophethood was prompted by God. He says: “In the beginning I believed that I had no comparison with Jesus, son of Mary, he was a prophet and one of the chosen ones of God. If there was anything indicating my superiority, I considered it as a minor and partial phase. But when revelation from God poured upon me like rain, I could not keep this belief, as I was clearly given the title of a prophet in one respect, and in the other an ummat i. ”