How to be Free from Sin — Page 8
8 The Promised Messiah is to appear in two phases. The first will be unremarkable, accompanied by all kinds of tribulations. This will be followed by a period of glory, before which a minaret must be built to comply with the Tradition which says that the physical minaret will be a reflection of the spiritual one. The world will not recognize him before his glorious ad- vent, for he will not be of the world, nor will it love him, for it does not love God from Whom he will have come. He must face trials and persecution, and aspersions must be cast upon him; indeed, Islamic prophecies foretell that the Promised Messiah will initially be rejected, and igno- rant people will make mischief against him. They will attack him unjustly and think that they have acted piously, and others shall torment him and consider their actions pleasing to God. Thus will he be subjected to every kind of tribulation, until the time of his glorious advent which has been preordained by God. People with willing hearts will then reflect: 'What kind of an impostor is this who cannot be subjugated? Why does God help him instead of us?' An angel of God will thereupon descend upon their hearts and admonish them: 'Is it necessary that all the prophecies found in your Traditions should be fulfilled, and is this what hinders you [from accepting the Promised Messiah]? Is it not possible that these prophecies may be prone to error or misinterpretation, and is it not permissi- ble to view some of them as metaphorical? Were the Jews not deprived of faith and fortune because they waited in vain for the literal fulfilment of all their prophecies ac-