Invitation to Ahmadiyyat — Page 117
117 among humans by a flea that rises from the earth, the same name has been given to it by the Holy Quran. This plague is not an ordi - nary pestilence, for it has spread over a considerable part of the world and has now been active in India for the last 26 years. The appearance of this ‘insect’, as described in the prophecy, does not only indicate the appearance of the plague but foretells the coming of many epidemics that will owe their fatal effects to germs. No wonder, today we have diseases that were either unknown in the past or did not cause death on such a wide scale. The prophecy also alludes to the invention of the microscope, without which the world would not know that these diseases were coming from minute ‘insects’ that are invisible to the naked eye. In past ages, medical knowledge attributed all disease and conta - gion ultimately to bile, black-bile, blood, or phlegm. Another sign foretold by the Holy Prophet s as was that there would be an increase in sudden deaths. 50 Such deaths have always occurred but in this age they are becoming more and more com - mon. One reason for this is the greater use of alcohol, and the other is excessive work or study. Alcohol weakens the heart and the brain, while excessive stress or study has a deleterious effect on the nerves. Both are on the rise. Cases of sudden death are ram - pant in wine-imbibing nations. People just collapse standing or sitting in their chairs or lying in their beds. This has no parallel in past ages. Another disease foretold by the Holy Prophet s as is one that would be connected with the nose and would claim many lives. 51 This disease, known medically as influenza, killed 20 million peo - ple all over the world in 1918. In other words, about 1. 5% of the world’s population died as a result of this disease and it reminded