Invitation to Ahmadiyyat — Page 96
96 be saved from falling into the pit dug by selfish people for their vested interests. The Holy Prophet s as described the signs of the Promised Messiah and Mahdi as in a manner that helps us avoid the snare of those who would mislead us. He described them as a continuous narrative that helps us to recognize any interpolations. Instead of foretelling signs such as his name and his father’s name, which could be claimed by so many people, the Holy Prophet s as only foretold signs that were beyond the power of man to fulfil and would only be possible after centuries of change and transforma - tion. No man, not even a horde of men, could have fulfilled these signs even if they strived generation after generation. The second point that was taken into consideration in describ - ing the signs of the Mahdi was that some of them would not be fulfilled until after the Mahdi had come. In the light of these cri - teria, when signs appear in earth and heaven that are not in the power of man to bring about, it will not be difficult to know that the time of the Messiah and the Mahdi has come. And if there are some signs that seem not to have been fulfilled even that time, we will have to draw one of two conclusions: (a) that those signs were not real and had been added by dishonest people, or (b) that we have been mistaken in understanding them and they require interpretation. Here, it is necessary to point out that the signs of the advent of the Messiah and the Mahdi that were foretold by the Holy Prophet s as have to be considered collectively, not singly. It takes but a little deliberation to understand this. For instance, one of the signs of the time of the Mahdi described in the Traditions is the disappearance of honesty 3 and the prevalence of ignorance. 4