Invitation to Ahmadiyyat — Page 43
43 This quotation shows that, according to Sheikh Shah a b al-D i n Suhrawardi, every human being has to experience a metaphori - cal birth, and in support of this view he cites a verse of the Holy Quran and a saying of the Messiah. If such metaphorical birth is essential for spiritual progress, why should it be considered impos - sible in the case of the Promised Messiah as ? In short, the belief that the first Messiah should come to life and return to the world is contrary to God’s majesty and His Word, as it is to the dignity of the Holy Prophet s as and his teachings. All the premises upon which this belief is based are a result of a lack of thought and deliberation. The fact is that a follower of this very ummah was supposed to come in the likeness of the Messiah, and he has indeed come. Many lost souls have been guided through him and have found the right path. The fourth major objection raised against us is that we believe that the institution of Revelation and Prophethood continues after the Holy Prophet s as. This objection is either born of a lack of deliberation or of sheer bigotry and prejudice. The truth is that we do not care so much for the form as for the content. We prefer to believe whatever helps to glorify God and His Prophet s as. We can - not even for a moment believe in the coming of anyone who super - sedes the Holy Prophet s as ; who gives the world a new Kalimah and a new Qiblah and a new Shariah, or alters any part of the teach - ings of the Holy Quran; who weans people away from obedience to the Holy Prophet s as and asks them to obey him instead; or who comes from outside the circle of the Holy Prophet’s servants and devotees, or attains even a part of his spiritual status without owing it to the Holy Prophet s as. The coming of such a one, in our