Lecture Ludhiana — Page 43
43 judgement on me, for by rejecting me you reject all the prophets. Remember, God is also Ghafur— Most Forgiving. Why then should He not forgive those who repent and turn to Him? One example of this kind of erroneous thinking, which is rampant in Muslims as a whole, is Jihad. It is amazing how they start breathing fire when I say that Jihad is forbidden, and yet they admit that the Traditions about the blood-thirsty Mahdi are doubtful. Maulvi Muhammad Hussein Batalvi has written a number of booklets on this subject. Mian Nazir Hussein of Delhi too was of the same opinion. Both do not consider such Traditions authentic. Why then should I be called a liar? The truth of the matter is that the main task of the Messiah and Mahdi was to abolish religious warfare and to establish the superiority of Islam with pen, prayer and persuasion. What a pity, people do not understand this because they are interested more in what is mundane than in faith. Steeped as they are in worldly worries and immoralities, how can they ever hope that the deeper verities of the Holy Qur’an will be revealed to them, for the Book clearly says: 30 Listen carefully as to the ultimate purpose of my advent, which is to renew and reaffirm Islam. This should not be construed to mean that I bring a new Law or Shariah or 30 ‘None shall touch it except those who are purified. ’ (56:80) [Translator]