Life of Ahmad — Page 226
CLAIMS TO BE THE MESSIAH as as 226 Ahmad as claimed to be the Messiah 52 and the Mahdi promised in the scriptures on the basis of 52 It should be noted in this connection that, in a letter addressed to Maulaw i N u r-ud-D i n ra , Ahmad as had written on March 8th, 1885, as follows: 'The undersigned author of the Br a h i n-e-Ahmadiyya has been commissioned by God to try, in the spirit of the Prophet of Nazareth, the Israelite Messiah, to regenerate mankind through perfect humility, meekness, humbleness, and solicitude and to show to those who are unaware of the right way the straight path, by walking in which true salvation is attained and in this very world are seen the signs of heavenly life and the rays of acceptance and belovedness. ' A letter to the same effect was broadcast by Ahmad as in 1884 when the Br a h i n-e-Ahmadiyya was printed. As already mentioned, it was really in 1882 that he received the first revelation from God which commissioned him as a Reformer. Prophets of God are not very eager to assume the responsibility of the Divine commission. They are no doubt best fitted for the job. They do, in actual practice and right from the very beginning, the work of a Reformer in their own quiet way. But if left to themselves they would perhaps never come out in public as reformers. Even then they are always anxious to confess and declare their own unworthiness before the Majesty of God—all the more so to implore Divine help and protection. Says David: 'But I am a worm, and no man; A reproach of men, and despised of the people' (Psalm 22:6). Prophets of God, in fact, rely wholly on God’s grace and not at all on any merit of their own. Hence, when called upon by God they are filled with awe and feel unequal to the task. Explaining the hesitation of Jeremiah in this respect Dr. John Skinner, D. D. says: 'He exclaims that he is not fit for this task; at least, he is not fit for it yet. Ah, Lord God behold, 1 know not how to speak: for I am a child' (Jere. 1:6). It is not a rejection of the heavenly vision, but a sincere plea for delay, as if he had said, May I not wait till I can speak with the wisdom and authority that come with years. But the call is inexorable; and Jeremiah’s misgivings are overcome by the assurance that the message he is to deliver and the strength to utter it are not his own, but the word and power of the Almighty. Moses as had similar feelings. The Holy Prophet sa also experienced the same; he began to preach Islam openly in public three years after his call. ( S i ratun Nab i sa Part I, Shibli, Azamgarh, 1339 A. H. Edition 2nd, p. 195. )