Life of Ahmad — Page 236
CLAIMS TO BE THE MESSIAH as as 236 'And remember when Jesus, son of Mary, said, O children of Israel, I am Allah’s messenger unto you, fulfilling that which is before me of the Torah, and giving glad tidings of a Messenger who will come after me. His name will be Ahmad as. And when he will come to them with clear proofs, they will say "This is a clear fraud"' (61:7). With the prophecy of the Second Advent of the Messiah is also mentioned in the Scriptures another prophecy about the appearance of the Dajj a l or Antichrist. Christians have been taught that Anti- Christ would show as God (II Thes. 2:4) before the coming of the Messiah and that it is with the brightness of his coming that Antichrist would be destroyed. Muslim records a tradition from Naw a s bin Sam‘ a n ra in which the Holy Prophet sa spoke of the Dajj a l and his extraordinary works and then said that the Dajj a l would be destroyed by the Messiah. This prophecy teems with expressions which are evidently metaphorical, and no sane person could take them in their literal sense. Yet there are in it definite clues which help to indicate its true meaning. The Holy Prophet sa said: 'Those of you who witness the appearance of the Dajj a l should read the introductory verses of the surah Al-Kahf, for their recital will serve as a protection for you against his danger' ( Muslim and Musnad Ahmad bin Hanbal ). The verses are: