Malfuzat – Volume II — Page 260
260 Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad the angel of death, it does not return to the world. In sleep, although the soul is seized as well, but the angel of death does not take it away. Sleeping for an extended period of time is a matter that can, in no way, be objec- tionable. There are techniques written in Hindu books on holding one’s breath. Moreover, holding one’s breath is also practiced by yogis at various stages in med- itation (abhyas). Only a short time ago there was a report in newspapers that during the construction of a railway line, a small hut belonging to a Hindu ascetic was discovered. Similarly, there was a report circulating in the newspapers about a young boy who slept for twenty years. In short, it is no surprising matter for a person to remain asleep for a hundred years. The Underlying Reality in the Food and Drink of Ezra as Being Preserved Moving on, in the verse relating to Ezra as , the words 1 َـتَسَنَّه ي ْ لَم ( they have not rotted ) are worthy of contemplation. If one were to keep in view our present-day expe- rience, no difficulty remains in comprehending the underlying reality in these words. A reliable person writes that he once ate some meat that had been cooked thirty years before his birth—the meat had been air-sealed. Now, thousands, rather hundreds of thousands of bottles are brought here from foreign lands such as Europe and America which contain cooked foods that are preserved, or in other words: َـتَسَنَّه ي ْ لَم ( they have not rotted ). This concept of ْ لَم َـتَسَنَّه ي ( i. e. to remain free from decay and be preserved ) is applicable in the meditative practices of the Hindus and also reveals the underlying reality in today’s intel- lectual advances. The Holy Quran had already mentioned this phenomenon long ago. The fact of the matter is that just as a particular characteristic in air causes food to decay, the human body is affected in the same way. Now, if food can be pre- served by guarding it from the effects of air through a specific method, what is so astonishing about this? It is possible that some time in the future, a method is discovered by which humans are able to undergo a process that is similar to preserved food. These are the sciences. There is no harm in being open to such possibilities. Various investigations and scientific experiments have led to the development of such footwear by which a person can walk on water. Moreover, fire-repellant 1 al-Baqarah, 2:260