The Need for the Imam — Page 28
28 tion, how can ordinary humans, who have not yet fully accomplished their spiritual journey, be secure against it, for—unlike Sayyid Abdul Qadir ra and Jesus as —they lack the spiritual eyes with which to recognize satanic inspirations. Let it be remembered that the soothsayers who were found in large numbers in Arabia before the advent of the Holy Prophet sa , frequently experienced satanic inspirations, on the basis of which they some- times made prophecies. Curiously enough, some of their prophecies turned out to be true. Islamic literature is replete with such stories. Anyone, therefore, who denies satanic inspiration, denies all the teachings of the Prophets as as well as the very institution of Prophethood. It is recorded in the Bible that once four hundred prophets experienced a satanic inspiration and prophesied the victory of a king, having been fooled by a lying spirit. 27 But the king was killed in disgrace in the same battle, and his army suffered a great defeat. But there was one Prophet who had received a revela- tion through Gabriel, and had predicted beforehand that the king would be killed, dogs would eat his corpse and it would be a great defeat. This prophecy came to pass, but the prediction of four hundred prophets turned out to be wrong. 27 1Kings 22:6,23 [Publishers]