Some Prophecies of Hazrat Ahmad - A Critical Study — Page 54
decreed. ". This grand prophecy, indicated the birth of a son who was to be the. Promised Reformer of his age. But, as evident from the text of the revelation, the prophecy gave tidings of the birth of not one but two sons. Hadhrat Ahmadas made this clear with his declaration: 'The words beginning with: A handsome and pure boy; and ending with: He who descends from heaven; indicate a short life, for a guest is one who stays for a few days and then departs before one's own eyes. The succeeding sentence refers to the Promised Reformer, who has been named Fazl in the revelation. '². In another leaflet issued from Qadian, Hadhrat Ahmadas stated that in his 'announcement of 20th February 1886, there is a prophecy of the birth of a righteous son possessing the qualities mentioned in the announcement. ' He then wrote: 'To this time, March 22, 1886, no son has taken birth in my home, apart from two sons born earlier, now more than 20 or 22 years. But, we know that such a son will, most certainly, be born within nine years, in fulfilment of God's promise. Sooner, or later, in any case, he will be born within this period. '³. On the 15th of April, 1886, however, Hadhrat Ahmadas was blessed with a daughter, Ismat, whose birth became an occasion for his adversaries to allege that his prophecy of the birth of a son had been proved to be false, despite the fact that Divine wisdom had already insured that all ambiguity be removed. This is proved by the fact that some three weeks before the birth of Ismat, God Almighty caused Hadhrat Ahmadas to declare that the Promised Reformer will be born within a period of nine years from the date of announcement and a week before the birth of Ismat, Hadhrat Ahmadas declared: 'After the announcement of 22nd March 1886, I supplicated again for 1. Announcement, 20th February, 1886 Riyaz Hind, Amritsar: Supplement, 1st March, 1886 2. Green Announcement: pg 21 f/n: Tabligh Risalat: Vol 1 3. Wajibul Izhar, 22nd March, 1886: Tabligh Risalat, Vol. 1 54 4. Ibid