Revelation, Rationality, Knowledge & Truth — Page 715
FUTURE OF REVELATION him? The question of old or new is irrelevant. Central to the issue is the question of need. . The need for another prophet after the advent of the last is an intrinsically contradictory belief. Faced with this dilemma the Ulema always twist the issue by arguing that the need for the advent of a prophet may occur after the final prophet had come and gone. Yet, the absoluteness of his finality would remain intact as long as the new need is fulfilled by an old prophet. But anyone should be able to see through this transparent effort at cheating. The difference of old or new is just a childish attempt to confuse the issue. If Jesus as of Nazareth reappears and submits to the supremacy of Prophet Muhammadsa, he would still be a prophet after him. To fulfil the new need by borrowing an old prophet from a bygone people is far worse than fulfilling the same need by raising a new prophet from within the people of Islam. If the former does not violate the Doctrine of Finality the latter most certainly cannot. . L-Imam Al Mahdi (The Guided Leader). We may now be permitted to deviate from the issue of Jesus 'as re-advent, but only for a while, to turn our gaze upon the status of Al-Imam Al-Mahdi. . According to the prophecies of the Holy Prophets,. Jesus as does not seem to be the only one whose appearance is predicted in the latter days. One finds the repeated mention of another Divine Reformer, under the title of AlMahdi, which means 'The Guided One'. Most traditions speak of Isaas (Jesus) and Al-Mahdi (the Guided Imam) as two different persons. But there is one prominent exception. . Ibn-e-Mājah - one of the six authentic books of tradition creates a strong impression that the two Promised. Reformers would in fact be one person, only holding two 673