Tadhkirah — Page 212
212 benevolence. God is Almighty and creates whatever He wills. Accordingly, today, Saturday January 12, 1889 CE, Jam a d i’ ul-Awwal 9, 1306 AH, Sunday, a son has been born to this humble one who has for the moment been named Bash i r and Ma h m u d, only by way of good omen. An announcement will be made after full disclosure as I have not yet been given to understand whether this son will grow up and be the Promised Reformer or whether there is some other one. I know, however, and know it for a certainty that God Almighty will deal with me according to His promise and that if the time of the birth of the Promised Son is not yet, then He will appear at some other time. If there should remain only one day out of the term specified, God the Glorious, will not let that day come to an end till His promise is fulfilled. In a dream I had uttered this verse concerning the Promised Reformer: [Persian] [ O Pride of Messengers, I have realised the degree of your nearness to God. Your coming has been delayed and you have come from a long distance. ] Thus—if according to the divine will—by delay was meant only the period which has elapsed before the birth of this son who has been named Bashir-ud-Din Ma h m u d by way of good omen, then it would be no wonder if he should prove to be the Promised Son. Otherwise, he will arrive at some other time. [Ishtih a r Takm i l-e-Tabligh, January 12, 1889, Majm u ‘ah-e-Ishtih a r a t, vol. 1, pp. 191–192] Note by Hadrat Maul ana Jalal-ud-Din Shams ra : In this Ishtih a r [announcement], the Promised Messiah as has regarded Hadrat Am i rul- Mu’min i n Khalifatul Masih II aba as the fulfilment of the prophecy about Mu s le h -e-Mau‘ u d and also named him Bashir-ud-Din Ma h m u d Ahmad by way of good omen. But he promised further information after complete disclosure. This promise was fulfilled in different books as following: (A) The birth of Ma h m u d, my elder son, was prophesied clearly in the Sabz Ishtih a r together with the name Ma h m u d. That announcement was published with reference to the death of the first boy and comprised several pages like a pamphlet.