Tadhkirah — Page 484
484 safeguards you from the caravan that travels the earth to deceive people, and he calls you towards Allah and removes all doubts. So felicitations to you that the awaited Mahdi has come to you with an abundance of wealth piled in hoards. He strives to restore to you the wealth that you had lost; and to return from the grave your prosperity that had been buried alive. It is not a thing that has been forged, but it is the light of Allah which is accompanied by extraordinary signs. O people, I am the Messiah of the dispensation of Muhammad and I am Ahmad, the Mahdi [i. e. , the Guided One]. Verily, my Lord has remained with me since my childhood and shall stand by me until I reach my grave. I have been granted a fire which devours and water that is sweet. I am the Yemeni Star and a heavenly rain. Infliction of a wound by me is a sharp spear, and my supplication is a proven remedy. I manifest my glory to one people and my beauty to another. I hold a weapon in one hand with which I destroy the practices of cruelty and sin. In my other hand, I possess an elixir by which I restore life to the hearts—an axe to destroy and a breath to revive. I possess glory, because, like the son of Mary, people have tried to uproot me. And, I possess beauty because, just like my Master, Ahmad, my mercy surges forth to guide the people who have become heedless of the Lord who is the Most High. Are you, then, surprised at this, and do you ignore the time and its need? Do you not see that the present age yearns for the Lord, who is the Doer of what He wills, to manifest the attribute of His Glory to one people and the attribute of His Beauty to another. Verily, signs have appeared, [prophesied] indications have been manifested,