Testimony of the Holy Quran — Page 4
T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 4 supported by others] therefore, they lack certainty. That is why he does not regard the prophecy about the Promised Messiah, which is confirmed by a ha d i th, as an established fact. In his view, prophecies based on a ha d i th alone are worthless and unfounded and, therefore, cannot qualify as substantial proof. So, it seems necessary that I answer his queries in keeping with his way of thinking. Let it be clear that in this matter there are three issues calling for investigation: First: Whether the prophecy regarding the advent of the Promised Messiah, which is recorded in the a ha d i th, is unreli - able because the accounts of a ha d i th are far from and entirely outside the level of certainty; Second: Whether or not this prophecy finds any mention in the Holy Quran; Third: If this prophecy is a proven fact, what proof, then, is there that it has been fulfilled in the person of my hum - ble self ? Let me begin with addressing the first of these three issues. Let it be clear that no one denies that the a ha d i th contain an explicit prophecy about the Promised Messiah. Rather, there is a consensus among almost all the Muslims that, as per a ha d i th, a person is sure to come who will be named ‘ I s a ibn Maryam [ Jesus Son of Mary]. And this prophecy finds such repeated mention in the books of Hadith— Bukh a r i , Muslim , Tirmidh i , etc. —that it is enough to satisfy a fair-minded person and compels us to believe in their common theme that a Promised Messiah is to come. It is true that most such a ha d i th, taken individually, are no more