Testimony of the Holy Quran — Page 5
H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 5 than a ha d, yet it cannot be denied that all the a ha d i th, assem - bled from various sources regarding this issue, when collectively examined, establish categorically and conclusively that the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, has certainly prophesied the advent of the Promised Messiah. Moreover, when we read the a ha d i th possessed by Ahl-e-Sunnat wal-Jam a ‘at , along with those a ha d i th on which other sects of Islam, such as Shias, rely, the strength of such a ha d i th having taw a tur [multiple nar - rators] is even more firmly established. Additionally, hundreds of books of the sufis also testify to this fact. And when we consult the literature of the People of the Book, that is, the Christians, we find this prophecy in their books as well. The verdict of Hadrat Mas ih as [ Jesus] in the Gospels regard - ing the descent of Ily a s [Elijah] from heaven demonstrates that such prophecies can never be taken literally. However, the prophecy about the advent of the Promised Messiah appears so extensively in every age that it would be gross ignorance to deny that it possesses taw a tur. I say truthfully that if all Islamic books in which this prophecy is recorded were to be collected in chronological order, their number would definitely run into the thousands. But it is difficult to make someone understand who is unfamiliar with the corpus of Islamic literature. In fact, such critics are unfortunately so ignorant that they simply do not understand how strongly and forcefully the veracity of a certain event is established. This critic simply heard from someone that most of the a ha - d i th are at the level of a ha d and he has immediately concluded that, with the exception of the Holy Quran, all other authorities in Islam are baseless and doubtful and are completely devoid of