True Insights into the Concept of Khatm-e-Nubuwwat — Page 117
A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 117 ] whom I had quoted earlier and who stated that stories about Jesus as ascending going to the heavens alive were all fictitious. Mahdi and Messiah Are One Person Ibn-e-Khald u n is also held in high esteem by our oppo- nents. He is an outstanding scholar. He says: Ibn Ab i Wa ti l and Sha‘bah have said that there has been discussion about the Mahdi being the Messiah who would be from the progeny of the Holy Prophet. I (Ibn-e-Khald u n) would like to say that this view is held by Su f i s, too. They base their view on the h ad i th ‘ L a Mahd i Ill a ‘ I s a —There is no Mahdi but Jesus as ,’ meaning the Mahdi and Messiah would be from the ummah of the Holy Prophet sa , whereas Jesus was from the ummah of Moses. ( Muqaddimah Ibn-e- Khald u n , vol. 1, p. 407) In this extract, Ibn-e-Khald u n has demonstrated the atti- tude of a truthful and pious scholar in contrast to the so- called scholars of today. He has pondered over the issue and has come forward with a very profound point of wisdom: The Messiah to come will be none other than the awaited Mahdi, because Jesus belonged to the ummah of Moses, whereas the future Messiah needs to be a follower and dev- otee of the Holy Prophet sa.