The Advent of the Fifteenth Century after Hijra — Page 2
Indeed, no faith, doctrine or philosophy can be deemed to be based on truth which seeks acceptance through force. . The Mahdi was to establish the superiority of Islam through a detailed and reasoned exposition of the philosophy of Islam enshrined in the Holy Quran. His mind would be illumined by divine revelation, he would be inspired by the grace of the Holy. Prophet, peace be upon him, with whom he would be so perfectly identified spiritually as had been expressed by the Holy Prophet, peace be upon him, in his pronouncement: He will be buried along with me in my grave. Thus his advent would be a second spiritual advent of the Holy Prophet, peace be upon him, as is indicated in the Holy Quran (62:4). . The Holy Prophet, peace be on him, clearly indicated the time of the advent of the Mahdi, in a manner that cannot be gainsaid. He announced: 'There are two signs of our Mahdi which have never been manifested for any claimant since the creation of heaven and earth. They are that the moon will be eclipsed in the month of Ramadhan on the first of the nights appointed for its eclipse, and that the sun will be eclipsed in the same month of Ramadhan on the middle one of the days appointed for its eclipse' (Sunan Dar Qutni, Vol. I, p. 188). . This meant that the advent of the Mahdi, designated by the. Holy Prophet, peace be upon him, as our Mahdi, would be marked by the eclipse of the moon in the month of Ramadhan on its thirteenth night, and by the eclipse of the sun in the same month of Ramadhan fifteen days later, as the lunar eclipse occurs on the 13th, 14th or 15th night of the moon and the solar eclipse occurs on one of the last three days of the lunar month. This particular phenomenon manifested itself in the eastern hemisphere in respect of the moon on 21st March, and in respect of the sun on 6th April, 1894, and was repeated in the western hemisphere in 1895. . This manifestation calls for serious reflection. In one aspect it was a manifestation which was determined by the law governing the movement of the planets, and there was no room in it for human intervention; yet in another aspect it was a grand sign in support of the truth of the Holy Prophet, peace be upon him. He could not have known or guessed that such a manifestation would take place 1360 years after his death. Even if such a manifestation had occurred just by itself, its prediction thirteen 2