Ahmadiyyat - The Renaissance of Islam — Page 289
CHAPTER FOURTEEN The attitude of Khalifatul Masih II c:oncerning the series of prophecies of the Promised Messiah that were published in the announcement of 20 February 1886, was that he refrained from making any positive claim that those prophecies had been fulfilled in his person, although he felt that probably that was the case. In June 1937 he wrote in a letter: I consider that the Promised Reformer must be one of the sons of the Promised Messiah and not someone who will appear in a later age. . So far as I have reflected on these prophecies 90 per cent of them are in accord with the achievements of the period of my Khilafat. As I do not consider that it is necessary for the person who is the subject of these prophecies to claim that the prophecies have been fulfilled in his perso!l or refer to him, I do not deem it necessary to make such a claim. I do consider, however, that God Almighty has fulfilled the purpose of these prophecies to a large degree through me. Yet I would not be surprised if God Almighty should enable one of my brothers to achieve similar or even greater purposes than I have done. Three years later he stated in the course of a Friday sermon: People have tried that I should claim that I am the Promised Reformer, but I have never considered this necessary. It is said that my followers affirm that I am the Promised Reformer and yet I have not made any such claim. I do not see the necessity of making any claim. If I am in truth and in fact the Promised Reformer, my position is not affected by my failure to make such a claim. I believe that it is not necessary to make a claim in respect of a prophecy that relates to a person who has not been commissioned by God. How many of the Reformers whose names are entered in a list published after the approval of the Promised Messiah, made such a claim? I have heard the Promised Messiah say that he thought Emperor Aurangzeb was the Reformer of his age. Did he put forward any claim? Umar bin Abdul Aziz is revered as a Reformer. Did he 289