Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya Part V — Page 383
APPE N DI X to B AR Ā H Ī N-E-A H M ADIY YA — PART F IV E 383 When the Prophet Ily a s—whose descent from heaven had been appointed as a Sign for the truth of the claim of Hadrat ‘ I s a —did not descend from heaven, why then do the Muslims of today adopt the same path that led the Jews to disbelief before it? If descent from heaven had been the practice of God, then what were the obstacles in the path of Ily a s that he could not descend while the Scripture promised his descent, forcing Jesus to suffer embarrassment before the Jews and finally having to rescue himself from the nonsensical critique of the Jews by declaring Prophet Ya h y a to be the ‘like’ of Prophet Ily a s? Just imagine how ‘ I s a , may peace be upon him, would have been hurt by this contention of the Jews when they kept questioning how he could be the true Messiah when the Signs of the Promised Messiah were not to be found in him, for the Scripture says in clear words that the Promised Messiah would not appear until Ily a s had first come to this world. The Jews were apparently justified in this argument, for Ily a s had not descended from heaven—nor has he descended from heaven to this day. It would seem that all the audacity that the Jews showed in mischief and impertinence was due, indeed, to the fact that Hadrat Mas ih did not possess the required Sign for the Promised Messiah as given in the literal words of the Scripture. And Hadrat Mas ih had real- ized in his own heart that his reply was merely interpretative which the Jews would not accept. He, therefore, stated in soft words that the Ily a s who was to return to the world was none other than Ya h y a son of Zakariyy a [ John the Baptist son of Zachariah], so accept him if you will. In the same vein, it was demanded of our Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, as is mentioned in the Holy Quran, that he should show a miracle of ascending to heaven and descending back, but ultimately they were told in categorical terms and God Almighty said: