Claims and Teachings - Ahmad The Promised Messiah and Mahdi — Page 175
175 power over the souls to punish them for billions of years for disobedience of commandments to which He has no right to exact obedience. For, if He has not created the souls, He has no absolute right to require them to obey Him. Or assuming that He has acquired such a right, it must at all events be very limited in its scope like the right acquired by a ruler over his subjects. But the interminable series of punishments which every soul has to undergo according to the doctrine of transmigration in one body after another, is absolutely inconsistent with such an acqui- red right and the principles of justice. According to the Muslim doctrine, not only are soul and matter with their attributes and properties created by the hand of God, but even the punishment which they must receive for disobedience to their Master, does not last for ever. Thus Almighty God says in the Holy Quran with regard to the eternity of the punishment of sinners: *> & ^ J J ^* *? j e/ J -*?,;* U U U ) " Except in so far as thy Lord willeth, for thy Lord doeth whatever He wilieth. " Here we are told that though the punishment of the sinners is spoken of as lasting eternally, yet it is not without an end in the sense in which God is without an end, but only because of its length, and the mercy of God will then overtake them, for He is powerful and does what He wills. This verse is further explained by a tradition according to which the Holy Prophet is reported to have said : ^)^J ^-f f M) ^ ) ^ ) ^ \j~$ ^ l*j ^ ^b ^jb " A time will come over hell when there will be no one in it and a cold breeze (of the mercy of God) will blow upon its gates. " The Arya Sarnajic teaching represents the Divine Being as a peevish and revengeful master whose anger can never be appeased. The Christians also entertain the belief that a man shall be condemned to eternal hell for every sin and that his tortures will know no end. But the wonder is that while proposing endless