Claims and Teachings - Ahmad The Promised Messiah and Mahdi — Page 190
190 <* seven days, each day standing for a thousand years. We cannot say through how many such cycles the world has passed up to this time, and how many Adams have passed away before our own Adam. As God has ever been the creator, therefore 'we believe that His creation must have existed always in some one form or another though it is difficult for us to specify the parti- cular form. Here too the Christian faith has made an error, for the Christians believe that the world was created and heaven and earth made only six thousand years ago, and that before that time the creating power of God had for ever remained unemployed. I do not think any sensible person can subscribe to such a belief which is absurd on the face of it. The Holy Quran on the other hand teaches us doctrines whose truth can never be questioned. In teaches us that God has always been a creator and will for ever be a creator, and if He wills He can destroy heaven and earth and make them anew millions of times. He has told us that from the adam who is our ancestor to the end of this cycle, there is a period of seven thousand years, which are as seven days with God. The Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and the blessings of God be upon him, appeared in the fifth thousand after Adam or in the fifth day of this cycle. This is indicated in the chapter entitled the' Asr (Afternoon) the letters of which, according to the mode of reckoning numbers from letters, re- present the number of years which had elapsed from Adam to the time of the revelation of that chapter to the Holy Prophet. According to this calculation six thousand years have now elapsed from Adam, and a period of one thousand years more would com- plete this cycle. The Holy Quran as well as tbe previous books give us to understand that the Messenger of God who would appear in the last ages in the likeness of Adam, and would be called tbe Mes-