The Essence of Islam – Volume V — Page 66
66. Essence of Islam-V tranquillity was gone. He changed himself so much that he completely ceased to have debates with Muslims and stopped writing books against Islam, as had previously been his habit. He stopped uttering sacrilegious and insulting remarks, as though his mouth had been sealed. He became very quiet and depressed. . Such was his depression that he despaired of his very life and, in a state of frenzy, began travelling from town to town to pay a last visit to his relatives. It was in the course of these travels that he finally met his death in Ferozepur. . The question is, why was he caught up by Divine punishment and why did he die shortly thereafter while he had repented publicly of his sacrilegious remark, and had more than once expressed aversion to using the word Dajjal? The answer is that since he had become the target of mubahala [prayer-duel], therefore, in keeping with the prophecies that were made fifteen months later, while Ātham was still alive, and are recorded on the first page of the book. Anjām-e-Atham, it was inevitable that he should die. . It was clearly stated in these prophecies that Ātham would die soon after his refusal to swear an oath and after concealing the testimony and after reverting to his impertinence. Since he was guilty of these offences, he died seven months after my last announcement was published. His death was also ineluctable because it was implicit in the prophecy that the liar would die before the truthful one. [Nuzul-ul-Masiḥ, Rūḥānī Khazā'in, vol. 18, pp. 541-545]