Haqiqatul-Wahi (The Philosophy of Divine Revelation) — Page 629
EPILOGUE-SIGNS 629 virtue which is the criterion for salvation. Negation of mischief bears no comparison to the acquisition of virtue. What is more—in regard to whosoever accomplishes the immense virtuous feat of bringing faith back from the Pleiades to earth-how could anyone with reason believe that such a person would be incapable of dispelling mischief? In short, it is simply irrational to think that in the Latter Days, the Man of Persia will be responsible for the attainment of virtue while the Promised Messiah will only negate mischief! Why can't the one capable of reaching out to the heavens, ward off mischief upon the earth? Thus, the error on the part of the present-day Muslims is piti- able for they consider the Promised Messiah and the Man of Persia to be two different persons. As many as twenty-six years ago, Allah the Exalted fully laid bare this belief in Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya. On the one hand, He pronounced me as the Promised Messiah and named me ‘Īsā [Jesus]. For instance, He said in Barāhīn-e-Aḥmadiyya: يَا عِيْسَى إِنِّي مُتَوَفِّيْكَ وَرَافِعُكَ إِلَيَّ وَمُطَهِّرُكَ مِنَ الَّذِيْنَ كَفَرُوْا. And on the other, He designated me the Man of Persia and—again and again-addressed me by this very name. For instance, He said: إِنَّ الَّذِينَ صَدُّوْا عَنْ سَبِيْلِ اللهِ رَدَّ عَلَيْهِمْ رَجُلٌ مِّنْ فَارِسَ شَكَرَ اللَّهُ سَعْيَة. Meaning that, [in relation to] the Christians and their brethren who hold people back from Islam, this Man of Persia-meaning my humble self-has written their refutation and that God is pleased with him for this, his service. It is quite clear that the real function of the Promised Messiah is to challenge and compete with the Christians. Thus, if the Man of Persia is not the Promised Messiah, then why has his—the Promised Messiah's official function been delegated to this Man of Persia? This proves that this Man of Persia and the Promised Messiah are two