How to be Free from Sin — Page 7
7 patience and perseverance has become apparent like a shining minaret, the period of his first advent—which was marked by trials and tribulations—comes to an end, and the time is now ripe for him to appear in glory. Spiritual- ity, which is imbued with Divine glory, descends upon him who is like a minaret, and invests him with Divine powers by God’s permission. All this happens in his sec- ond advent, and this is exactly the manner in which the Promised Messiah was supposed to appear. The Tradi- tions prevalent among the Muslims which speak, for instance, of his descent near a minaret, are only meant to signify that his advent will be a glorious one and that he will be accompanied by Divine power. Heaven holds him back until the time God has appointed for his advent, but this does not mean that he was not [physically] present on the earth before that. It is also a Divine practice that He uses physical illustra- tions to explain some spiritual matters. The Temple in Baitul Muqaddas [Jerusalem], and the Ka‘bah in Mecca, for example, serve as symbols of Divine manifestation. It is in this context that the Islamic Shariah speaks of the Promised Messiah’s descent on, or near a minaret, in a country which lies to the East of Damascus—just as Adam was given a dwelling in the East. There is no harm if a physical minaret is also built before his glorious advent; it is, in fact, mentioned in the Hadith literature that a minaret shall be built before the advent of the Promised Messiah, and it will serve as a sign of his glorious appearance.