Khilafat Centenary Souvenir 1908-2008 — Page 34
Khilafat Centenary He it is Who has sent His Messenger with the guidance and the Religion of truth, that He may cause it to prevail over all religions, however much those who associate partners with Allah may dislike it The Holy Qur'an, 61: 10 The scriptures of the different religions all predict the coming of a great, divine reformer in the latter days. Without exception, all the faiths expect, foretell and indeed, await, such a reformer, though he is known under various titles and names: Messiah, Mahdi, Krishna, and other, similar titles. Yet, despite the fact that he may be known under different names, all religions do eagerly await the coming of that reformer. In addition, the various scriptures, in their references to that reformer, all predict certain signs to be in place for the reformer to come. Not least for that reason, it appears quite clearly that all the scriptures talk about one and the same person. Jews, Christians and Muslims alike await the (second) coming of the Messiah. Hindus anticipate the coming of the Lord Krishna; Sikhs wait for the Guru. In all relevant scriptures, there are detailed prophecies pertaining to this coming of the awaited reformer. In the Bible, in the Torah and in the Gospels, there are frequent references. In Hindu and Sikh scriptures, there are similar predictions for and expectations of such a latter-day reformer. Christians, of course, believe that the Messiah is Jesus of Nazareth, who will return one day, and thus await this second advent. Jews, who never accepted Jes us of Nazareth as the Messiah that Jews expect, continue to await the coming of the foretold Messiah. In what follows, we will investigate more closely what the various scriptures predict and prophesize. In truth, these prophecies are all part of one and the same jigsaw puzzle: we just need to put the pieces together wisely, and we obtain a detailed picture of when and how to expect the reformer foretold. This will still not convince everyone, as is human nature. As the Hol y Qur'an says: Alas for my servants! There comes not a Messenger to them but they mock at him. Holy Qur'an 36:31 For most, however, it will give quite a precise indication of the time and nature of the coming of the Messiah and Mahdi.