Malfuzat – Volume I — Page 245
Malfuzat - Volume I Excessive Literalism Results in Misguidance 245 The calamity which befell the Jews was that they went on rejecting the Messiah, on whom be peace, on account of their strict literal understanding of words. Not only this, they even continued to reject our Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. The Jews believed that when the Messiah was to appear, he would come as a king and that he would sit on the throne of David as with great majesty and glory. They also held that Elijahas would descend from the sky before the advent of the Messiah, but when the Messiah did appear, he said that John was the Elijah that they were expecting. Moreover, instead of appearing as a King, Jesus as demonstrated such humility that he could barely find a place to rest his head. But how could those Jews who held an extremely literal view accept this? And so, they rejected the Messiah fiercely and to this day they continue to do so. Today, the Muslim clergy are prey to the same affliction. They expect that the Messiah and Mahdi will come to fight wars, but this was never the will of God Almighty anyway, and the words (He will suspend war) in Bukhari have put an end to this dispute. However, despite all this, they do not wish to accept this ambassador of peace and security. February 1898 Those Who Are Mindful of the Hereafter Are Forever Blessed I observe that despite the appearance of calamity upon calamity and the emer- gence of danger on all fronts, the hearts of the people are as hard as stone, and they continue in pride and conceit. How long will these foolish people go on in this heedlessness? Until the people give up their obstinacy, refrain from their evil activities and do not reconcile with God Almighty, these calamities and afflic- tions will go nowhere. I have observed and closely reflected that in the days of famine, the people did not feel the burden of this tribulation. Drinking houses were teeming just as before and evil and immorality was rampant just as before. Previously, when edicts attributed to Mecca or Medina were issued, the people would become afraid, and the mosques would become full, but in the present time insolence and imprudence has exceeded all bounds. May Allah have mercy. A wise person is heedful of punishment before it descends and a far-sighted person is one who remains concerned to save themselves from an affliction before Al-Hakam, vol. 2, no. 2, dated 6 March 1898, p. 2