Malfuzat – Volume III — Page 174
174 Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad one and the same. The Verdict of the Messiah Himself In short, the Messiah as has solved the predicament surrounding the promise of the coming of Elijah as coming before his own advent; he has handed us a verdict in this respect. It is the verdict that the Messiah himself presented in his own court, as proof of his truthfulness, regarding the second coming of a Prophet who was to appear before him. The verdict is that the second coming of an individual is fulfilled through the appearance of someone else who comes with the same nature and disposition as the first. Nowhere did Jesus, peace be upon him, state that while the second coming of Elijah as had been fulfilled by the appearance of John as , who came with the nature and disposition of Elijah as , he would himself return at the time of his second coming. If Jesus as has given such an explanation anywhere in the Gospel, then one ought to share it. However, there is not a single instance where he differenti- ated between the nature of the advent of Elijah as and his own. In fact, by issu- ing a verdict in the account of Elijah as , he has solved the issue of his own second coming as well. Therefore, when such is the case, it is incumbent on every seeker of truth to refrain from disputing and complaining over this verdict, or engag- ing in any debates that are a waste of time, for the matter is perfectly clear. For example, if someone were to say that all human beings have two eyes, and they showed that not only ten or twenty people, but that every person who passed by fit that description, and then if there were a person who said that on the contrary, humans do not have two eyes, they have fifty, yet they were unable to show a sin- gle example of this, who would believe the latter on their word alone? Those who suggest that the second coming of the Messiah would not take place in the nature of Elijah as are like the man who claims that humans have fifty eyes. The truth is that the second coming of the Messiah too will take place like that of Elijah as. I should also like to state that I do not believe in the concept of reincarnation. My advent is similar in nature to the advent of Elijah as. God has sent me in the nature of the Messiah as , for the reformation of morals. Islam Was Not Spread by the Sword Our unwise opponents assert that Islam is spread by war, but I proclaim that this p. 158