Malfuzat - Volume IV — Page 103
103 Malfuzat – Volume IV themselves in view of the Islamic injunctions of the veil in the thought that some other unknown man has entered their home? Write him a very detailed and clear letter. ” Reality and Metaphor The Promised Messiah as said: “At the time of the advent of Prophets, peace be upon them, the people grapple with two states: they either wish to see metaphors fulfilled literally, or turn reality into metaphors. This is the misfortune with which they are grappling. They want to see an antichrist that actually has one protruding eye with a donkey that is seventy yards in length. They want to see Jesus, peace be upon him, flying down from the sky like a pigeon. This was never going to hap - pen. This was the same calamity faced by the Jews at the advent of Jesus, peace be upon him. They thought that before the coming of the Messiah, as written in the book of Malachi, Elijah as would descend from heaven first. So when the Messiah appeared, they raised this objection. However, the Messiah responded by saying that Elijah had already come and he is John the son of Zacharia. The Jews thought that Elijah as would return in person. As a result, they rejected the truth. I once obtained a book written by a Jew in which he clearly writes that if God calls us to account on this matter, we will open and place the book of Malachi before Him and say that the scripture clearly states that Elijah as would first return from heaven, where is it written that John as would be the one. Now, as far as my claim is concerned, a verdict has already been given by the High Court of the Messiah, as it were, stating that when it is promised that a person will come again, the nature of their second advent is that someone else appears possessing their nature, dispo - sition and qualities. This is the very same misunderstanding of our scholars. This is actually a metaphor but they have taken it in the literal sense. Similarly, they have taken the Antichrist and its related aspects literally. The Christians have also been misled. Jesus, peace be upon him, prophesied the coming of the Paraclete after him. The Christians believe this refers to the Holy Spirit, even though this actually refers to the Messenger of Allah, peace and bless - ings of Allah be upon him. The word Farqleet ( Paraclete) is a compound of fariq and leet. The word leet refers to Satan. 1 In short, a grave error that people commit at the time of the advent of Prophets, peace be upon them, is that they either take metaphors in the literal sense, or turn 1 The word fariq means ‘he who separates’ or in other words, the one who repels Satan. (Editor) p. 376