Malfuzat - Volume IV — Page 222
222 Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad So bear in mind that the first form of evidence to recognise a man who is appoint - ed by Allah is to be found by looking at the era and time itself. Is there even a need for the coming of a heavenly man at that particular time or not? For example, if in an area that abounds with rivers and water wells, a person digs another well in the middle of them, we would obviously have to say that the individual who does so has wasted both time and money. However, if the same person were to have a well dug in a barren wasteland where there are no other sources of water, one would have to accept that the person has done a lasting service that will benefit others. Just as the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was born in a physical wilderness, so too the world was a spiritual wasteland as well. In Mecca, if there were no physical and spiritual rivers; in the same way, other lands had also perished due to an absence of spiritual rivers in those parts. The earth had died. God Almighty states in the Holy Quran: 1 َا ِه ِ َّت َْمَْو َ ْد ْ ُع ََب َ ِض ْ ُر َ ا ِ اْلْ ْي ُْيُْح َ ُهلل َ ا َن َ ا ۤا ْوْ ُ َم َ ُل ْ ِع ِ ا Meaning, you are aware that the entire earth has died; now God will breathe new life into it. So this is a powerful argument in favour of the truthfulness of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, in that he appeared at a time when the whole world had become generally sunk in all manner of wrong - doing and espoused false doctrines; it had become devoid of truth and rectitude, of divine Unity and purity. Then, the second argument in proof of the truthful - ness of the Holy Prophet sas is that he was called back to Allah the Exalted when he had successfully and completely achieved and fulfilled the responsibilities of his prophethood. In actuality, just as it is necessary to first see in respect of a man commissioned by God as to whether he has come at the appropriate time or not, so too it is important to see whether he was successful or not. One must see whether the people whom he came to cure were even healed or not. 2 The Moral and Spiritual State of the Arabs An elaborate explanation is not needed in this instance, for there are many people in this gathering who know well about the state of the Arabs at the time of the Prophet’s advent, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. There was no evil that did not exist among the Arabs. Just like the one who excels in every field and 1 al-Hadid , 57:18 2 Al-Hakam , vol. 6, no. 10, dated 17 March 1902, pp. 3-4 p. 488 َ ْي َْحْ َّن ََو ُ ِت ُْوْ َم َ َّن َ ْي ْ َّن ُ ْلْد َ ْن ُ َّت َ ْي َ ُح َ ْل ِ َ ِ ْه ْ َن ِ ُُلُْوَْنَ ْك ْ َ ُي ََُعُْوَْنَ َو َت َََتََم ُي