Malfuzat - Volume IX — Page 387
14 September 1907 387 an event. The falling of stars [i. e. meteors and meteorites] indi- cates that some Signs are now about to appear upon the earth. Additionally, God has also disclosed to me that He will man- ifest a great many awe-inspiring Signs, some at the outset and some at the end. He has given the tidings of an earthquake. He has also informed regarding the spread of a more severe plague as compared to the past. It is not known whether that perilous plague will strike this year or the next, but it will be extremely dangerous. The Sure-Fire Way to be Safe from the Punishment of God Almighty At this point, Sayyid Nadir ‘Ali Shah submitted, ‘What should one do on such an occasion?’ The Promised Messiah as replied: One ought to engage in taubah [repentance] and istighf a r [seeking forgiveness]. Outside of repentance and seeking for- giveness, what else can man possibly do? All Prophets have said precisely this that if you repent and seek forgiveness, then God will forgive you. Therefore, offer Prayers, and implore the help of God Almighty for the avoidance of future sins, and seek for- giveness for the past ones, and repeatedly engage in istighf a r so that the faculty to sin which lies within the nature of man does not surface. Two kinds of propensities are present in man’s nature. One is the virtue to earn rewards from God and the doing of good deeds, and the other is the faculty to commit evil deeds, and it is the prerogative of God Almighty to restrain such a faculty. This faculty exists in man just as the faculty of fire is latent within stone.