Malfuzat – Volume X — Page 364
Malfuzat - English translation of Urdu Volume 10 364 is an extremely dangerous time. One should pay heed to this matter with urgency. Respite from the Plague is not Occasion for Rejoicing On mention of the plague, the Promised Messiah as said: This year the plague is somewhat less flagrant. However, it is no occasion to rejoice as people have not derived any benefit from the plague at all. The purpose for which it came has not yet been fulfilled. In fact, plague is the name of death. According to the dictionary, all the pernicious diseases which result in death are referred to as plague. This word has a broad applica- tion according to the dictionary. It is quite possible that it may resurface in some other form, or it may reappear in the future in the same form, but with much greater aggressiveness. The rev- elation of Allah the Exalted hints to this as well, as it contains the phrase ُ أَفْطِر ُ و َ أَصُوْم ُ أَفْطِر ُ و َ أَصُوْم ; that is, there would be a time when the plague would consume people just as people consume food and water at the breaking of the fast, while at another time, there would be peace as if the plague is observing a fast: ِ َرْض َ إِلَی الْوَقْت ِ الْمَعْلُوْم ْأ إِنِّی ْ مَع َ الرَّسُوْل ِ أَقُوْمُ. أَفْطِر ُ وَأَصُوْم ُ وَلَن ْ أَبْرَح َ ال ِ َرْض َ إِلَی الْوَقْت ِ الْمَعْلُوْم ْأ إِنِّی ْ مَع َ الرَّسُوْل ِ أَقُوْمُ. أَفْطِر ُ وَأَصُوْم ُ وَلَن ْ أَبْرَح َ ال [‘I shall stand with My Messenger and shall break the fast and also observe it. I shall not depart from this land until a determined time. ’] People are only too eager to find an explanation to reassure and appease themselves. They calm themselves down by saying that it was just an ordinary illness and, accordingly, it is now gone— What Sign and what warning? In actual fact, the word ‘plague’ has a vast meaning: