The Revealed Sermon — Page xv
Foreword Khu t bah-Ilh a miyyah [‘’] documents one of the many Divine Signs demonstrated at the hand of the Promised Messiah as to prove the existence of God and rekindle spirituality upon the earth. The treatise was published after October 1902 and highlights an impromptu ‘ I dul-A dha sermon delivered live on 11 April 1900 by the Promised Messiah, peace be upon him, in the Arabic language before the audience of approximately 200 people in the Aqsa Mosque, Qadian, India. The first chapter of this treatise records the actual text of the sermon as transcribed by two audience members— Hadrat Maul a n a Abdul- Karim ra and Hadrat Maul a n a Hakeem Noor-ud-Deen ra —while the sermon was simultaneously being delivered. The content abounds with gems of Divine wisdom and insight regarding the nature and essence of sacrifice, while finding expression in the most lofty calibre of Arabic articulation, eloquence, and elegance. The Promised Messiah as , himself recounts the experience as follows: …I stood up after ‘ I d Prayer to deliver the ‘ I d sermon in the Arabic language. And God Almighty knows that a power was given to me from the unseen and such an eloquent address in Arabic was proceeding forth from my mouth extemporane- ously that was quite beyond my capability. I cannot imagine that, except through special divine revelation, anyone in the world can deliver extempore, without writing it down on a piece of paper, a speech that comprises many sections, with this degree of eloquence and clarity. When this Arabic address, which has been named Khutbah Ilhamiyyah [‘’], was delivered to the peo- ple, an audience of perhaps two hundred was present at the time. Holy is Allah! It seemed as if a fountain had begun to flow from the unseen, and I knew not whether I was the one who was speaking or it was an angel addressing through my