The True Nature of the Mahdi — Page 31
31 Balam was deluded in that he failed to recognize Moses , peace be on him. And he could not fathom the loftiest degree of his [of Moses’] closeness to God, so that he could have been awed into being respectful towards him. In the times of Jesus, peace be on him, too, there were among the Jews many recipients of revelation and the ones who saw dreams, yet because they were at the low - est point [of spirituality] and had not been granted the high rank of experiencing the manifestation of the un - seen, they could not recognize Jesus and believed him to be a man like themselves, but rather, they even regarded him as inferior to themselves. And, for those who see dreams and receive revelation, their doing so is such a trial that had there not been the Grace of God, some of them would certainly have been perished. And the prov - erb neem mullah, khatra-e-iman , the Mullah with only a smattering of knowledge is a danger to the Faith, would have aptly applied to them. It is for this reason that one should keep in mind the difference between standing at the lowest level [ qiyam-e-nashayb ] and the loftiest [ izhar alal-ghayb ]. Many blind recipients of revelation, whose feet are mired in a pit, make prophecies as if it is the end of my mission. If they repent, it would be better for them. They should remember that during the middle pe - riods of their lives, even the Prophets, peace be on them,