The Victory of Islam — Page 51
H H A A D D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD 51 Footnote from page 11 1 ٭ [The first sign] This age in which we exist is a time when superficiality; the estrangement from spirit and essence; the dep - rivation of honesty and fidelity; the absence of truth and moral purity; and the abundance of greed, miserliness, and love of the world have become as widespread as they were among the Jews during the time of the advent of the Messiah Son of Mary. So, just as the Jewish people in that age had grown completely oblivious to true piety, considering piety as nothing more than mere ritual and custom; and besides this, honesty and fidelity and inner purity and equity had completely disappeared in them, leaving no sign or trace of genuine sympathy nor true compassion; and diverse kinds of creature-worship had taken the place of the One truly worthy of worship—similarly, all of these very evils have come into being during this age. Halal [lawful] things are not utilized with gratitude nor with grateful humility. Abhorrence and aversion no longer remain in the commission of the haram [unlawful]. The noble ordinances of God Almighty are cast aside through misleading interpretations. Even the majority of our ulama do not fall short of the scribes and Pharisees of that time. They strain out a gnat yet swallow a camel. 1. In the original Urdu edition of Fat h- e-Isl a m, the Promised Messiah as presented this footnote along with the main text on page 11. For the ease of readers, it has been presented here as its own section. [Publisher]