Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya Part V — Page 474
474 BARĀHIN-E-AHMADIYYA - PART FIVE on one hand and also calls him a Nabi ['Prophet'] on the other, is not in contradiction to the injunctions of the Holy Quran, inasmuch as such Prophethood-being that of an ummatī—is a reflection of the Prophethood of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and is not an independent Prophethood. Had you properly reflected on the ahādīth, this objection would not have arisen in your mind at all. You say that 'Īsā [Jesus] who is to descend has been called Nabiyyullāh ['a Prophet of God'] in aḥā- dith; I say that the same Jesus who is to descend has also been called an ummati in ahādīth. 1* Can you tell me from the Holy Quran or Hadith that 'Isā ibn Maryam [Jesus son of Mary], the past Prophet, has been called an ummatī at any place? It is thus quite clear that this 'Isā who is called both a Prophet and an ummatī is a different Īsā. He is not the 'Isā [Jesus] who lived among the Israelites, who was an independent Prophet, and to whom the Injil was revealed. How can you make him an ummatī [follower of Holy Prophetsas]? In Şahih Bukhārī, where the future 'Īsā is described as an ummati, his physical appearance is also described as distinct from the first 'Isā. Of course, had the ahādīth only used the word Nabī and not ummati, one might have been mistaken, but now that Şahih Bukhārī has clearly written إِمَامُكُمْ مِنْكُم ]your Imam from among you'] with regard to the coming 'Isā: 'O my followers, the coming 'Isā is also only an ummati and no more. Likewise, Şahih Muslim records these words أَمَّكُمْ مِنْكُم meaning that, 'Isā will be your leader and will be from among you. That is to say, he will be an individual from within this Ummah. 1. Thus, when it is proven from these ahādīth that the 'Isā to come An ummatī is the person who cannot reach his perfection without follow- ing the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. So can it be imagined with regard to Hadrat 'Īsā [Jesus], may peace be upon him, that he will remain imperfect until he returns to the world and enters the Ummah of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and fol- lows him? (Author)