Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya Part V — Page 532
532 BARĀHIN-E-AHMADIYYA - PART FIVE 1 as Hadrat Īsā remained among them-in keeping with the purport of the verse مَا دُمْتُ فِيهِمْ - they all remained firm on Tauhid [the Oneness of God]. Their progeny went astray after the death of Hadrat 'Isā. It is not known in which generation they fell into this error. Historians maintain that the Christian faith was still on its original principles till its third century. In any case, it appears that all those people returned to their homeland after the death of Hadrat Īsā; perhaps because the Emperor of Rome became Christian, so it was no longer necessary for them to remain in exile. Here, bear in mind that the journey of Hadrat Īsā, may peace be upon him, to Kashmir is not without proof. Rather, this matter has been established with strong arguments, so much so that the word 'Kashmir' itself is evidence of this, inasmuch as the word 'Kashmir' is a word that is pronounced 'Kashīr' in the Kashmiri language, and every Kashmiri calls it 'Kashīr'. As such, it appears that this word is evidently of Hebrew origin and is the composite of the words kāf and ashir. The land of Syria is called ashīr in Hebrew, and [the preposition[ ك-kāfis used to connote similarity. Hence the word was كَأَشِيْر ]Ka-Ashir], where the letter kaf was distinct from ashir, and the term meant, like the country of Syria. And since this country was the place to which Hadrat 'Isā, may peace be upon him, had migrated, and he was the dweller of a cold country, therefore, God, in order to comfort him, named this country Ka-Ashiīr, meaning, like the country of Ashir. Then, with frequent usage, the alif [i. e. the 'a' sound in ashir] became obsolete and only Kashir was left. Then, other nations, who were neither the dwellers of Kashir nor possessed its language, added a م-mim [i. e. an 'm' sound] and made it 'Kashmir. But, it is by the grace and mercy of God Almighty that to this day it is spoken and written as Kashir in the Kashmiri language. Besides this, to this day, there are many things in the land of Kashmir that bear Hebrew names; even some mountains have been named after 1. Sūrah al-Ma'idah, 5:118 [Publisher]