The Descent of the Messiah — Page 80
THE DESCENT OF THE MESSIAH that God is not limited in His abilities and can use supernatural means to bring about conviction, allowing a person to recognise His word with the same ease as they would identify the sun when they see it. Do they believe that, from the time of Adam to that of the Holy Prophet, God was able to bring the seekers of truth to the fount of certainty, but was not able to do it afterwards? Or, that He was able to do it but deliberately became miserly with this unfortunate Ummah and forgot the very prayer that He had Himself taught: اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ صِرَاطَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ This is the response my soul gives to the question, How did you know and believe that the words that were made to flow through your tongue are the words of God and not the product of the mind or satanic inspiration?: (1) Firstly, the word that descends upon me is accompanied by a grandeur, a pleasure, and mighty effect; it sinks into my heart like a steel nail; it dispels darkness; and with its descent, I experience an extremely subtle form of delight. How I wish that I were powerful enough to explain it! It is beyond human power to draw a complete picture of pleasures and delights, whether they be physical or spiritual. A person may see his beloved and draw pleasure from the beauty of the beloved, but he would not be able to describe what that delight is. Just as the vision of God, Who is the Cause of all causes, is the source of ultimate pleasure, so is His discourse. If a person receives a word, that is to say, a voice that descends upon his heart and flows through his tongue, and he still suspects that it might be the voice of Satan or a suggestion 1 "Guide us on the right path-the path of those on whom Thou hast be- stowed Thy blessings. ” Al-Fatihah, 1:6-7 [Publisher] 80