The Descent of the Messiah — Page 202
THE DESCENT OF THE MESSIAH 30 [continued] will hatch all kinds of plots against me, but God shall be with me and shall frustrate these plans and protect me. Think now: was there a scheme that was not devised? In fact, all kinds of plots were hatched to kill and destroy me. Lawsuits were lodged accusing me of murder; con- spiracies were made to disgrace me; schemes were made to levy tax on me; and I was targeted with fatwas of here- sy and murder, but God foiled them all and none of their deceptions succeeded. Thus, God had informed ahead of time of the powerful tempests that were to arrive. Fear God and say truthfully whether or not this constitutes knowledge of the unseen and Divine support? Someone might ask that the promise of safety required that these people would not be able to hurt me in any way; how is it that they put me through so much hardship by taking me to court in false cases, hurling so much abuse at me, and causing me financial loss through legal expenses? The answer is that the meaning of safety was that I would be protected against the major ordeals that were the true in- tent of the opponents. Remember, the promise of safety was also made to the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, but even he received severe inju- ries in the Battle of Uhud, and this occurred after he had been promised safety. In the same way, God said to Jesus: اذْ كَفَفْتُ بَنِي إِسْرَاءِيلَ عَنْكَ ! "Remember the time when I stopped the Children of Israel who intended to kill you. " Yet, it is known from consistent records that the Jews arrested Jesus and placed him on the cross, but God ultimately saved his life. Thus, the connotation of اِذْكَفَفْتُ ]I stopped] is the same as that of وَاللَّهُ يَعْصِمُكَ مِنَ النَّاسِ ] God shall protect you from the people[. 1 "When I restrained the children of Israel from putting thee to death. " Al-Ma'idah 5:111. [Publisher] 202