The Descent of the Messiah — Page 217
HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMADAS 42 [continued] today, in the lifetime of the truthful one, unless he turns to the truth, i. e. desists from calling the Righteous and True Prophet, Dajjal and refrains from impertinence and abuse. I said this because the mere denial of a religion does not merit punishment in this world, it is audacious, imperti- nent and insolent vilification that makes one deserving of punishment. Thus, when Atham was apprised of this prophecy in this gathering of more than seventy people, he visibly became blanched, his face turned pale, and his hands started to tremble. He immediately took his tongue out of his mouth, touched his ears with both hands, and began to shake his head and hands just like a frightened culprit who vehemently denies any wrongdo- ing, repents and shows great humility. With a quivering tongue, he kept saying that I repent! I repent! I am not guilty of any disrespect or blasphemy; and I have never ever called the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Al- lah be upon him, Dajjal. All the while, he was trembling, and this spectacle was not only beheld by Muslims but his humble attitude was also witnessed by a large num- ber of Christians. His denial seemed to indicate that his statement in Andrūna-e-Bible was not meant as an insult. In any case, he ended up retracting the word Dajjal be- fore this gathering of about seventy people, and it was this one word that had occasioned the prophecy. He es- caped death within a period of fifteen months, because he had recanted that blasphemous word on which the prophecy depended and God would surely never forget the condition that He Himself had attached. Although this should have been enough for Atham to avail him- self of the condition of repentance, he not only retracted the word Dajjal but, from the very day that he heard the prophecy, he stopped attacking Islam altogether. The fear this prophecy instilled in his heart continued to increase until he became a nervous wreck. All his peace and tran- 217