The Descent of the Messiah — Page 19
HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMADAS tion : إِنَّهُ أَوَى الْقَرْيَةَ was revealed, so that there is no hindrance in the works of God. Otherwise, Qadian deserved to be destroyed first because these people, despite being the closest, are far away, and many do not believe in God, nor do they wish to take off their unholy garbs and accept the truth. In short, it is the prac- tice of God that the village or town wherein His Messenger is sent is not destroyed through the plague, pestilence, or volcanic eruption. Yes, ordinary mortalities, whether from the plague or cholera or through any other means, can occur within the limit of human endurance, as these would not hinder the mission of the Appointed One. This, and only this, is the meaning of the revelation regarding Qadian that I have published. Some people argue that the time of the Promised Messiah should have been a period of peace and tranquillity, not the spread of plague, famine, and various causes of death. The an- swer to these false delusions is that it is not the place of man to demand that things be this way or that. It has been clearly stat- ed in Divine scriptures that the time of the Promised Messiah would be marked by the plague. This pestilence has been fore- told in the New Testament, and in the Holy Quran, too, God Almighty says: وَإِنْ مِنْ قَرْيَةٍ إِلَّا نَحْنُ مُهْلِكُوهَا قَبْلَ يَوْمِ الْقِيمَةِ أَوْ مُعَذِّبُوهَا That is: "There is not a township but We shall destroy it be- fore the Day of Resurrection in the latter days of the world 1 "He will grant shelter to this town. " [Publisher] 2 "There is not a township but We shall destroy it before the Day of Resur- rection, or punish it with a severe punishment. That is written down in the Book. " Bani Isrā'īl, 17:59 [Publisher] 19