The Essence of Islam – Volume III — Page 212
212 Essence of Islam-III I regret to say that I have had to publish this issue of Nūr- ul-Qur'an in response to a person who instead of refer- ring to our lord and master, the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) with respect, has vitu- perated him and has, out of his personal vileness, uttered so many calumnies against the Leader of the Righteous and the Chief of the Purified that a pure hearted person trembles at hearing them. In dealing with such a person, we had to adopt a severe tone. I declare that my belief concerning the Messiah (peace be upon him) is an excellent belief. I hold sincerely that he was a true Prophet of God Almighty and was a loved one of His. I also believe, as the Holy Qur'an tells us, that he believed sincerely in our lord and master Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) as the means of his salvation. He was a sincere follower, out of many hundred such followers, of the Law of Moses (peace be on him. ) I, therefore, give him all the respect due to his to his exalted status. But the Jesus presented by the Chris- tians who claimed to be God and considered everyone but himself to be accursed, i. e. , he considered them guilty of such vices the punishment of which is a curse-is, in my view not entitled to the mercy of God. The Holy Qur'an has not made any reference to such an imperti- nent and vile tongued Jesus. I am shocked by the conduct of one who believed that God could be subject to death and claimed godhead for himself and vilified such right- eous ones as were a thousand times better than him. In dealing with Christians I have throughout had that ficti- tious Jesus in mind. The humble servant of God, 'Īsā, son of Mary, who was a Prophet and who is mentioned in the Holy Qur'an is not the one against whom my harsh words are directed. I have adopted this method after en-