The Heavenly Sign — Page 34
THE PROPHECY OF OUR LORD AND MASTER THE HOLY PROPHET [peace and blessings of Allah be upon him] The Hadith of the Holy Prophets that Allah, the Exalted shall raise in this Umma a Mujaddid at the beginning of each century to revive its faith, is generally recognized to be a true and authentic. But, the Holy Prophets has given so many glad-tidings as to the advent of the great Mahdias at the beginning of the Fourteenth Century, that it is impossible for a seeker to deny them. It was also foretold that when he makes his appearance, the Ulema shall pronounce him to be a disbeliever and might as well kill him. Hence, Maulawī Şiddīq Hassan Şāhib also admits on page 363 and 382 of Hujaj-ul-Kirāmah, that the Ulema of the time, who will be accustomed to following the jurists and the religious elders, after hearing the teachings of the Mahdi, will say that he is destroying Islam. They shall rise against him and shall charge him with infidelity and perdition according to their old practice. That is, they will call him an infidel, an errant, and Dajjal but they will also be fearful of the formidable sword. The Ulema will be his most bitter enemies because with his advent their authority and leadership will decline. Were there no 'sword', they would have surely given an edict for his murder. Even if 34