The Light of Truth — Page 361
REFUTING OBJECTIONS 361 observed indeed with its observance you offered the [eclipse] prayer-the luminous truth has become manifest and all excuses have dried up, so do not remain among those who doubt. O ye who claim to be possess intelligence and understanding! How long will you prefer hardship and delusion? Do you consider the fire of Allah's wrath a provision? Do you fancy the arrow of Allah's overwhelming might as a share thereof? It is not right to object that since the eclipse—which took place on the first night of Ramadan-appeared only in the Punjab and its neighbouring countries, but its occurrence was not witnessed in other places as well, the Sign was insufficient. For, I say that the intended aim was also limited to these places, for they constitute the place where the Promised Messiah and blessed Mahdi appeared. As for the other countries, the Mahdi is not found in them, nor Jesus, and for this reason, the lunar and solar eclipses did not appear in Arabia or the Levant, so that Allah may thereby remove the doubts of the common people and disprove the notions of the liars. The secret behind this is that our state, the Punjab, was, in the all-encompassing knowledge of Allah, the birthplace of the Promised Messiah and blessed Mahdi. Thus, Allah decided to guide people to him through Signs and events designated espe- cially for him, so that they may come to pose that the Signs of the Mahdi appeared in this country but the advent of the Mahdi took place in an altogether different country: This is not in keeping with