Malfuzat - Volume VIII — Page 323
29 DECEMBER 1905 occurring in someone else's time. This hadith¹ is present in the books of both Sunnis and Shias. Then how can it be denied? It was a Sign from heaven. The Plague-an Earthly Sign And the Sign of the earth is that which appeared in the form of the plague. It is stated in the Holy Quran: وَإِنْ مِنْ قَرْيَةٍ إِلَّا نَحْنُ مُهْلِكُوهَا قَبْلَ يَوْمِ الْقِيمَةِ أَوْ مُعَذِّبُوهَا عَذَابًا شَدِيدًا كَانَ ذَلِكَ فِي الْكِتَبِ مَسْطُورًا 2 323 It is clear from this that when the Day of Judgment approaches, the door of death will be opened in general, and this hadith of the eclipse of the sun and moon has also been proven correct from the Holy Quran. In the Shia books about the plague, it is even written that there will be such a plague that where there are 10 people, seven of them will die. And in fact, it is such a calamity that families upon families have been wiped out by it and no sign or trace of them was left. Who knows what will happen tomorrow? The plague is thriving in this extreme cold. There is an uproar in Amritsar. What hope can one entertain in such a situation? While death abounds, will you take your possessions and properties with you on your head? Certainly not. Thus, if you 1. Dār Quțnī, Kitāb al-Idīn, Bāb Şifat Şalāt al-Khusūf wal-Kusūf wa Hay'atihimā, Hadith 1771, vol. 2, p. 209, Dār al-Ma'rifah, Beirut, Lebanon; See also Akmal al-Din wa Tamām al-Ni'mah, Bāb 57 Mā Ruwi Fi ‘Alāmāt Khurūj al-Qā'im, vol. 2, p. 594, Riwayat No. 25, Mu'assasat al-Aʻlami lil-Matbūʻāt, Beirut, Lebanon; [Publisher] 2. There is not a township but We shall destroy it before the Day of Resurrection, or punish it with a severe punishment. That is written down in the Book (Sūrah Bani Isrā'īl, 17:59). [Publisher]