The Essence of Islam – Volume IV — Page 207
Propagation, Establishment of a Holy Jama'at, and Instructions 207 Messiahas, his great centre is described as in the East, i. e. , India. It is also related in the Ahādīth that the Promised Messiah will appear East of Damascus; and Qadian is to the East of Damascus. The following signs and conditions should be enough for a God- fearing person to accept my claim: The eclipse of the sun and the moon occurred in the month of Ramadan after the announcement of my claim, but people rejected this sign; the plague spread over the country; the railway was started in accor- dance with the prophecies in the Ahādīth and the Qur'ān; camels were discarded; the Pilgrimage was stopped; the time came for the spread of the doctrine of the cross; hundreds of signs were shown at my hands; the time of my appearance was appointed by the Prophetsas; I was raised at the beginning of the century; thousands of pious people saw dreams con- firming my claim; the Holy Prophets and the Holy Qur'an announced that the Promised Messiah would appear from among the Muslims; I have been ac- corded the support of God Almighty; approximately two hundred thousand people have made covenant of Bai'at with me and have become righteous and pure- hearted; the Christian faith has been shaken in my time so much so that the magic of the Trinity is melt- ing like snow; Muslims have gone into decline having been divided into many sects; the world has under- gone a revolutionary change in which innovation, idolatry, drunkenness, illicit sex, dishonesty, and ly- ing have become rife; in every aspect this world has