The Essence of Islam – Volume IV — Page 74
74 Essence of Islam-IV an end. God, therefore, left the unification of man- kind and their acceptance of one faith for the latter part of the Prophethood of Muhammada, which will also be the time of the approach of the Day of Judgement. For this purpose God appointed a deputy from among this very Ummah, who was named the Promised Messiah and also Khatam-ul-Khulafa'. Thus the Holy Prophetsa stands at the beginning of his Prophethood, and the Promised Messiah stands towards the end of it. It was necessary that this world should not come to an end until after the appearance of the Deputy of the Prophet, as the unification of mankind was destined to take place in his time. This is set out in the verse: هُوَ الَّذِي أَرْسَلَ رَسُولَهُ بِالْهُدَى وَدِينِ الْحَقِّ لِيُظْهِرَهُ عَلَى الدِّينِ كُلِّهِ " This means: He it is Who has sent His Messengersa with perfect guidance and the True Religion so that He may bring about its triumph over all the religions of the world. . . All scholars who have preceded me are agreed that this universal triumph would be achieved in the time of the Promised Messiah. [Chashma-e-Ma'rifat, Rūņānī Khazā'in, vol. 23, pp. 90-91] I swear by God, in Whose hands is my life, that it is He Who has sent me, and named me a Prophet, and called me the Promised Messiah, and manifested great signs in my support, the number of which ex- tends to three hundred thousand. 41 Al-Şaff, 61:10 [Publisher] [Haqiqat-ul-Wahī, Rūķānī Khazā'in, vol. 22, p. 503]