Page 118 - Demo

114Now, if John Baptist (pbuh) were the Messenger appointed by God to prepare the way before Jesus (pbuh) Christ, and if he was his herald and subordinate, there is no sense and wisdom whatever in to go about baptizing the crowds in the waters of a river or a pond and to occupy himself with half a dozen disciples. He ought to have immediately followed and adhered to Jesus (pbuh) when he had seen and known him! He did nothing of the kind! Of course, a Muslim always speaks of a prophet with utmost respect and reverence, and I am not expected to comment further, as an Ernest Renan or an indifferent critic would do! But to say that a prophet whom they describe as a dervish of the wilderness clad in the skins of animals, and a dervish who comes forth and sees his “Adon” and the “Angel of the Covenant,” and then does not follow and cleave to him, is ridiculous and incredible. To think and believe that a prophet is sent by God to prepare the way, to purify and clear the religion for the coming of his superior, and then describing him as living all his life in the desert among the animals, is to tell us that he was constructing chaussées, causeways or railways, not for men, but for beasts and genii.3. Nor was John Baptist (pbuh) the Prophet Elijah or Elias, as Christ is made to have said. The Prophet Mālākhī, in his fourth chapter (verse 5, 6), speaks of the coming of Elijah, which fact is foretold to take place some time before the day of the Resurrection and not before the Appearance of the Messenger in question. Even if Christ had said that was Elijah, the people did not know him. What Jesus (pbuh) meant to say was that the two were similar in their ascetical life, their zeal for God, their courage in scolding and admonishing the kings and the hypocrite leaders of the religion.I cannot go on discussing this untenable claim of the Churches concerning being the Messenger “to prepare the way.” But I must add that this Baptist did not abrogate one iota of the Law of Moses (pbuh) , nor add to it a tittle. And as to baptism, it is the old Jewishma’muditha or ablution.