Page 205 - Demo

Chapter VI201The “Sibghatullah”, or the Baptism with the HolySpirit and with fireOne of the few religious phenomena I have not been able to explain is this: How is it that the wellknown Saba’ītes (Sabians), so predominant in theArabian Peninsula and Mesopotamia, did not embrace Christianity if the Prophet John the Baptist (pbuh) had really and openly. Declared and presented Jesus (pbuh) as the “more powerful” Prophet than himself, and theMessiah whose shoes he was not worthy to unloose? If, as foretold by John, Jesus was the Apostle of Allah who came to baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire themyriads whom he “dyed” in the water of the Jordan and elsewhere, why did not Jesus (pbuh) baptize them instantly with the Spirit and with fire and then purge of idolatry all the lands promised by Allah to the seed of Abraham (pbuh) and establish the Kingdom of God by force and fire? It is inconceivable that the disciples and the believers in the divine mission of John (pbuh) should not follow Jesus (pbuh) if he had been presented to the public as his Lord or Superior on the spot. The followers of John (pbuh) might have been excused for their refusal to enter into the Christian Church of Jesus Christ (pbuh) had come, say, a century later than the Baptist, but luckily, such was not the case. They were both contemporaries andborn in the same year. They both baptized with water unto repentance, and prepared their penitent convertsfor the Kingdom of God that was approaching but not established in their time.The Saba’ītes, the “Dyers” or “Baptists,” were the faithful adherents ofJohn (pbuh) . They may have fallen into error and superstition; but they knew perfectly well that it was not Jesus (pbuh) who was intended in the prophecy of