Page 224 - Demo

220Almighty in His quality of Creator is the Father of all beings, things, and intelligences, but not the Father of one particular son. The Orientalists know that the Semitic word “abb” or “abba,” which is translated as “father,” means “one who brings forth, or bears fruit” (“ibba” = fruit). Thissense of the word is quite intelligible and its use legitimate enough. TheBible frequently makes use of the appellation “Father.” God, somewhere in the Bible, says, “Israel is my first-born son”; and elsewhere in the book of Job He is called “the father of the rain.”It is because of the abuse of this divine appellation of the Creator by Christendom that the Quran refrainsfrom using it. From a purely Unitarian and Muslim point of belief the Christian dogma concerning the eternal birth or generation of the Son is a blasphemy.Whether the Christian baptismal formula is authentic or spurious I believe there is a hidden truth in it. For it must be admitted that the Evangelists never authorize the use of it in any other ritual, prayer, or creed other than that of Baptism. This point is extremely important. St. John (pbuh) had foretold the Baptism with the Holy Spirit and fire by the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) , as we saw in the preceding articles. The immediate Baptizer being God Himself, and the mediate the Son of Man or the Barnasha of the vision of Daniel, it was perfectly just and legitimate to mention those two names asthe first and second efficient causes; and the name of the Holy Spirit, too, as the causa materialis of the Sibghatu’llahh! Now the divine appellation “Father,” before its abuse by the Church, was rightly invoked. In fact, the Sibghatullah is a new birth, a nativity into the kingdom of God, which is Islam. The Baptizer who causes this regeneration is directly Allah. To be born in the religion if Islam, to be endowed with the faith in the true God, is the greatest favour and gift of the