Question 3 - The Enlightening Answer Across the Ether, Vol 1

Ahmed al-Hasan Response:

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds. Sister, the prayer of Allah’s prophet Jesus son of Mary (peace be upon them both) behind Imam al-Mahdi (a) admits of two possibilities. First: Imam al-Mahdi (a) may be superior to Allah’s prophet Jesus (a). Naturally, Imam al-Mahdi (a) would not be superior unless he possessed the station of prophethood. In that case, there is no place for the objection you raised. Even if I believed this, I would still present the second possibility and answer it. Second: Jesus (a) may be superior to al-Mahdi (a). In that case, the objection you raised has a place within the search for truth and reality. The answer is found in the Torah and the Gospel-the Old and New Testaments-just as it is found in the Quran. From the Torah, or Old Testament, I select for you the story of Saul (or Talut) and David (peace be upon them both). David (a) was one of Allah’s prophets and was superior to Talut, yet at the beginning David was a soldier in Talut’s army, obeying his commands and following him, because Talut (a), or Saul, was a king appointed by the command of Allah, Glorious and Exalted. David (a) killed Goliath-may Allah curse him-while David was one of Talut’s soldiers. Read 1 Samuel, chapter 17, in the Torah, and the story of Talut in the Noble Quran. As for the Gospel, or New Testament, I select for you the story of Jesus (a) and Yahya (a), or John. Jesus (a) was superior to Yahya (a), yet Jesus came to be baptized by John, or Yahya (a), even though this act represents sanctification, purification, and refinement. In this station, Yahya (a), or John, represented Allah’s proof over Jesus (a). It is stated in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter three: ‘Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John to be baptized by him, but John prevented him, saying: I need to be baptized by you, and you come to me. Jesus answered and said to him: Permit it now, for thus it befits us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he permitted him. When Jesus was baptized, he came up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of Allah descending like a dove and coming upon him …’ (^[1]). In both cases, David and Jesus (a) were superior to Yahya and Talut (peace be upon them both). Praise be to Allah alone. Ahmed Alhasan