Chapter 85 Verses 2-4
Allah Has Stated in the Qur’an:
وَالسَّمَاءِ ذَاتِ الْبُرُوجِ {2}
وَالْيَوْمِ الْمَوْعُودِ {3}
وَشَاهِدٍ وَمَشْهُودٍ {4}
By the heaven having mansions of stars, And by the Promised Day, And by the Witness and that about whom witness has been borne,(Chapter 85 Verses 2-4)
These verses have been beautifully explained by Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmood Ahmad (ra). He states in regards to the first ayah, Chapter 84 verse 2:
“The verse purports to say that just as there are twelve mansions of stars in the physical heaven, similarly there will be twelve Divine Reformers or Mujadids or twelve mansions in the spiritual firmament of Islam who will keep its light burning after the sun had set i.e, after the first three best centuries of Islam will have passed resulting in spread of spiritual darkness over the whole world. These reformers will bear witness to the truth of Islam, of the Qur’an and to that of the Holy Prophet(saw)”
In regards to the next ayah he states:
“The Promised Day” here signifies the day when the Promised Messiah will be raised to bring about the renaissance of Islam. There have been many such days in the history of Islam which could be called the “Promised Day” namely the day of the Battle of Badr, the day when the Battle of Dutch came to a glorious end, and the day of the fall of Mecca. But the Promised Day “par excellence was the time of the Second coming of the Holy Prophet in the person of the Promised Messiah in the 14th century A.H when Islam was to receive a new life and to prevail over all religions. The verse may also signify the day when the righteous will enjoy the ecstasy of meeting with their Lord”
In regards to the fourth ayah, the Promised Son(ra) states:
“Every Prophet or Divine Reformer is a bearer of witness because he is a living witness to the existence of God and he is also Mashood (about whom witness is borne) because God bears witness to his truth by showing signs and miracles at his hands and by creating conditions and circumstances which establish the truth of his Message and mission. But here, as the text shows the bearer of Witness is the Promised Messiah and the one about whom witness is borne is the Holy Prophet(saw) and the verse signifies that the Promised Messiah(as) will bear witness to the truth of the Holy Prophet(saw) by his speeches, discourses and writings and by the Signs that God will show at his hands. The Promised Messiah(as) will also bear witness to the truth of the Holy Prophet(saw) in the sense that in his person the prophecy of the Holy Prophet(saw) about the appearance of the Messiah and Mahdi in the 14th century A.H will be fulfilled. The Promised Messiah (as) will also be mashood in the sense that the hadith of the Holy Prophet(saw) will bear witness to his truth. Thus the Holy Prophet(saw) and the Promised Messiah(as) will both be Bearer of witness and about whom witness is borne”(Five Volume Commentary of the Holy Qur’an pages 2798-2799)