Humanity of the Prophet ﷺ

What a pity it is that every (Tablighi) jama'ati who has done a forty-day tour (chilla) remembers "Say: I am only a human being like you," yet no one remembers "There has come to you from Allah a light and a clear Book." "Say: I do not know what will be done with me" is on the tongue of every Tablighi who has tied up his bedding roll, yet for some unknown reason he is unaware of "It may be that your Lord will raise you to a praiseworthy station." There are veils over their sight. In the same way, this is the cruel manner of those who are wise in their own estimation in ordinary issues as well. History will never forgive such eyes, which, concerning that absolutely beautiful and comely one, tried to look only at those texts which, in their own reckoning, could supply comfort to their inner malice. May the Most Generous Lord not give even an enemy such a sight as would make him deserving of everlasting punishment.

The view of Hazrat Mujaddid (may his secret be sanctified) on the question of the Prophet's humanity (bashariyyat) is founded on reality. If eyes still do not open, what else can this be called but wretchedness from birth? Describing the gnostic of complete gnosis, he says:

When the perfect gnostic ('arif) of complete gnosis, after subsistence of the essence (baqa), is granted the attributes and perfect traits of character, then at that time his essence becomes qualified by each one of those attributes in the manner of totality.

(Rather, his essence) will, for example, be knowledge in its entirety, sight in its entirety and hearing in its entirety, just as the verifying Sufis have said concerning the attributes of the Necessary Being that the whole essence of Allah is knowledge, the whole is power, the whole is hearing and the whole is sight. (A little further on he says:) Likewise, each one of the gnostic's subtle centres (lata'if) at that time appears in the colour of his totality, and the gnostic becomes in his entirety the subtle centre of the spirit (ruh), and in his entirety the subtle centre of the heart (qalb). On the same analogy are the remaining subtle centres: the rational soul (nafs-e-natiqa), the secret (sirr), the hidden (khafi) and the most hidden (akhfa). In the same way, each one of his parts and each one of his elements takes on the status of the whole; for example, the gnostic finds himself in his entirety to be the element of earth, and likewise sees himself in his entirety as the element of water.

And when the subtle centre of the heart, which is the all-comprehensive reality, becomes coloured with the colour of the whole, and its connection with the physical lump of the heart is removed, the lump at that time remains empty and appears like a body without a soul, and it seems as though in this coming and going (annihilation and subsistence) not even the dust of this path has touched it, and that it is in its original purity. (Maktub 65)

From the above description by Hazrat Imam Rabbani, judge for yourself: when the loftiness of the gnostic of complete gnosis is such, then what must be the state of the sight, hearing, power and knowledge of the Master of the Gnostics ﷺ!

In Maktub 64, writing about the most complete annihilation (fana-e-atamm), he says that the most complete annihilation is attained only when both the essence and the trace ('ayn and athar) of the one annihilated have vanished, and no

name or sign of him remains. After a long discourse he says:

It should be known that a doubt arises at this point, namely that concerning the most luminous Master ﷺ it has come: "Say: I am only a human being like you; it is revealed to me," and in the noble hadith: "I am only a human being like you; I become angry as human beings become angry." Now it is evident that this was said only because the effect of humanity and human nature remained, so how can it be correct to say that the essence and the trace are removed from the gnostic? The answer is that the verse and the hadith do not indicate that the trace remains. It is true, however, that after annihilation and subsistence, when the perfect human being is returned to the world and to inviting creation, then at that time, after the intensity and sharpness of the human attributes and the removed human characteristics have been broken, the gnostic is compounded with those attributes, so that the affinity (munasabat) between that gnostic and the world, which had disappeared, may come into being; and because of this affinity Allah Most High opens the door of giving and receiving benefit. Further, in attaching the removed human attributes to him and qualifying him with them there is also this wisdom: that Allah Most High tests His servants and distinguishes and separates the wicked from the good and the denier from the one who affirms. After these attributes are returned, the gnostic's affair becomes veiled and hidden; hence those who affirm him receive the wealth of faith in the unseen (iman bil-ghayb), upon which all the successes of the Hereafter depend. The Quran says:

وَلَوْ جَعَلْنٰہُ مَلَکًا لَّجَعَلْنٰہُ رَجُلًا وَّلَلَبَسْنَا عَلَیۡہِمۡ مَّا یَلْبِسُوۡنَ (الانعام: ۶؍۹)

And had We made him an angel, We would have made him a man, and We would have obscured for them that which they are obscuring. (Al-An'am 6:9)

Translation: And if We had made the Prophet an angel, We would still have made him a man, and would have kept upon them the same doubt in which they are now caught.

Let those who have memorised "Say: I am only a human being like you" look at these sayings of this leader of the Shari'ah and the Path (tariqa), and weigh their faith. He spoke the truth: hundreds of thousands, deceived by the garment of humanity, squandered the treasure of faith. Those devoid of intellect and understanding, those embodiments of ignorance and foolishness, never valued this mercy of Allah: had the Master of the World ﷺ not come in the garment of humanity, how would man have obtained the light of faith?

Whatever Allah does, He does well. Were this not His wisdom, how would the sincerity or hypocrisy of the heart become manifest, and how would the wicked be sifted from the good? For those who have the urge to accept the call of truth, the word of Mujaddid Alf-e-Sani is quite sufficient, but what power can erase pre-eternal wretchedness? For those who call him a human being like themselves, we quote one more saying of Hazrat Mujaddid (may his secret be sanctified), from which readers will clearly understand what he ﷺ is in his view. He says:

The veiled ones, who called Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, a human being and imagined him in the likeness of other human beings, inevitably ended up as deniers; and the fortunate ones, who knew him ﷺ under the title of Messenger and mercy for the worlds, and saw him as distinct from all other people, were honoured with the wealth of faith and came to be among the people of salvation. (Maktub 64, Volume 3)

Those blind of intellect who called Hazrat Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, a human being and imagined him to be like other human beings ultimately became deniers; and those fortunate people who knew him ﷺ as the Messenger and as a mercy for the worlds, and saw him as distinct from all people, were honoured with the wealth of faith and became among those who attain salvation.

This is a very clear, explicit and decisive statement of Hazrat Mujaddid (may his secret be sanctified): those

people who called him a human being like themselves are far from the truth and veiled, and they are deniers; they have no faith, and they will not attain salvation. And those who did not see him as a human being like themselves, but knew him as distinct from all, are the fortunate ones, the people of faith, the saved sect (firqa-e-najiya, the people who attain salvation). For those who seek the path of truth and faith this is a great deal; if it is still not understood, there is no remedy for it. In this world faith will be given only to those souls upon whom the radiance of the light fell in pre-eternity. When Iblis rejected the command of the Most Holy Lord even after seeing the blazing flames of the fire of Hell, then this is only the statement of reality by one member of the Ummah of the Master of the Prophets (may Allah Most High bless him and them and grant them peace); when a heart has lost its capacities, how can it be brought round by force? (Maktub 44, Volume 1)

Muhammad the Arab is the honour of both worlds;Whoever is not the dust of his door, may dust be upon his head.

That is, Muhammad the Arab ﷺ is the honour of both worlds; may there be dust upon the head of the person who is not the dust of his door.

The Origin of All Realities

The reality of the Master of the World ﷺ is the origin of all reality. Hazrat Mujaddid Sahib (may his secret be sanctified) says: The Muhammadan Reality (upon it be the most excellent of blessings and the most perfect of salutations) is the first manifestation and the reality of realities, in the sense that the other realities, whether the realities of the noble prophets or the realities of the angels (upon him and upon them be blessings and peace), are like shadows to it, and it is the origin of realities.

He (upon him be blessings and peace) said: "The first thing Allah created was my light." And he (upon him and his family be blessings and peace) said: "I was created from the light of Allah, and the believers from my light."

Therefore this reality is inevitably the intermediary between all the other realities and the Real, Glorious and Exalted, and

it is impossible for anyone to reach the Sought One without his mediation (upon him and his family be blessings and peace). So he is the Prophet of the prophets and the messengers, and his being sent is a mercy for the worlds (upon him and upon them be blessings and salutations). It is for this reason that the resolute prophets (ulul-'azm), despite their own primacy, wish to follow him and, out of longing, enter among his Ummah, as has been reported (upon him and upon them be blessings, salutations and greetings). (Maktub 122, Volume 3)

The Muhammadan Reality ﷺ, which is the first manifestation and the reality of all realities, in the sense that the other realities, whether the realities of the noble prophets or the realities of the angels, are all like shadows (zilal) of the Muhammadan Reality, and it is the origin of all realities. He ﷺ said: "The first thing that Allah Most High created is my light." And he ﷺ said: "I was created from the light of Allah Most High, and the people of faith from my light."

Therefore, inevitably, the Muhammadan Reality is the intermediary between Allah Most High and the other realities, and it is impossible for anyone to reach the Sought One (Allah Most High) without his mediation. Thus he is the Prophet of the prophets and the messengers, and his being sent is a mercy for the whole world. This is why the resolute messengers, despite their primacy, desire to follow him and long to be of his Ummah, as has been reported.

In this brief passage Hazrat Mujaddid (may his secret be sanctified) has stated these few things in very clear words. First, that he is the origin of all realities, whether of the noble prophets or of the mighty angels; and when he is their origin, what need is there to speak of others? Second, his light was created first of all: he from the light of Allah Most High, and the believers from his light. Third, he is the intermediary and means (wasila) for all; without his mediation no one can reach

Allah. Hence he is the Prophet of the prophets and the Messenger of the messengers. Moreover, it is plainly evident from the words of Hazrat Mujaddid Sahib (may his secret be sanctified) that he is a mercy for all the worlds, not merely for those charged with religious obligations (mukallafin); and further, the resolute messengers wish and long to be of his Ummah and among his followers. These are precisely the beliefs of us, the Ahl-e-Sunnat.

Praise of the Prophet (na't) is a means of salvation in the Hereafter

Praise, eulogy and na't of the Master of Mankind and Jinn ﷺ is a means of salvation in the Hereafter. Hazrat Mujaddid Sahib (may his secret be sanctified), writing a noble letter to Shaykh Sayyid Farid, says: Let him write a few sentences, in transmitted Arabic wording, on the virtues of his great ancestor, who is the best of the Arabs (upon him and his family be the most complete of blessings and the most perfect of greetings), and let him make that blessed writing a means of his salvation in the Hereafter; not that he thereby praises him (upon him be blessings and greetings), but rather that he praises his own words by means of him.

I did not praise Muhammad with my words;Rather, I praised my words by means of Muhammad.

That is, let him write a few sentences, in transmitted Arabic wording, on the virtues of his great ancestor, who is better than all the Arabs, and make that blessed writing a means of his salvation in the Hereafter; not that he should praise him (upon him be blessings and peace), but rather that he should praise his own words.

I did not praise the Prophet (peace be upon him) with my speech; rather, I praised my speech by means of him (peace be upon him).

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Translation: I have not praised Muhammad ﷺ with my words; rather, I have graced my words with the mention of the Messenger.

Knowledge of the Unseen

The belief of the Ahl-e-Sunnat is that the Most Holy Lord grants knowledge of the unseen ('ilm-e-ghayb) to His servants, whether they be the noble prophets (peace be upon them) or the noble saints (may Allah Most High be pleased with them all). To know anything that cannot be known through the senses or through the self-evidence of reason is called knowledge of the unseen, as is explained in Baydawi Sharif. Accordingly, anything that becomes known through revelation (wahy), inspiration (ilham), unveiling (kashf) and the like will all be called knowledge of the unseen. Some people are greatly displeased at the use of the term "knowledge of the unseen." Since my subject at present is only to quote the sayings of the Mujaddid and his devoted followers, instead of debating this and giving other proofs I shall content myself with quoting the words of Hazrat Mujaddid Sahib (may his secret be sanctified), from which readers will understand well that all the things mentioned above fall within knowledge of the unseen, and further that, besides the noble prophets (upon them be blessings and salutations), other close servants of Allah also attain knowledge of the unseen. Discussing inspiration, he says:

So it is possible that the elect among the people of Allah come to know certain secrets and realities concerning the essence, attributes and acts of Allah Most High about which the outward Shari'ah is silent, and that in their movements and stillness they find Allah Most High's permission or lack of permission, and come to know what is pleasing to Him and what is not. It often happens that at certain times they will find certain supererogatory (nafl) acts of worship displeasing and be permitted to leave them, and sometimes they will consider sleep better than wakefulness. The rulings of the Shari'ah are bound to set times, while the rulings of inspiration hold at all times. Since the movements and stillness of these great ones are bound to permission, inevitably the supererogatory acts of others will be obligatory (fard) for them. For example, one act, in relation to one

person, is supererogatory by the ruling of the Shari'ah, while the same act, in relation to another person, is obligatory by the ruling of inspiration. So other people sometimes perform supererogatory acts and sometimes engage in permissible matters, whereas these great ones, since they act with the permission and command of the Master, Most High, perform everything as obligations; what is obligatory or recommended for others is obligatory for these great ones. From this one should recognise the superiority of the rank of these great ones.

The scholars of the outward ('ulama-e-zahir) consider reports of the unseen in religious matters to be exclusive to the reports of the prophets (upon them be blessings and salutations) and do not allow others any share in these things. This contradicts inheritance (wirathat) and is a denial of many sound sciences and gnostic insights (ma'arif) connected with the firm religion.

The final words are these: The scholars of the outward consider reports of the unseen in matters of religion to be exclusive to the reports of the prophets (upon them be blessings and salutations), and do not give others a share in those reports; this contradicts inheritance and is a denial of many sound sciences, arts and gnostic insights that are connected with the firm religion. (Maktub 55, Volume 3)

I have quoted the translation of this long passage of the noble letter only so that readers may reflect well that, in the view of Hazrat Mujaddid (may his secret be sanctified), these sciences and insights are all reports of the unseen; and it is obvious that knowledge of the unseen is the name of nothing else. Even clearer and more explicit on the issue under discussion than the above statement are the passages found in his treatise Ithbat al-Nubuwwa, which came to my notice after I had written the above. If I were to quote them all, the discussion would become long; a few passages are set down here.

Describing the doctrine of the philosophers regarding the prophet, he says that, according

to them, a prophet has three distinctive properties by which a prophet is distinguished from one who is not a prophet. One is that he has awareness of hidden things, present, past and future: "that he has awareness of the unseen things, present, past and to come." Then he objects to this as follows: I say: awareness of all hidden things is not necessary for a prophet, and on this you and we are agreed; and awareness of some of them is not exclusive to the prophet, since, as you have allowed, it is (also established) for the one who practises austerities, the sick and the sleepers. So where is the distinction?

Bear in mind that this objection is only to the claim that a prophet is distinguished from a non-prophet by awareness of the unseen, as is obvious. The answer to this question deserves to be heard attentively. He says:

I say: perhaps the philosophers meant awareness of most of the unseen, which goes beyond the customary (limit) and breaks the norm, and that is not unknown; rather, it is known by convention and custom. But awareness of the unseen and giving news of it once or twice, without the repetition that reaches the limit of the miraculous, does not break the norm. So in that case the prophet would not be distinguished from the non-prophet.

In short, the knowledge of the unseen granted to a prophet is so abundant that it reaches the level of a miracle (mu'jiza), whereas a non-prophet is not granted so much that it reaches the level of breaking the norm. Further on he says:

Know that the theologians (mutakallimun) too acknowledge that the prophets know the unseen through Allah, Glorified is He, informing them; but making it a condition is false.

That is, know that the theologians too acknowledge that the noble prophets know the unseen through Allah, Glorified is He, informing them; but making it a condition is false.

If, even after reading such clear statements, guidance is not granted, then what else can it be called but pre-eternal

wretchedness? If the sayings of Hazrat Mujaddid (may his secret be sanctified) and of the great ones who share his spiritual way were quoted in detail, this article would take on the form of a book. For those who seek the truth this is plenty. One feels great sorrow for such humanity: in the refutation of innovation (bid'a), people see Hazrat Mujaddid everywhere, yet in issues like these the radiance of Hazrat Mujaddid's writings and beliefs, even though it shines like the midday sun, is visible to no one. The fact of the matter is that searching for the truth and following it is not the aim; rather, the wicked self accepted whatever it wished, and closed its eyes to whatever appeared contrary to its innate wickedness, or consoled itself by resorting to unwarranted interpretation.

Finally, listen to one more passage; it may be that this very one becomes a torch of guidance in the darkness of innovation and misguidance. Describing the stages of human creation, after describing the five outward senses and then the intellect, he says:

And beyond the intellect there is another stage, in which another eye opens, by which one sees the unseen and what will come to pass in the future, and other matters from which the intellect is debarred.

That is, after the intellect there is another stage in which another eye opens, through which the unseen, what is soon to happen in the future, and other matters are seen; the intellect is debarred from them.