Divine attribute of Al Hakeem (The Wise)

Summary of Friday Sermon

delivered by the Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community

December 21^st, 2007

Huzur delivered his Friday Sermon on the Divine attribute of Al Hakeem basing it on the Quranic verse 130 of Surah Al Baqarah the translation of which reads:

‘And our Lord, raise among them a Messenger from among themselves, who may recite to them Thy Signs and teach them the Book and Wisdom and may purify them; surely, Thou art the Mighty, the Wise.’ (2:130)

Huzur said he had touched upon this verse in his Eid Khutba yesterday in terms of the high standards of sacrifice as set by Hadhrat Ibrahim (on whom be peace) who had made this prayer to Allah supplicating for a great prophet to be born among his people.

Huzur said Hadrat Ibrahim (on whom be peace) had prayed for a prophet to come to set high standards in four aspects in this supplication, standards that did not have a precedent and which were not to be matched at a later stage. These standards would be unprecedented because human mind and spirituality had not reached the point of excellence where Allah had willed to take it. Hadhrat Ibrahim had an insight and a perception of the far-reaching point where Allah was to take the intellectual and spiritual progress of man and had made the prayer with this knowledge that when Allah would decree for the time to arrive when intellectual and spiritual progress would be polished to human perfection, then for its attainment a prophet of God may come from among his people who would introduce new aspects of spiritual cognisance to people, make them aware of the existence of Allah and bring the last Shariah to them.

The four aspects the prophet was to set lofty standards of were: recitation of God’s signs, teaching of the Book, imparting of Wisdom and his teaching be such that it would purify those among whom his advent would take place and as well as others who were yet to be born till the Day of Judgement. Indeed the verse concludes in acknowledging that Allah is the Mighty and the Wise and that only He could create a man so perfect and grant him the wisdom as elucidated in the verse.

Hadhrat Ibrahim (on whom be peace) prayed that the fulfilment of his sacrifice would be in the prophet with the above mentioned qualities to be born from among his progeny (from the progeny of Ishmael) and that he would set examples of supreme excellence. The verse the prayer is made in is from Surah Baqarah and its acceptance is also recorded in Surah Baqarah in verse 152 in that the advent of such a prophet indeed came to pass.

In addition verse 3 of Surah Al Jummah (62:3) also repeats the subject of 2:130. However, there appears an apparent disparity in the order/sequence the four aspects are mentioned in 2:130 and 2:152 as compared to in 62:3. This is owing to specific wisdom of Allah. Those who raise objections say that there is no order or sequence to the Holy Qur’an. Fact of the matter is that they do not have the capacity to reflect over the subject of the Qur’an which cannot be attained without purity of heart. Hadhrat Ibrahim (on whom be peace) prayed to Allah for the prophet-to-come to recite the Signs of Allah, to teach, to impart wisdom and to purify. When Allah accepted the prayer, He declared (2:152) that He had indeed sent the Prophet, who, in accordance with the prayer, firstly recites the Signs of Allah. Next however, 2:152 mentions that he purifies which the verse of the prayer (2:130) mentioned last. This change in order, Huzur said is owing to specific wisdom which he would expound at a later time. For now, Huzur said, he would speak on the four aspects for which supplication was made for this prophet.

The first of these supplications was for the prophet to recite Signs (Ayah) of God to people. According to lexicons Ayah means, ‘signs’, ‘miracles’, ‘warning that works as advice’ as well as ‘piece’. So we may infer from the verse that the teaching revealed to this prophet, which he may take to the people, may be comprised of signs and miracles about which he may give reasoning to revive faith in Allah.

In terms of the meaning of Ayah as ‘piece’ or plural ‘pieces’ the import is that the teaching of this prophet was to be revealed piece-meal. In the verse of acceptance of prayer (2:152) it is confirmed that indeed this teaching was revealed piece-meal and this in turn was made a Sign of its truth.

The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) has deemed the revelation of the Holy Qur’an piece-meal (17:107 & 25:33) as a specific sign. The Qur’an was revealed over a period spanning twenty three years as a proof of its truthfulness. During this period the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) faced the severest of times where he experienced many battles as well as attempts were made to take his life. Until the time the Quranic revelations were complete and Allah declared that its message was perfected (5:4) none of the attempts on the life of the Prophet were successful and ultimately he met his death due to natural causes.

In addition, at that time, mankind had not reached a stage where they could take the message of the Qur’an but in pieces. Indeed their faith was resolute in its perfection; however, they were a long way off in reaching the pinnacle of attaining knowledge and learning. Today the human mind has greatly evolved with the aid of knowledge and sciences. By way of example Huzur said Dr. Abdus Salam (the Ahmadi Nobel laureate) used to say that he based all his experiments on Quranic verses. With the spread of knowledge mankind has understood God’s existence in a better, more perceptive manner. At the time of the advent of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) each religion was embroiled in overt or covert shirk (associating partners with Allah), those who were apparently religious had forgotten the reality of God. Huzur said the situation these days is the same and he will give a discourse on this in his future sermons.

When Hadhrat Ibrahim (peace be on him) had made his prayer with the knowledge that an era would come that would be even more perilous than his era, and he had prayed to Allah for a prophet to be sent, from among his people, at that time to make people aware of Allah’s existence with proofs and reasoning.

Citing verse 70 of Surah Al Ankabut (29:70) Huzur explained that it is the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) who showed the way to reach Allah. The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) says this informs us that in order to unravel spiritual discernment and knowledge striving is essential and for this we have the blessed model of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be on him) before us. Forsaking this, many people opt to follow the so-called holy people (Peers) who do not even operate within the parameters of the Shariah but make all sorts of claims in enhancing their status. Huzur said when Allah the Exalted has furnished us with all that we need to know, has given us the reasoning and the proofs, then it is our task to make an effort and strive for spiritual development – and this cannot be attained through so-called saints and holy people. Rather it can be achieved through the ways expounded by the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) and through the miracles and signs that he demonstrated in his blessed life. The so-called Peers do not lead one to God. Indeed Allah Himself comes to those who seek Him through the signs and indications as exemplified by the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him).

According to lexicon the word Ayah also signifies chastisement/torment. Hadhrat Musleh Maud (may Allah be pleased with him) explained this point by saying that in the verses (first explained in the sermon) the word ‘recite’ also signifies that the Prophet will warn against the torment or chastisement to his people. This is the reason the Holy Qur’an has expounded the incidents of the earlier prophets as a warning for the world in general as well as for those who believe the Qur’an. Divine punishment comes to those who try to meddle with Allah’s Divinity. Denying or rejecting a prophet of God, although a great misfortune, does not necessarily bring about Divine punishment, unless and until all limits are exceeded in terms of sedition and disorder. May Allah guide the world at large and may He grant us the correct insight and perception of the teachings of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) so that we attain the capacity to turn to Him. Huzur said he would expound the rest at a later time.