The Holy Prophet (continued...)

The claim of our Holy Prophet, peace be on him, shines forth like the sun and it is a great proof of his eternal life that his grace flows eternally. Even in this age a person who obeys the Holy Prophet, peace be on him, is raised from the dead and is bestowed a spiritual life not merely in imagination, but through the display of his righteous effectiveness and of heavenly help and blessings and extraordinary support of the holy spirit. He becomes a unique person from among all mankind, so much so that God Almighty talks to him and discloses His special mysteries to him, and communicates His verities to him, and manifests the signs of His love and favour in him, and causes His help to descend upon him, and places His blessings in him, and makes him the mirror of His Rahmaniyyat. Wisdom flows from his tongue, and the fountains of fine points burst out of his heart. Hidden secrets are made manifest in him. God Almighty bestows a grand manifestation upon him and comes close to him. In the acceptance of his prayers, in the opening of the doors of understanding, in the disclosure of hidden mysteries and in the descent of blessings upon him, he ranks high and is supreme over all others. Having been commissioned by God Almighty, this humble one despatched several thousand registered letters to well-known opponents of Islam in Asia, Europe and America about these matters, so that they might be conclusively established. I invited them that if anyone claimed that spiritual life could be achieved by any other means, without following the Khatamal Anbiya, peace be on him, he should come forth in opposition to me, and that failing this he should come to me as a seeker after truth, in order to witness the blessings and signs that are bestowed on me; but no one turned in this direction with sincerity and in good faith and by their remaining aloof they proved that they are all floundering in darkness [Ayenae Kamalat-e-Islam, (Qadian, Riyadh Hind Press 1893); Now printed in Ruhani Khazain (London, 1984), Vol.5, pp. 221-222].

We know for certain that the greatest Prophet of God and His best beloved is Muhammad, the chosen one, peace be on him. The followers of other prophets are in darkness having nothing with them except old stories and tales. But the Muslims always receive fresh signs from God Almighty. Therefore, among Muslims there are found many persons of understanding, who believe in God with such certainty as if they beheld Him; but other people have not this certainty concerning God Almighty. Therefore, our soul bears witness that the true and right religion is Islam alone.... The miracles of our Holy Prophet, peace be on him, are not mere stories. By obeying the Holy Prophet, peace be on him, we experience those signs ourselves and through the blessings of observation and experience we arrive at complete certainty. How high is the status of that perfect and Holy Prophet whose Prophethood always furnishes fresh proof to seekers, and by the blessings of witnessing continuous signs, we arrive at the stage where we see God Almighty with our own eyes, as it were. Thus true religion is that and the true Prophet is he, the fresh spring of whose truth should always be witnessed. To rely upon mere stories which are subject to all kinds of exceptions does not commend itself to the wise. Hundreds of people have been deified in the world and they are believed in on the basis of hundreds of old tales, but the truth is that the true miracle worker is he the river of whose miracles never dries up. That person is our lord and master the Holy Prophet, peace be on him. In every age, God Almighty has raised someone to display the signs of that perfect and holy one. In this age He has sent me with the title of Promised Messiah. Signs are being shown from heaven and all sorts of extraordinary events are coming to pass. Every seeker after truth can come and stay with me and witness these signs, whether he is a Christian or a Jew or an Arya. All these are the blessings of our Holy Prophet, peace be on him [Kitabul Bariyyah, (Qadian, Ziaul Islam Press 1898); Now printed in Ruhani Khazain (London, 1984), Vol. 13, pp. 37-139, footnote].

The proof of spiritual life is to be found in the blessed person of the Holy Prophet, peace be on him, and thousands of mercies of God.... Profitless is the life which has no beneficence and useless is the existence which has no grace. There are only two lives which are worthy of praise. One is the life of the Ever-Living and Self-Existing God, Who is the Source of all beneficence; and second is the life which is beneficent and points to God. We can show that such was the life only of the Holy Prophet, peace be on him, to which heaven has borne witness in every age and does so today. He who does not lead a beneficent life is dead and not alive. I call God to witness that He has furnished to me proof of the everlasting life and full glory and perfection of our master Muhammad, peace be on him, to whom all obedience is due, and through following him and loving him I have seen heavenly signs descend upon me and I have found my heart filled with the light of certainty. I have witnessed so many signs that through their light I have beheld my God [Tiryaqul Quloob, Now printed in Ruhani Khazain (London, 1984), Vol. 15, pp. 6].

Just as at some stages the Holy Prophet, peace be on him, appears in the extreme of humility, to the same degree he seems to be aided and illumined by the support and light of the holy spirit, as he has demonstrated in action and conduct. The circle of his lights and blessings is so vast and extended that its sample and reflection is visible eternally. The Divine grace and bounty that is descending in this age is obtained only through following and obeying him. I say truly that no one can be held to be righteous and the winner of the pleasure of God Almighty, nor can he be the recipient of the bounties and blessings and understandings and verities and visions which are bestowed at the highest degree of the purity of the soul, till he is completely lost in his obedience to the Holy Prophet, peace be on him. This is affirmed in the Word of God as it is said: Announce: If you love Allah then follow me, Allah will then love you (3:32).

I am the practical and living proof of this Divine promise. You will recognize me through the signs of those who are loved by God Almighty and are His friends which are set out in the Holy Quran (Malfoozat, Vol. I, pp. 203-204).

The necessary consequence of following in the footsteps of the Holy Prophet, peace be on him, the essentials of which are his love and respect and obedience, is that a person becomes the beloved of God and his sins are forgiven, and if he has swallowed the poison of sin, that poison is rendered harmless through the antidote of love and obedience. As a person can get rid of a disease by the use of medicine, in the same way, a sinner can be purified of sin, and as light dispels darkness and an antidote destroys the effect of poison and fire consumes, in the same way true obedience and love prove their effect. As fire consumes in an instant, the eager doing of good for the manifestation of God's glory acts like fire in consuming the fuel of sin. When a person believes sincerely in the Holy Prophet, peace be on him, and accepting his greatness, follows him with eagerness and love and obedience, so much so that through perfect obedience, he arrives at the stage of nonexistence, he, on account of this close relationship with him, also partakes of the Divine light which descends upon the Holy Prophet. Then as light and darkness are opposed to each other, his inner darkness begins to be dispelled till no part of it remains inside him and, being strengthened by light, good of the highest type proceeds from him and the light of the love of God shines forth through all his limbs. His inner darkness is wholly dispelled and he enjoys light intellectually as well as in conduct and by the combination of these lights, the darkness of sin departs from his heart. It is obvious that light and darkness cannot subsist together, and thus the light of faith and the darkness of sin can also not subsist at one place. If such a person has not been guilty of any sin, his power to commit sin is suppressed altogether and he becomes eager to do good as is said in the Holy Quran: Allah has endeared faith to you and has made it look fair to your hearts and He has made you averse to disbelief, wickedness and disobedience (49:8) (Review of Religions, Vol., I, No. 5, p. 202).

The rank of being loved and accepted by God and of becoming His friend, the signs of which have been briefly set out, cannot be achieved without obedience to the Holy Prophet, peace be on him. It is not possible for a Christian or an Arya or a Jew, to display the effects and lights of his acceptance by God in opposition to a true follower of the Holy Prophet. There is a clear way of determining this. No opponent, Christian or other, of a righteous Muslim, who is a true follower of the Holy Prophet, can stand up and claim that he will exhibit the same type of signs which appear from heaven in support of the Muslim, or will display similar hidden mysteries as are displayed by him, or similar Divine help through acceptance of prayer, which might be manifested by him, or natural occurrences of the same type which might appear in his honour, or a prophecy of Divine favours or a prophecy warning an enemy of his of his dire end. None of them will come out to oppose a true follower of the Holy Prophet in this manner, inasmuch as their hearts bear witness that they are liars and that they have no relationship with the True God Who is a Helper of the righteous and Friend of the faithful (Tasdeequen Nabi, pp. 45-46).

To believe in God's Messenger is a condition precedent to believing in the Unity of God. One cannot be separated from the other. A person who claims to believe in the Unity of God without following the Holy Prophet, possesses only a dry bone which has no marrow and is holding a dark lamp which gives no light. Anyone who thinks that a person who believes in God as One without associate and does not believe in the Holy Prophet, peace be on him, will yet achieve salvation, has a leprous heart and is blind and has no notion what Unity of God means. Satan is better than him in his profession in the Unity of God, inasmuch as Satan, though he is disobedient, yet he believes that God is present, and such a person has no faith in God [Haqiqatul Wahi, (Qadian, Magazine Press 1907); Now published in Ruhani Khazain (London, 1984), Vol. 22, p. 119].

If it is asked that if Jesus and I have attained to this rank then what rank is left for our lord and master, the best of the Messengers, Khatamal Anbiya, Muhammad, the chosen one, peace be on him, the answer is that it is a high and exalted rank which is special to him, the appreciation of which is not possible for anyone else, let alone that any one else should be able to achieve it.... The degrees of nearness to God and love of God from the point of view of spiritual rank are of three types. The lowest degree, and even that is very high, is that the fire of Divine love should warm the heart possibly to such a degree that the warmed heart might acquire the qualities of fire, but that it should lack the brightness of the fire. When the flame of God's love falls upon this degree of love the warmth generated by that flame in the soul is described as contentment and satisfaction and is sometimes named an angel.

The second degree of love is where the fire of Divine love, which is generated by the union of two loves, warms the heart to such a degree that it produces a brightness which is not inflammatory. It is described as the holy spirit.

The third degree of love is where a burning flame of Divine love falls on the eager ribbon of human love and sets it afire and, assuming control of all its particles, makes it a complete and perfect manifestation of itself. In this condition the fire of Divine love not only bestows a brightness upon the human heart, but simultaneously the whole being is set on fire and its flames illumine the surroundings like the bright day, and no darkness is left and the whole of the being is converted into fire with all its full qualities. This condition which is created by the union of the two loves like a flaming fire is known as the spirit of security, for it bestows security against every darkness and is free from every opaqueness. It is also called the strong faculty, for it is the most powerful revelation, stronger than which cannot be imagined. It is also called the high horizon, inasmuch as it is the manifestation of the highest form of revelation. It is also described as: He saw what he saw; for an appreciation of this condition is beyond the imagination or thinking of the whole of creation. This condition has been bestowed upon only one human being who is the perfect man with whom the whole human system has come to an end and the circle of human capacities has been perfected. In truth, he is the highest point of the extended line of God's creation which is the ultimate of all grades of exaltation. Divine Wisdom having started the creation from the lowest point carried it to this highest point, the name of which is Muhammad, peace be on him, and the meaning of which is greatly praised, that is to say, the manifestation of perfect excellences. As by his nature the station of this Prophet was at the highest, so externally also he was bestowed revelation and love at the highest level. This is the high station which neither Jesus nor I can reach. Its name is the station of getting together and the station of perfect Unity. The previous Prophets who have prophesied the advent of the Holy Prophet, peace be on him, have mentioned this station. As the station of Jesus and myself is such that metaphorically it can be described as sonship, in the same way, the station of the Holy Prophet is so grand that past Prophets have metaphorically described the appearance of the Holy Prophet as the appearance of God Almighty and his coming has been described as the coming of God Almighty [Tauzeeh Maram, (Amritsar, Riyaz Hind Press); Now published in Ruhani Khazain (London, 1984), Vol. 3, pp. 23-27].

It is not only Jesus who has described the advent of the Holy Prophet as the appearance of God Almighty, but other Prophets in their own prophecies have used similar terms and have metaphorically described his advent as the appearance of God Almighty, and because of his being the perfect manifestation of God, have called him God. In Psalm 45 it is said: Thou art fairer than the children of men; Grace is poured into thy lips; Therefore God hath blessed thee for ever.

Gird thy sword upon Thy thigh, O most mighty; with thy glory and with thy majesty.

And in thy majesty ride prosperously, because of truth and meakness and righteousness; and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things.

Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the King's enemies; whereby the people fall under thee. Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre.

Thou lovest righteousness and hatest wickedness: therefore, God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.

The words: Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of Thy Kingdom is a right sceptre; are metaphorical; the purpose being to display the spiritual dignity of the Holy Prophet.

Then in chapter 42 of Isaiah it is written: Behold My servant whom I uphold; Mine elect in whom My soul delighteth: I have put My Spirit upon him; he shall bring forth judgment in the Gentiles.

He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street.

A bruised reed shall he not break and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.

He shall not fail nor be discouraged till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law....

The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man, He shall stir up jealousy like a man of war.

The words: The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man; are a metaphorical description of the terrible advent of the Holy Prophet. Many other Prophets have used this metaphor in their prophecies concerning the Holy Prophet, peace be on him [Tauzeeh Maram, (Amritsar, Riyaz Hind Press); Now published in Ruhani Khazain (London, 1984), Vol. 3, pp. 28-32 footnote].

The question of salvation and intercession is a grand religious subject and the whole purpose of following a religion terminates with it. For testing the truth of a religion, it is a clear and open criterion through which it can be known with full satisfaction that such and such religion is true and from God. It is absolutely correct that a religion which has not set forth this question properly or which is unable to show among its followers with clear distinction present samples of those who have attained salvation, needs no other argument to establish its falsehood; but the religion which has correctly displayed the true reality of salvation and has put forth such men in its present stage, into whom the spirit of salvation has been fully breathed, has set a seal on its being true and from God.

It is obvious that every human being naturally feels in his heart that because of hundreds of neglects and veils, and eruptions of the ego, and stumblings and weaknesses, and ignorances and darknesses at every step, and continuous fears and doubts, and on account of diverse types of calamities and trials, he needs a strong hand which should safeguard him against all these ills, inasmuch as man's nature is weak and he cannot for one moment trust his ego that he can, of himself, emerge from the darknesses of the ego. This is the evidence of human conscience. Besides, reflection shows that sane reason also feels that it needs an intercessor for salvation, for God Almighty is in the highest station of Holiness and Purity, and man is in the extreme pit of darkness and sinfulness, and on account of lack of relationship and resemblance, the average human person is not fit that he should attain salvation by receiving Divine grace direct. Therefore, Divine Wisdom and Mercy demanded that some perfect individuals, who possess a special purity in their nature, should serve as a means of approach between mankind and God Almighty. They should be people whose natures should have taken on a portion of heavenly qualities and a portion of earthly qualities, so that on account of the appropriateness of their heavenly qualities they should receive Divine grace, and on account of their earthly qualities, they should convey this grace which they have received from above to mankind. It is quite correct to say that men of this type, on account of the perfection of their heavenly and earthly qualities, possess a special distinction among men. They are in a way a different kind of creation. The eagerness which they possess for the manifestation of God's glory and greatness, and the faithfulness with which their hearts are filled, and the upsurge of sympathy for human beings that they are bestowed, is such an extraordinary matter that it is difficult for others to imagine. It needs to be remembered, however, that all these persons are not equal in rank and that some are at a high level of the natural superiorities, and others are at a lower level and still others at a level which is even lower. The pure conscience of a person who possesses sane reason believes that the question of intercession is not an artificial one, but that there are illustrations of it in Divine dispensation. The root word for intercession in Arabic means a pair. So intercession indicates that a necessary quality of an intercessor is that he should be related to both sides. On one side his soul should have a strong relationship with God Almighty as if through perfect union he formed a pair with the Divine Unity, and on the other side he should be strongly related to mankind as if he were one of their limbs. For intercession to take place, both these elements are necessary.

That is why Divine Wisdom created Adam in such manner that from the very beginning he established these two relationships in his nature. One relationship was established with God as is said in the Holy Quran: When I have perfected him and have breathed into him My spirit, do ye all fall down in prostration along with him (15:30). This shows that with the creation of Adam God established a relationship with him by breathing into him of His spirit. This was done so that man should have a natural relationship with God. In the same way, it was necessary that Adam should have a natural relationship with mankind; as they would be bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh, they would partake of the spirit which was breathed into Adam and thus Adam would naturally be their intercessor. It is necessary that a person who has descended from him should partake in the righteousness which has been bestowed upon Adam by the breathing into him of the spirit, as is obvious that the young of an animal partake of the qualities and actions of their father. This is also the essence of intercession that a natural heir should partake of the qualities of his ancestor. As we have explained, the root word for intercessor in Arabic derives from pair, which also means consort. Thus a person who is by nature the consort of another will partake of the qualities of the latter.

This is the basis of the inheritance of qualities. A man's child partakes of human qualities and the foal of a horse partakes of the qualities of a horse. This inheritance is, in other words, deriving benefit from intercession. As the essence of intercession is the relationship of consorts, a person who desires to benefit from the intercession of another must have a natural relationship with that person so that he should be given whatever has been bestowed upon the nature of the other. This relationship subsists in human nature as a gift that one person is part of another, and it can also be promoted by acquisition. When a person desires that there should be an increase in the natural love and sympathy that he has for mankind such increase can be achieved in proportion to the circle of his nature. In the same way, love surges up in the heart of one person for another and increases to such a degree that the lover can find no comfort without the company of the beloved, and in the end the intensity of his love affects the heart of the other person also. He who loves another to the extreme is the one who wishes him well sincerely and in a perfect manner.

Thus love is at the root of intercession when it is accompanied by a natural relationship, for without a natural relationship the perfection of love, which is a condition of intercession, is not possible. In order to invest human nature with this relationship, God Almighty did not create Eve separately from Adam, but created her from Adam's rib as is said in the Holy Quran: And from it He created its mate (4:2); that is to say, God created Eve as Adam's mate from the being of Adam so that Adam's relationship to her and her progeny should be natural and not artificial. This was done so that the relationship and sympathy between the children of Adam should be lasting, inasmuch as natural relationship is lasting and non-natural relationship is not lasting for it lacks the attraction which characterizes natural relationship. Thus God created naturally both kinds of relationship which Adam should have had, with God and with mankind. It is thus obvious that the perfect man, who is capable of being an intercessor, must be one who partakes perfectly of both these relationships, and without this man cannot be perfect. After Adam also, the way of God was that both these relationships were considered necessary for a person who was to be an intercessor, that is to say, one relationship was that the heavenly spirit was breathed into him and God established such a relationship with him as if He descended upon him, and the second relationship was that of the consortship of mankind which was strengthened between Adam and Eve and mutual love and sympathy which shone forth between them more brightly than between others. It was because of this that these people were attracted to their wives. This is a sign that these people possess as a spirit of sympathy with mankind. This is indicated by the hadith: The best of you are those who behave best towards their wives; that is to say, that one of you is most sympathetic and beneficent towards mankind who behaves well towards his wife. He who treats his wife harshly cannot possible behave beneficently towards others, inasmuch as God having created Adam, made his wife the first object of his love. Therefore, he who does not love his wife or has no wife to love, cannot attain to the status of a perfect man and lacks one of the conditions of intercession. Even if he is sinless, he is not capable of intercession. He who marries a woman lays the foundation for himself of sympathy with mankind, for a wife becomes the means of establishing a wide circle of relationships and, when children are born, this circle is widened even more. In this way, such a person becomes habituated towards love and sympathy and the circle of this habit being extended, his sympathy is extended towards everyone. But those who are reared in celibacy, find no opportunity of extending this habit and their hearts are left dry and hard.

Sinlessness has no relationship with intercession. The definition of sin is that a person should earn punishment by deliberately breaking the commandments of God. It is thus clear that sinlessness and intercession are not interrelated for minor children and congenital idiots are also sinless for they are not capable of wilful disobedience. Nor do they earn punishment in the estimation of God on account of any action of theirs. They are entitled to be considered sinless, but are they entitled to be intercessors for mankind and to be called saviours? . . . As I have just explained, it is necessary for an intercessor that he should have a deep relationship with God, as if God has descended into his heart and his humanness having died he has become the subject of heavenly manifestations, and his soul has melted and flown like water towards God and has arrived at the extreme point of nearness to Him. It is also necessary for an intercessor that his heart should be overpowered with sympathy for the one for whom he desires to intercede, and the intensity of his agony should make him feel as if his limbs are separating themselves from his body and his senses are all scattered. His sympathy should carry him to a stage which exceeds that of father and mother and every sharer in sorrow. When these two conditions are created in a person he will be united on the one side with the heavenly station and on the other with the earthly station. Then both sides of the scale will be in balance, that is to say, there will be a perfect manifestation of the heavenly and also a perfect manifestation of the earthly and he will be suspended midway between the two.

Indicating this station of intercession the Holy Quran affirms the perfect manhood of the Holy Prophet, peace be on him: He approached near to God and then leaned towards mankind and it became a case of one chord serving two bows or closer still (53:9-10). This means that the Holy Prophet ascended towards God and approached as near to Him as was possible and acquired all the perfections of nearness and partook fully of the heavenly station, and then leaned perfectly towards the earthly station and arrived at the extreme point of service and worship and partook fully of the pure essentials of humanness, namely love and sympathy for mankind, which is the earthly perfection. Thus he arrived at the point of perfection on the one side in the love of God and, on the other, in the love of mankind. As he approached God fully and then approached mankind fully it became the case as it were, of one chord between two bows and thus fulfilled the condition for intercession. In His word God bore witness for him that he occupied a place between God and mankind like a common chord between two bows.

At another place, describing his nearness to God, it is said: Say: My prayer and my sacrifice and my life and my death, are all for Allah, the Lord of the worlds (6:163). That is to say, the Holy Prophet was commanded to inform people that he had become completely lost to himself and that all his worship was wholly for God.... This verse indicates that the Holy Prophet, peace be on him, had become so devoted to and lost in God that every breath of his life and even his death had become wholly God's, and that his ego and the creation and means had no part in his being, and that his soul was prostrated so sincerely at the threshold of God that nothing else had the slightest share in it....

As the love of God, and arriving at a high station in nearness to Him, is a matter of which other people cannot be aware, God Almighty made manifest such of the actions of the Holy Prophet, peace be on him, as show that he had adopted God in preference to everything else, and that every particle of his was so saturated with the love and greatness of God that his being was like a mirror for the full observation of Divine manifestations. The effects of the perfect love of God, which can possibly be imagined, were all displayed in the Holy Prophet, peace be on him (Review of Religions-Urdu, Vol. I, pp. 175-87).