Ahmadiyya Priangan Timur

.

Wednesday 18 February 2015

Exalted Status of the Holy Prophet

That light of high degree that was bestowed on perfect man was not in angels, was not in stars, was not in the moon, was not in the sun, was not in the oceans and the rivers, was not in rubies, emeralds, sapphires, or pearls; in short, it was not in any earthly or heavenly object. It was only in perfect man whose highest and loftiest and most perfect example was our lord and master, the Chief of the Prophets, the Chief of all living ones, Muhammad, the chosen one [peace and blessings of Allah be on him]. That light was bestowed on this man and, according to their ranks, upon all those who bore the same colour to some degree.... This dignity was found in its highest and most perfect form in our lord and master and our guide, the immaculate Prophet, the righteous one, testified to by the righteous, Muhammad, the chosen one [peace and blessings of Allah be on him].

[A’ina-e-Kamalat-e-Islam, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol. 5, pp. 160-162]

I always wonder how high was the status of this Arabian Prophet, whose name was Muhammad, (thousands of blessings and peace be upon him). One cannot reach the limit of his high status and it is not given to man to estimate correctly his spiritual effectiveness. It is a pity that his rank has not been recognized, as it should have been. He was the champion who restored to the world the Unity of God which had disappeared from the world; he loved God in the extreme and his soul melted out of sympathy for mankind. Therefore, God, Who knew the secret of his heart, exalted him above all the Prophets and all the first ones and the last ones and bestowed upon him in his lifetime all that he desired.

He is the fountainhead of every grace and a person who claims any superiority without acknowledging his grace is not a man but is the spawn of Satan, because the Holy Prophet has been bestowed the key to every exaltation and he has been given the treasury of every understanding. He who does not receive through him is deprived forever. I am nothing and possess nothing. I would be most ungrateful if I were not to confess that I have learnt of the true Unity of God through this Prophet. The recognition of the Living God we have achieved through this perfect Prophet and through his light. The honour of converse with God, through which we behold His countenance, has been bestowed upon me through this great Prophet. The ray of this sun of guidance falls like sunshine upon me and I continue illumined only so long as I am adjusted towards it.

[Haqiqat-ul-Wahi, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol. 22, pp. 118-119]

O all ye who dwell upon the earth, and O all human souls that are in the east or in the west, I announce to you emphatically that the true reality in the earth is Islam alone, and the True God is the God Who is described in the Qur’an, and the Prophet who has everlasting spiritual life and who is seated on the throne of glory and holiness, is Muhammad, the chosen one [peace and blessings of Allah be on him]. The proof of his spiritual life and holy majesty is that by following him and loving him we become recipients of the Holy Spirit and are favoured with the bounty of converse with God and witness heavenly signs.

[Tiryaq-ul-Qulub, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol. 15, p. 141]

The man who in his being and his attributes and his actions and through his spiritual and holy faculties set an example of perfection, in knowledge and action and in sincerity and steadfastness, and was called the perfect man was Muhammad [peace and blessings of Allah be on him].... The man who was most perfect as man and as Prophet, and came with full blessings, and who through a spiritual revival and resurrection manifested the first Judgement in the world and revived the dead world, that blessed Prophet, the Seal of the Prophets, the leader of the righteous ones, the pride of the Prophets, was Muhammad, the chosen one [peace and blessings of Allah be on him]. Our Lord, send down on that beloved Prophet that mercy and blessing that Thou hast not sent down on anyone since the beginning of the world. Had that grand Prophet not appeared in the world then we would have no proof of the truth of lesser Prophets like Jonah, Job, Jesus son of Mary, Malachi, John, Zechariah, etc. Though they were favourites and honoured and were beloved ones of Almighty God, they are under obligation to this Prophet that they were accepted in the world as true Prophets.

O Allah, send down Thy blessings on him and on his people and on his companions, all of them. Our last word is that all praise belongs to Allah, Lord of the worlds.

[Itmam-ul-Hujjah, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol. 8, p. 308]

When we estimate justly, then out of the whole series of Prophets, we find one of high courage and alive and greatly dear to God, the Chief of the Prophets, the pride and the crown of the Messengers, whose name is Muhammad Mustafa and Ahmad Mujtaba [peace and blessings of Allah be on him]. By walking under his shadow for ten days one obtains that light which before him could not be obtained in a thousand years.... We have found every light by following the immaculate Prophet and whoever follows him will also find it and he will become so accepted of God that nothing will be impossible for him. The Living God, Who is hidden from people, will be his God and all false gods will be trodden under his feet. He will be blessed everywhere and Divine Power will be with him. Peace be on him who follows the guidance.

[Siraj-e-Munir, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol. 12, pp. 82-83]

Now under heaven there is only one Prophetsa and only one Book. The Prophet is Muhammad, the chosen one [peace and blessings of Allah be on him] who is higher and more exalted than all Prophets and is the most perfect of Messengers and is the Khatam-ul-Anbiya’, and the best of men by following whom we find God Almighty and all the veils of darkness are lifted and the signs of true salvation are witnessed in this very life. The Book is the Holy Qur’an, which comprises true and perfect guidance and effectiveness, through which knowledge and understanding of the Divine are obtained and the heart is purified of human weaknesses; and being delivered from ignorance, heedlessness and doubts, a person arrives at the stage of complete certainty.

[Brahin-e-Ahmadiyya, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol. 1, pp. 557-558, sub-footnote 3]

There have been millions of pure-natured people in the world and there will be more in future, but we have found the best of all of them and the highest man of God, whose name is Muhammad [peace and blessings of Allah be on him].

‘Allah and His angels send blessings on the Prophet. O ye who believe! You also should invoke blessings on him and salute him with the salutations of peace.’ al-Ahzab, 33:57

We shall leave aside any mention of the holy ones from among those people whose circumstances have not been described in detail in the Holy Qur’an. We shall express our view only with regard to the Prophets who are mentioned in the Qur’an like Moses, David, Jesus and other Prophets [peace be on them]. We affirm it on oath, calling God to witness, that if the Holy Prophet [peace and blessings of Allah be on him] had not come into the world, and the Holy Qur’an had not been revealed, and we had not seen with our own eyes the blessings that we have witnessed, the truth of all past Prophets would have remained doubtful in our eyes.

No reality can be gathered from mere stories, for it is quite possible that they may not be true and it is also possible that the miracles that are attributed to these Prophets might be exaggerations, for no sign of them is visible today. We cannot even ascertain for certain from the Books revealed in the past that God truly exists, or that He speaks to man. But through the advent of the Holy Prophet [peace and blessings of Allah be on him] all these stories became real. We now realize not merely as a statement, but as a matter of experience, what converse with the Divine means and how God's signs are manifested and how prayers are answered. All this we have discovered by following the Holy Prophet [peace and blessings of Allah be on him] and what other people relate as stories we have witnessed it all. We have at tached ourselves to a Prophet who manifests God to us.
A poet has put it beautifully:

Muhammad of Arabia, King of both the worlds;
Whose threshold is safeguarded by the Holy Spirit.
I cannot call him God, but I do say;
To recognize him is to recognize God.

How shall we express our gratitude to God who bestowed upon us the good fortune to follow the Prophet who is a sun for the souls of the righteous as there is a sun for the bodies. He appeared in a time of darkness and illumined the world with his light. He was neither tired nor fatigued till he purified all parts of Arabia from associating partners with God. He is the proof of his own truth for his light is present in every age and true obedience to him purifies a person as the clear and transparent water of a river cleanses dirty linen. Who has come to us with a sincere heart and has not witnessed that light, and who has knocked honestly on that door for whom it has not been opened? But the pity is that most people prefer the lower life and do not desire that higher light should enter into them.

[Chashma-e-Ma‘rifat, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol. 23, pp. 301-303]

0 komentar:

Post a Comment