The Evidence
Section 9:
Terms and concepts of Tasawwuf
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Translator’s Note:
This Section discusses various terms employed in
Islamic Sufi-ism (Tasawwuf) to refer to saints, which are
used to denote the close relationship between saints and prophets.
The explanation of these concepts is given from standard Sufi works
and from the writings of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. It can be seen
that he only employed ideas and expressions which were a well-established
part of Sufi thought derived from the Holy Quran. He did not invent
these terms, nor did he misrepresent these concepts, in some attempt
to make extravagant claims about himself. In fact, he made it plainer
than it ever had been made previously that a person to whom these
terms of high spiritual rank are applied still remains in the category
of saints, i.e. non-prophets, and does not become a prophet
because the Holy Prophet Muhammad was the Last of the Prophets.
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Tasawwuf and Tariqat
Just as Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, in his capacity as the Reformer (mujaddid)
of the formal side of Islam (the Shari‘ah), has explained,
and expressed himself in, the terminology of the Holy Quran and Hadith,
similarly, being also the Reformer of the spiritual and mystic side of
Islam, he has discussed at length the nomenclature of this field as well.
He did this so that no one may stumble into error, because unless the
terminology of Tariqat is understood along with the terms of the
Shari‘ah, it is not possible to understand his books properly, or
the works of the great Sufi saints, or even the prophecies of the Holy
Prophet Muhammad about the coming Messiah and Mahdi. This is what Hazrat
Mirza wrote:
“Unless one understands the question of burooz [a person
in the complete image of a prophet], one cannot understand the meaning
of this prophecy, and eventually one has to reject it.” (Malfuzat,
vol. i, p. 454)
It is thus necessary to understand the terms of the field of Tasawwuf
(Sufi-ism) —
- Fana fir-rasul — a person “effaced” in the
Holy Prophet.
- Zill — “image” or “shadow”.
- Burooz — “manifestation”.
- Masil anbiya — the “like” of prophets.
- Ummati wa nabi — a follower as well as a prophet.
9.1: Fana fir-rasul
When we read books written by the classical religious scholars, we discover
that according to the saints and holy men of Islam there are three ranks
of spiritual nearness to God: fana fish-Shaikh, fana fir-rasul,
and fana fi-llah. Those persons who attain the rank of fana
fir-rasul become imbued with the colour of prophets of the past due
to perfect following, and in this state call themselves by the names of
various prophets such as Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, (the Holy
Prophet) Muhammad and Ahmad. They also utter expressions such as “I
am the prophet” and “I am the messenger”. These persons
are not prophets in point of fact, but belong to the category of
saints. Muslim scholars of the faith have written as follows to explain
the concept of fana:
1. Professor Yusuf Saleem Chishti
This interpreter and commentator of the works of Iqbal writes:
“The first stage is fana fish-shaikh, producing the
qualities of the spiritual leader in oneself; the second stage is
fana fir-rasul, producing the qualities of the Holy Prophet
within oneself; the third stage is fana fi-llah, producing
the taint of the attributes of God in oneself.”
(Sharh Bab Jibreel, p. 267)
2. Shah Wali-ullah of Dehli (d. 1763 C.E.)
Recognised as mujaddid of the 12th Century Hijra, this eminent
scholar wrote:
“Piety (taqwa) means to stay within the limits of the
religious law. The love of rites of God is applied to loving
the Holy Quran, the Holy Prophet, and the Holy Shrine (Ka‘ba),
and in fact to love everything that is associated with God, including
even love for the saints. Some people call it fana fir-rasul
or fana fish-shaikh.”
(Altaf al-Qudus, p. 93, Gujaranwala, Pakistan, 1964)
3. Khawaja Shams-ud-Din Siyalwi:
“After this I asked, What is fana fish-shaikh? The Khawaja
said: The disciple should be so engrossed in the being of his master
that he should not be conscious of his own movements, and, in fact,
the very form and figure of the master and disciple become one.”
(Mirat al-‘ashiqeen, p. 229, Islamic Book Foundation,
Lahore, 1981)
4. Khawaja Zia-ullah Naqshbandi:
“The rank of fana fir-rasul is attained when all the
characteristics and qualities of the Holy Prophet are to be found
in one, and all one’s deeds, movements, habits, devotions and
meditations are exactly according to the manner of the Holy Prophet.
... Perfect good fortune is that God should paint His servant with
the colour and qualities of His friend, the Holy Prophet.”
(Maqasid as-Salikeen, p. 46, Lahore)
5. Maulana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi (d. 1905 C.E.)
He was a prominent Deobandi theologian of the last century. Answering
a question, he wrote:
“Question: What are fana fish-shaikh and fana fir-rasul?
From where are these concepts established, and what have Sufis said
about it?
“Answer: Both these words are from the terminology of spiritual
leaders (masha’ikh). The meaning is to obey God and have
overwhelming love for Him. Its basis is in the Islamic teachings (sharh):
Follow me [i.e. Muhammad], and God will love you [the Quran 3:30].”
(Fatawa Rashidiyya, p. 48, 49, Islamic Kutab, Karachi)
Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad explained the concept of fana fir-rasul
in exactly the same way as other Islamic scholars, both before and after
his time. He wrote:
- “Muhaddas ... due to his complete following of the Holy
Prophet Muhammad, and on account of his being fana fir-rasul,
is included in the being of the Last of the Prophets [i.e. Holy Prophet
Muhammad], as the fraction is included in the whole.” (Izala
Auham, p. 575)
- “God gives the honour of His word to a person who is fana
fin-nabi [same as fana fir-rasul], just as He does with
His prophets, and in these communications the servant to whom He speaks
is spoken to by Him face-to-face, as it were. The servant asks a question
and God replies to it, even though this question-answer may go on
for fifty times or more.” (Zameema Anjam Atham, p. 15)
- “At the end of every century, especially a century in which
people have departed from faith and honesty, and one which is full
of darkness, God raises someone who is a substitute for a prophet
and whose nature reflects the image of the prophet. That substitute-prophet
shows people, through his own being, the qualities of the prophet
whom he obeys.” (Ainah Kamalat Islam, p. 247)
- “Turn not your attention to what anyone says, and like the
true lover become fana fir-rasul [effaced in the Holy Prophet
Muhammad] with your word, deed, praise and obedience, for therein
lie all the blessings.” (Maktubat Ahmadiyya, Part I, p.
44, 1883)
Those persons whose nature is a mirror reflecting the image of the Holy
Prophet, and who are fana fir-rasul or fana fin-nabi, who
in other words are known as saints (muhaddas) and reformers (mujaddid),
these are the ones amongst whom is included Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad.
9.2: Zilli Nubuwwat
The term zilli nubuwwat — ‘reflection’, ‘image’,
or ‘shadow’ of prophethood — was also coined by the saints,
scholars and elders of the classical ages as being synonymous with sainthood
(wilayat), spiritual leadership (imamat), and successorship
to the Holy Prophet Muhammad (khilafat). The person to whom this
term is applied does not become a prophet, but belongs to the category
of saints (wali). Muslim theologians, classical and modern, have
defined the concept of zill (reflection or image) as follows:
1. Shaikh Abdul Haqq (d. 1642 C.E.)
This most famous muhaddis (scholar of Hadith) of Delhi, wrote:
- “Wilayat [sainthood, or being a wali] is the
zill of prophethood.”
(Sharh Futuh al-Ghaib, Lucknow, India, 1918, p. 23)
- “As wilayat is, in point of fact, the zill of
prophethood, whatever that man has will also appear in the shadow,
especially the greater wilayat.”
(ibid., p. 12)
2. Shaikh Ahmad of Sirhind (d. 1624 C.E.), Mujaddid Alif Sani:
- “In short, the station of wilayat is the zill
of the station of prophethood, and the attainments of wilayat
are the zill of the attainments of prophethood.”
(Maktubat, Daftar II, Letter no. 71, p. 236, published
in Lahore)
- “As the zill has no intrinsic value of its own, but
the intrinsic value of the original which has manifested itself in
the zill, hence the original is closer to the zill than
the zill’s ownself because the zill is the reflection
of the original, not of its own self.”
(ibid., Daftar III, Letter no. 1, p. 6)
3. Sayyid Ismail Shaheed (d. 1831 C.E.)
This theologian who fought under Sayyid Ahmad Barelvi in a military campaign
against the Sikhs, wrote in his books:
- “There will be many pure and holy souls who shall bear a likeness
to the prophets, and shall be the zill of messengership. ...
In short, these persons are of such a rank that, if there had not
been an end to prophets, they would have held the office of prophethood.
To conclude, such persons will continue to exist till the Last Day.”
(Preface to Sirat-i Mustaqim, p. 1, Urdu translation by
Abdul Jabbar)
- “Point no. 1: Imamat is the zill of messengership
(risalat). ... Point no. 2: The Imam is the deputy of the Messenger
(rasul).”
(Mansab-i Imamat, p. 125, Urdu translation by Muhammad
Husain Alwi, published by A’inah Adab, Lahore, 2nd ed., 1969)
4. Qari Muhammad Tayyib
The well-known Deoband theologian writes:
“Prophethood is the original, and reformership [Tajdid
or being a mujaddid] is its zill ... because reformership
is the actual zill of prophethood.”
(Ulama-i Hind ka Shandar Mazi Jadeed, i.e. ‘Bright recent
past of the Indian Ulama,’ p. 308, Dehli, 2nd edition)
5. Professor Yusuf Saleem Chishti:
“The third question is, what is the meaning of zill?
The answer is that the zill, for its existence, is the follower
of the original, i.e. it stands in need of real existence. For example,
if a man stands in the sun, although his zill, i.e. the shadow,
exists, but it does not have a real or independent existence of its
own. If the man moves into the shade, the zill ceases to exist.
In other words, the essence of the zill has no existence.”
(Sharh Bab Jibreel, p. 162, Delhi, 1970)
6. Qazi Sana-ullah of Panipat
Commenting on the Quranic verse: “O Mary, God has chosen thee”,
this classical commentator writes:
“That is, He has chosen thee for Himself, for His brilliance
which the Sufis term as attainments of prophethood. These attainments,
in the real sense, are for the prophets. The truthful ones [siddiq,
rank of saint] gain them by way of obedience and inheritance. Mary
was a truthful one, as God said: His [Jesus’] mother was a truthful
woman.”
(Tafsir Mazhari, published by H. M. Saeed Company, Karachi,
vol. 2, p. 235, under verse mentioned)
Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad has discussed extensively the concept of zill.
He wrote precisely the same as the scholars cited above, as can be seen
from the extracts given below:
- “When some persons of the Muslim nation turn to the obedience
of the Holy Prophet Muhammad with perfect humility, and totally lose
themselves in their humbleness, God, finding them like a clear mirror,
manifests the blessings of the Holy Prophet through their being. And
whatever praise they receive from God, or whatever blessings and signs
are displayed by them, all these praises are for the Holy Prophet,
and he is the source of all these blessings. But because the perfect
follower of the Holy Prophet is a zill [spiritual image], the
Divine light of that Holy Person can be seen in his zill as
well. It is not a hidden matter that the shadow has the form of its
original. However, the shadow has no existence of its own, and no
real attribute, but all that it has is an image of its original.”
(Barahin Ahmadiyya, Part III, Section 1, footnote on footnote
1, p. 243)
- “No status of honour or perfection, and no position of dignity
and Divine nearness, can be achieved by us except by true and perfect
following of the Holy Prophet Muhammad. Whatever [spiritual achievement]
we get is obtained through the medium of the Holy Prophet by way of
reflection (zill).” (Izala Auham, p. 138)
- “There have been hundreds of persons in whom the ‘reality
of Muhammad’ was established, and with God they had the names
‘Muhammad’ and ‘Ahmad’ by way of reflection (zill).”
(Ainah Kamalat Islam, p. 346)
- “Sainthood (wilayat) is the perfect zill of
prophethood.” (Hujjat-Ullah, p. 24)
- “The prophet is the real thing, and a saint is the zill
[his image or shadow].” (Karamat as-Sadiqeen, p. 85)
- “Thus the person who, totally effacing himself in the one
he serves [i.e. Holy Prophet], receives the title of prophet (nabi)
from God, does not contravene the finality of prophethood. It is just
as when you see yourself in the mirror, you do not become two, but
remain only one, though there appear to be two. The only difference
is that between the real and the zill.” (Kishti Nuh,
p. 15)
- “Of course, muhaddases will come who will be spoken
to by God, and possess some attributes of full prophethood by way
of zill [reflection], and in some ways be coloured with the
colour of prophethood. I am one of these.” (Nishan Asmani,
p. 28)
- “Remember well that the fruits of perfect obedience [to the
Holy Prophet] are never wasted. This is an issue of Tasawwuf.
If the rank of zill had not existed, the saints of the Muslim
nation would have died. It was exactly this perfect obedience, and
the rank of burooz and zill [becoming a reflection or
image of the Holy Prophet], due to which Bayazid [famous Muslim saint,
d. 874 C.E.] was called ‘Muhammad’. ... In brief, the people
who oppose us are unaware of these facts.” (Badr, 27 October
1905)
In short, zilli nabi (a prophet by way of reflection) means the
image (zill) of a prophet, i.e. such a person who mirrors the prophethood
of a prophet, or the image of prophethood is manifested through him. If
this was real prophethood, it would be absurd to call it the image of
prophethood. What the Holy Quran calls wilayat (sainthood) the
Sayings of the Holy Prophet Muhammad call muhaddasiyyat, and exactly
the same thing is called zilli nubuwwat (reflected prophethood)
by the Sufis. So being a “prophet by way of reflection” is precisely
the same as being a saint (wali or muhaddas). It is not
prophethood.
9.3: Buroozi Nubuwwat
The word burooz means ‘to be a manifestation’. Since
the light of the Holy Prophet Muhammad is manifested in the person of
the saints, they are called the burooz of the Holy Prophet. Buroozi
nabi — a prophet by way of manifestation — is also a term
coined by the Sufi saints. Books of Tasawwuf give the following
definition of the term burooz:
1. A dictionary of Sufi Terms
“Burooz — The turning of a perfect knower or accomplished
spiritual leader towards a deficient person, giving him spiritual
benefit, and making him into his manifestation by making him like
him. In this sense it is said, such and such a saint has appeared
in the form of such and such other saint. The meaning is that the
image of the perfect saint was cast perfectly upon the second one,
and the essential form of the two of them became the same.”
(Sirr-e Dilbaran, Dictionary of Sufi terms, Karachi, 1400
A.H., p. 90)
2. Translation of Fusus al-Hukam
In an Urdu translation of Fusus al-Hukam, the famous Sufi work
written by the great Shaikh Muhiy-ud-Din Ibn Arabi, the translater Maulana
Muhammad Abdul Qadeer writes in an introductory note:
“Burooz means that the nature of some of the saints
(auliya) resembles the nature of a particular prophet. Many
saints are made to journey through the attainments of the great prophets,
and the saints become dyed with the colour of the prophets. To put
it another way, the image of the attainments of the prophets is cast
upon them. Or one could say that the special characteristics of the
prophets are manifested and projected (burooz) through them.
But after the completion of the journey, each of them remains at his
original position of natural affinity. For instance, the saint who
aids the cause of the faith is known as having the nature of Noah,
or being in the footsteps of Noah, or one who manifests Noah, or the
burooz of Noah. The saint who accepts the will of God is known
as one having the nature of Moses, he who annihilates himself is known
as one having the nature of Jesus, and he who is a perfect servant,
combining all these, is known as one having the Muhammadi nature.
Sometimes it is said that such and such a saint is the burooz
of such and such a prophet, just as the moon is the burooz
of the sun. In short, the prophet is the original, and the saint is
his copy.”
(Urdu translation of Fusus al-Hukam, published by Nazir Sons,
Lahore, 1979, p. 24)
3. Khawaja Ghulam Farid of Chachran (d. 1904 C.E.)
This much-loved saint who lived in the Bahawalpur area, now in Pakistan,
gives the following definition:
“Burooz is that a soul gains benefit from another one
which is perfect. When it receives the benefit of Divine illumination,
it becomes its manifestation, and says: I am that one.”
(Isharat Faridi, Collection of Sayings of the famous Punjabi
saint, Khawaja Ghulam Farid, Islamic Book Foundation, Lahore, p. 418)
4. Shaikh Ahmad of Sirhind (d. 1624 C.E.)
“The burooz spoken of by some spiritual Shaikhs has
nothing to do with re-incarnation. In re-incarnation, a soul forms
a connection with another body as the means of its life, and to give
it sensation and movement. In burooz, a soul forms a connection
with another body, not for this purpose, but to make that body acquire
attainments and reach high grades.”
(Maktubat, Daftar II, Letter no. 58, p. 191)
Regarding the concept of burooz, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad writes:
- “Sometimes the coming of a soul into this world, which resembles
the soul of some righteous person of the past, and not only has a
connection with that soul but derives benefit from it as well, is
considered as the coming of the original soul itself. In the terminology
of the Sufis this is known as burooz.” (Sat Bachan,
p. 49)
- “The Sufis believe that the nature, disposition and moral
qualities of a person from the past come again in another. In their
terminology, they say that so and so is in the footsteps of Adam,
or the footsteps of Noah. Some also call this as burooz.”
(Malfuzat, vol. i, p. 239)
- “God always employs metaphors and gives one person’s
name to another on account of nature, qualities, and abilities. He
whose heart is like that of Abraham is Abraham in the sight of God,
and he who has the heart of Umar is Umar in His sight.” (Fath-i
Islam, p. 16)
- “All the Sufis and the elders of the Muslim nation hold this
belief. In fact, they even say that no one can be a perfect follower
until he acquires the accomplishments of the Holy Prophet Muhammad
in the sense of burooz. ... When a person shows such perfect
obedience of the Holy Prophet that he is, as it were, absorbed and
effaced to the extent of being lost in that obedience, his condition
at that time is like a mirror showing the image fully and perfectly.”
(Tafsir Sura Fatiha, p. 261)
- “The heart of the devotee is a mirror which is so polished
by trials and tribulations that the qualities of the Prophet are reflected
in it.” (Manzur Ilahi, p. 37)
- “As a person’s face is seen in the mirror, though that
face has its own independent existence; this is called burooz.”
(Tafsir Sura Fatiha, p. 330)
- “The whole Muslim nation is agreed that a non-prophet takes
the place of a prophet as a burooz. This is the meaning of
the hadith: Ulama ummati ka-anbiya Bani Israil [‘The godly
learned ones of my community are like the prophets of Israel’].”
(Ayyam as-Sulh, p. 163)
9.4: Masil Anbiya — Like of Prophets
Clearly, a person who is described as the like of a prophet, is
not being considered to be a prophet. On the question of Muslim
saints becoming the likes of prophets, Hazrat Mirza wrote as follows:
- “Of all the leaders of Tasawwuf that there have been
till the present day, not even one has disagreed with the point that
in this religion the path to become the likes of prophets is open,
as the Holy Prophet Muhammad has given the glad tidings for spiritual
and godly learned persons that ‘the Ulama of my nation are
like the Israelite Prophets’. The words of Abu Yazid Bustami
given below, which are recorded in Tazkirat al-Auliya by Farid-ud-Din
Attar, and are also found in other reliable works, are on this basis,
as he says: ‘I am Adam, I am Seth, I am Noah, I am Abraham,
I am Moses, I am Jesus, I am Muhammad, peace be upon him and upon
all these brothers of his.’ ... Similarly, Sayyid Abdul Qadir
Jilani, in his book Futuh al-Ghaib, refers to this point, i.e.
that man, by leaving his ego and annihilating himself in God, becomes
the like, rather the very form, of the prophets.” (Izala Auham,
pp. 258 – 260)
- “The Holy Quran clearly gives this instruction, and in the
opening chapter gives us the hope of becoming the likes of prophets.
God exhorts us to pray to Him five times a day and beseech Him to
give us guidance so that we may become the like of Adam; the like
of Seth, the prophet of God; the like of Noah, the second Adam; the
like of Abraham, the friend of God; the like of Moses, the recipient
of God’s word; the like of Jesus; and the like of the Holy Prophet
Muhammad and Ahmad, and the like of every truthful and faithful one.”
(ibid., p. 257)
- “Ponder over this, that all the eternal fountains of spiritual
life have come into the world through the Holy Prophet Muhammad. This
is the nation [i.e. Muslim nation] which, though not having any prophets
(nabi) in it, has those who receive the word of God like prophets,
and though not having any messengers (rasul) in it, has those
who show God’s clear signs like messengers. It has rivers of
spiritual life flowing in it, and none can compete with it.”
(Ainah Kamalat Islam, p. 224)
- “God’s ancient way cannot be denied, viz., that He gives
the name of one to another on account of spiritual similarity. He
who has the nature of Abraham is Abraham in God’s sight, he who
has the nature of Moses is Moses in God’s sight, and he who has
the nature of Jesus is Jesus in God’s sight. And he who has a
share of all these has all these names applied to him.” (Izala
Auham, p. 412)
The belief expressed repeatedly by Hazrat Mirza is that, after the Holy
Prophet Muhammad, no prophet can come, but there can be Muslims who become
the likes of prophets.
9.5: Ummati wa Nabi — Follower
and Prophet
The Sufis have devised a term al-anbiya’ wal-auliya’
(‘prophets as well as saints’) which is synonymous with muhaddas
or saint. Hazrat Mirza has used the expressions “a follower from
one aspect and a prophet from another” and “follower and prophet”
for this term. He writes:
- “So the fact that he [the Messiah to come] has been called
a follower [of the Holy Prophet Muhammad] as well as a prophet indicates
that the qualities of both discipleship and prophethood will be found
in him, as it is essential for both of these to be found in a muhaddas.
The possessor of full prophethood, however, has only the quality of
prophethood. To conclude, sainthood (muhaddasiyyat) is coloured
with both colours. For this reason, in [the Divine revelations published
in] Barahin Ahmadiyya too, God named this humble one as follower
and as prophet.” (Izala Auham, p. 533)
- “A muhaddas, who is a ‘sent one’, is a follower
and also, in an imperfect sense, a prophet. (ibid., p. 569)
9.6: Finality of Prophethood
The belief held by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was that the Holy Prophet
Muhammad is the Last of the Prophets, and after him no prophet
is to arise, neither new nor old. Before the Holy Prophet Muhammad, prophets
used to arise to put man in touch with God, and to deliver the commands
of God to man. With the finality of prophethood, religion and religious
laws reached perfection, and therefore the chain of prophets was cut off
after the Holy Prophet. No prophet will now come.
However, whenever people stray far from God and lose faith in Him,
in order to revive faith afresh and to re-establish man’s relation
with God, according to the teachings of the Quran and Hadith there arise
saints and reformers. Such persons are known by various titles in the
Quran and Hadith, such as wali (saint), imam (spiritual
leader), mujaddid (reformer), and muhaddas (a recipient
of revelation who is not a prophet). The same persons are referred to
in Sufi terminology as fana fir-rasul, masil anbiya, zilli nabi,
buroozi nabi, ummati wa nabi etc., the meanings of which have just
been explained. These terms of the Sufis do not describe prophets,
but refer to saints.
Extracts are given below from the writings of Hazrat Mirza showing
that he believed that the highest spiritual rank open to Muslims is
sainthood (wilayat), which is attained only through truly following
the Holy Prophet Muhammad. He held, as shown below, that thousands of
true believers over the centuries of Islam reached this stage, and that
he himself was one such man.
- “I have seen a great power in the Holy Quran and a wonderful
characteristic in following the Holy Prophet Muhammad, which power
and characteristic are not to be found in any other religion. That
is that the true follower reaches the stage of sainthood (wilayat).
... Hence I have personal experience of this.” (Chasma-i Ma‘rifat,
Part II, p. 60)
- “This is the sainthood (wilayat) beyond which there
is no higher stage.” (Haqiqat al-Wahy, p. 52)
- “Remember that by ‘learned one’ is not meant
a person whose knowledge of language, grammar, or logic is unmatched,
but a person who is always fearing God and does not use his tongue
frivolously. ... And in the Holy Quran the quality of the learned
ones is that they fear God. ... In fact ‘ulama [learned
ones] is the plural of ‘alim, and ‘ilm [knowledge]
is that thing which is certain and definite. True knowledge can only
be had from the Holy Quran, not from ancient Greek or modern Western
philosophy. The true philosophy of faith is obtained through the Holy
Quran. The perfection and highest achievement of the believer is to
reach the stage of the ‘ulama and to acquire that degree
of conviction which is the ultimate extent of knowledge.” (Malfuzat,
Part I, p. 346)
- “But in the end the Holy Prophet Muhammad is the one to receive
the crown of honour. I am one of his slaves and servants, to whom
God speaks.” (Haqiqat al-Wahy, p. 274)
- “Similarly, whatever God has mentioned in the Holy Quran of
His virtues, it is by way of beauty and love. By reading it, it becomes
quite clear that He wants to turn the reader into a lover of God.
So He made thousands of lovers in this way, and I too am one such
humble servant.” (Chashma-i Ma‘rifat, Part II, p.
64)
- “Remember that in the Holy Quran God has described this characteristic
of holy life that such a person shows miracles. God listens to the
prayers of such people and speaks to them and gives them news of matters
unseen beforehand and aids them. So we see that there have been thousands
of such persons in Islam, and in this age I am here to show this example.”
(The Four Questions Answered, p. 15)
- “Muhaddases are the people who have the privilege of
Divine communication, and their souls bear the utmost resemblance
to the souls of the prophets. They are living reminders of the wonders
of prophethood, so that the subtle issue of Divine revelation may
not become a mere tale in any age, due to being devoid of proof. It
is not a correct idea that the Prophets, peace be upon them, left
the world with no heirs ... rather, in every century their heirs arise
according to need, and in this century there is my humble self.”
(Barakat-ud-Dua, p. 18)
- “In this age too, whatever spiritual blessings of God are
being sent is a result of following and obeying the Holy Prophet.
I say truly, and from my experience, that no person can be called
truly holy and attaining the pleasure of God, nor can he receive those
blessings, deep truths and visions which are obtained by a high degree
of spiritual purity, till he becomes totally absorbed in following
the Holy Prophet Muhammad. This is proved by the word of God itself
which says: ‘If you love God, follow me [i.e. Holy Prophet];
God will love you’ [the Quran 3:30]. I am the practical and living
proof of this claim by God. Recognise me by the signs of the lovers
of God and the saints as given in the Holy Quran.” (Tafsir
Sura Fatiha, p. 121)
- “This teaching [i.e. Islam] can make thousands into Messiahs,
and has done it for hundreds of thousands.” (The Four Questions
Answered, p. 22)
- “Though in Islam there have been thousands of saints and godly
men, none of them had been prophesied about specifically. But the
one who was to come bearing the name of Messiah, he had been prophesied
about. Similarly, no prophet before Jesus was a promised prophet.
Only the Messiah was a promised one.” (Tazkira Shahadatain,
p. 29)
- “All the khalifas [successors to the Holy Prophet]
of this religion are to be from amongst the Muslim nation, and they
are the likes of the successors to Moses. Only one of them, to appear
at the end of the chain, will be the Promised one who shall resemble
Jesus. The rest would not be promised ones, i.e. they have not been
prophesied about by name.” (ibid., p. 37)
- “Of course, muhaddases will come who will be spoken
to by God, and possess some attributes of full prophethood by way
of reflection (zill), and in some ways be coloured with the
colour of prophethood. I am one of these.” (Nishan Asmani,
p. 28)
- “We believe and acknowledge that, according to the real meaning
of prophethood, after the Holy Prophet Muhammad no new or former prophet
can come. The Holy Quran forbids the appearance of any such prophets.
But in a metaphorical sense God can call any recipient of revelation
as nabi or mursal. ... The Arabs to this day call even
the message-bearer of a man as a rasul, so why is it forbidden
for God to use the word mursal in a metaphorical sense too?
Do you not even remember from the Quran the words: ‘So they [some
non-prophets] said, We are messengers to you’? (Siraj Munir,
p. 3)
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