The
Chishti Nizami Habibi Soofie
Pietermaritzburg
South Africa
786/92
In order that ye (O Mankind) may believe in Allah and his Rasul and may assist and honour him"
As
the Muslims have been in their period of decline, their faith and their
knowledge of Islam has also declined. The effect of the modern materialistic
thought which has come from the western world, and the notion of pursuing pseudo
- rationalism has led some of the Muslims to reject those important aspects of
the prophetic personality which are of a spiritual bearing.
Those
people who do not understand the nature of the world, what is the human
constitution, what are the laws under which this world functions, try to
interpret everything in material terms in accordance with the very defective
knowledge that they possess. Some of them go to the extreme of blasphemy, trying
to conceive the Holy Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) as a human being like
them.
The
Holy Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) is the source of grace, the
foundation of our Iman, it is through him that we know Allah, the Qur'aan,
Angels, Day of Judgement, Heaven, Hell and everything in Islam.
Allah loves him and he wants the Muslims
to love and honour him. Therefore,
he warns in Sura
al-Hujaraat 49 Verse 2:
O! Believers do not raise your voices above the pitch of the voice of the Holy Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) and do not talk with him in the fashion, which you talk amongst yourselves. If you do even this slight unconscious mistake, remember all your Salaah, prayers, fasting, Hajj, Zakaat and every other act of virtue will be annulled totally and you will not even know it.
' Adab gahez zehere aasmah
az arsh nazuk tah,
Nafas ghum kar dami ayaad Junaid oh Byazid jah '
There is a
place where respect has to be offered and it is more delicate than the Throne
of Allah
When great
spiritual luminaries like Junaid and Bayazid come here they come trembling.
If
for a single error, of disrespect to
Allah's beloved, every act of virtue is annulled: How much must Allah love
him? He does not even give the blasphemer
the Taufiq (Divine help)
to realise he has sinned, thus the door
of repentance remains closed.
The
axis of our Iman is the personality of
the Holy Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) Belief in all the Pillars of
Islam, including Belief in One God (Tauhid)
and The Hereafter (Akhirat), stems
from Him.
There
are two aspects of Nabuwwat
(Prophethood): One aspect is Similarity or (Misliat)
and the other aspect is Excellence or
(Fazilat). Fazilat is to see
Excellence in someone’s personality and accept him as greater than ones self
and others. Similarity or Misliat is to view
somebody as being similar to oneself and others. The miraculous nature of the
Holy Prophets personality fall under Fazilat
E.g. Splitting of the Moon, Moving of the Sun, and trees coming to the Holy
Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) and stones reciting the Kalimah.
The human aspect of the Holy Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) personality
falls under Similarity or Misliat E.g.
Marriage, Business, Eating, Sleeping, Perspiring etc.
But the
Prophetic nature or Nabuwwat is a
combination or Excellence or Fazilat
plus Similarity or Misliat. A great
person comes down to the level of his subjects and humbly approaches them to
create a friendly atmosphere E.g. If one needs a favour from a minister of
parliament and on approaching him one finds him very formal and officious, then
one will not be at ease and in laymen’s terms one will say "He is a big man and not down to earth." On the other
hand one may approach another and find him to be very friendly, helpful and
accommodating. He may say, "whenever
you have a problem, please feel free to call. I am your servant."
This puts one at ease and one can relate to such a person. But to think that he
is like one in status, because of his humility, will be a mistake. The Holy
Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) who is the Greatest in Allah's creation
and who reached the highest spiritual height of Slavery to Allah or Abdiat,
which was handsomely demonstrated on the occasion of the Meraj
repeatedly told his followers, "I
am like you” to befriend them and put them at ease.
During
the Meraj the Prophet went to the
farthest limits of the Universe, into the divine presence or to where the
essence of Allah is centred, where no man has reached. This is his Excellence
or Fazilat and on the other hand when
a needy woman asked him to walk with her in Madinah, he walked barefoot,
this is his humility that projects
similarity or Misliat.
The
Qur’aan says in Sura Hud 11, Verse49
Such are some of the stories of the unseen that we
have revealed unto thee (his excellence). Before this, neither you nor your
people knew them (similarity).
The
Qur’aan says, Sura al-Kahaf 18 Verse
110
I am Human as you are a Human (similarity) but
inspiration comes to me (his excellence)
Those
who fix their attention on similarity (Misliat) become misguided. Those who combine Similarity (Misliat)
and his excellence (Fazilat) have
true Belief (Iman).
Sura
al-Baqara 2 Verse 255
None
can intercede in his Presence (similarity)
except whom he permits (his excellence)
Sura Zukhruf 43 Verse 67
Friends on that day (Judgement) will be foes one to
another (similarity) except the Righteous (his excellence).
Those
who fix their attention on similarity (Misliat)
are misguided. Those who believe with similarity
(Misliat) and excellence (Fazilat) combined have Iman. Their are five groups, namely:
Sura Hud11, Verse 27
We see (in) thee nothing but a man like ourselves.
Suraal-Mumunoon23, Verse24
He is no more than a man like you
Those that attribute partners to Allah (Mushriq)
reject his similarity (Misliat)
and
only accepts his excellence (Fazilat).
Sura at-Tauba 9 Verse 30
And the Christians call Christ the Son of God
The
Hypocrites (Munafiqun)
or The
Waverers (Muzabzabin)
see
his similarity
(Misliat)
and his excellence (Fazilat)
as the same.
Sura
an-Nisaa 4 Verse143
Wavering,
Being sincere for neither one group nor for another
The
Sahaba and the Kuffar saw the Holy Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) and Abu
Bakr and Ali saw the body cast no shadow, and a fly did not sit on the body, but
Abu Jahl and Abu Lahab saw a human like them. Those who fix their gaze on
excellence became the Sahaba and those
who looked for similarity and fault remain the unbelievers.
The
unbelievers saw him perspiring and said, "he
is like us" but the believers realized that a beautiful aroma emanated
from his perspiration and it perfumed the air around him. When he walked through
the streets, he left a fragrance on the path.
The
non - believers saw him eating food and thought that he was like them, but the
believers saw the food making Shukr to
Allah that it is going to enter the Holy body.
During
the battle of the Trench, stones were tied on his tummy to quell the hunger and
the disbelievers said, "He is like
us." On the other hand, during
the same battle when Hazrath Jabir (Radiallahu anhu) invited him for food and
1500 ate from a small pot.
The
Sahaba had Iman or belief on the human status (Bashariat) but emphasized (Nuraniat)
or his status of being ‘The Essence of The Universe’ (ar-Ruh al Qainaat).
Even today those who accept his similarity (Misliat) but emphasize his excellence (Fazilat) are the true Ahle
Sunnat Wa Jamaat, who celebrate his
Birth (Meelad) and sing his praises (Naat).
Fazilat or excellence points to his being the Beloved of the Beloved. (Mahboobiat). Misliat or similarity points to him being the slave of Allah (Abdiat)
despite all his excellence, and this saves one from Shirk.
(Attributing partners to Allah)
He
is a light from Allah (Nurullah) and
not Allah. Everyone saw his similar human qualities (Misliat);
a chosen few saw his excellence (Fazilat) but, his reality
(Haqiqat) only Allah knows.
Therefore he said to Abu Bakr (Radiallahu anhu)
"Lam
yarifi haqiqati siwa rabbi"
No one knows my reality except Allah.
"Tum
zate Khuda se na Juda ho, Na khuda hoh.
Allahi ku ma loom heh kya janiyeh kya hoh"
You are not distant from Allah, nor are you Allah
Allah only knows your reality
Dependant
on your compassion and grace
Irshad
Soofi
