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Book of Healing - Qur'anic Healing - Recognition of Prophets and Awliya'

Recognition of Prophets and Awliya'

Tags: Prophets, Wali, Awliya', Siddiqin, Nafs-i Wahidah, Hazrat Adam, Shuhada', Salihin, Tab`in, Sidq, Sadiq, Siddiq, Truthful, Nasut, Malakut, Jabarut, Lahut, Hazrat Maryam, Hazrat Idris, Hazrat Ibrahim

1. It may occur in the hearts of some of you that some of the material in this book is not related to the subject. But it is not so. For, where the wise Qur'an, in one of the numerous aspects of its miracles of knowledge is medicine, remedy, healing and "subject of healing", how can something which is from the Qur'an, or is said in the light of the Qur'an, be out of the context of "Qur'anic Healing"? Thus, I would like to say a few words regarding the recognition of Prophets and awliya', so that, through their recognition, the wise people may know where the real place of inner (spiritual) health is and what its fruit is. For they are the embodied path, the guide as well as the best model of reaching the final destination.

2. You may know this fact that every Prophet is a wali also, but every wali is not a Prophet. First, prophethood is superior to walayat (friendship of God). Secondly, wali means a friend of God, which does not imply the meaning of prophethood, whereas, every Prophet is a friend of God. Thus wherever awliya' are mentioned in the Qur'an, the Prophets are also included. As the Qur'an says: "Behold! surely for the friends of God, there is neither fear nor do they grieve" (10:62). In this wisdom-filled verse, since the Prophets and awliya' are mentioned together in the same place, excepting the responsibilities of prophethood and messengership, the rest of the treasures of the azali and abadi secrets are gathered (in them) and nothing of knowledge and recognition is outside of them.

3. Awliya' or friends of God, with respect to walayat, are alike, but with respect to prophethood and messengership, are in two groups. The first group is called Prophets and the second siddiqin (the truthful) (4:69). Whatever the Prophets have seen, the siddiqin also see it. And they, on the basis of the observation of the truth of certainty (haqqu'l-yaqin), testify and verify the Books brought by the Prophets and their miracles. Togetherness of the siddiqin with Prophets can also be seen from the fact that after them are the shuhada' (martyrs, witnesses) and after them are the salihin (the righteous) and finally the tab`in, those who follow them (4:69). You may say that apart from the siddiqin and the Prophets, the rest mentioned above are also among the friends of God. You are quite right. But there are levels of friendship of God and hence the chosen friends of God are the Prophets and siddiqin, who have been mentioned above.

4. One of the Qur'anic names of Hazrat Adam, may peace be on him, is nafs-i wahidah (7:189, 39:6), on the measure of fa'ilah, which means "one" and also "the one who makes one". Thus if you search carefully in the above verses, you will come to know that in the world of particles of Hazrat Adam, the Father of mankind, the particles of the souls of all human beings had come into being while the peace-giving existence (wujud-i sakinat) of Hazrat Hawwa', may peace be on her, was not yet made from him. For the spirit (light) of God which was breathed into Hazrat Adam, the vicegerent of God, had with it a huge world of souls and angels. This is the definition of nafs-i wahidah.

5. Every Prophet and Perfect wali is the nafs-i wahidah in his own time, for the spirit or light of God and the world of particles have to be there forever. A clear proof of how all human beings are in the Perfect Man can be found from the blessed personality of Hazrat Ibrahim, may peace be on him. He was not only a believer in one God and a great Messenger, but also a community obeying and recognising God (16:120). The community which has been praised by God Himself was the spiritual community of the Prophets and siddiqin, in whose representation, Hazrat Ibrahim became the Imam of mankind in the past, the present and the future (2:124). Further, in this wisdom-filled successive representation, the holy Prophet is not only the Imam of the people, of the first and the last, but also the Imam of all Prophets and awliya', as he has been sent by God as a mercy for all worlds (21:107). It is obvious that this mercy is for every age. Thus, it is true to say that this universal mercy has continued to be spread through the chain of the Prophets and awliya'.

6. A special form of the (Divine) mercy is the Qur'an and the light of the Qur'an (10:57, 5:15). The spirit and spirituality and knowledge and recognition of the Qur'an were also in the Scriptures of the earlier communities (26:196), and now all of them are, in a way, in the Qur'an (5:48). For, according to the law of unity, as all the teachers of the Scriptures, being transferred from one into another are linked to their supreme luminous centre, namely the holy Prophet, all Scriptures being transferred into one another are gathered in the great Qur'an. For no system can survive without the existence of a centre and central pull.

7. How dear the word "sidq" (truth, true, truthful) is. It is particularly so, as it is one of the names of the holy Qur'an (39:33). By "Sidq" is meant sadiq (truthful), by which is meant the one who knows and explains the verities and realities of the Qur'an and verifies them by word and deed. And siddiq is the emphatic form of sadiq, which means extremely truthful, truthful from top to bottom and the one who knows the verity and reality of religion from the very root and foundation of it. By this siddiq is meant the wali whose rank is after that of the Prophet. Thus according to the verse (4:69), at the first step of the ladder of spiritual progress, are those who obey (tab`in), at the second step are the salihin (the righteous ones), at the third, the shuhada' (the martyrs, the witnesses), at the fourth, the siddiqin (the truthful ones) and then are the Prophets, may peace be upon them, who have climbed the ladder (see the diagram below).

8.

  1. Whereas all people live in the world of humanity (nasut), only the mu'mins have reached the first step of the ladder of spiritual progress and development. It is possible for them to remain there, but deviation is impossible.
  2. Salihin also live in this external world (world of humanity) with other human beings, but spiritually they have reached the world of angelicity (malakut), at the second step of the ladder, where they see the manifestations of light and the earth of their personal world is improving.
  3. Shuhada' (martyrs, witnesses) are of two kinds: external and internal. The state of external or physical martyrdom is not hidden from anyone. The internal or spiritual martyr is the one who is slain in the path of God (spirituality) in his life time. Or, in other words, he passes through the station of Izra'il (manzil-i Izra'il) and starts to attain recognition of Resurrection. The shuhada' have reached the world of majesty (jabarut), where there is the luminous manifestation of the Divine attributes.
  4. Siddiq (wali) reaches the world of divinity (lahut), where he becomes annihilated in the essence of God and where he finds the greatest treasure enfolded and rolled up in the Hand of God, in which there are the key secrets only. Now when such a person explains knowledge, he will speak most truly, for his knowledge is in the light of those azali and abadi secrets, which he has seen in the world of divinity. Thus he is the siddiq (the most truthful) in this sense.
  5. The Prophet first attains the rank of walayat, then he succeeds to the rank of prophethood. The Prophet is commanded by God to proclaim his prophethood and to invite the people unto Him. But the wali does not receive such a command, he (only) works under his Prophet. Prophethood came to an end with the holy Prophet, but the chain of walayat is perpetual and everlasting.

9. The place of Hazrat Jibra'il is the world of majesty (jabarut) and he cannot go beyond that. For Jibra'il is an angel who accompanies a Prophet or a wali in his journey of ascent. But since the world of divinity is the world of unity, the duality of two persons cannot enter it together. Therefore, only one individual can go there being freed from everything in every respect, alone and having become annihilated, as it ought to be.

10. One of the mentions of Hazrat Idris, may peace be on him, is made in the noble Qur'an in this way: "(O Prophet!) And make mention in the Scripture (Qur'an) of Idris. Lo! he was a siddiq and a Prophet" (19:56). Such a mention is also made of Hazrat Ibrahim, may peace be on him (19:41). These examples show that every Prophet first becomes a wali, and then a Prophet. Now, in the light of the above-mentioned diagram, an important question is answered. The question is: "To what extent is the spiritual progress of a woman possible? Had a woman become a Prophet at any time? If not, what was the reason for it?" The answer is that there is no difference between the spiritual progress of a man or a woman, for their place of return and destination of annihilation is the same, which is the world of divinity, where all have to become annihilated individually. A bright example of the spiritual progress of women is that of Hazrat Maryam, may peace be upon her, that she was a siddiqah, namely, a female wali or waliyyah. That is, she was among the perfect awliya'. See in the above-mentioned diagram that the final destination of siddiqin is the destination of divinity. Thus certainly the pure soul of Hazrat Maryam, a siddaqah, may peace be on her, (5:75) and other fortunate women like her, can reach the world of divinity. In my opinion, due to this bright proof of the equity of the Compassionate (musawat-i Rahmani), the remaining part of the question should cease automatically.

12 Ramazan al-mubarak, 1406 22nd May, 1986.

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