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Coolness of the eye - A Mercy for the Worlds

A Mercy for the Worlds

Tags: Hazrat Muhammad, Mercy, Luminous lamp, Light upon Light, Purification, Salman-i Farsi, Khasifu'n-na`l

The Holy Prophet as a Mercy for all the Worlds: In verse (21:107), God has said about His beloved Prophet: "And We sent you not save as a mercy for the worlds." That is, the light of the Holy Prophet has been the fountainhead of mercy for the personal worlds from the very beginning, for it has been represented by the noble Prophets and the pure Imams. By the worlds is meant the personal worlds, for as Hazrat Imam Ja`far as-Sadiq has said, by the "worlds" are meant human beings.
Mercy and Knowledge: Although it is true that mercy is related to the soul and knowledge to the intellect, it is necessary to know that mercy is not without knowledge, nor knowledge without mercy. The reason for this is that, in the higher world, the Universal Intellect and the Universal Soul, which are the fountainheads of knowledge and mercy (respectively), work together. Thus the Holy Prophet is not only a mercy for the worlds, but knowledge too, for as he has said: "I am the city of knowledge and `Ali (of the time) is its gate". He has also said: "I am the house of wisdom and `Ali (i.e. the Imam of the time) is its door".
Prophet for all the People: Verse (34:28) shows that the Holy Prophet was a messenger for all the people of the past, the present and the future. According to this Divine law, during the cycle of Prophethood, the Prophets and in the cycle of Imamat, the Imams, represent him, so that no age is deprived of knowledge and mercy. Further, on the day of Resurrection, lest people say that in their time there was neither a Prophet, nor a representative of the Prophet, as said in the Qur'an: "So that people should not have a plea against God after the (sending of) messengers." (4:165). The miracle of this verse is that only the Prophets are mentioned here, for the inseparability of the Prophets and the Imams automatically becomes apparent at the appropriate occasion, while in an extremely wisdom-filled, comprehensive way, it is said that no age can be devoid of the light of guidance.
Luminous Lamp: People of faith do not have the slightest doubt that there was the Divine light in the blessed personality of the Holy Prophet and numerous proofs of this fact can be found in the Qur'an and the Hadith. Among these evidences, one is the verse related to the luminous lamp (ayah-yi siraj), according to which, the Holy Prophet was the luminous lamp for all ages. This means that he spread the light of guidance not only in his own time, but also guided and helped people through the Prophets of the past and the Imams of the future. And a blessed appellation such as "Mercy for the worlds" means that the light is always in this world.
Four Names of the Prophet: You may know that the Holy Prophet has many blessed names, four of which are mentioned here. They are: the first, the last, the apparent and the hidden. This is a description of the light. The Holy Prophet is the first in the sense that God first created his light (nur-i Muhammadi), then He made it continue in the chain of Prophets. He is apparent in the sense that he manifested himself in Arabia as the Seal of the Prophets. He is hidden in the sense that the light of intellect is hidden. And the meaning of his being the last is that his light transferred to the chain of Imams to come in the future, so that the world may not remain devoid of the light of guidance.
Light upon Light (24:35): One light upon another light, but how? while the father is light, but the succeeding son has not yet become light? Answer: This is not a matter of the initial stage, but that of the final one, in which the successor also becomes light. It is then that, the first light becomes transferred to the second light. Thus the Holy Prophet, from the very beginning, was casting the reflection of his sacred light on the blessed heart of Mawlana `Ali. In this process, the main power is the pleasure of God, then the pleasure of the Prophet and his benediction, affection, teaching, attention, etc. and Hazrat `Ali was ready in every respect to receive the light and was aware of the necessary manners. In addition, he had immense love for the Prophet, and the ism-i a`zam is the greatest secret of the Prophets and the Imams.
The Verse of Purification: The verse of purification is the verse (33:33), which is revealed about the pure Ahl-i bayt, in which God declares that He wants to purify them in every respect. In this purification is meant three kinds of purification: physical, spiritual and intellectual. This, in fact, is the miracle of the ism-i a`zam and the spiritual and luminous act, which always continues in the luminous house of the family of the Prophet. Thus God, as a result of the act of purification, made the Ahl-i bayt the light of intellect, so that, by the manifestations of its knowledge and wisdom, the world of religion may be illumined.
The Purification of the People of Faith: Physical purification is by water and spiritual purification by knowledge. As is said in many places of the Noble Qur'an, the Holy Prophet in his time, used to purify mu'mins through knowledge and wisdom. This shows that in the verse of purification, is mentioned the receiving of luminous knowledge by the Ahl-i bayt from God. For this implies the utmost purification, i.e. to erase every vestige of the dirt of ignorance. This is possible only when the personality of these holy persons turns into the world of manifestations of knowledge of the light of intellect and where no time elapses without the radiation of knowledge and wisdom.
Salman-i Farsi: According to a Prophetic Tradition, Salman-i Farsi had the honour of being included among the pure Ahl-i bayt. This is such a practical reality that in it there cannot be any doubt. Thus the sun of light also rose in the pure personality of Salman-i Farsi and in this shining example, there is good news for mu'mins with high ambition. For this spiritual ascension and elevation is not limited only to Salman-i Farsi, but it is that all-embracing favour which every mu'min can attain after effacing and annihilating himself in the light of guidance. Can there be any bounty in the Divine treasures from which one remains deprived? (15:21). You should study the Hadith-i qudsi, which is related to obedience: "O the child of Adam! Obey me, I will make you like Myself..."
Bounties of the Qur'an and Islam: The Qur'an and Islam, with their innumerable bounties, are in reality a living light, which rose in the personal world of the Holy Prophet (5:15; 42:52). On the other hand, gradually, the written form of the Qur'an became complete, without the slightest decrease in the light, as there was no decrease in the Glorious Qur'an in the Guarded Tablet (85:21-22 ) due to its revelation to the Holy Prophet. The radiant light in the holy personality of the Prophet in the form of the personal world, contained countless bounties of light, intellect, knowledge and soul. If this light were not transferred from the Prophet to his successor completely, then after him religion would not have remained perfect and the Divine bounties would have been incomplete (5:15; 31:20). Therefore, the sacred light of the Seal of the Prophets was transferred to the pure personality of Mawla `Ali (May peace be through him).
A Noble Hadith: The Holy Prophet has said: "I and `Ali were one light which was obeying and sanctifying God in His court fourteen thousand years before the creation of Adam. When Adam was created, this light was kept in his loins. Then that light was transferred continuously from one loins to another until it was placed in the loins of `Abdu'l-Muttalib. Then it was divided into two parts. My part was placed in the loins of `Abdu'llah and that of `Ali in the loins of Abu Talib. Thus `Ali is from me and I am from `Ali." (Kawkab-i Durri, Chapter 2, Manqabat 1).
Hadith of the Mender of the Shoes (Khasifu'n-na`l): The Holy Prophet said: "O people! Among you there is one who will fight for the sake of the ta'wil of the Qur'an, as I fought for its tanzil." Abu Sa`id Khudari says: We asked the Prophet, O Messenger of God, who is that person? He said: "The one who mends my shoes." Abu Sa`id says that I went to Hazrat Amir (i.e. Mawla `Ali) and gave him this glad news. He did not pay attention to me as if he had already heard it. (Kawkab-i Durri, Chapter 2, Manqabat 67).

Nasir Hunzai, London,
20 Dhu'l-hijjah, 1411/3rd July, 1991.

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