A036
Surah: 014 - Ayah: 036
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14:36
Wisdom 32: In verse (14:36), God, reporting the statement of Hazrat Ibrahim, says: "Then he who follows me is of me." That is, he is my spiritual child. The Holy Prophet has said about Salman-i Farsi: "Salman is of us, the ahl al-bayt". Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq has said about some of his friends: "You are from us, the ahl al-bayt". You should not forget that the means of such a unique and most exalted spiritual progress are obedience and love.
Mawlana A1I has said about Salman: "He is a minaret and sign of the knowledge of the first and of the last, and is an ocean which never exhausts (due to usage)." (Kitabu 'l-Majalis wa 'l-Musa 'irat by Qadi Numan, p.56).
Tabica (He followed)
In verse (14:36) there is an extremely important fundamental saying of Hazrat Ibrahim: "So whoever follows me, is surely of me", that is, he is my spiritual child. On reflecting upon this fundamental principle, many wisdoms are found in it. That is, in Islam which is the religion of nature, there is no obstacle in progress, rather there is a clear possibility of reaching the final destination by following the Prophet and the Imam.
Criterion of Hazrat Ibrahim: The holy Prophet says: “He who recognises more his soul among you, recognises more his Lord among you” (Zadu’l-Musafirin, p. 287). In this luminous teaching of the Prophet on the one hand, there is the mention of a mu'min's recognition of his own soul and the recognition of God, and on the other, the mention of the different ranks of recognition. Thus it is a clear fact that, in this complete recognition, the recognition of the Prophets and the Messengers is also included. For recognition is not possible without following the footsteps of the Prophets and awliya in the stages of spirituality. This act has many names, such as guidance, obedience, following, proximity, etc. Thus Hazrat Ibrahim said: “Then he who follows me will be from me” (14:36). That is, he will be a part of my existence. In other words, he will attain the rank of annihilation in the Prophet. This is an example of the criterion of the spiritual health which is related to the cycle of Hazrat Ibrahim.
Regarding the unity of the righteous and their reaching this exalted position, the holy Prophet has said: “Indeed, the mu'mins (of all communities) are brothers and the Prophets are like one soul.” If the Prophets are like one soul, their law too, is one. As Hazrat Ibrahim, may peace be on him, said: “Then whoever follows me belongs to me” (14:36). Thus the follower of every Prophet is not separate from him, and the soul of the Prophets and the righteous is the same one soul. As God says: “And your creation and your upraising are but as a single soul” (31:28). Thus, the spiritual unity of the righteous is evident from the fact that all of them have the same book, whose writing is in its essence, which is the Universal Soul itself, namely, the Universal Soul is their soul. Since the [Universal] Soul is created from great actions, they appear in the writing of the book written in its essence. That is, they can see the spiritual reality of their own and others’ deeds as living pictures.
Q92 It is mentioned in the story of Hazrat Abraham(c) that he said: “Then whosoever follows me belongs to me.” (14:36) Would you kindly tell us its wisdom? How can a follower of Hazrat Abraham(c) khalilu’llah, be his son or a part of him? Is there such a possibility either physically or spiritually?
A92 The one who follows the Prophet perfectly, indeed reaches the ultimate destination and becomes one with him. In such a case every successful follower becomes the spiritual child of his Prophet and when he is merged in him, he can spiritually be much more than a child.
This Hadith related to Salman-i Farsi provides a clear example of the fact that mu’mins can link themselves with the light by hard work, high ambition, devotion, sacrifice and true love. That is, with their inner eye they are able to see how their higher "I" is eternally merged and linked to the origin. To achieve this is difficult but not impossible, and the Qur’an mentions this possibility in the verse relating to Hazrat Ibrahim: "So, whoever obeys me, is surely of me." (14:36). i.e. Whoever walks the path that I have walked, will truly discover the secret of how he is my spiritual and luminous child. Thus, it is a fact that like Salman-i Farsi, whoever wishes to, can join his eternal relationship with the light and he can also sever the link like Kancan (Hazrat Nuh’s son) did.
This verse has been referred 12 times.