Humanity And Its Guidance
Humanity and its Guidance
As ALREADY EXPLAINED above, every creature could have guidance only from its Creator Lord and ma' having been created with a decidedly higher object of life on the earth, needed guidance through higher sources than mere instincts which are also gifted in the nature of the lower sphere of creation. Man has been endowed with a unique native endowment called the Conscience which is a common award or gift to the human specie as a whole. This great guiding factor, is called "Rasool-e-Batini" or the latent apostle which invariably guides every human being in enabling him to differentiate between the true and the false, the good and the bad and that which is profitable and harmful to his being. Since this unique blessing is liable to be snatched away by the satanic forces which are ever active against wholesome human life on earth, the All-Merciful Lord, to further strengthen the human conscience, instituted the manifest guidance through the external preaching of the truth by His apostles who were duly inspired with the knowledge to serve the purpose of putting humanity, which had gone astray, again on the right track. With the spread of the human family and its inhabiting the different parts of the earth, apostles of God were also sent to each such habitation to guide the people of the place, in the various languages they had developed for their own respective uses, which fact is borne out by the Holy Quran :-Vide 14:4.
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And lest his people may fall easy victims to imposters or false prophets, every apostle of God identified his successor, and even prophesied about the advent of the other prophets who were to come in the later generations, if they had to come with any special message of a higher value for the people.
"Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days." (New Testament.) (Acts 3:24)
God Himself had declared beforehand about the advent of some of His apostles, exhorting mankind to follow them, if they wished salvation for themselves. The Last one of the apostles of God had to come to mankind as a whole, with the Final Code of Discipline for a Universal Control, and for the elevation of human life in all parts of the earth, for all times until the end of the world. The prophecies about the Last Apostle of God were incorporated in all the heavenly scriptures and had earned great currency among the peoples in the various parts of the globe. The Holy Qur'an refers to this fact:
"Those who follow the Apostle, the Ummi, whom they find written down with them in the Torah and the Evangel. . ." Holy Qur'an 7:157
The above verse of the Holy Qur'an informs us that the advent of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, was prophesied by all the preceding apostles of God, and a covenant was also taken from the respective people that they should accept him and hearken to whatever he would tell them. Verses 22 to 25 of Chap. 3 of the Acts of the New. Testament bear testimony to this fact:-
22. "For Moses truly said unto the fathers, a Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me, unto him shall ye hearken in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you."
23. "And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that Prophet shall be destroyed from among the people."
24. "Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days."
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25. "Ye are the children of the Prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers saying unto Abraham; And in thy seed shall all the kindred of the earth be blessed." New Testament. Acts 3:22-25.
While all the preceding apostles of God conveyed to their respective people the glad tidings of the advent of the Universal Prophet of God, whom every human soul on the earth had to compulsorily follow, the Universal Prophet, the Holy Prophet Muhammad came to lay down as a cardinal doctrine of his faith that all apostles of God preceding him should be accepted as equally truthful, infallible and holy :-
"The Apostle Muhammad believeth in what hath come down unto him from his Lord, and so do the believers and His Books (the different holy scriptures) and His apostles. They say : We make no difference between any of His Apostles. . ." Holy Qur'an 2:285.
The believers in Islam are also described in the Holy Qur'an:-
"And those who believe in that which has been revealed to thee (0' Our Apostle Muhammad) and that which was revealed before thee. . ." Holy Qur'an 2:4.
Thus the position of the Holy Prophet Muhammad is unique among all the apostles of God, that while the predictions about his advent, made by the preceding apostles, are fulfilled in him, he on the other hand unlike any one of his predecessors, had enforced a compulsory article of Faith, to believe in the truthfulness and infallibility of all the apostles of God gone before him and who had been victims of blasphemies and blackmailing by the people.
This same fact has been borne out in another place in the Holy Book of the Christian Church :-
"The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee of thy brethren, like unto me : unto him ye shall hearken." Deut. 18:15.
"I will raise them a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto them, and will put My words in his mouth ; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him."
"And it shall come tc pass that whosoever will not hearken unto My words which he shall speak in My Name, I will require it of him." Deut. 18:18, 19.
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A covenant was made with Abraham which is referred to in the Holy Qur'an :
'And when his Lord tried Abraham with certain words, and he fulfilled them, He (God) said, 'I will make thee an Imam (a guide) for mankind'. (Then)said he (Abraham) 'and of my offspring?" Said (then the Lord) My (covenant) shall not reach the unjust." Holy Qur'an 2:124.
The Old Testament corroborates this statement in relating the divine promise of God to Abraham about his two sons Isaac and Ishmael :-
"And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing." Genesis 12:2, 3.
"And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee ; Behold I have blessed him and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly : Twelve Princes shall he beget and I will make him a great nation." Gen. 18:20.
"And I will establish my covenant between Me and thee and thy seed after thee in generations for an everlasting covenant to be a God unto thee and thy seed after thee."
"And I will give unto thee and thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession and I will be their God." Gen. 17:7, 8.
And God fixed circumcision as a token of this covenant:
This is My covenant which ye shall keep between Me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised." Gen. 17:1o.
"And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin and it shall be a token of the covenant between Me and thee." Gen. 17:11.
"And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day as God had said unto him." Gen. 17:20.
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Under the same covenant, Jesus who was an Israelite through his mother Mary, did also receive the circumcision after eight days of his birth and only after that was he named Jesus :-
"And when eight days were accomplished for the circum
cision of the child, his name was called JESUS." Luke 2:21
And every Muslim as a true follower of the tradition of Abraham, whose direct descendant was the Holy Prophet Muhammad, receives circumcision, the token of the Great Covenant, fixed by God.
John the Baptist who appeared just before Jesus, clarified the matter furthermore when he answered the enquirers who asked him, "Who art thou ?"
"And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him who art thou?
And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ.
And they asked him, what then? Art thou Elias? And he saith I am not. Art thou that Prophet? And he answered No." John I :19-21
The questions of the Jews and the answers given by John the Baptist, make it crystal clear that the expectation of the advent of the Promised Last Prophet, had gained a household currency among the people. -The advent of Elias and Christ had been fulfilled. Jesus, before his departure from this world, took special care to announce in his repeated prophecies about the advent of the Last one of the Apostles of God, who had to deliver to mankind the Final Word of the Lord, and who, in the religion which he would preach, would abide with mankind for ever, and who had to give out the whole of the truth to mankind which Jesus could not do for his people's inability to bear it:
"And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever." John 14:16
By the above statement of Jesus, it is quite clear that his mission was only for a time and not for all times and that which was to be permanent had yet to come:-
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"Nevertheless I tell you the truth, that it is expedient for you that I go away, for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you, but if I depart I will send him unto you, and when he is come he will reprove the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment." John 14:7, 8
Jesus made it clear that the Last one of the Apostles of God could not come to deliver the Final Word of God and the whole of the Truth, until the one who had come just to serve the timely need of the age, did not depart, lest the imperfect and the perfect should be confused, and it would create discord, disorder and confusion instead of unity and harmony:-
Jesus had further declared :-
"But the Comforter which is the Holy Ghost whom the Father will send in my name, lie shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance whatever I have said unto you." John 14:26
By the above declarations, Jesus has made it perfectly clear that he that had to come after him was the Holy Ghost, and the same statement of Jesus also makes it clear that he had not said everything about the Truth, which duty according to him, had been assigned by the Lord to the Comforter who was the Holy Ghost:
Jesus had done his best when he said :-
"I have yet mangy things to say unto you but ye cannot bear them now."
"Howbeit when the 'Spirit of Truth; is come ; he will 'guide you unto all truth' for he shall not speak of himself, but 'whatever he shall hear that shall he speak' and he will show you things to come." John 16:12 & 13.
The above declaration by Jesus makes it clear:-
I. That Jesus had to go away, without disclosing the whole truth due to the inability of the people to bear it then.
2. That the one who had to come after him would guide mankind unto all truth which he (Jesus) could not do.
3. That the one to come after him 'would speak' only that which he will hear from the Lord which quality Jesus did not claim for himself.
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4. That the Spirit of Truth to come after him would show mankind things to come which Jesus did not do, and he will abide for ever.
Besides all the above prophecies, there are many similar declarations made by the other Apostles of God in the various parts of the earth, at different times, emanating from the Divine Mercy of the Lord, to keep mankind informed of the Great Guide mankind would be blessed with, who would consolidate all the goodness preached through the different Apostles gone before him in the various parts of the world, at different times, against the clouds of ignorance which were impending to darken the atmosphere of the earth as a whole. The promised Last Deliverer, Muhammad, appeared when inspite of the labours of all the preceding apostles of God, there was darkness everywhere on the earth.
The Seed of Abraham caused to grow in the wilderness
THE HOLY PROPHET Abraham, at the command of God, had brought and left his wife Hagar with his baby son Ishmael, in the wilderness of the barren desert land of Arabia, at the spot now called MECCA. The post where Hagar and the Baby Ishmael were left was not only barren, sandy and uninhabited, but was also waterless. For miles together around the place there was no trace of water. In short, when the poor mother wanted a little water for her Baby dying of thirst, she ran hither and thither in her agony of maternal love for her dying Baby. She ran from hillock to hillock, getting on the heights and throwing glances all around, searching for some trace of water, but all in vain. At last she sat down totally disappointed, only to witness the impending death of her child, when suddenly she noticed a miraculous fountain of fresh drinking water gushing out from under the heels of her Baby (Ishmael) as it struck its feet on the earth, in its struggle with the choking thirst. This fact has also been vouched by the Bible :-
"And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs.
And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bowshot ; for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lifted up her voice, and wept.
And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What
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aileth thee, Hagar? Fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is.
Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand for I will make him a great nation.
And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink." Gen. 21 :15-19.
This miraculous spring, today is called the Zam Zam which is now surrounded by the great Mosque around the Holy Ka'ba. This divinely created spring, generated from under the feet of Ishmael began giving fresh drinking water, not only to the poor mother and her baby son but also to the travellers and their caravans, and through this providential facility, the spot developed into a habitation with its unique importance as the halting place for caravans from the various directions, as a junction of the routes to the various important centres of trade.
Hagar and Ishmael lived at the place, and when Abraham again visited them, Ishmael his son whom he had left in babyhood, to the care of God, was a grown-up young lad. Abraham, aided by his young son Ishmael raised up the walls of the ancient Prayer House which was founded since time immemorial, exclusively for worship to the only True God, which is now called the Holy Ka'ba to which Haj (the pilgrimage) or a devoted visit has been enjoined by Islam on all its adherents. The same spring which gushed out from under the feet of Ishmael even today flows with greater force, more than sufficient to supply fresh drinking water to millions of visitors to the House of God raised by Abraham and Ishmael.
Abraham, while raising the walls of the Holy House prayed to God to accept it, saying :-
"And when Abraham and Ishmael raised the foundations of the House (Saying) Our Lord! accept from us; surely Thou art the Knowing.
"Our Lord! and make us both submissive (Muslims) to Thee and (raise) from our of springs a nation submitting to Thee, and show us ways of devotion and turn to us (Merciful), surely Thou art the Oft-Returning (to mercy), the Merciful:
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"Our Lord! and raise up in them an Apostle from among
them who shall recite to them Thy communications and purify them; surely Thou art the Mighty, the Wise." 2:127-129
In response to the above prayers, God addressing Abraham said:-
"And when We made the House a resort for men and a (place of) security, and : Appoint for yourselves a place of prayer on the standing place of Abraham.
And We enjoined Abraham and Ishmael, 'Purify My House for those who visit (it) and those who abide (in it) for devotion and those who bow down (and) those who pros trate themselves'." 2:125
Abraham tested with a sacrifice
ABRAHAM REPEATEDLY HAD visions of slaying his son Ishmael. The Bible of the Christian Church also mentions this with the change of the name of the son from Ishmael to Isaac, which change is obviously a Jewish tampering of the original event to suit their selfish ends, to shift the great sacrifice to Isaac, the father of the Israelites. A vision to an apostle of God is deemed to be the Lord's directive to him, to act according to the directions given therein. Abraham related his vision to his son Ishmael saying:-
"0' Son! I see in vision that I slay thee." Holy Qur'an 37:102
Ishmael, the dutiful son who was himself to be an apostle of God, submitted to his father saying:-
"0' Father! Act as thou hast been bidden (by the Lord) and thou wilt, if God Willed:, find me of the patient ones." Holy Qur'an 37:102
Abraham told his wife, Hagar, the mother of Ishmael that he was taking his son to his friend; and equipping himself with a knife and a rope, left for an altar on a nearby mountain. Abraham laid down his son Ishmael and tied his hands and legs lest the boy should struggle while being slain, and blindfolded himself with a piece of cloth apprehending his failure due to his paternal love, to bear the sight of his son rolling in his own blood, and in compliance with the divine directive received through the dream,
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Abraham offering his son to God, passed the knife across, cutting the throat under it.
Abraham declared Truthful, but the Sacrifice, postponed
As SOON AS Abraham was sure that he had slain his son under the knife, he immediately uncovered his eyes to pray to the Lord to accept his sacrifice, but to his great surprise, he found Ishmael standing aside and instead of Ishmael a ram lay slain. Any other father would have only rejoiced at the miraculous escape of his son, but Abraham with his wonderful love and devotion to the Lord and with his ideal submission to His Will, stood sorrowful and disappointed thinking that his offering was not accepted by the Lord, but a heavenly voice immediately consoled Abraham saying:
"0' Abraham! of course thou hast faithfully fulfilled the dream, thou art of the truthful ones, but verily it is an open test, we have substituted it with a Greater Sacrifice. We have transferred it to later generations." Holy Qur'an 37:105-108
The substitute-sacrifice destined to take place instead of the one offered by Abraham, has been called by God as an Open Test and a Great Sacrifice from which one naturally infers that the one to be sacrificed would be greater than Ishmael in his position with the Lord, and such a great sacrifice could naturally be offered by the one who would be superior to Abraham in his submission to God's Will.
What Abraham was demanded to enact was only a test:-
I. To make it known to mankind the degree of Abraham's love of God, and his submission to God's Will.
2. To make Abraham himself know that he was still lacking in resistance to witness the blood of his son when it had to flow in the fulfilment of the Will of the Lord.
3. To declare the ideal devotion of Abraham and his implicit submission to God, even to sacrifice his own son, when commanded by the Lord to do it.
4. To make it known to man that when it is demanded in obedience to God's command, man should sacrifice even his own son.
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5. To make the children of Adam (Man) know that in obedience to their parents, they must surrender themselves as Ishmael did.
6. To make it known to mankind that such an event is under the Divine Will and it is a Great Test which shall be enacted openly and it shall come to pass in the time to come, in the seed of Abraham.
Besides, the test, if it had to profit mankind, must be an open test, with its causes and events openly known, to earn the appreciation of its consequent effects. Abraham enacted the slaughter in obedience to God's command, but since the nature of the command was shrouded in a dream and every one could not know that the dream of an apostle of God is a revelation of God's Will, and with the ignorance of this mystic factor, people, instead of appreciating the unique submission of Abraham to the divine will of the Lord, would have condemned Abraham for having fanatically slaughtered his son, beguiled by his own fanciful interpretation of his dream. Thus, if Abraham had in those circumstances been allowed to slaughter Ishmael, the value of the Great Sacrifice would have practically been wasted and its great purpose would not have been fully served.
Secondly, the object of the sacrifice was, to associate it with the life of the great Apostle, so that humanity in its sympathy towards the tragic event may give due admiration to the Apostle, but there, in this case, admiration would have gone only to Ishmael as being the victim of Abraham's personal interpretation of his dream, which the people could have mistaken to be fantastic, and Abraham would have been condemned for his conduct, which in fact was a unique instance of perfect submission to God's will. And over and above the other reasons, the sacrifice, if it had been left to be enacted by Abraham, would have been a sheer waste, for no universal religion had yet been regulated and enforced for the human race as a whole, for mankind as a whole to be drawn to it, through its sympathy towards the event. Moses had yet to present the Ten Commandments and Jesus had to revive the teachings of Moses after they had been corrupted, and yet when the teachings of all the apostles from God got corrupted, Muhammad the Last Apostle of God, the 'Maetrea' foretold by Buddha, the 'Comforter,' the 'Holy Ghost and the 'Spirit of Truth' prophesied by esus, abide
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with mankind for ever, had yet to come. And the Great Sacrifice was then to be offered for only then the human sympathy for the heart-rending sufferings of the Great Divine and his faithful comrades, would lead mankind as a whole towards the universal religion. Islam is the only divinely revealed and perfectly regulated code for human discipline cumulative of the teachings of all the apostles of God and which contains the Truth which was exposed piecemeal by the other prophets in different ages, to different people, in different languages. The Greatest of the Sacrifices ever offered by any man, would naturally be for the sake of a religion meant for the human race as a whole, and it could be offered by the one whose life would be, not for himself but for the fulfilment of the Mercy of the Lord unto the whole of Mankind.
