Husayn; the Saviour of Islam

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Publisher: Ansariyan Publications – Qum
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Husayn; the Saviour of Islam
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Husayn; the Saviour of Islam

Husayn; the Saviour of Islam

Author:
Publisher: Ansariyan Publications – Qum
English

Alhassanain (p) Network for Islamic Heritage and Thought

Husayn, the Saviour of Islam

Author(s): S.V. Mir Ahmad Ali

Publisher(s): Ansariyan Publications – Qum

www.alhassanain.org/enlgish

Table of Contents

Foreword 7

Introduction 9

Husayn the King of Martyrs 11

The Importance of the Context 11

The Whole Human Race- One Family 11

How the Human Family Got Divided 12

The Man-Made gods and Deities 13

The Guidance from God 13

Humanity and its Guidance 14

Supplement 18

The Seed of Abraham caused to grow in the wilderness 19

Abraham tested with a sacrifice 20

Abraham declared Truthful, but the Sacrifice, postponed 20

The Failure of Judaism and Christianity 22

The Darkened Earth 24

The Land of Advent of the Last Apostle of God 26

The Darkness Demanded the Promised Light 27

The Lord's Covenant with Abraham Fulfilled 27

Heaven's Announcement of the Advent of the Last Apostle of God 27

The Last Apostle of God 32

Islam the Universal Religion for Mankind 34

The Holy Qur'an, the Word of God 34

To Destroy Islam is to Destroy Humanity 34

The Fate of the Apostolic Missions, Previous to the Holy Prophet Muhammad 35

Divine Measures to Secure the Final Word of God for Ever 35

The Divinely Planned Measure for an Everlasting Guidance to Humanity 38

The Other Reference Used 39

Fatima Married to Ali 40

Husayn's Father 41

Husayn's advent dreamt by Lady Ummul Fadhl 41

Husayn arrives on Earth 42

Husayn's Martyrdom Prophesied 43

Husayn a Duplicate Muhammad 44

Heaven's Regard for Hasan and Husayn 44

The Holy Prophet's Personal Regard for Husayn 45

The Declaration of the Holy Prophet about Husayn 46

The Ancient Prophets-informed of the Great Sacrifices 47

Every Prophet had appointed his Successor 47

The Holy Prophet Muhammad appoints his Successor 48

The Holy Prophet's declaration 49

The Start of the Trouble 51

The Logical Inference 54

The Funeral of the Holy Prophet 55

History repeats itself 56

The Love of the World-Maddens man 56

Karbala's Foundation laid 56

The Fate of the Caliphate 56

What happened to the Directive from God 57

Man cautioned against the Disobedience to God and the Holy Prophet 58

The Sense of Discretion and Discrimination 58

A Point of Note for False Unitarianism 59

Goodness and Evil, can undo each other 59

The Successor to the First Caliph Nominated 60

The Successor to the Second Caliph Co-opted 61

Fatimah's house attacked 61

Ali to exercise patience 61

Fatimah's house threatened with fire 62

Fatimah wounded 62

Ali's patience 62

Ali arrested 63

Ali reads out Salman's mind 63

Salman is of us the Ahlut-Bayt 63

The open enmity becomes settled hypocrisy 63

The three classes of the people- The believers, the disbelievers and the Hypocrites 64

What happened to the Hypocrites 65

The Possible and the Acceptable Answer 65

The Life in the House of the Ahlul Bayt 66

Fatimah's Position 66

The miserable plight of the Holy Lady 67

Fatima Martyred: Succumbing To the Wound 68

Hasan about 8 years 68

Husayn about 7 years 68

Zainab (daughter) about 6 years 68

Umm Kulthoom (daughter) about 5 years 68

The Ahlul Bayt knew their lot, beforehand 68

Ali's Regard for Fatimah 69

The Holy Qur'an - Its Compilation 71

The Devil's plan frustrated 74

Miracles- Their Value and Significance 74

The Biggest Miracles of the Holy Prophet 75

The Succession to an Apostle of God 76

The Imamat, promised to Abraham 80

The Logical Identification of an Imam 80

The Importance of the Choice of the Right Imam 81

Every Individual Responsible for His Own Choice 81

The Door of Pardon for Sincere Repentance open 82

Redemption or Intercession through the Right means Possible 82

What is Imamat? 83

The Start of the Imamat of Ali 84

Ali as the Imam 84

The Position of an Imam 85

Tenure of the Caliphate started at the Saqeefa 85

Ali Resembles the Holy Prophet 85

Car gonaahi bakoni dar shab- e- Aadeena bakon 86

Taake az Sadr nasheenaane Jahannam baashi 86

Ali during the age of the three Caliphates 87

The Religious Landmarks of the age- Ali witnessed 87

Ali Weds Lady Ummul-Baneen 89

The Alliance for a Holy Cause 89

‘Abbas the Standard-Bearer of Husayn arrives 89

The Caliphate thrust upon Ali 90

The state of affairs - Ali was offered 91

The unique position of Ali 92

Comparing Ali to others 93

Husayn intercedes for Shimr 94

Hasan receives the Imamat 95

The Ahlul Bayt and the Temporal Power 95

Ad-donya jeefaton wa tullaboha Kilab 95

The Age of Political intrigucs and murderous plots 96

Hasan Martyred 97

Hasan's advice to Husayn 98

Hasan's Body shot at 98

The fate of the devotees of the House of the Holy Prophet 98

The Fate of the Faith 99

Hasan's Services and Sufferings 99

The Truth underlying the Sex difference in the Creation 100

Saheeh- correct Ghalat- wrong or false 102

M'otabar- reliable Ghaira M'otabar- unreliable 102

Mustanad-certified Ghaira Mustanad-uncertified 102

Musalsal- continuously related Ghaira Musalsal-not continuously related 102

The Sulhe-Hudaibiah Repeated 102

A Liar has no Memory 103

Had Womanhood gone Mad 103

The False Allegation against Hasan as well as Ali 104

Hasan's Patience-the Reason for it 105

Husayn takes charge of the Imamat 107

The Ruling Power and the Ahlul Bayt 107

A Wonderful Act of Pure Godliness 108

The Situation That Demanded another 'Muhammad' To Rescue the Correct Faith 109

Husayn prophesies His Son's Martyrdom 110

The Call from the Governor 111

Husayn decides to leave Madina 112

The Holy Imam's Determination 114

The Situation Worsens and the Atmosphere Gets Totally Darkened 116

Husayn at Mecca and the Deputation from Kufa 117

Muslim the Holy Imam's Deputy to Kufa 117

Muslim in Kufa 118

Muslim sends out His Children with His Message to the Holy Imam 118

Muslim Arrested and Martyred 119

Children of Muslim Martyred 120

No Refuge for the Holy Imam Even in the Holy Ka'ba 121

Husayn saves the Sanctity of the Great Sanctuary 122

The Holy Imam Learns of the Fate of His Deputy, Muslim 122

Where should Husayn go? 122

Water stored for the Enemies 123

The Hunt for the Holy Imam 123

Husayn saves the Enemies from Death 123

The Prophesied Desert of Karbala 125

The Holy Imam points out the destined Spots 125

Husayn Purchases the Site for the Graves of the Martyrs 125

Arrival of Yazid's Forces 126

Yazid's Army at Karbala 126

No Room for any Criticism left 127

Husayn besieged at Karbala 127

Water Supply to Husayn's Camp Cut Off 128

Enemy Decides to Attack 128

The Holy lmam and Ibn Sa'd confer 129

The Night before the 10th Muharram 129

The Final Shifting 130

‘Abbas the Brave, Guards the Camp of the Holy Imam 131

The Night in the Yazidian Camp 131

The Holy Imam's Last Prayer with His Devotees on Earth 131

The Imam of the kind, never did appear 132

Sermon of the Holy Imam on the Day of Ashoora 132

Hurr joins the Holy Imam 133

The Battle of Truth against Falsehood 134

Zainab sends her two Young Sons 134

Qasim, son of Hasan 135

‘Abbas the Brave-The Standard Bearer 135

Ali al-Akbar's Martyrdom 136

Husayn stands alone 136

Baby Ali al-Asghar comes into the field 136

The Messenger from Madina 137

The Final Separation 138

Husayn hands over the Charge of the Imamat 139

The Parting Advice to Zainab and Umm Kulthoom 139

Husayn in the Battlefield to Offer the Greatest Sacrifice for the Truth 139

The Last Call of the Holy Imam in the Way of the Lord 140

The Severed Head of Husayn Glorifies God 141

Bodies of the Martyrs Trampled by the Devil's Cavalry 142

Husayn's Camp Plundered and Set on Fire 142

The Looted Caravan 142

The Tortures of the Journey 142

The Divine Light Shines Out 143

The Severed Head of Husayn Recites the Word of God 143

The Captives in Damascus 144

The Old Testament Prophesies The Martyrdom 145

Who was Victorious, Yazid or Husayn? 146

What is 'Shahadat' or Martyrdom 146

Jesus and Husayn 146

The Martyrs of Karbala-the Kind of Men they were 148

The Companions of Husayn and those of the Holy Prophet 149

Brief Notes on Some of Those Martyred in Kufa and Karbala 150

Both from Kufa who joined the Holy Imam at Karbala 150

Husayn the International Hero 157

Husayn, the King of Martyrs 158

Where is Yazid? 158

The Friends and Foes of the Truth, Clear Distinction 158

The King of Martyrs Mourned 158

Husayn's Martyrdom Prophesied in the Old Testament 159

Shia'ism or Islam-Original 160

What is Shia'ism? 160

Why then call it Shia'ism and not Islam? 160

Shia'ism-Its Articles of Faith and Its Practice 162

The Last Day of the Final Judgment (Qiamat) 163

Prayer wajib Rak’ats or units Sunnat 164

Intercession or Shafa'at 165

The Houses of Miracles and response to Prayers 166

Respect, Regard and Reverence to the Sacred Emblems 166

Some Guiding Clarifications 167

Sajdah 169

Prayer before Any Object 170

Dedication of any Place as Memorial with Regard for it 170

Remembrance of the Righteous Ones 170

'Seena-Zani' or the Chest-Beating 171

What is an Alam? 172

Alam or the Emblem 173

Majlis al-Aza or the Mourning Congregations 173

The Decree of the Holy Imam 177

The Definition of 'Ijtehad' 177

Consolidated View of the Account as a Whole and the Co-relation of the Events 178

Conclusion 183

Husayn of Karbala 187

Foreword

The history of mankind is a chain of successful and failing revolutions, one replacing another, only to be replaced by yet another. Revolutions have always been a tool of evolution. A sure sign that change must occur. The message of Muhammad was in the true sense of word a revolution.

It gave mankind a new vision, a new sense of purpose; it was the message of peace and goodwill, of love and tolerance, in a society where hatred, corruption and lust of power ruled high. It was beyond social, cultural and geographical barriers.

It perceived all human beings to be one, originating from the same creator. And yes, difficult though it was, Muhammad did succeed in creating a society based upon the values he preached.

But alas within a brief period of less than half a century after his death, the society he had conceived crumbled, the values he held dear were lost. By careful manipulation and shrewd planning those who opposed him during his life grasped the power. Their rule was areign of terror. The oppressive authority of Bani Ummaya was bent upon systematically dismantling Islamic jurisprudence.

The prophets' traditions were being slaughtered or otherwise silenced. It was true, as it always is in such crucial times, that fear and greed remained the only motivations. The general public, as it was under the perpetual fear of the sword on its head, remained quiet.

It seemed that no one would be able to challenge the oppressors. The situation demanded timely action failing which the shariat of Muhammad was bound to be doomed and the sacrifices made for it would have come to naught. If Muhammad's message was right, someone had to take a stand, Husayn, the grandson of prophet stood up. Yazid-the Ummayid ruler wanted him to endorse his anti-Islamic rule by pleading allegiance. No!' no! Not Husayn. He was surrounded by Yazid's army; it was the desert of Karbala.

He lost his friends and family, all butchered right before his eyes. There he stood all alone; completely worn out physically, withered and lean, pale and thin, on the sands of Karbala, a daring feat it was. It required much more than robust energy, more than enduring vitality, more than unyielding will, more than patience; it required a firm belief.

In his cause and in Allah itself. A belief that is the foundation of Islam. He was slaughtered mercilessly, but his mission survived, the revolution of Muhammad was rekindled. Hope was revived, courage re-instilled in the masses. By butchering Husayn and plundering his family, Yazid assured his own defeat. It is more than thirteen centuries and Husayn is still the source of inspiration for humanity at large.

This book is a narration of his journey both physical and intellectual, its courses and its effects. We at Tarikhe Tarsile Qur’an realize that readers may differ in their views regarding the detailed material presented herein. But one fact remains, there never was a Husayn before him, there has been none after.

Anwer Ali

T.T.Q.

Introduction

A small book of about twenty-five pages “The King of Martyrs” was published in 1925 and since then, it was reproduced four times and every time in several thousands and yet the demand for it had been on the increase, and this is the Fifth enlarged edition.

With the increase in the standard of literacy among the masses, the demand for the Islamic literature in its original purity is growing steadily. Today, more than ever; the awakened intellect of the human world is seriously in quest of the invaluable knowledge which Islam alone can provide. The pity is that most of the great Muslim scholars, who are the stores of knowledge about the original teachings of Islam, do not care for the modern western languages, and those who have mastered these languages have never had the benefit of a serious study of Islamic literature through the original sources.

Whatever knowledge, about Islam and the Islamic literature, these scholars of the modern languages possess, they could have it from the prejudicial translations into those languages mostly by the missionary class, brought out with the exclusive purpose of spreading prejudice against Islam, and the Holy personalities of the Faith to secure the unearned glorification for their own heroes and enlist believers in their own respective creeds.

Unfortunately some of our own brethren get the information from such hostile sources and present it as the genuine truth and never care to scrutinise with reference to the original sources of the knowledge. The kind or the degree of knowledge about Islam and the Islamic affairs which some of these men possess is disclosed from their talks and writings.

Particularly in regard to the great event of Karbala which has been termed in the very Word of God, i.e., the Holy Qur’an, as “Zibhe Azeem” or the Great Slaughter, most of our Muslim brethren either do not know it at all or they have been misinformed or have grossly misunderstood it. One thing very gratifying which has been often noted, that is when such ill-informed ones are rightly informed, they immediately acknowledge the Truth, the glory of Husayn, the Holy King of Martyrs, the divinity endowed in his Holy Personality and the important part the devotion to the Holy Imam, plays in elevating the human soul to the heights of heavenly glory.

This book is intended just to give a glimpse of the divine plan implemented in the enactment of the great heart-rending tragedy and the unique and the glorious position of its Holy Hero and the Godly Band of his faithful comrades.

Uninformed or misinformed of the original teachings of Islam and the actual position of its great Heroes, some of our brethren have unwarrantedly and unreasonably criticised certain acts of devotion on the part of the devotees of the Faith and its Great Heroes, terming it polytheism. A very brief clarification of the matter has also been given at the end of this brief work for the information of those who would like to have it.

It is earnestly hoped that the learned readers will mind the matter, graciously by passing the mistakes, if any, in the printing matter. This book needs reprinting and it is under contemplation, and God willing the next issue will be free from such shortcomings. I am indebted to the following devotees of the Holy King of Martyrs who helped the publication of this humble work:

1. Muhammad Abdullah Al-Husayni (Our American Brethren in Faith and a staunch Devotee of the King of Martyrs and the one whose attachment to the Holy Ahlul Bayt is ideal).

I have to helplessly restrain myself from mentioning the names of the devotees of the Holy Imam who have helped this publication, for their expressed desire not to have any publicity of their names.

S. V. Mir Ahmed Ali

Karachi, 11- 6 - 1964

Husayn the King of Martyrs

The Importance of the Context

It is a fact acknowledged by one and all in the world of intelligence that things isolated from their natural set up away from the connected events, without the necessary reference to their original context, can neither be properly studied nor correctly understood nor duly judged. The great heart-rending martyrdom of Husayn, the second grandson of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, was not a casual event of an ordinary sacrifice of any ordinary saint.

The divinity endowed in the gruesome tragedy, can be correctly viewed only when it is studied along with the background concerned with its genetic factors. If anyone has failed to understand the real value of the great event of universal import to the human race as a whole, it must be due to the wrong angle from which it would have been viewed.

What a world of difference, the difference in the point of view a reader creates, can very well be seen from the various opinions which the readers of one and the same holy scripture form, for the view of one and the same object, naturally differs a great deal from angle to angle.

Taking for instance the example of the Holy Qur’an which being the unmistakable and the un-challengeable Final Word of God it is understood differently by different people who study it from the different points of view away from the correct one.

Some are rightly guided by the Holy Qur’an but from the very same Holy Book of God, some draw a different meaning altogether misleading, and get themselves beguiled to criticise its teachings and to attack the Holy Prophet Muhammad.

The Holy Qur’an has itself declared this aspect of its study saying:

“This Book (the Qur'an), no doubt is there (about its being the Word of God), (but) it is a guidance (only) for the pious.”(2:2)

This (The Holy Qur'an) is only a narrative for (the ordinary) people, and a guidance and an exhortation to the pious.”(3:138)

Thus to have a correct view of the great sacrifices offered by the Holy Prophet and the divinely chosen members of his family, more particularly the invaluable sacrifices offered by the Holy Imam Husayn, the second grandson of the Holy Prophet, it is essential to view the events in their proper context connected with their causative factors and the other important environmental background.

It is only to serve this unavoidable demand for the correct understanding of the Great Events that some of the important factors connected with the Great Tragedy, are herewith given with the maximum possible brevity, leaving the other details for a deeper study of the subject by those interested in it.

The Whole Human Race- One Family

Humanity or the human race as a whole, was originally one family, consisting of the children of one and the same parents, which fact had long been forgotten and even today, in many parts of the world, it is totally neglected and has become practically unknown.

Leaving aside the wild tribes of the wilderness of Africa, one cannot help sorrowfully and disgracefully citing the living instance of the treatment which the coloured members of the human family, receive from the white ones of the same lineage, in spite of the latter s lofty claim to the high standard of civilization and culture. The truth about the unity of the human race as a whole was declared to the world, most expressively and repeatedly, for the first time by the Holy Qur'an:

"All human beings are a single nation.. ". (2:213)

“And human beings are naught but a single nation and yet they disagree...”(10:19)

“And verily this your nation (the human beings) is a single nation...”(21:92)

“And verily this your nation (the human beings) is a single nation."(23:52)

No other scripture prior to the Qur’an and no leader of any Faith before the Holy Prophet of Islam had so expressly and emphatically preached this Truth.

How the Human Family Got Divided

Groups of the members of the human family moved in various directions, searching for a better living for themselves and their livestock and inhabited the various parts of the globe as they found them helpful to their interest.

According to the kinds of places they occupied, the need of one settlement naturally differed from the other. The various climates of the different places, gradually affected the original features and the complexion of the different groups in the different places of their respective habitations. The ways and the means of living also, of the group in one place naturally differed from that of the others in the other parts of the earth.

Those who settled in the tropical zones got their skins sunburnt and grew to be black, and those in the cold climates remained white in their complexion. New things and new situations that each group had to adjust itself with, needed new words to be coined to name the new objects.

These new names peculiar to each group, put together brought forth a separate language of each group as its own, according to the needs peculiar to it, quite different from that of the others. The lack of the means of conveyance and communication, with the natural barriers of high mountains, the deep seas, the wide rivers, the vast plains and the dense forests full of wild beasts, was not helpful for easy and frequent visits between the different groups settled afar from each other. Gradually with the passage of time, the groups of the members of one and the same human family, got permanently separated into different units by themselves, separating each other by virtue of the differences in their physical features, complexion, language, dress and the ways of living.

To identify itself, distinguishing and differentiating from the others, each group got itself known by a particular name like the Aryans, the Mongolians, the Semites, the Dravidians, the Saxons, and with the various other names as the different tribes in Africa and elsewhere have chosen for themselves. As time passed on, each group began priding over the other and looking down upon them, with its own fanciful distinctions. Thus gradually the universal family interest got divided into group interest, and this sectional feeling developed into group selfishness which generated group quarrels and tribal wars which separated the various groups from each other further more.

Each group got interested in destroying the other group altogether, to own their properties and to kill or capture the men, women and even the children to serve them, or to make money by selling them to the others as slaves. Thus started the shedding of the blood of the human family by its own members.

With the dissensions getting more and more intensified, the hatred between the groups becoming deeper still, the gulf of the differences separating each other becoming wider and wider, and each group losing its interest in the other, the feeling of mankind belonging to one and the same family was altogether lost, and each group treated the other as the alien one, unknown to it, without any bonds of affinity at all. Thus man became the enemy of man, and lived a beastly life in the jungles he occupied, each group preying upon the other.

The Man-Made gods and Deities

The inherent consciousness of the individual weakness, physical, moral and spiritual, in each human being, forced him to seek a supreme protector with superhuman powers to secure his life and his life-interest, against his antagonists, both human as well as imaginary demons and devils. Owing to his own enmity and hatred against the others, man feared man and at the same time believed in all sorts of evil spirits, and dreaded their haunts. To protect himself against his enemies, real and imaginary, and for the success in his efforts, in his interest and against the interest of the others, man coined his own fanciful gods and imaginary guardian deities and began worshipping them, offering all sorts of sacrifices to them.

To please his own fancifully coined gods or to appease the wrath of his own fantastically dreaded imaginary demons and devilish beings, man used to offer sacrifices of not only animals but also his fellow human beings. Thus came forth not only tribal gods but also the favourite family gods and the gods of each member of a family, who were fancied to be powerful patrons and protectors. A particular form of each such imaginary deity was fancied and it was idolised, and thus began idolatry in the world.

Besides the innumerable idolised man-made gods, whatever was found to be huge or awesome to him, man began worshipping it, thinking that by paying homage to such things, the harm or the hurt which those objects were fancied to effect, could be averted. Thus fire, the mountains, the seas, the huge rivers, the venomous serpents like the cobra and other similar fantastically dreaded objects, became the objects of worship.

Similarly, whatever was found to be beneficial to him and serving his purpose, man began worshipping the things, thinking that by his worship he was pleasing those objects viz., the sun, the moon, the various planets and the stars, the animals like the cow which gives milk and the bull which ploughs the field etc.

The Guidance from God

Although the All-Merciful Creator, Lord of the Universe has endowed each living creature with the instincts and senses necessary for its proper behaviour to exist, yet man having been stationed amidst the temptations of the various impulses from within his own self and the other objects of attraction from without needed the extra mercy of the All-Merciful to be guided through some divinely inspired agencies. The correct guidance to the creatures, can only come from none but the All-Knowing, All-Merciful Lord Himself. Man, left to himself without any guidance from his Creator, could never have any ray of the light of knowledge of the things and the energies in the midst of which he has been placed. With the advent of human life on earth, started also the divine guidance from God, through God s own inspired and divinely conditioned messengers.

Some of these apostles were adhered to, by man, some suffered the worst of tortures and miseries at the hands of the people, and some were even mercilessly killed. Very rarely was any prophet listened to, and rarer still was any prophet safe among the people, and the rarest is the case of any of the heavenly messengers having been honoured in this world.

When in this modern age of ours, the age of the wonderful advance of human intellect, to the extent of the successful flight of man round the earth several times within a few hours, and when man has hit the moon and there are the efforts with prospects of success, to reach the other planets and the stars, we have on our earth, in millions, human beings still worshipping stone-gods, animals, serpents, mountains, rivers and even trees and many other similar objects, it can easily be imagined in what an abyss of ignorance, degradation and barbarity, the souls in human frames were lying in, and what a beastly and brutal life it would have been thousands of years ago.

Prophet after prophet, the All-Merciful continued to send to each unit of the human family in the different parts of the earth, and in spite of the brutal treatment man meted out to the apostles of God, no people were deprived of the divine blessing of proper guidance. This fact also was announced for the first time to the world, by the Holy Qur'an:

“And every people had a Prophet.”(10:47)

“And certainly We raised in every people a Prophet.”(16:36)

“And there is not a people but a warner has gone among them.”(35:24)

No scripture prior to Qur’an and no religious leader prior to the Holy Prophet of Islam had ever declared this so impressively and so repeatedly. And every prophet that was sent to a group of people, was sent with the respective language of the people and this fact also was for the first time declared to the world by the Holy Qur’an.

“And We did not send any apostle but with the language of the people, so that lie might explain to them.”(14:4)

Thus, through His infinite Mercy, the All-Merciful Lord did not cease His guidance to man, although man was not tired of his torturing and murdering of messengers from God.

Humanity and its Guidance

As already explained above, every creature could have guidance only from its Creator Lord and man 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 species as a whole.

This great guiding factor is called Rasool 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 though 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 Qur’an, vide 14:4.

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 bears testimony to this fact:

“For Moses truly said unto the fathers, a Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me, from your own people a prophet like me. You must listen to whatever he tells you. And it will be that everyone who does not listen to that prophet will be utterly rooted out from the people. And all the prophets, as many as have spoken, from Samuel and those after him, also predicted these days. You are the descendants of the prophets and of the covenant that God gave to your ancestors, saying to Abraham, “And in your descendants all the families of the earth shall 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 has 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 (O' 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.” (Deuteronomy 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 to pass that whosoever will not hearken unto My words which he shall speak in My Name, I will require it of him.” (Deuteronomy 18:18, 19)

A covenant was made with Abraham which is referred to in the Holy Qur'an:

“And remember that Abraham was tried by his Lord with certain commands, which he fulfilled: He said: "I will make thee an Imam to the Nations.” He pleaded: “And also (Imams) from my offspring!” He answered: “But My Promise is not within the reach of evil-doers.” (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 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.” (Genesis 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 whereat thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession and I will be their God.” (Genesis 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” (Genesis 17:10)

“And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin and it shall be a token of the covenant between Me and thee” (Genesis 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.” (Genesis 17:20)

Under the same covenant, Jesus who was an Israelite through his mother Mary (Maryam), 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 circumcision 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 said, I am not. Art thou that Prophet? And he answered No.” (John 1:19- 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 forever, 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 forever.” (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:-

Supplement

“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, he 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 many things to say unto you but ye cannot bear them now.”

“But when he, 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:

1. 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

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 forever.

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 in spite 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 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”. (Genesis 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 travelers 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 Hajj (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 offsprings a nation submitting to Thee, and show us ways of devotion and turn to us (Mercjful), surely Thou art the Oft Returning (to mercy), the Merciful:

"Our Lord! and raise up in then: an Apostle from among them who shall recite to them Thy communications and purify them; surely Thou art the Mighty, the Wise. (Holy Qur’an 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 prostrate themselves. (Holy Qur’an 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:

"O'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:

"O'Father! Act as thou hast been bidden (by the Lord) and thou wilt, if God Willeth, 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, 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:

"O’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:

1. 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 aware 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.

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 Jesus, to abide with mankind forever, 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.

The Failure of Judaism and Christianity

The purely monotheistic faith preached and practised by the great Israelite prophets Moses and Jesus, had totally failed to exercise any more of its correct influence on the minds of the Jews and the Christians who had gradually sunk deep in all sorts of idolatrous beliefs and pagan practices. The followers of Jesus the most recent of the apostles of God, preceding the Holy Prophet Muhammad, had become polytheists in worshipping three gods instead of the One Whom they were commanded to serve:

“Unto thee it was shown that thou mightiest know that Lord is God; there is none else besides Him."

"I am the First and I am the Last and besides Me there is no God.” (Isaiah 44:6)

“Hear O' Israel, the Lord thy God is One Lord.” (Deuteronomy 6:4)

"I am God, and there is none else; I am God, there is none like Me.” (Isaiah 46:9)

“I am the Lord that is My Name, and glory will not give to another, neither My praises to graven images...” (Isaiah 42:8)

The New Testament:

"And Jesus answered him, the First of all Commandments is, O’ Israel, the Lord our God is One Lord.” (Mark 12:29)

Then saith Jesus unto him, get thee hence Satan, for it is wrftten thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and Him only shalt thou serve. (Matthew 4:10, Luke 4:8)

".... .an idol is nothing in the world, and there is none other God but One.” (Corin 8:6)

“But to us there is but One God the Father.” (Corin 8:6)

In spite of the definite Commandments from God conveyed to the people by the holy prophets Moses and Jesus, the Israelites and the Christians had started deifying their prophets and their saints, worshipping them. Among the Christians had sprung up schools worshipping the idols of Mary, Jesus and also the other saints of their own fancy.The Christians condemned the Israelites as being meaningless, in their faith and the Israelites criticised the Christians similarly in return, while both of them were on the wrong track diametrically opposed to what they had been preached by their respective teachers, Moses and Jesus.


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