Blessings of Khilafat — Page 4
4 Some people extend their hands to touch my knees and feet. They do so with fervour of love and devotion and not with the intent of idolatry; yet, such practices can lead to idolatry. A reference has been made to this effect in the Bukh a r i where Ibne Abbas ra relates that the idols of the people of Noah that are mentioned in the Holy Quran are in fact the names of the elders of the infidels. Their successors desired that memorials be set up in the memory for their elders, so that people remember them and follow their examples. For this purpose, they erected their statues. But when the later generations observed their forefathers paying respects to these statues, they started to revere them even more than their forefathers. In time, the statues garnered even more reverence. Consequently, a time came when people started prostrating before the statues, forgetting the real station of those elders, and instead making them partners with God. In short, some immoral acts seem minor and harmless in the beginning, but can lead to lasting and irreversible damage. My own nature and disposition is such that I do not like that people should kiss my hands. People used to kiss the hands of the Promised Messiah as and he did not forbid them. From this, I understood that this could be allowed. But, I failed to reason this out. Then I saw people kissing the hands of Khalifatul Masih I ra about whom the Promised Messiah as has said, ‘He walks in step with me’. He was my tutor as well as Khalifatul Masih. To me, his action constituted a decisive verdict in itself. But I got full satisfaction, and an undeniable argument, when I learned that the companions of the Holy Prophet sa used to kiss his hands and take them to their eyes. Now, although I do not stop those who kiss my hands, I do get embarrassed when I see them doing so. And the