A Gift for Baghdad — Page 47
Reply to the Announcement & Letter 47 cried out: “O Lord, I have become bereft of the footsteps of the Prophets, may peace and blessings be on all of them till the Day of Judgement!” Thereupon, Allah revealed to it: “Verily I will create upon you persons whose hearts will be like those of the Prophets; among them will be Aq ta b and Abd a l, and among them will be the Ghauth, 1 and among them are those that are otherwise. Each one will be a recipient of verbal revelation and inspiration. Among them will be one whose heart is like that of Noah, Abraham, and Moses. Also, among them will be he whose heart is like Jesus; and they will tread the footsteps of the Prophets”. ’ Observe, O my brother, evidence of the mercy of Allah, how He has honoured this ummah and has made them analogous to the Prophets of Israel. If this astonishes you, equally astonish- ing is the statement of those who say: ‘How can a likeness of the Messiah come?’ This is nothing but a statement of disbelief. They do not reflect upon what Allah and His Messenger have said, nor do they deliberate upon the verses and traditions—passing their lives in indolence. O my brother! Observe in al-Bukh a r i and other authentic books of Hadith how our Prophet and Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, gave us glad tidings and said that there would be within his ummah a people who, despite not being Prophets, Allah would speak to. They would be called Mu h addath i n [recipients of divine revelation]. Allah, Glorified is He, says: 1. Ghauth (saint), qu t b (spiritual guiding stars), and abd a l (saints, sub- stitutes, i. e. vicegerents appointed for carrying out the will of God Almighty) are various designations used for Auliy a ’ull a h —i. e. the Friends of God. [Publisher]