Haqiqatul-Wahi (The Philosophy of Divine Revelation) — Page 133
POSTSCRIPT—RESPONSE TO SOME CRITICS' OBJECTIONS 133 unlawful act. If so, why did the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, do it? Did the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, not understand the teachings of the Holy Quran? A close study of all the Scriptures revealed by God Almighty shows that all the Prophets have admonished the same thing: believe in God Almighty to be One without partner and, along with it, also believe in God's Messengers. This is why the gist of Islamic teaching was لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَّسُوْلُ اللهِ :taught to all of the ummah in these two sentences ["There is no God but Allah. Muḥammad is the Messenger of Allah']. It should also be borne in mind that it is only the Prophets, peace be on them, who demonstrate the existence of God and teach peo- ple that He is the One without any partner. If these holy ones had not appeared in the world, it would have been an implausible and impossible matter to find the straight path with certainty. Though a person of pure nature and sound mind can, by reflecting on the earth and heaven and observing their perfect and firm order, conclude that there ought to be a Creator of this work full of wisdom; but, there is a great difference between the statement that 'there ought to be [a Creator]' and 'He really does exist. It is only the Prophets, peace be on them, who established through thousands of Signs and miracles that the Being, who is Transcendent and comprises all power, does in fact exist. Indeed, the degree of cognition that the need of a Creator may be perceived by the observation of the universe is also a reflection of the rays of Prophethood. Had there been no Prophets, peace be upon them, no one would have achieved even this degree of cognition. This may be illustrated by an example. Though there is water below the surface of the earth, the presence and maintenance of that water depends upon the water that descends from the sky. When it so happens that there is no rainfall, the underground water dries up too, and when the rain descends from the sky, the underground water also begins to well up. In the same way, with the advent of Prophets, peace be upon them,