The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume I — Page 172
Seal of the Prophets - Volume I 172 thus creating a life of eternal advancement. For this purpose, He has divided human life into two parts. One is the life of this world, which is the Dārul-‘Amal 1 and the other is the life of the hereafter, which is the Dārul-Jazā’ , 2 and death is the separating boundary between these two lives. The third principle which the Holy Prophet sa presented was that Allāh the Exalted raises messengers and prophets for the guidance of this world, who acquire divine knowledge from God and thus administer the guidance of man. Such prophets have passed in every nation, country, and era, and among them, the Holy Prophet sa is but one messenger of God. These are the three fundamental laws which were the basis of the initial mission of the Holy Prophet sa. However, as time passed on, various other principles followed by their derivative institutions of law and detailed elaboration continued to be revealed, until the teachings brought by the Holy Prophet sa attained perfection in the form of the Holy Qur’ān. The Holy Prophet sa was the chief of the peoples of ancient and modern times; the seal of the prophets and was the one to bring the last and perfect law. The First Muslim When the Holy Prophet sa began the propagation of his mission, the first to believe was Ḥaḍrat Khadījah ra , who did not hesitate, even for a moment. There is a discord among historians in reference to who the first convert among the men was after Ḥaḍrat Khadījah ra. Some name Ḥaḍrat Abū Bakr ‘ Abdullāh bin Abī Quhāfah ra while others say Ḥaḍrat ‘ Alī ra , whose age, at that time, was only ten years. Others assert that the freed slave of the Holy Prophet sa , Ḥaḍrat Zaid bin Ḥārithah ra was the first one to embrace Islām. However, to us, this argument is useless. Ḥaḍrat ‘Alī ra and Zaid bin Ḥārithah ra were among the house-folk of the Holy Prophet sa and lived with him as his own children. They were to follow whatever was said by the Holy Prophet sa , as a matter of fact, no verbal declaration was necessary. Thus, their names need not be included. Among the rest, Ḥaḍrat Abū Bakr ra is unanimously accepted as the first and foremost in his acceptance of Islām. Therefore, with regards to Ḥaḍrat Abū Bakr ra , Ḥassān bin Thābit Anṣārī ra , the court poet of the Holy Prophet sa , says: 1 The World of Deeds (Publishers) 2 The World of Recompense (Publishers)