The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) – Volume III — Page 181
VI - All Races Invited to Islām 181 ِ اَنَا وَالسَّاعَة ُ كَھَاتَیْن “I and the day of resurrection are close together like these two fingers (and while stating this the Holy Prophet sa raised his two fingers and closed them together). ” 1 The meaning of this beautiful Ḥadīth is not at all that immediately after my demise the day of resurrection shall come. Not only is this opposed to the facts, it is also against the superlative purpose of the appointment of the Holy Prophet sa , that right after his demise, resurrection should occur. Thus, the purport of this Ḥadīth is surely to indicate that the era of my Sharī‘at shall extend to the day of resurrection, and there shall be no Sharī‘at , which abrogates mine and begins a new era. In summary, just as the God-given mission of the Holy Prophet sa is limitless and all-encompassing in terms of place, and no people are excluded from the invitation of the Holy Prophet sa , similarly, the mission of the Holy Prophet sa is not confined to any one era. Rather, it is limitless and all- encompassing until the end of time. Following this introductory note, which was necessary in explaining the Islāmic perspective on preaching, we now return to our actual subject. A Ring Prepared for Letters of Preaching As it has been mentioned above, after the Treaty of Ḥudaibiyyah, as a result of the agreement with the Makkans, the Holy Prophet sa found himself somewhat free from Jihād by the sword. Making use of this opportunity and in light of the universal mission of Islām, the first undertaking of the Holy Prophet sa was to propose that letters be dispatched to the leaders of various kingdoms inviting them to Islām. In this manner, the message of Islām would be conveyed to these leaders and through them, to the common people. For this was the primary purpose of the mission of the Holy Prophet sa. As such, immediately after his return from Ḥudaibiyyah, the Holy Prophet sa consulted his companions on this matter. When it was mentioned to him that the common practice of worldly leaders is that they do not give regard to letters which have not been attested 1 * Ṣaḥīḥul-Bukhārī, Kitābur-Riqaq, Bābu Qaulin-Nabiyyi sa Bu‘ithtu Anā Was-Sā‘atu Kahātain, Ḥadīth No. 6505 * Ṣaḥīḥu Muslim, Kitābul-Fitani Wa Ashrātus-Sā‘ah, Bābu Qurbis-Sā‘ah, Ḥadīth No. 7404