Nubuwwat & Khilafat Prophethood & its Successorship — Page 72
N UBUWWAT AND K HIL A FAT 72 Definition of the Prophets 8) When this communion and converse reaches the highest stage of perfection from the point of view of both quality and quantity and is free from all impurities and deficiencies, and when it openly and explicitly reveals matters pertaining to the unknown, then such a Revelation is in other terms designated as Prophethood. All the Prophets as are in agreement concerning this. ( al-Wa s iyyat , R uhani Khaz a ’in , vol. 20, p. 311) IV Misunderstanding Removed by the Promised Messiah as After this revolutionary correction in the prevailing definition of nubuwwat from about 1901 up to his demise, the Promised Messiah as applied the terms Nab i , Ras u l , and Mursal to himself openly, repeatedly, and with firm conviction. But the Promised Messiah as was always mindful that the common people may misunderstand this. Therefore, whenever he used the term Nab i or Ras u l , he explained that by nubuwwat he did not mean the type which requires a new shar i ‘ah , or a permanent independent claim. He always explained that he is an Ummat i of the Holy Prophet sa and whatever he has gained, is through the blessings of the Holy Prophet sa. He further pointed out that his nubu- wwat does not in any way contravene the status of the Holy Prophet sa as Kh a taman-Nabiyy i n ; title of Nab i for an Ummat i does not imply any such problem. He writes: I am not a Ras u l or Nab i by virtue of a new law, a new claim and a new name; but I am a Ras u l and a Nab i by virtue of perfect reflection. I am the mirror in which the form and the