The Reality of Khilafah — Page 159
AN ANNOUNCEMENT FOR PUBLIC AWARENESS 159 the word tawaffi in this verse. For this reason, Shah Waliullah, in his Tafsir Fauz al-Kabir, which adheres only to the sayings of Holy Prophetsas and the Companions, has defined mutawaffika as mumituka [to cause to die]. Had he found any other meanings, he would surely have given them as well. Our opponents should be ashamed of themselves for aban- doning the unambiguous and authentic texts. Fear God, O heed- less ones. Are you not going to die one day? You should also not be jubilant over the word nuzūl. The Holy Prophetsas has not specified the kind of nuzül referred to here, because this word has various connotations. For example, it is used to describe the nuzūl [arrival] of a traveller at some place. The Holy Quran also uses nuzūl in the spiritual context, such as the nuzul of iron and clothes and cattle. The biblical account of Elijah and John the Baptist, which is agreed upon by Jews and Christians alike, makes it very clear that dead Prophets return to the world in a spiritual sense and not a physical one. They never descend from the sky, but, with the permission of God, their spiritual qualities descend upon someone who has an affinity with them and who reveres them, and thus the 'descent' of such a per- son is considered to be their descent. Some saints have mentioned this kind of 'descent' in their mystical works. Therefore, in the eyes of God, this is a kind of nuzūl, otherwise God's word would stand falsified. The Biblical story of Elijah is accepted among Jewish and Christian sects, and it would be foolish for us to say they all col- luded in trying to interpolate these verses. In fact, the story has proven to be very detrimental for Christians. If Elijah's descent were to be taken literally, the Jews would be proven right and it