Reply to a Mockery — Page 74
74 nearness (to Allah) can be reached without following our Prophet s as. Whatever we have, we have as a subordinate to and shadow of him. I also believe that all the righteous and perfect people who had the honour of being the com- panions of the Holy Prophet s as , were able to reach higher spiritual levels. And the perfection of their spiritual status is such that our excellences, if we were to acquire them, would be a reflection of their excellences. There would still be certain partial excellences that we cannot achieve now in any way. ( Iz a lah Auh a m, Ru ha n i Khaz a ’in vol. 3, p. 170) Also: The wisdom and providence of God Almighty has bestowed this status in order to prove the excellence of the spiritual blessings of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, that He took me to the station of Prophethood through the blessings of his (the Holy Prophet’s) grace. Therefore, I cannot be defined only as a Prophet. Rather, I am a Prophet in one respect and an ummat i [follower of the Holy Prophet s as ] in the other. My Prophethood is a reflection of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and not an inde- pendent Prophethood. This is why in the hadith as well as in the revelation vouchsafed to me, I have been named a Prophet, just as I have been named an ummat i , so that it might become known that every excellence has been bestowed on me through following the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and through