Truth about Khatm-e-Nabuwat — Page 52
and are too clear to need any elaboratir -'• According to these, the Holy Prophet ( Peace of Allah be on him and llis choicest blessings) is reported to have praised Hazrat Abu Bakr as the foremost figure in Islam, except in case a prophet appeared at. a later stage, for a Prophet is in any case higher in status to a non-prophet. 'l'hese traditions are clear • in · their wordings_ and self-evident in their meaning• and admit of no dispute. Be11ides, these are not of our making and have. been widely known and accepted in the Muslim world for hundreds of years. The~ have been banded down by two top-divines of l1dam Imam Maunavi and "Imam Suyuti. Their above rendering into Urdu by us has been scrupulously done in strict _accord to the rules of Arabic grammar, which earn be readily checked up by apy scholar of Arabi<;. Had, however, the. word "Nabiyyun" been used in- the form 'Nabiyyan', in that case the meaning of course would be : "Abu Bakr is the best of the people except if he ~c01;nes a prophet ( at a later date ). " In this case the entire construction would become senseless and· meaningless, f o r , it • is evident that Hazrat Abu Bakr would· still retain his position of pre-eminence. Thus the interjectory• •except ( ~t ) would become not only redundant but incorrect. To cut it short, as we have already explajped ( and the authenticity of our quotations can be verified by a reference to the original works ), the word Nabiyyun (~) and not Nabiyyan (. c. r-i ). • has been use~ in the_ tr~dition under d111cuauon. Ita correct interpretation 1s as Wider:- Abu Dakar is the bel!t among this people except that a prophet appears_ later". . This tradition speaks for itself. But every call is wuted on deaf ears when a people heed not the ~ : How can one m. ake a person hear who is not disposed to 52