Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya Part III — Page 215
Sub-Footnote Number One 215 the need for glorifying a Muslim in the above-mentioned revelations. ’ Let it be understood that two major benefits can be deemed from this praise, in view of which the Omniscient God has mentioned them for the welfare of Allah’s creatures. The first is to show the blessed effects of obeying and following the Holy Prophet, to demonstrate the exalted status of Hadrat Kh a tamul- Anbiy a ’ [the Seal of the Prophets], peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, to the general public, and to reveal the effect of the rays of the Sun of Truth—that following him makes one a perfect believer, elevates another to the ranks of ‘ a rif [cognizant of the Divine], and bestows upon others the ranks of a yatull a h [the Sign of Allah] and h ujjatull a h [the Proof of Allah], making all of them the recipients of divine praise. The second benefit of praising the new recipient [of revelation] is that it helps reform many internal evils and innovations. Many ignorant people have made hundreds of allegations against past auliy a ’ and right- eous ones, asserting that they themselves demanded to be regarded as God’s equals, granters of prayers, omnipotent, and controllers of the universe. This being the case, if a new reformer is not granted the kind of praise that these people have in mind regarding their p i rs [spiritual guides], his exhortations will have little effect on them, for they will certainly think: ‘How can this insignificant man equal the grandeur of our p i rs. When our great p i rs have promised to grant us our desires, who then is this man of insignificant status, limited resources, low rank, and poor esteem, that we should follow him instead. ’ These, then, are the two great benefits because of which Allah the Almighty—the Lord of all praise and honour—chose to praise one of His humble and worthless servants. Otherwise, a mere handful of dust merits no praise. All praise and all good belongs to Him, the Lord of all the worlds, the Living, the Self-Subsisting and All-Sustaining. For the above-mentioned reasons, when God Almighty, hallowed be His name, praises someone—through whom He wishes to reform mankind—it becomes incumbent upon that person to fully publicize it with the intention of benefiting mankind. He should never be afraid