Nubuwwat & Khilafat Prophethood & its Successorship — Page 70
N UBUWWAT AND K HIL A FAT 70 prevailing definition of nubuwwat was not a comprehensive definition, and that it is not necessary for a Nab i to bring new shar i ‘ah , nor that he should abrogate the previous shar i ‘ah or forsake the obedience of the previous Nab i , then the Promised Messiah as announced the concept of nubuwwat and ris a lat in very clear words. Nubuwwat Defined by God The Promised Messiah as says: 1) In His revelations, Almighty Allah has used the term nubuwwat and ris a lat with reference to me hundreds of times. But it refers to the converse with God, which is frequent and contains knowledge of the unseen, nothing more. Everyone has a right to adopt an idiom, and this is the definition adopted by God that He has given the title of nubuwwat to the frequent converse with Him. ( Chashma-e-Ma‘arifat, R uhani Khaz a ’in , vol. 23, p. 341) 2) By nubuwwat I only mean frequency of converse with God, which is granted as a consequence of following the Holy Prophet sa. You also believe in converse with God; so the disagreement is on the terminology only. What you call converse with God, I call its frequency as nubuwwat in accordance with the commandment of God. ( H aq i qat-ul- Wa hi , R uhani Khaz a ’in , vol. 22, p. 503) According to His own View 3) In my view, a Nab i is one upon whom the words of God descend in a manner that is unambiguous, definite, in abundance, and contains knowledge of the unseen. That is why God has granted me the title of Nab i. ( Tajalliy a t-e- Il a hiyah, R uhani Khaz a ’in , vol. 20, 412)