Truth Prevails — Page 36
( 36 ) When Mr. Faruqi interprets this verse to mean that those two obey the Holy Prophet Mohammad, they only dye themselves in the colour of Prophets, Siddiqs , Shahids and Salihin , it becomes evident, that he does not take the companionship under reference to mean companionship in time and place. Apart from companionship in time and place there is also a companionship in rank and eminence. Therefore, when Mr. Faruqi interprets the passage to mean acceptance of the same colour, the same spirit; this sense also embraces companionship in rank and eminence, companionship in heights attained. The verse cannot in any circumstances be taken to imply that those who render loyal obedience to the Ho1y Prophet do not, thereby, enter the category of Prophets, Siddiqs , Shohadas , and the Salihin, but only take those colours to some extent, in the sense of becoming like them, in some slight manner, to some slight extent. For in the light of the second verse, when the disciples of other Prophets, other dispensations, can thereby become Siddiqs , Shohads , it would be preposterous to hold that obedience rendered to the Holy Prophet Mohammad, in comparison, can at best give to his followers only some slight measure of resemblance, mind and spirit with the Siddiqs , the Shohada , and the Salihin that they would not be able to join the blessed dispensations, as full and real members. For in view of the second verse, namely, “Those who yield belief to Allah, amid His Apostles, they are the truthful ones, and the Shohada , the result of loyal obedience rendered to the Holy Prophet Mohammad cannot be taken to just this that, in some slight measure they would acqiure the colour of people falling into these categories without becoming constitutional and actual, part and parcel of these goodly classes. The meaning would be those who obeyed the Holy Prophet not only would they actually become Siddiqs and Shohada , dyed to perfection in the colours of these categories they could combine in themselves in the fullest measure all the qualities of the persons of the category acquired by them. In the verse, namely, “These are the people who would be with those on whom Allah has bestowed favours, of the rank and quality of Prophets, Siddiqs , Shohada and the Salihin ”, four categories of people have been mentioned, tied up together in a sentence, with conjunctions to give one and the same sequence. So according to the laws of the language the sequence is that no one can intervene to say one category, or the other, is excluded for the future. To become companions of the Siddiqs means proper and full inclusion in the list, not just to acquire a certain measure of resemblance with them, the same being true in regard to the remaining categories. The phrase ‘to be with the Prophets’ here means one’s proper and full inclusion in the category of Prophets just as to be with the Siddiqs , the Shohada , and the Salihin , would mean a full and proper inclusion in these classifications. In the same way to be with the Prophets would mean inclusion in the category, as a full and proper part and parcel of the goodly company, so that an Ummati of the Holy Prophet would rise to become one of the Prophets. The implication, taken in its widest sense, would mean that an Ummati could rise to be the highest of all the Prophets, passed before the Holy prophet, being an image of the master who was himself the ‘highest’ amongst the Prophets of all times.