Arba'in — Page 101
ARBAʻIN NUMBER THREE warn a people whose ancestors passed away in a state of heedlessness, and so that the guilty ones might be faced with a conclusive argument from God. Tell them, I am not saying this on my own, but on the basis of revelation from God and by the command of God and I am the first of the believers in this age. ' Say to them, 'If you love God Almighty, then come follow me, that God too may love you. '¹ *And these people will devise their plans and Allah will devise His plan and Allah is the Best of planners. And God is not such that He would leave you until He distin- guishes the pure from the impure and My mercy is upon ΙΟΙ 1. This is a thought-provoking juncture for our Jama'at because here the All-Powerful God says that love of God depends upon you becom- ing perfect followers, with not even a particle of dissent remaining in you. And the words Rasūl ['Messenger'] and Nabi ['Prophet'] used here for me, by God saying that I am a Messenger and Prophet of Allah, are figurative and metaphorical, because a person who receives wahi [revelation] directly from God, and God certainly converses with him as He conversed with the Prophets, it is not inappropriate to use the word 'Prophet' or 'Messenger' for such a person; it is rather an eloquent metaphor. This is the reason that in Şahih al-Bukhāri, Şahih Muslim, the Bible, the Book of Daniel and Books of other Prophets, wherev- er I am mentioned, the word 'Prophet' is used for me. In Books of some Prophets, the word 'Angel' is metaphorically used for me. In his Book, Prophet Daniel has given me the name 'Michael'; and in Hebrew 'Michael' literally means 'someone like God. Thus, this is in accordance with this revelation which is in Barāhīn-e-Ahmadiyya: أَنْتَ مِنِّي بِمَنْزِلَةِ تَوْحِيدِى وَتَفْرِيدِى فَحَانَ أَنْ تُعَانَ وَتُعْرَفَ بَيْنَ النَّاسِ Meaning, 'You have such a close relation with Me, and so do I love you as I love My Tauhid [Oneness] and Tafrid [Uniqueness]. So, just as I want My Tauhid to be known so shall I in the same way make you well known in the world; and wheresoever My name would reach, your name will reach as well. ' Author