The Mirror of the Excellences of Islam — Page 125
124 Ā'ĪNA-E-KAMĀLĀT-E-ISLĀM―DĀFI‘UL-WASĀWIS some of the perfect Auliya' [saints], in various places and in different forms. AUTHOR'S MARGIN NOTE The Companions agree that the Holy Prophetas physi- cally saw Jibra'il only twice ances on earth were always metaphorical. May God Almighty reward respected Shaikh ‘Abdul-Ḥaqq the Muḥaddith for wholeheartedly accepting the view that in the heavens. His appear- Jibra'il, peace be upon him, does not descend in person; rather, a symbolic form of him is seen by the Prophets, peace be upon them, while Jibra'il remains firmly stationed in the heavens. This is the same belief of mine for which some blind-hearted ulema have issued an edict declaring me a disbeliever. Alas! They do not even consider that all commentators as well as the Companions agree that the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, saw Jibra'il, peace be upon him, in his actual body on just two occasions. Even a child can understand that Jibra'il could not physically come to the Holy Prophet as in his true form since his true form extends from the East to the West—with his wings reaching the edges of the heav- ens—so how could he physically fit into locations such as Makkah or Madinah? If you maintain that Haḍrat Jibra'il's descent must be under- stood literally in terms of his true, actual existence, then you will be faced with the objection: How could his true form possibly fit into the chamber of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him? And if you say that it was not his true form, then, after abandoning the true form, could it be anything other than a symbolic representation? The descent of the true form would only happen if there were no remaining trace of that form in the heavens. Once that form has descended from the heavens, it must be clearly demonstrated where it can find space to stay. In short, the notion that Jibra'il would descend to earth with his actual being is clearly a false belief, especially because of the accompanying error—that such a belief means that the Prophets, peace be upon them, often remained without the blessings of waḥy