The Mirror of the Excellences of Islam — Page 146
PREFACE ESSENCE OF ISLAM 145 the first of the Muslims and He holds him to be the head of all who obey and submit and describes the Holy Prophet to be the first to fulfil the amanat¹ given to him. Is there any room left after this for a believer in the Noble Quran to raise any type of objection concerning the high spiritual station of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him? In the verse cited above, God Almighty, after setting forth the various stages in Islam, has determined the highest stage to be that which was imbued in the nature of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Holy is Allah! How] سُبْحَانَ اللهِ مَا أَعْظَمَ شَانَكَ يَا رَسُولَ اللهِ. Allah be upon him magnificent is your grandeur, O Messenger of Allah!] جمله درین راه طفیل تواند خیل تواند موسی و عیسی ہمہ Mūsā [Moses] and Īsā [Jesus] are all among your tribe; They have all benefited from the same path of yours. Then the remaining translation [of the verses quoted earlier] is as fol- lows. Allah, glorified be His eminence, addressing His Messenger, says: Tell them, my path alone is the path that is straight, so you should follow it and do not tread along other paths because they will lead you away from God Almighty. Tell them that if you love God Almighty, come and walk faithfully behind me-- —that is to say, tread upon my path, which is the lofty essence of Islam; then, God Almighty will also love you and will forgive your sins. Tell them that my path is that I have been commanded to devote my entire being to God Almighty and to sincerely and entirely belong to Rabbul-alāmin [the Lord of all the worlds]; that is, by annihilating myself in Him, I should 1. Amanat (Trust) refers to the Divine Law of the Quran. Of all creation, only the Holy Prophetsas, al-Insan—the Perfect Man―was found worthy of receiv- ing and fulfilling this Trust, owing to his unmatched spiritual perfection and capacity to discharge this final and most sacred responsibility. [Publisher]