The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 2) — Page 231
PT. 5 AN-NISA' CH. 4 of mere companionship, these verses the "grace" of God? (Bukhārī, ch. on would become meaningless. Marḍā). Does this reply of the Certainly, it can give no comfort to a Prophet mean that he did not believer to be told that as a reward of "deserve" salvation? In fact, the truth his submission to God and the Holy is that every blessing that one Prophet, he would be merely made to receives is a "grace" of God, in spite sit in the company of the Prophets, of the fact that it is the actions of man the Truthful, the Martyrs and the that draw this grace. Righteous, without attaining the spiritual rank they attained. That the preposition is not always used in the sense of companionship finds a further illustration in the words which the Holy Prophet is reported to have uttered just before his death viz. مع i. e. "O God, join me with the exalted companions" (meaning the class of the Prophets in Heaven). Now does this prayer of the Holy Prophet offered at the time of his death mean that he only wished to live in the company of these exalted personages and that he himself was not a Prophet of God? Support for the above-mentioned wrong inference is sometimes sought from the words, this grace is from Allah, occurring in the succeeding verse. The word "grace", it is alleged, indicates that what these people will get will be purely through God's grace and not as any reward or result of their own works and deeds. But the question: Did the Prophets, the Truthful, the Martyrs and the Righteous attain their high spiritual stations independently of the "grace" of God? Did not the Holy Prophet himself, when asked whether he would get salvation by his deeds, say that he, too, would receive it through 671 It may here be pointed out that the interpretation we have put on the verse under comment is not a new one. Abū Hayyān, the well-known author of Bahrul-Muḥīt and Ar- Raghib, the great lexicographer, agree with this view. The Baḥrul-Muḥīṭ (vol. iii, p. 287) quotes Ar-Raghib as saying: "God has divided the believers into four classes in this verse, and has appointed for them four stages, some of which are lower than the others, and He has exhorted true believers not to remain behind any of these stages. " This explanation shows that both these commentators of the Quran held that, as hinted in this verse, the rank of prophethood was attainable by following the Holy Prophet. Similarly, the author of the well-known commentary Rūḥul- Ma'ānī in explanation of this verse, writes as follows: "Prophethood is of two kinds, general and special. The special prophethood, viz. the Law- bearing prophethood. is now unattainable; but the general prophethood still continues. " In fact, it is only the prophethood with a new Law that has now ceased, the Quran being the final Law of God, but prophethood without a new Law continues and is certainly attainable