A MERCY FOR THE
ENTIRE CREATION
Dr H.H. Bilgrami
"And We
have not sent thee (O Muhammed) save as a Mercy for the entire creation (all the
worlds)" .AI-Qur'an
It is a
singular honour to get an opportunity to homage to the Holy Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) the
light of the universe but it is most difficult to present even a bit of what
any humble writer feels about his noble soul, let alone giving any worthwhile
discourse on the subject.
The Holy Qur'an
pronounces Allah as Arhamar-Rahimeen, i.e., The most Merciful, and it presents
the Holy Prophet (ﷺ)
as Rahmat-ul-lil-Alameen, i.e. the Mercy
for the Entire Creation irrespective of time and space. In other words, all the
Mercy, Glory, Love and Tenderness that can be imagined at any time by anyone is only a reflection of the Mercy of the Holy
Prophet (ﷺ)
And the human mind fails to estimate even an iota of the sublime life, noble character and
the most charming personality of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ).
No wonder when
Hadhrat Ayesha Siddiqah? The Mother of the Faithfuls (RDA) asked concerning the character of the Holy Prophet (ﷺ)
she replied:
Haven’t you
read the Qur'an? His character was the Qur'an" meaning thereby that all
that stands for Trustworthiness, Truth, Glory, Mercy, Affection and Nobleness
of conduct and Righteousness in the truest sense of the word, was reflected in
his character.
Often, while
dealing with the life of the Holy Prophet (ﷺ) we
begin with his advent in this (Physical) world and then with his passing away
to the next world. But a study of the Qur'an and the Hadith reveals a much larger span of his existence and attributes Mercy and Grace, beginning much
longer before the world came into existence and stretching up to the Day of
Resurrection and even after that when he will be glorified at the stage called
"Maqam-e-Mahmood" The Stage of the Praised One.
Interestingly
enough the "Kalimah- i-Tayyibah which is the "Kalima" (God
given-Motto) to the Muslims, and which is also called Kalima Tauheed"
(the world-motto of the oneness of God) has seven words and so Allah Almighty
has seven basic Attributes, which are called "Ummus-Sifat" (Mother of
the Attributes). These are:
(1) Life (2) Knowledge (3) Intention (4) Power (5) Hearing (6) Sight (7) Speech.
Similarly
AI-Hamd Sharif-Surah Fatihah-(The first chapter of the Qur'an) has seven” Ayat”
(verses) and the Holy Quran has seven "Manzil" (Stages')?
It is not
surprising, rather, it is, in fact, more revealing that the "Noor"
(light and existence) of the Holy Prophet also has seven stages:
(i) "The very first thing that Allah created was my Light"
says the Holy Prophet (ﷺ). This can best be termed as the beginning of the First
Stage of the Light and Glory of the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ),
(ii)
"Allah created Adam in His Own image". This may be termed as the
beginning of the second stage, when the "Noor" (Light) of the Prophet
(ﷺ) was reflected in the
creation of Adam. The First Human Being and the First Prophet. Thus these first
two stages are the reflections of his Noor or light and even of his prophethood
(according to various traditions), before his advent to this world.
The 3rd, 4th
and 5th stages are different phases of his actual and physical life in this
world. These three stages may be understood in the light of the following
Hadith.
'Ibn Abbas
(RDA) reported that the Prophet (ﷺ) received Prophethood at
the age of 40. He stayed for 13 years at Makkah wherein revelation came to him.
Thereafter he was ordered to migrate, so, he migrated to Medina where he
stayed for 10 years, and he "passed away at the age of 63. From the above
his life may be classified as:
(A) The Life of
the Prophet (ﷺ)
from childhood to the time of Revelation i.e., his first 40 years of life in
Makkah before Prophethood.
(B) His life in
Makkah during
Prophethood, i.e., about 13 years.
(C) His life at Medina - 10 years.
The 6th stage
is from his "Wisal" or passing away physically, up to the Day of
Resurrection, i.e., his existence (Noor/Light) in the realm of Barzakh which is
generally understood to be a stage of life between this physical life and the
Resurrection, i.e., up to the rising up from graves.
The 7th stage is from the time of the resurrection and onward Infinitum reaching to the highest glory at the stage of "The Praised One" beyond which we do
not know.
The entire
creation and Universe represents essentially two very prominent Attributes of
God: One, His "Qudrat" (His Power/Omnipotence), and two, His
"Hikmat" (Wisdom).
The "Zuhoor" (Coming into existence), of the
"Noor-e-Muhammadi" (ﷺ) (Light of Muhammad), was
essentially a reflection of God's "Qudrat" whereas all His creation
from that point onward are the reflection and glory of His Hikmat. The creation of heaven and
earth, galaxies of stars, suns, planets and moon, etc. were all created by God
mostly through His Hikmat which to my mind is in fact the essence of all His
"Qudrat". Allah says according to the Holy Hadith, i.e.,
Hadith-e-Qudsi".
“If it were not for thee (O Muhammad (ﷺ)) I would not have created the Heavens nor
the earth, nor the Garden nor the Fire”
This reveals,
as Sheikh al-Akbar beautifully puts it: In the Universe, it is the man that is
intended". It also reveals: "The interconnectedness of place in the
Universe to the basic structure of forms and events which made up our world,
this is the pivot of our doctrine of Wahdat ul-Wujud (Oneness of
Existence) Above all this shows the love the Almighty had and has for the noble
Prophet (ﷺ). In fact, it was the desire of the Almighty Allah to be known,
particularly through His Attributes of Glory, Grace and Mercy, His power to
create, to mould and to cherish, to sustain and to lead everything created to
its stage of perfection. This He does as the "Rabb" (Creator,
Cherisher, Sustainer, Perfecter) of all the worlds. And this very creation of
the universe is only a reflection of the Mercy of the Most Merciful through the
"Mercy to all the worlds"
At the second
stage, this "Mercy" was reflected in the creation of Adam and the providence of guidance through the Prophets (A.S). This too, in fact, is the
reflection of the "Noor-e-Muhammedi" (Light of Muhammad (ﷺ) himself.
We have come to
know something of the Holy Prophet (ﷺ), his glory and mercy in
the three stages of his existence in this world when he gave the entire world
the message of life, for humanity for peace and fraternity and a way of life
for all times to come.
Although,
apparently, he is no longer with us, yet he is very much alive providing
Guidance and Mercy. Hence according to the tradition, anyone visiting his
mausoleum in fact visits him (in person). Besides the entire Muslim world — nay the entire world is benefiting every day from his noble life and teachings and quite a good number are receiving
enlightenment from his light and self. He is still performing the four-dimensional duty assigned to him by the Almighty: viz:
(a) Recitation of the Qur'anic verses and illumining the mind and
soul;
(b) Purifying the souls of the believers;
(c) Revealing the secrets of the Qur'an, and
(d) The Creator, and thus besting his and thus bestowing his mercy
upon the entire world. But it differs from person to person.
The last stage of his noble life will be most evident on the Day of
Resurrection when the believers and the non-believers alike will have the occasion to see with their own eyes, his charm and glory, mercy and kindness
and his position in the eyes of the Creator. That will be the day when the
truth of all his deeds and actions, teachings and instructions will bear fruit
and provide all conceivable and inconceivable solace and comfort to all his
followers. No doubt, they will benefit from his mercy. And the disbelievers
will have to suffer the scourge of the Almighty in the Fire of Hell. But after
all the All Prevailing Goodness and kindness of the Most Merciful Allah will be
demonstrated Lo; Allah will "put His Foot on the fire of hell and will
extinguish it". Here I lie the true significance of Mercy and I am
certain - at that time -everyone will realise what is meant by:
Rahmatul lil Alameen
/ Mercifulness of the Creator.
One would
certainly, hear entire mankind praising Almighty Allah and paying homage to the
Prophet (ﷺ) and in their extreme ecstasy and love crying out:
الحمد للّٰہ رب
العالمین والسلام علی رحمة للعلمین
counting upon His Mercy.
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