Ariyo Fadlul-Hakeem Ahmad, Jamia Ahmadiyya International, Ghana
One of the many wonders of Allah the Almighty is language. It is such a well articulated means through which the mightiness and all encompassing attributes of God Almighty is shown.
Language serves as a means of communication as much as it serves as a means of identification. Its critical study leads to unlocking its different features which beautifies and makes it pleasant.
Thus, as language possesses the beauty of expression, God Almighty also adopts this method in His message to His chosen servants for mankind. It is used in numbers that it can even be termed prophetic language. This is so because God Almighty, in His infinite wisdom, relays to the prophets events of the past and that of the future. And as far as future events are concerned, He informs the prophets either in plain wordings or hidden in metaphors or parables. Those hidden are then either explained by the prophets at that instance or God Almighty will keep its purport hidden till it is time for it to be manifested.
Alluding to this, God Almighty states:
ہُوَ الَّذِیۡۤ اَنۡزَلَ عَلَیۡکَ الۡکِتٰبَ مِنۡہُ اٰیٰتٌ مُّحۡکَمٰتٌ ہُنَّ اُمُّ الۡکِتٰبِ وَاُخَرُ مُتَشٰبِہٰتٌ
“He it is Who has sent down to thee the Book; in it there are verses that are decisive in meaning – they are the basis of the Book – and there are others that are susceptible of different interpretations.” (Surah Aal-e-Imran, Ch.3: V.8)
The verse explains this concept, the root of which can be found in the mainstream religion’s religious books; the Torah, Injeel (Gospels), and the Holy Quran. Below are some from each of these.
Torah
Regarding the coming of a prophet, in the Song of Solomon 5:10-16 we read:
“My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand. His head is as the most fine gold, his locks are bushy, and black as a raven. His eyes are as the eyes of doves by the rivers of waters, washed with milk, and fitly set. His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers: his lips like lilies, dropping sweet smelling myrrh. His hands are as gold rings set with the beryl: his belly is as bright ivory overlaid with sapphires. His legs are as pillars of marble, set upon socks of fine gold: his countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars. His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.”
Gospel
Jesusas, whilst hinting at the coming of the same promised prophet, related it in one of parables called the parable of the vineyard.
“There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country. And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it. And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other servants more than the first; and they did unto them likewise. But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, they will reverence my son. But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, this is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. And they caught him and cast him out of vineyard, and slew him. When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons.
“Jesus said unto them, did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner; this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes? Therefore say I unto you. The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spoke of them. But when they sought to lay hands on him, they feared the multitude, because they took him for prophet.” (Matthew, 21:33-46)
Holy Quran
In the Holy Quran, the parable of light is as follows:
“Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The similitude of His light is as a [lustrous] niche, wherein is a lamp. The lamp is in a glass. The glass is as it were a glittering star. It is lit from a blessed tree – an olive – neither of the east nor of the west, whose oil would well-nigh glow forth even though fire touched it not. Light upon light! Allah guides to His light whomsoever He will. And Allah sets forth parables to men, and Allah knows all things full well.” (Surah an-Nur, Ch.24: V.36)
If the cited examples are perceived literally, it would send across little to nothing of its actual meaning.
The Promised Messiahas, while discussing the use of metaphors in prophetic sayings, stated:
“Bear in mind that people are seriously mistaken in the definition of words. At times, words are used in their apparent sense, and sometimes they are used as metaphors. For example, the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said that the first of his wives that would die after him would be the one with the longest hands. All of the wives of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, even began to measure their hands in front of him, and he did not forbid them from doing so either. However, when his wife Zainab, may Allah be pleased with her, passed away first, the actual purport of this statement became clear in that ‘the one with the longest hands’ referred to that wife who was the most generous. In the same way, there are verses in the Word of Allah Almighty which, if interpreted in the apparent sense, would mean nothing.” (Malfuzat [English], Vol. 3, pp. 274-275)
Conclusion
This is the way of “men of insight and wisdom”, that they often use metaphors, parables and allegories to outline subjects of such great import that the superficial eye cannot perceive their meaning.
May we be enlightened with the nur (Divine light) of Allah the Exalted. Amin.