Jazib Mahmood, Student Jamia Ahmadiyya Ghana
In the Holy Quran, Allah the Almighty has set out a great principle with the surety of reaching the Divine. Allah says in verse 36 of Surah Al-e-Imran:
قُلۡ اِنۡ کُنۡتُمۡ تُحِبُّوۡنَ اللّٰہَ فَاتَّبِعُوۡنِیۡ یُحۡبِبۡکُمُ اللّٰہُ
That is, “Say! ‘If you love Allah then love me and follow me [the Holy Prophetsa], and Allah will love you.’”
Thousands of people followed this prescription and found Allah. But the one who truly embodies the grand principle set out in this verse was the Promised Messiah, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas.
The Promised Messiahas speaks of his God-given status in these words:
“I have, by the sheer grace of God, and not by any merit of my own, been accorded a full measure of the bounty, which was bestowed before me on the Prophets and Messengersas and the Chosen ones of God. It would not have been possible for me to receive this bounty had I not followed the ways of my lord and master, the Pride of the Prophets, the Best of Mankind, Hazrat Muhammad Mustafa [the Chosen One], may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. Therefore, whatever I have attained, I attained due to this following and I know, through my true and perfect knowledge, that no man can reach God except by following the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, nor can anyone have a share of the complete cognition.” (Haqiqatul Wahi [English Translation], p. 78)
Here, Huzooras has clearly stated that he only received the bounty of prophethood by following the ways of his master, the Holy Prophetsa. But true obedience is only possible with true love.
For example, a labourer goes all day working on the field for his employer. If he doesn’t love his work, or enjoy it, it would be impossible for him to wholeheartedly follow orders to the letter for very long. Passion for one’s work makes all the difference.
This works both ways. Sometimes we observe that some people are given a certain job because of the passion they have for that job. The Arabic word اطاعة literally means obedience with “a happy heart”, not with mutterings and gritty teeth. The Quran uses the word اطاعة, and tells us that whoso obeys Allah and His Messenger shall be among those on whom Allah bestows His blessings. (Surah an-Nisa, Ch.4: V.70)
When the Promised Messiah’sas love for the Holy Prophetsa surpassed stages hitherto unseen by any other, Allah the Almighty, accepting this unique love, appointed him to the divine task of rejuvenating the religion of his Mastersa and fulfilled His promise by bestowing His blessings on him. Huzooras says:
“As such, all the bounty and grace of God Almighty that is being sent down in this day and age is received through obedience and subservience to none other than the Holy Prophetsa.
“I truthfully say and proclaim on the basis of my own experience that no one can perform true virtue, attain the pleasure of God Almighty, and be fortunate enough to receive the divine favours, blessings, insights, verities and visions, that are bestowed upon one who purifies their soul to the highest degree, until they are lost in subservience to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. Evidence of this is found from the word of God Almighty Himself:
قُلۡ اِنۡ کُنۡتُمۡ تُحِبُّوۡنَ اللّٰہَ فَاتَّبِعُوۡنِیۡ یُحۡبِبۡکُمُ اللّٰہُ
Say, ‘If you love Allah, follow me: then will Allah love you.
“I am a practical and living proof of this claim by God Almighty. Recognise me in light of the hallmarks that represent the saints and beloved of God Almighty as established by the Holy Quran.” (Malfuzat [English Translation], Vol. 1, p. 211)
These aren’t mere words. The Promised Messiahas recounts a dream he had in 1886:
“Once, I received a revelation which indicated that there was a vigorous discussion in the High Assembly in Heaven. That is, God’s will for the revival of faith was surging, but the appointment of the man to revive faith was not yet disclosed to the High Assembly, and this is why they were in disagreement. It was at this time in the dream that I saw people searching for a reviver. A man appeared before my humble self and, pointing towards me, said:
هَذَا رَجُلٌ یُحِبُّ رَسُوْلَ اللہ
“Meaning, ‘This is the man who loves the Messenger[sa] of Allah.’
“The meaning of this statement was that the principal qualification for this mission is the love of the Holy Prophetsa and that this quality was definitely found in me.” (Tadhkirah, p. 55, Barahin-e-Ahmadiyyah, Part IV, p. 379)
So, how can we also create true love for the Holy Prophetsa in our hearts? Allah the Almighty has given us clear guidance on the matter in verse 57 of Surah al-Ahzab:
اِنَّ اللّٰہَ وَ مَلٰٓئِکَتَہٗ یُصَلُّوۡنَ عَلَی النَّبِیِّ ؕ یٰۤاَیُّہَا الَّذِیۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡا صَلُّوۡا عَلَیۡہِ وَ سَلِّمُوۡا تَسۡلِیۡمًا
Meaning, “Indeed, Allah and His angels invoke blessings on the Holy Prophetsa. So, O you who believe! Invoke blessings on him and salute him with the salutation of peace.”
And what will the result be? Yet again, we find a perfect example in the Promised Messiahas who said:
“On one occasion it so happened that I remained very much occupied with calling down blessings on the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, for a long time, for I believed that the ways leading to God are very fine and cannot be discovered except through the agency of the Holy Prophetsa, as Allah says too:
وَابْتَغُوْۤا اِلَيْهِ الْوَسِيْلَةَ
“‘And seek the way of approach unto Him.’ (Surah al-Ma‘idah, Ch.5: V. 36)
“After a time, I saw in a vision that two water carriers came and entered into my house, one by the outer entrance and the other by the inner entrance, carrying on their shoulders water-skins full of divine light and they said:
ھذا بما صلیت علی محمد
[This is on account of the blessings you invoked upon Muhammadsa].” (Haqiqatul Wahi [English translation], p. 154)
May Allah enable us to follow the path the Promised Messiahas showed us so that we too may increase the love of the Holy Prophetsa in our hearts and truly obey him and reach Allah.
اَللّٰھُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَی مُحَمَّدِِ وَعَلَی آلِ مُحَمَّدِِ وَبَارِکْ وَسَلِّمْ اِنَّکَ حَمِیْدٌ مَجِیْدٌ