بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّ حِيْمِ
There is no doubt that Allah made Prophet Muhammad (pboh) very special. One allusion to this is uniqueness of the mission that was given to him. And more importantly than that is the personality that Allah gave him.
There are many dimensions in his blessed personality and in his mission and, insha Allah they would all be discussed in a public lecture that will be delivered by Maulana Dr. Waffie Mohammed on the 4th March 2012 at 10:00am at the Markaz Campus.
When we say Ash-hadu it means ‘I bear witness’. How does one bear witness? It can only be done if you have sure knowledge. That is if you’ve seen or experienced that which is being testified to.
With this in mind how then can we truly testify to the statement Ash-hadu anla ilaha illallaah (I testify that there is no god but Allah). We cannot bear witness to this in the true sense of the word because we haven’t reached that stage of seeing or experiencing the Divinity of Allah. Rationally, we know that everything comes from a Creator. But bearing witness is more than that. This is where Prophet Muhammad (pboh) stands out. Allah says in the Qur’an;
There is no god but He: that is the witness of Allah, His angels, and those endued with knowledge, (3:18)
It is possible to testify with sure knowledge that there is no God but Allah because He can make Himself comprehensible to any creature that possesses the capacity. And the greatest of all capacities was contained by Prophet (pboh). This was evident on the night of the Mir’aj when he ascended further than any other creature.
So Prophet Muhammad (pboh) had first hand experience of the Divine Personality of Allah. And because he has this unique experience Allah gave him a special mission. What is this mission? Allah says;
‘O Prophet! Truly We have sent thee as a witness, a bearer of glad tidings, and warner, - and as one who invites to Allah’s (grace) by His leave, and as a Lamp spreading light’. (33:45-46)
This is really the mission of Prophet (pboh). We cannot comprehend the greatest of his blessed personality. Only a few of his Companions were able to comprehend his greatness.
The first thing Allah makes obvious in the ayat above is that Prophet Muhammad (pboh) is that creature who possessed the capacity to witness the Oneness of Allah . ‘O Prophet! Truly We have sent thee as a witness’. Allah sent him for that purpose.
We do not possess the capacity to verify the Oneness of Allah but Prophet (pboh) did. This is why for example when a Muadhin was calling the adhaan and he said the statement Ash-hadu anla ilaha illallaah another person told the Muadhin ‘you’re a liar because you have not truly witnessed this’. The Muadhin simple replied ‘while this is true my Messenger has witnessed this Divine Oneness of Allah and he was one who never told a lie, so I know for a fact that there is no God but Allah .
This is why in every sense of the word Prophet (pboh) was called Abdullah – the servant of Allah. His personality was so refined that he possessed the capacity to ascend in body and soul outside the dimensions of space and time and witness that which Allah wanted him to.
Being a witness is just one of special dimensions of his personality and insha Allah we would continue highlighting various aspects in the coming weeks leading up to the public lecture.
We pray to Allah to help us understand the true status of His Beloved (pboh) and may his blessed personality be a means of guidance and motivation for us all, insha Allah.
