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WHY
WAS THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD, AND
NOT THE OTHER PROPHETS, HONORED WITH THE ASCENSION?
Among the
Prophets, only he Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and
blessings, was honored with so great a gift as the Ascension.
The reason why he was distinguished with such a divine gift lies
in his essential perfection and he nature of his Prophethood.
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Prophet
Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, had been expected
for long and his coming was promised through many signs. For
this reason, the proofs of his Prophethood are numerous.
Although elaborated in previous chapters, as related to this
particular addendum, we will briefly list the signs that
demonstrate the perfection of the Prophet Muhammad, upon him
be peace and blessings, and the proofs of his Prophethood,
in order to show that he was the most worthy to make the
Ascension.
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Despite
many corruptions in the previous Scriptures like the Torah,
the Gospels and the Psalms, a discerning scholar like Husayn
al-Jisri, still in this century, was able to find in them
one hundred and ten signs indicating the Prophethood of
Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, and quoted them
in his Risala al-Hamidiya.
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As
authentically recorded by history, many soothsayers such
Shiqq and Satih, some time before his Prophethood,
accurately foreold his Prophethood, and even that he was the
Last of the Prophets.
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Before
his Prophethood, there were many extraordinary events,
famous in history, called irhasat, that is, signs
forewarning people of a coming Prophet. For example, on the
night of his birth, the idols in the Ka‘ba were toppled
over, and the pinnacles of the famous palace of Chosroes,
the Persian ruler, broke.
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He
satisfied the thirst of an army with water flowing from his
fingers; he split the moon, as confirmed by the Qur’anic
verse, The moon split, and the dry wooden pole against which
he leant while preaching his sermons in the Mosque moaned
like a camel in the presence of a large congregation because
of separation from him. With all his miracles such as these
numbering almost one thousand, related by history and
biography, he was distinguished and made superior to all
other prophets.
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Friend
and foe alike agree that all the good qualities were to be
found to the highest degree in his character, and that, as
demonstrated by his conduct, the attributes and character of
the highest excellence were apparent in the way he performed
his mission, and, in accordance with the moral principles
prescribed by the religion of Islam, praiseworthy virtues of
the highest order are to be found in the Law he brought.
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It is
a requirement of wisdom that Divinity be manifested because
of Its perfections. It is the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be
peace and blessings, who manifested the Divinity of God at
the greatest level and in the most brilliant fashion through
the most perfect and comprehensive way of worship contained
in his religion.
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The
Creator of the world wants, as a result of wisdom, to
display His most perfect beauty and grace through some
appropriate means, and it is evidently Muhammad, upon him be
peace and blessings, who demonstrated and described His
beauty and grace in the most perfect fashion.
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The
Maker of the world wants to exhibit and draw attentive gazes
towards His perfect art of infinite beauty, and, again, it
is evidently Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, who
proclaimed that art with the clearest voice.
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Again,
it is necessarily Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings,
who, in response to the desire of the Lord of the worlds to
proclaim His Oneness in the realms of multiplicity,
announced Unity with all its aspects in the most perfect
way.
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The
Owner of the world wants, as a consequence of His wisdom,
both to see and to show in the mirrors of all beings, His
infinite essential beauty and grace, with all their
manifestations, and again it is evidently Muhammad, upon him
be peace and blessings, who reflected them in the most
brilliant fashion and made others love them.
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It is
evidently Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, who, in
response to the desire of the Builder of the palace of the
world to describe His perfections by exhibiting His unseen
treasuries full of invaluable gems, displayed and described
them in the most perfect way.
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The
Maker of the universe has decorated the universe with the
most beautiful and exquisite kinds of embellishments and
included in it His conscious creatures in order that they
should travel therein both to get enjoyment and to ponder
over it and reflect. He therefore wants, as a result of His
wisdom, to communicate to people who observe and reflect the
meaning and value expressed by the works of His art. Again,
it is evidently Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings,
who guided, in the most comprehensive way, men and jinn, and
even angels in this respect by means of the Qur’an.
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Also,
the All-Wise Ruler of the universe wants, by means of an
envoy, to reveal to all conscious beings the purpose of the
changes and transformations in existence and the answer to
these three perplexing questions, Where do beings come from?
Where are they going? What are they? Again, it is evidently
Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, who revealed, by
means of the truths of the Qur’an, this purpose and
provided the answer in the clearest and most perfect way.
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The
Maker of this world also wants to make Himself known to
conscious beings through His exquisite works and bestows
upon them precious bounties. As a result, He desires to
communicate to them by means of an envoy what He wants them
to do and how they may obtain His approval in return for
those bounties. It is evidently Muhammad, upon him be peace
and blessings, who communicated, by means of the Qur’an,
the things that please God in the most exalted and perfect
way.
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The
Lord of the worlds has endowed man, who is the fruit of the
tree of creation, with such a comprehensive disposition as
will encompass the whole universe, and accordingly with an
ability, and even need, to perform a universal worship. Man,
on the other hand, because of his feelings, is usually
inclined to the world with its varying attractions. So, God
wills, by means of a guide, to turn man’s attention from
worldly multiplicity to Divine Unity, from transience to
eternity. Again, it is evidently Muhammad, upon him be peace
and blessings, who, in response to this will, by means of
the Qur’an, guided man to this end in the most desirable
fashion and performed the duty of Messengership in the most
perfect way.
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Thus,
the most superior among creation are living beings, and
among living beings the most superior are conscious beings.
The most superior of conscious beings are true human beings,
and among the human beings the one who carried out all the
duties mentioned in the most perfect and comprehensive way
would, of a certainty, rise through an all-embracing
Ascension to the nearness of two bowstrings, that is, to the
station nearest to God, knock at the door of eternal
happiness, open the treasury of Mercy, and become a direct
witness of the unseen truths of faith.
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As
observed in the whole universe, everything displays the most
pleasing instances of beauty and utmost degree of adornment.
This beauty and adornment clearly demonstrate that their
Maker possesses a most vigorous will to make things
beautiful and to adorn them. This will in turn shows of a
necessity that the Maker has a strong inclination and sacred
love towards His art. Therefore, the one among beings who
has the most comprehensive disposition to display in himself
all the wonders of art, one who knows them and makes them
known and thus makes himself lovable, and who also deeply
appreciates the beauties manifested in other beings in full
appreciation of their having come from the Maker will
evidently be the most beloved in the sight of the Maker, Who
greatly loves His art.
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It is
the same being who, in full awareness of the exquisite
qualities that adorn all beings, and of perfections that
illuminate them, makes the heavens echo the words: Glory be
to God! What wonders God has willed, and all these are from
God! God is the greatest!, and who causes the universe to
reverberate with the sounds of the Qur’an, and enraptures
land and sea with his appreciative reflections and
glorifications, and his proclamation and demonstration of
Divine Unity. Such a being is he that, according to the
principle, the cause is like the doer, he receives the
reward equivalent to that of all the good deeds performed by
each member of his community; his spiritual perfections draw
strength from the blessings prayed for him by each member of
his community, and, as a result of the duties he performed
in his Messengership, receives immaterial recompense and
infinite emanations of Divine Mercy and Love. It is,
therefore, the certain result of pure truth and absolute
wisdom that this being should advance by means of Ascension
as far as Paradise, Sidra al-Muntaha-the Lotus Tree,
which is the farthest limit of contingency, the Divine
Throne, and to the nearness of two bowstrings.
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Last Updated on October 09, 2000
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