Zia Ul Sakafa Issue 9 Oct-dec 2008 English Part

Preface We are living in 1429 year of Islamic Calendar and it’s a duty incumbent upon all of us to spread the true message of Islam among the humanity in view of growing prejudice and propaganda against it. The message of Islam is to spread peace among the masses with out any discrimination. At various places in the holy book Quran, this message has been explicitly mentioned, for instance, Surah 7, verse 56, “and do not do mischief on the earth, after it has been set in order, and invoke Him with fear and hope. Surely Allah’s Mercy is near to the good-doers” And surah 4, verse 85, “who so ever intercedes for a good cause will have reward there of, and who so ever intercedes for an evil cause will have a share in its burden. And Allah is ever able to do everything” And surah 4, verse 136, “O you who believe in Allah and His Messenger and the book which He has sent down to His Messenger, and the Scriptures which He sent down to those before and who so ever disbelieves in Allah, His angels, His books, His Messengers and the last day then indeed he has strayed far away” In the same manner, the practical demonstration of Quran has been the life and teachings of Prophet Muhammad (SAW). Through out in his life, He (SAW) has been remarkably merciful and compassionate to everyone. It was his personal character and dealings that moulded the barbaric nature of countless men and women and transformed them into peaceful, loving and creative human beings. In this regard, His (SAW) last sermon is a flashlight for every age till doomsday. A brief summary of the last sermon is mentioned below: O People Lend me an attentive ear, for I know not whether after this year, I shall ever be amongst you again. Therefore listen to what I am saying to you very carefully and take these words to those who could not be present here today. O People Just as you regard this month, this day, this city as sacred, so regard the life and property of every Muslim as a sacred trust. Return the goods entrusted to you to their rightful owners. Hurt no one so that no one may hurt you. Remember that you will indeed meet your Lord, and that He will indeed reckon your deeds. Allah has forbidden you to take usury (interest); therefore all interest obligations shall henceforth be waived. Your capital, however, is yours to keep. You will neither inflict nor suffer any inequity. Allah has judged that there shall be no interest and that all interest due to Abbas Ibn ‘Abd al Muttalib (the Prophet's uncle) shall henceforth be waived.

Beware of Satan for the safety of your religion. He has lost all hope that he will ever be able to lead you astray in big things, so beware of following him in small things. O People It is true that you have certain rights in regard to your women, but they also have rights over you. Remember that you have taken them as your wives, only under Allah's trust and with His permission. If they abide by your right then to them belongs the right to be fed and clothed in kindness. Do treat you women well and be kind to them, for they are your partners and committed helpers. And it is your right that they do not make friends with anyone of whom you do not approve, as well as never to be unchaste. O People Listen to me in earnest, worship Allah, say your five daily prayers (Salah), fast during the month of Ramadan, and give your wealth in Zakat. Perform Hajj if you can afford to. All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a nonArab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over a black, nor does a black have any superiority over a white- except by piety and good action. Learn that every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one brotherhood. Nothing shall be legitimate to a Muslim, which belongs to a fellow Muslim unless it was given freely and willingly. Do not therefore, do injustice to yourselves. Remember one day you will appear before Allah and answer for your deeds. So beware, do not stray from the path of righteousness after I am gone. People, no prophet or apostle will come after me and no new faith will be born. Reason well therefore, O people, and understand words which I convey to you. I leave behind me two things, the Quran and the Sunnah (Hadith), and if you follow these you will never go astray. All those who listen to me shall pass on my words to others and those to others again; and may the last ones understand my words better than those who listened to me directly. Be my witness, O Allah, that I have conveyed your message to your people." Even today if all of us start acting on the above mentioned world order, the whole world will become a prosperous and peaceful society with countless benefits for everyone to enjoy. That is the message of Islam for sustainable world peace.

Syed Ahmad Imam Bukhari

THE HOLY PROPHET, SALLALLAHO ALAIHI WA ‘ALII WA SALLAM By: Dr. Muhammad Muddassar Hi-teck University, Texla ,Pakistan << … Nor was any Nabi accused of (lying when) giving knowledge … >> Qassidah Burdah Sharif, Chapter 5, verse26.

Abstract The function of prophet is reviewed in the light of Tradition distinguishing between rasool and nabi. The Holy Prophet, sallalaho alaihi wa 'alii wa sallam, is then introduced accordingly to old scriptures and his leadership among the other prophets is also discussed in the light of other Doctrines (Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism), the Holy and Glorious Qur’an and Ahadith. The article introduces the concept of ishq-e-Mustafa and suggests the method to develop it through the recitation of the awrad and particularly darood sharif. The importance and validity of darood sharif is also discussed on the basis of modern neuroscience not to attribute importance to modern science but to show the perfect coincidence of the knowledge of Tasawwuf – in this case knowledge published in 1250AC – with lower forms of knowledge, like neuroscience.

Prologue Thousands of blessed scholars have spoken and written about the Holy Prophet of Islam, sallalaho alaihi wa 'alii wa sallam, and his holy precursor, alaihi wa sallam for each of them, and we feel sincerely ashamed to engage in this endeavor because of our ignorance and impurity due to our sins. We ask the intercession of our beloved Pir Amin ul Hasanat Shah Sahab and His Holy father Pir Karam Shah Al-Azhari, Radziallaho anho, true lovers of the Holy Prophet, sallalaho alaihi wa 'alii wa sallam, to help this dust of faqeer in completing this work without errors. <
lallahu ‘Alaihi Wasallam) as there are grains of sand in the desert and in the Wilderness! And bless our master Muhammad (Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wasallam) and the family of master Muhammad (Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wasallam) as much as the weight of all mountains and all rocks! And bless our master Muhammad (Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wasallam) and the family of master Muhammad (Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wasallam), as many times as there are dwellers of The gardens and dwellers of The Fire! And bless our master Muhammad (Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wasallam) and the family of master Muhammad (Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wasallam) as many times as there are righteous and as many times there are corrupt ones! And bless our master Muhammad (Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wasallam) and the family of master Muhammad (Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wasallam) as many times as the right has alternated with the day! And make, Ya Allah, our asking for blessings upon him a shield which give us protection from the punishment of The Fire and a means of us gaining permission to enter the abode of Permanence, for You are the Mighty, the forgiving! (From Dalaail-ul-Khairat, Chishti Nizami Wasifa Book, pages 400 - 401) rel="nofollow">>

Introduction and Generalities <> Qassidah Burdah Shareef Section 5, 21 - 22

It is a matter of wonder to learn from different modern authors and sources, especially religious, how the term and meaning of the word “prophet” has lost its meaning and significance especially when compared with the meaning and significance attributed to the term “prophet” in Islam. There is deep dichotomy between Islam’s point of view and those of the other two Semitic religions, which show great confusion about the real meaning of the term “prophet” and its function. The English and Christian term “prophet” derives from the ancient Greek προφητής [profetès], the most common meaning attributed to this Greek word is “the one who speaks in front” but also “the one who speaks on behalf of”. But quite interestingly Christians seems to privilege the first meaning in the double acceptions of the term “in front” related to the two essentail conditions of this world, time and space. In fact the first acception of “in front” is speaking in public. The term “before” here is considered equivalent to “in front”, thus the meaning is related to space. The second acception is “before time” (considered equivalent to “in front of the time”), which is clearly referred to time; in fact words like “prophecy” or “prophetic words” derive from “prophet” with the understanding that all the prophets had the gift of clairvoyance. This has been the main characteristic perceived especially by the Christians to the extent that in the

spoken form of almost all western languages (namely Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguise, English, German, Danish, Dutch and the languages spoken in the Scandinavian peninsula) the word “prophet” becomes an appellative and it is associated with anyone who has anticipated the times in sectors which have nothing to do with religion. For example a certain fashion stylist is the “prophet of fashion” when he is successfull in anticipating or rather imposing a new trend in fashion. As other examples a certain artist in paintry or music is the “prophet of paint” or “prophet of music” whenever each of them succeeds to anticipate a new trend in his own field. In this we can see the clear mark of Satan-rajeem, the highest in subversion and the master of confusion and disorder. The big confusion of the modern world and its Satanic-rajeem tract are evidenced by this subversive association of a noble word like that of “prophet” with worldly activities that nothing have to do with the rela, blessed “prophetic” function. In the Bible (Old Testament) the word equivalent to “prophet” is in Hebrew: ‫ – נביא‬pronounced nâbîy, in the same way of the Arabic “nâbî”. The Hebrew ‫ – נביא‬pronounced nâbîy – has the meaning “called by God for a duty” and a “person who speaks in the Name and on behalf of the Divinity”. Once again we find a fracture among the three Semitic religions, once again Christianity seems a “mad” deviation, departing from Judaism and Islam with its curious approach to the meaning of “prophet”. Anyhow it appears that in the Bible there is a part containing 36 books, called “Neviìm”, each of one those books is dedicated to every prophet. Actually “Neviìm” forms the second of the three letters of TaNaKh, derived from Torah, Nevi'im, Ketuvim. The meaning of “nâbîy” is perhaps described in Deuteronomy 18:18, where God said, "I will put my words in his mouth and he will speak to them all that I command him."1 Thus, the “nâbîy” was thought to be the "mouth" of God. The root “nun-bet-alef” ("nâbîy ") is based on the two-letter root nun-bet which denotes hollowness or openness; to receive transcendental wisdom, one must make oneself “open”. One can confront Rashbam's2 comment to Genesis 20:73. We are 1

Although – quite obviously – Jew and also Christian commentators attribute this verse of Deuteronomy as a general description of a Prophet but we cannot refrain to observe a particular: if this is the description of a generic prophet why God speaks in singular when particularly Jew had several prophets? We have the feeling that this verse refers specifically to the Holy Prophet, sallalaho alaihi wa 'alii wa sallam. 2 Rashbam (‫ )רשב"ם‬is a Hebrew acronym for ‫( רבי שמואל בן מאיר‬Rabbi Shmuel son of Meir) (c.1085 - c.1158). His father was Meir ben Shmuel and his mother was Yocheved, the daughter of Rashi. Like his grandfather Rashi, the Rashbam was a biblical commentator and Talmudist. 3 <<So now, give the man back his wife, for he is a prophet, and let him say a prayer for you, so your life may be safe: but if you do not give her back, be certain

reminded here about the symbolism of the letter “ba, ‫ ”ﺐ‬of the Arabic alphabet, the second letter of the alphabet after “Alif, ‫ ”ﺇ‬and therefore it looks that ba seems recipient from Alif. Translated in other words ba, is the symbol of the Holy Prophet, Sallallaho Alaihi Wa ‘Alii Wa Sallam, recipient of the barakah (Spiritual Influences) from Alif, symbolizing Allah Almighty as first letter of the Arabic alphabet. Accordingly to I Samuel 9:94 the old name for “nâbîy” is “ro'eh”, ‫ ראה‬which literally means "Seer". That could document an ancient shift, from viewing prophets as “seers” to viewing them as moral teachers. Some examples of prophets in the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) include Abraham, Moses, Isaiah, Samuel, Ezekiel, Malachi, and Job. In Jewish tradition, Daniel is not counted in the list of prophets. Accordingly to Islamic believe Allah Almighty has sent about 124000 prophets. Thus we can see the approach to the prophet or its equivalent in other religions and spiritual systems. In this view we can evaluate the term equivalent to prophet in Hinduism. In Hinduism the equivalent of prophet is “avatar” or “avatara” (in Sanskrit अवतार, avatāra). The name “avatar” or “avatara” means the incarnation of a being of light (noor), known as Deva (Angel) in this state of manifestation as human being. As a matter of fact the word “avatar” or “avatara” literally means “descent” and it refers to the descent into this earth of personalities – beings of light (noor) assuming human form with the purpose of spiritual enhancement of their proxies. We observe that today the word “avatar” is exploited in the West meaning mainly a virtual, ghostly figure, generally a computerized individual symbolizing another person. There are unnerving signs that the word “avatar” is currently negatively utilized in the modern world especially by the internet users in quite similar way the word “prophet” is negatively exploited in the common language. What is really interesting about the Hindu definition of a Prophet are indeed two points, the first and more important is that prophet’s essence is of light (noor, an angelic attribute) and this statement should be also compared with the position of the ahle-sunnah-wal-jamaat regarding the fact that the Holy Prophet, Sallallaho Alaihi Wa ‘Alii Wa Sallam, is considered not only the Noor of Allah Almighty (Light of Allah) but is assumed to be the First Light of Allah as the Mustafa, Sallallaho Alaihi Wa ‘Alii Wa Sallam, which is also confirmed by the Hadith that narrates the episode of His Holiness Hadzrat Jibrail, Alaihi wa Sallam, waiting for quite long time the Holy Prophet, Sallallaho Alaihi Wa ‘Alii Wa Sallam, that death will come to you and all your house.>> Genesis, 20:7. 4 In the past in Israel, when a man went to get directions from God, he said, Come let us go to the Seer, for he who now is named Prophet was in those days given the name of Seer.

reaching late his hujra (hut) in the compound of Masjid-un-Nabi. His Holiness Hadzrat Jibrail, Alaihi wa Sallam, remarked to have been waiting quite long and his words were quite resenting the situation. In listening to His Holiness Hadzrat Jibrail, Alaihi wa Sallam, the Holy Prophet, Sallallaho Alaihi Wa ‘Alii Wa Sallam, answered: <<who was the first noor created?>>, meaning that Allah Almighty firstly created the noor of His Holiness Hadzrat Muhammad, Sallallaho Alaihi Wa ‘Alii Wa Sallam. At this His Holiness Hadzrat Jibrail, Alaihi Wa Sallam, understood. We should observe here that teaching the followers is among the prophetic functions, every single breath of the life of a prophet is spent to fulfill his function. In this view the Ahadith should be seen as somehow provoked episodes to leave a teaching and an opportunity to expand knowledge for those who want to learn and advance in the path (seeraat ul mustaqeem). A consequence of being the first noor of Allah Almighty is that all the other prophets (Ambiyaa plural of Nâbî) derived their light from his light, Sallallaho Alaihi Wa ‘Alii Wa Sallam. We recall here following the passage of the third chapter of Qassidah Burdah Sharif5: <<47) Every miracle which all the Nabis showed. 48) Verily they have been derived from his Noor.>> Obviously “his” is referred to the Holy Prophet, Sallallaho Alaihi Wa ‘Alii Wa Sallam. The meaning of the above two verses is quite evident. Rather the meaning is reinforced by the following verse (number 49) of the same chapter: “For verily he is the Sun of virtue (and) they (Ambiyaa) are its stars”, which confirms our statement above. We should also consider that even in the physical world it is known that stars do not have their own light but their light derives from the Sun. The meaning of this verse is quite deep because it shows also that the Holy Prophet, Sallallaho Alaihi Wa ‘Alii Wa Sallam, being associated with the Sun has the status ahle-sunnat-waljamaat followers claim for him, Sallallaho Alaihi Wa ‘Alii Wa Sallam, the status of Noor-e-Allah. In fact the Sun is seen by us from the earth as a disc 5

Quoting Qassidah Burdah Shareef in order to confirm our personal statement is perfectly correct in our humble opinion. In fact in Islam after the Holy, Noble and Glorious Qur’an, the Ahadeeth (Traditions/Sayings of the Holy Prophet, Sallallaho Alaihi Wa ‘Alii Wa Sallam) the books and compositions written by authentic awlya-Allah (servants of Allah) are the third source of knowledge. In the specific case of Qassidah Burdah Shareef one should ponder on the historically proven conditions under which this Qassidah was written, the Holy Prophet, Sallallaho Alaihi Wa ‘Alii Wa Sallam, almost dictated it and surely inspired it while His Holiness Hadzrat Al-Busairi, Radziallaho anho, was in the state of dream. We should remember that accordingly to an authentic Hadith “dream is the fortieth part of nabuwwat”. This Hadith keeps us in the subject of this work and confirms also that prophets are gifted with clairvoyance from dreams and visions. Being human beings Prophets shares with common believers this powerful tool.

with a front face, which is the face towards the manifested world and a hidden backside face towards the hidden (al-ghaib) domain. Dante, the author of the Italian Poem known as “Divine Comedy” closes his poem with the heavenly vision of God and writes about the Love of God as the engine which moves the Sun and the other stars6. The hidden face is quite intuitively the Mustafa, Sallallaho Alaihi Wa ‘Alii Wa Sallam, who is directly recipient of Allah’s Love transmitted in the form of Light and this Light is “visible in this world” in the essence of Muhammad, Sallallaho Alaihi Wa ‘Alii Wa Sallam. In this respect we are remembered of a passage of verse 35, section V of Sûrah XXIV, An-Nur (The Light) reads as: << … (This) is all light upon light! Allah guides unto His light whom He will … >>. The fact that Hindu think of a prophet like Muslim should not be a matter of wonder as a matter of fact it reflects the Oneness of the Primordial Tradition when human race was united under only One Divine Truth at the beginning of this manifestation. We must not judge Hinduism of present days, deprived of Divine Baraqat and turned almost unknown even to those who are born Hindu and practice more a kind of polytheistic religion than a Unitarian Spiritual Doctrine as it was at its origin and at the acme of its expansion. Despite the present conditions of Hinduism the works and teachings of Veda and Upanishad should be considered as a source of inspiration and a compendium to reach the knowledge in Islam. His Holiness Hadzrat Zia-ul-Ummah, Radziallaho anho, had a good knowledge of Hinduism. In the Asiatic Subcontinent there has been a massive conversion of Hindu into Islam and many Muslim families of this area are of Hindu descent. Hindu embraced Islam in thousands through the hands of awlya-Allah and perfect Sufi because they recognized in the Tasawwuf a highest degree spiritual system more in which baraqat (Spiritual Influences) is strongest than any other system and Universal than Hinduism, which requires to belong to a specific caste7. 6

The original sentence is <<E’ l’ Amor che muove il Sole e l’ altre stelle>>, which literally translates as <>. 7 We remember here that the Hindu Castes System divides people in two main groups, the outcaste and those who have the right to belong to the group of the “twice born”. This definition reminds to the Hadith: <>. On the other side we have observed that majority of the Subcontinent Christians derive their ancestry in the outcaste group, those to whom Hindu would have sealed their ears with boiling lead if they would have been found listening to the Hindu mantra (equivalent to Islamic dzikr). This harsh punishment was due to the fact that the outcast (ativarna, namely outcaste, known as shudra) were totally disqualified for a spiritual path. This fact indirectly confirms that Christianity has no more spiritual access receiving in its fold people disqualified for the spiritual path.

Prophets, Alaihi Wa Sallam, and the Holy Prophet, Sallallaho Alaihi Wa ‘Alii Wa Sallam, accordingly to Islam << … And as for those who believe in Allah and in all His Apostles and do not discriminate against any of them – these it is who presently Allah shall grant their rewards. And Allah is the Most-Forgiving, the Ever-merciful … >> Sûrah IV, Al-Nisa’, ayat 1528 Before attempting to comprehend the function of a Prophet, Alaihi Wa Sallam, in order to understand the function of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, Sallallaho Alaihi Wa ‘Alii Wa Sallam, we can reassume the ground realties of a prophet accordingly to Islamic Shariah. As we know from the basic tenants of Islam Allah Almighty has sent many messengers to this world from time to time to guide mankind. In Islam we distinguish two types of messengers of Allah Almighty there are the Rasools and the Nabis. All the Rasools are Nabis but not all Nabis are Rasools. In fact Rasool is a Prophet who receives a new Divine Law (Shariat) in the form of a Doctrine derived from a Sacred Book given by Allah Almighty whereas a Nabi follows the Sacred Book, Doctrine and Rites brought from the corresponding Rasool who came before him. Judaism has several Nabis but very few Rasools. All Rasools and Nabis are human beings without any exception but with the peculiarities that they cannot tell lies because they can only speak the truth and do not commit any sin, such is the purity required to convey any message of Allah Almighty. Generally in Islam, like in Hinduism, a prophet, regardless being a Rasool or a Nabi, is considered a very selected and elected person, not a standard but above standard human being. In the remaining part of this section we will refer to the chapter XLVIII, “The birth of the <>” of the Book of René Guénon: Perspectives of Initiation (firstly published in 1946)9. 8

Translation from Jamal-ul-Qur’an of His Holiness Pir Karam Shah Al-Azhari, radziallaho anho, Zia-Ul-Qur’an editions, Lahore, Pakistan. 9 We frequently quote René Guénon’s works in our humble efforts. René Guénon is one of the greatest authors of Metaphysics. Born as René Guénon (Blois, 15 novembre 1886 – Il Cairo, 7 gennaio 1951) lately he embraced Islam in France with the name of Abd-ul-Waheed Yahya by the hands of the great Swedish painter Gustaf Agelii [Ivan Aguéli (born John Gustaf Agelii) (May 24, 1869 - October 1, 1917) also named Sheikh 'Abd al-Hadi Aqhili (Arabic: ‫ )شیبخ عببد الهادی عقیلی‬upon his acceptance of Islam, was a Swedish-born wandering Sufi, painter and author] and then migrated to Cairo Egypt. The knowledge and power of his writings can be compared to those of Shankaracharya in Hinduism [Ādi Śaṅkarācārya (Kalady, Kerala, India – passed approx 820 CE) was an Indian Metaphysician who consolidated the doctrine of Advaita (Non Duality) Vedanta, a sub-school of Vedanta] and ibn-Al-Arabi [Ibn Arabi (Arabic: ‫ )ابن عرببي‬July 28, 1165-November

In the previous section and elsewhere in our previous articles we have mentioned the second birth. An Hadith specifically and indirectly refers to this second birth because the Holy Prophet, Sallallaho Alaihi Wa ‘Alii Wa Sallam, said: “O you who believe die before to die!”. Although the Hadith stresses the importance of the “Initiatic death” it is quite obvious that the death in one world means a birth in another world, thus to die before to die means a process of a death and birth in this world but with a dramatic change of condition. As a matter of fact if we recall that our life apparently develops in this world subjected to the conditions of space and time but in reality our existence develops simultaneously in the three domains: physical, subtle or psychic and spiritual. Belonging to a specific religion enables to keep in order and balance the physical and subtle domain but it does not open the doors to the spiritual world, which is precluded to everyone who is born in this earth until he finds those who have the keys to open the well safeguarded door of the spiritual domain10 at least virtually11 at the beginning. The baraqah conferred during the rite of initiation (bai’at) in Tasawwuf is of such purity and force that sooner the disciple starts his real and effective travel along the straight path (seeraat-ul-mustaqeem), this is the process of realization of the self. The process of realization is usually quite painful, it is of such strength that the Holy Prophet, Sallallaho Alaihi Wa ‘Alii Wa Sallam, has defined it big struggle (Jihad Al Akbar), it is a real and effective combat against the negative tendencies of the individual ego. This is more or less what every men initiated in any Esoteric Order experiences, particularly in Tasawwuf. But there are comparatively few personalities who are born into this world having already performed this process of realization of the self. It is like having two climbers, one – related to the normal individuals – climbs to reach the 10, 1240] in Islam. We feel deeply indebted to René Guénon and those who have preserved his works, indeed his struggle to seed the knowledge Allah Almighty gifted him deserves the prayers of those who read our humble efforts. 10 These keys are in the hands of the Spiritual Masters (Pir in Persian or Sheikh in Arabic and their Kholefa – Caliphs – in Arabic) in Islam and were in the hands of the Spiritual Masters of other Traditions. 11 It must be clarified here that a Pir or Sheikh opens the doors virtually at the first time of the initiation (bai’at) and it is depending from the spiritual qualifications of the disciple (murid) to progress in the spiritual path until he reaches he maturity for a second and/or third initiation, usually related to the acquisition of a spiritual function. Only very high Pir/Sheikh have the keys to finally help their disciples (murids) to complete the last leap of their walk in the straight path (seeraat-ulmustaqeem), a leap which is basically a jump or better a “passage to the limit” during which effectively the disciple (murid) completes his death to this world to be born again in the spiritual world without leaving this world. This is a process easy to write but enormously difficult to be afforded requiring exceptional qualifications. We are remembered here of the words of the Christ in the Gospel: “Many are those who are called but very few are the elected”.

top of the mountain while the other – related to the Prophets – has been mysteriously born on top of the mountain and his desire will be to descend the mountain. The mountain is the same but the conditions of the two men are radically different, from one side we have human persons who created by clay struggle to change nature becoming of light (angelic states) through a second birth, while the others complete the second death being born in this world and acquiring the conscience of their Divine nature during their human life. Technically speaking these two aspects of initiation are defined respectively ‘ascending’ and ‘descending’ initiation12. The ‘ascending’ initiation is reserved for the majority of beings, for them the initiation – still virtual at the beginning – acts as bringing life to the “spiritual principle” which is latently sleeping in every human created being. The spiritual influences conferred (or transmitted) to the being through the rite of initiation transform the potentialities of the “spiritual principle” into a virtual development which gradually through the practice of the rite and duties conferred by the transmitter of the initiation and the never ending assistance of the spiritual influences (baraqat) contribute to transform the virtual condition into degrees of increasing real development13. On the other side the descending realization is more difficult to explain because it is extremely rare and mainly a special gift from Allah Almighty and particularly the descending realization belongs to the Prophets. We suggest that this type of realization belongs to the Prophets regardless they are Rasool or Nabi, the reason of our statement is based on the fact that every Prophet before coming into this world has been initiated by the Muhammad Mustafa, Sallallaho Alaihi Wa ‘Alii Wa Sallam, thus receiving the power of transmitting the Baraqah from Allah Almighty through Muhammad Mustafa, Sallallaho Alaihi Wa ‘Alii Wa Sallam. And this statement is another way to say that the light (noor) of Muhammad Mustafa, Sallallaho Alaihi Wa ‘Alii Wa Sallam, is reflected in each of the other Prophets, and this explains also the particular type of brotherhood claimed by each of them. It is not casual in fact that we have quoted at the beginning of this section the verse (ayat) 152 of Sûrah IV An-Nisa’ we strongly believe that the reason while “ those to whom Allah Almighty

12

See René Guénon’s posthumous book Initiation and Spiritual Realization appeared in 1953. 13 For those who are familiar with the principles of Physics the principles of conservation and transformation of energy introduces the concept of potential and dynamic energy. The similitude and example is that of a stone on top of a hill, which can potentially fall at its bottom, in this case the stone has a potential energy. If the stone falls from the top of the hill then its potential energy will transform into kinetic or movement energy. In this respect the “spiritual principle” can be assimilated to something which possesses potential energy and once activated transforms its potential energy into kinetic energy.

shall grant His reward” is because those fortunate have comprehended14 that there is no discrimination between the Holy Prophet of Islam, sallalaho alaihi wa 'alii wa sallam, and his precursors, alaihi wa sallam for each of them, and this equality is because they are of the same substance: light (noor). How different, complete and balanced is the above position expressed by the Holy and Glorious Qur’an and the position of Jew and Christians! The Jew do not recognize any of the Prophets after their prophets moreover it is historically proven that even they have tried to kill their own prophets. As in the “Introduction to Sûrah Al-Baqarah” written by His Holiness Pir Karam Shah Al-Azhari: <> we remember that the title of this Sûrah refers to the rebellion of the Jew against His Holiness Hadzrat Musa, alaihi wa sallam, while he was in communion with Allah Almighty on top of Mount Sinai. The Christians on the other side do not give too much importance and above all they do not venerate the Prophets of Jews and do not recognize Jesus as a prophet nor recognize Muhammad, sallalaho alaihi wa 'alii wa sallam, as a prophet too. The both, Jew and Christians, have somehow lost in their respective traditions the concept of equality of prophets and above all the knowledge of the real substance of prophets, light (noor). How the above destruction of knowledge could happen to Jew and Christians? This is due to the fact that Jew and Christians have totally destroyed15 the Spiritual System peculiar of their tradition and practically 14

We have already mentioned that the tense “to comprehend” derives from the Antique Latin “cumprehendere”, which is formed by “cum” (meaning with) and “prehendere” (meaning to take) and assumes the meaning “to take within”, which is synonymous of “to assimilate”. Thus using the tense “to comprehend” means to underline a condition far stronger than simply understand. In other words many can understand but few can assimilate because their hearts – and not their minds! – are tuned with the statement they have assimilated. 15 This does not mean that few secret and not accessible spiritual personalities are still present among Jew and Christians otherwise their religions would have completely disappeared. It is for the virtue (in the sense of force) of the presence of those spiritual personalities that somehow these religions are still present in this world. From the authority of René Guénon we came to know that for example in Christianity there is a initiation given to very few and selected persons by Hadzrat Maryam, Alaihi Wa Sallam, and this is a total secret. This was quoted by René Guénon in reference to the figure of the Italian Monk Padre Pio da Pietralcina, a discussed figure who had for all his life to defend against the Vatican and majority of the Catholic clergy, and perhaps this is a proof of his sainthood.

equivalent to Tasawwuf. For Jew and Christian the mind is the center of the human being while for Muslims16 still believe that the center of the human being is the heart and there must be no doubt about it. This is the distinction between those who do not see beyond Shariah (thus they privilege the human mind) and those who see in the path of Haqiqah the full development of their human being because the path of Haqiqah starts from the heart. It is not possible to write about prophets without speaking about the heart, obviously we mean the spiritual heart and not the physical heart. Both maybe coincident but the spiritual heart is the more important because in Tasawwuf one speaks about the “eye of the heart”, whose position maybe different from the position of the physical heart but it is indeed the spiritual eye related to the spiritual heart. In order to understand the function of the Holy Prophet, Sallallaho Alaihi Wa ‘Alii Wa Sallam, and his brothers prophets, Alaihi Wa Sallam for each of them, we should examine the symbolism of the heart. Despite the following passages may be perceived difficult to understand the importance of the heart in a prophet we can remember a passage of the Hadith Number 1499 of Chapter 3417 narrated by Anas bin Malik, Radziallaho Anho, telling about the Angels and the Holy Prophet, Sallallaho Alaihi Wa ‘Alii Wa Sallam, before and after his Prophet-hood here we underline that: << … he did not see them (the Angels) till they came at another night and he perceived their presence with his heart, for the eyes of the Prophet, Sallallaho Alaihi Wa ‘Alii Wa Sallam, were closed when he was asleep, but his heart was not asleep (not unconscious). This is characteristic of all the Prophets. Their eyes sleep but their hearts do not sleep. … >>. The fact that the hearts of the Prophets do not sleep is not a marvel but a technical consequence of their condition which perhaps can be understood summarizing Chapter XLVIII, “The birth of the <>” of the book , Sallallaho Alaihi Wa ‘Alii Wa Sallam, ”Perspectives of Initiation” written by René Guénon. René Guénon relates the symbolism of the heart with that of the “Egg of the World” with reference to the “second birth” but not in the common meaning of ascending realization, rather with that of descending realization because the egg symbolizes the birth, a birth in the heart. This birth in the heart of the “spiritual principle” is latent in an ordinary man but in a prophet is brought to life at the entrance in this world. The process of 16

Excluded some sects but we would like to do not be involved at present on issues regarding sectarianism, our respectable readers will understand by themselves to which side they belonging in reacting to our words. 17 From Sahîh Al-Bukhâri, Arabic-English, translated by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan, Islamic University, Al-Madina Al-Munawwara, KSA, Maktaba Dar-usSalam.

realization is basically the same, in both cases, the prophet and the ordinary man the realization is a process of identification with the Supreme Being Who pre-exists in the heart of every human being but only those who are initiated can identify with Him. Reverting to the above quoted Hadith the condition of a Prophet is that of having his heart asleep – namely incapable to see the Angels as the ordinary person – before his public life as a Prophet, but his heart will be awake forever after he will be officially a Prophet. This means that the heart of a Prophet is the purest of any other being of his contemporary and this is in our opinion the explanation why none of the prophets << … Nor was>> … << accused of (lying when) giving knowledge … >> (Qassidah Burdah Sharif, Chapter 5, verse26). The “Egg of the World” contains the germs of a new manifestation in the macrocosmic point of view18 while the heart contains the “germ” of the spiritual development in the microcosmic analogy. René Guénon relates the central position of the spiritual “germ” of the “Egg of the World” (i.e. Hiranyagarbha) to <> And René Guénon remembers in a foot page note that this “primordial Avatara” <<…is not one of the particular Avatara who manifest along the different cycles of the same manifestation, but he in reality is the principle of all Avatara in the same way that in the Islamic Tradition “Al-Rûh Al-Muhammadiyah” is the principle of all prophetic manifestations, and this principle is at the origin of the same manifestation. Remembering that the word Avatara means “descent”>>. René Guénon reports the following passage of the Katha Upanishad: <