'Al Ahzab', Verses 42-49: A Commentary

O you who believe, remember Allah with much remembrance, And exalt Him morning and afternoon. It is He who confers blessing upon you, and His angels (also) that He may bring you out from darknesses into the light. And ever is He, to the believers, Merciful. Their greeting the Day they meet Him will be, "Peace." And He has prepared for them a noble reward. O Prophet, indeed We have sent you as a Witness and a Bringer of good tidings and a Warner. And one who invites to Allah, by His permission, and an illuminating Lamp. And give good tidings to the believers that they will have from Allah great bounty. And do not obey the disbelievers and the hypocrites; Disregard their noxious talk and rely upon Allah. And sufficient is Allah as Disposer of affairs. (Al-Ahzab 33: 42-49).

The Prophet as “Shahidan”: Witness for the people

Just before these Quranic verses, there is the mention of Khatam-an-Nabiyyin and these verses are verily linked with the subject of Khatam-an-Nabiyyin. As the Holy Prophet (pbuh) came for the entire universe, thus, he is a Witness for one and all. And this has been proved in the other verses of the Quran also, that Muhammad (pbuh) is a Witness for all the other prophets. Therefore, “Shahidan” means that 'We have sent you as a witness for all people, be it from the past, the present and the future also. You are a witness over all the past prophets and also the prophets who shall come in the future also. You are also a Warner for all of them', which means that the Holy Prophet (pbuh) was to be a witness for the people who came before him and those who would come after him. Now, how can the Holy Prophet (pbuh) become a witness for the people whom he had not directly encountered/ met? This verily means that he (pbuh) shall become like a measure to test/ try the faith and deeds of the others.

It is the testimonial of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) which shall determine if the deed is good or not. He shall also act as a measure to test the works of the other prophets, be them past prophets and those of the future also. And now you can see how this verse is linked with the verse which mentions 'Khâtim'. Khâtim means someone who attests and he makes that particular attestation through a testimonial. If it is a good testimonial, then, through a seal, this becomes all the more a great proof that the attestation is grand and viable. Therefore, Khâtim means a measure which can deliver this testimonial for all past people, and those of the present and future also.

It is verily the example of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) which is used as a means to judge the stages and stations and actions of the past, present and future prophets. Through the words and instructions of the prophets, all these are used as measurements to determine if those prophets are deserving of forgiveness or punishment.

Attacks on Khalifa Sani and on the First Mujaddid

Islam does not subscribe to the infallibility of any man. Even the Messengers and Reformers are not the sons of Allah, nor are they partners in the Divine kingdom. They do not control life, not death; nor resurrection, nor are they immune from the trials and persecutions at the hands of the rebels and transgressors of their times. Weak as human beings are, it is Allah (twa) who chooses and raises His servants from among them and they serve their mandate according to the Divine Will and they move on to the home in the Hereafter when their assigned time is up in this world. In the true conception of the Islamic tradition, a Divine servant being attacked and/or killed at the hands of the enemies- rather than meeting with a natural death- does not cast aspersions on his lofty spiritual mission.

Yet today, a section of the Ahmadi Muslims- the proclaimed followers of the Promised Massih Hadhrat Ahmad (as); the Lahoris and their fellow-travellers and also the new Mujaddid claimants- Abdul Ghaffar Janbah Sahib of Pakistan/Germany and Dr. Nasir Ahmad Sultani Sahib of Pakistan/Sri Lanka - hold the belief that Divinely-appointed Reformers are absolutely immune from life-threatening attacks and/or being killed within a period of 23 years of their spiritual claims. They have tailored their spiritual doctrines to please their nafs’ desire of calumniating Hadhrat Khalifa Sani (ra) of the Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya¸ who met with such an attack on the fortieth (40^th) year of his Khilafat.

The Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam has always responded to the unfortunate insinuations that malign the just reputation of Hadhrat Khalifa Sani (ra).  Several articles in the Blog explain and show how the critics are wrong on several grounds of reasoning- Qur’anic insights, sacred prophetic traditions, viewpoint of the Promised Massih (as). These posts can be seen and read here: [ 1; 2; 3;4; 5; 6).

In this article, after noting the murderous attack on Hadhrat Khalifa Sani (ra) and the view of his critics, we discuss the life and times of the universally acknowledged, first Mujaddid of Islam Hadhrat Umar bin Abdul Aziz (ra). It provides an insightful episode from the Islamic spiritual tradition for those who wish to reflect more profoundly on these matters and correct themselves of the doctrinal mistakes that they commit.

The Attack on Hadhrat Khalifa Sani (ra)

It was on March 10, 1954- exactly, sixty years to this day- that Hadhrat Khalifa Sani (ra) was physically attacked, in a murderous attempt on his life. In the words of Zafrullah Khan (ra), one can read an account of the events: