The Nineteenth Letter

Appendix 3

 

Why only Prophet Muhammad was honored with the Ascension

 

THE REASON FOR THIS LIES IN HIS ESSENTIAL PERFECTION AND THE nature of his Prophethood. First of all, Prophet Muhammad was expected for a long time, and his coming was promised through many signs. Given this, there are numerous proofs of his Prophethood. Although elaborated in previous chapters, we briefly list the signs showing his perfection and the proofs of his Prophethood to show that he was the most worthy to make the Ascension.

FIRST: Despite the great corruption in the Torah, Gospels, and Psalms, Husain al-Jisri’s Risala al-Hamidiya presents 110 signs found in them that indicate Muhammad’s Prophethood.

SECOND: History also records the words of many pre-Islamic soothsayers, such Shiq and Satih, who foretold his Prophethood and that he was the Last Prophet.

THIRD: Many extraordinary events (irhasat) before his Prophethood foretold the coming of a Prophet. For example, on the night he was born, the Ka‘ba’s idols toppled over and the pinnacles of the famous palace of the Persian ruler Chosroes broke.

FOURTH: Muhammad was distinguished with almost 1,000 miracles, all of which have been related by historians and biographers. To cite only a few examples, he satisfied an army’s thirst with water flowing from his fingers and split the moon (54:1), and the dry wooden pole against which he leaned while preaching in the mosque moaned like a camel in front of many people when it was separated from him.

FIFTH: Friend and foe agree that all good qualities were found in him to the highest degree, and that, as shown by his conduct, all attributes and character of the highest excellence were apparent in the way he performed his mission. In accordance with Islam’s moral principles, praiseworthy virtues of the highest order are found in the law that he brought.

SIXTH: Wisdom requires that Divinity be shown because of Its perfections. Prophet Muhammad manifested God’s Divinity at the highest level and in the most brilliant fashion through the most perfect and comprehensive way of worship contained in the religion that he brought. Due to the wisdom in the universe’s creation, the Creator of the world wills to display His most perfect Beauty and Grace through the most appropriate means. Clearly, Prophet Muhammad showed and described His Beauty and Grace in the most perfect fashion.

The Maker of the world wills to exhibit and draw attentive gazes toward His perfect art of infinite Beauty; Muhammad proclaimed that art with the clearest voice. In response to the Lord of the worlds’ will to proclaim His Oneness in the realms of multiplicity, Muhammad announced His Unity with all of Its aspects most perfectly.

Due to His Wisdom, the Owner of the world wills to see and show His infinite essential Beauty and Grace, with all of their manifestations, in the mirrors of all beings; Muhammad reflected them in the most brilliant fashion and made others love them. In response to the will of the Builder of the palace of the world to describe His perfections by showing His unseen treasuries of priceless gems, Muhammad displayed and described them most perfectly.

The Maker of the universe has decorated the universe with the most beautiful and exquisite embellishments, and has included therein His conscious creatures so that they may travel to receive enjoyment and reflect. Due to His Wisdom, He wills to communicate the meaning and value expressed by the works of His art to people who observe and reflect. Muhammad guided humanity, jinn, and angels in the most comprehensive way, in this respect, through the Qur’an.

The All-Wise Ruler of the universe wills to use an envoy to reveal the purpose of the changes and transformations in existence,  as well as to answer three perplexing questions asked by all conscious beings: Where do we come from? Where are we going? What are we? By means of the Qur’an’s truths, Muhammad revealed this purpose and the answers in the clearest and most perfect way.

The Maker of this world wills to make Himself known to conscious beings through His exquisite works and to be loved by them through the precious bounties He bestows on them. Thus He wills 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. By means of the Qur’an, Muhammad communicated the things that please God in the most exalted and perfect way.

The Lord of the worlds has endowed humanity, the fruit of the Tree of Creation, with a comprehensive disposition that can encompass the universe, and with a corresponding ability—and even need—to perform a universal worship. But humanity, due to its feelings, inclines to the world and its attractions. So God wills, by means of a guide, to turn humanity’s attention from worldly multiplicity to Divine Unity, from transience to eternity. In response to this will and by means of the Qur’an, Muhammad guided humanity to this goal in the most desirable fashion and performed the duty of Messengership in the most perfect way.

Thus the most superior members of creation are living beings, the most superior living beings are conscious beings, the most superior conscious beings are true human beings, and the true human being who carried out all of the duties mentioned in the most perfect and comprehensive way naturally would rise through an all-embracing Ascension to the nearness of two bows’ length, the station nearest to God, to knock at the door of eternal happiness, open Mercy’s treasury, and witness belief’s unseen truths directly.

SEVENTH: Moreover, everything displays the most pleasing instances of beauty and utmost degree of adornment, thereby demonstrating that their Maker wills to make things beautiful and adorn them. In turn, this shows that the Maker has a strong inclination and sacred love toward His art. Therefore the person with the most comprehensive disposition to display this art’s wonders in himself; one who knows them, makes them known, and thus makes himself lovable; and who deeply appreciates the beauties manifested in other beings in full appreciation of their coming from the Maker will be the most beloved in the Maker’s sight, as He greatly loves His art.

This same being, in full awareness of the exquisite qualities adorning all beings and of the perfections illuminating them, makes the heavens echo: “Glory be to God! What wonders God has willed” and “All these are from God! God is the All-Great!” This same being causes the universe to reverberate with the sounds of the Qur’an, and enraptures the land and the sea with his appreciative reflections and glorification as well as with his proclamation and demonstration of Divine Unity.

Such a being, according to the principle of “The cause is like the doer,” receives a reward equivalent to his community’s good deeds. His spiritual perfections draw strength from the blessings invoked upon him by his community, and the duties he performed during his Messengership cause him to receive an immaterial recompense and infinite emanations of Divine Mercy and Love. Given this, the result of pure truth and absolute wisdom is that this being should advance by means of Ascension as far as Paradise, Sidrat al-Muntaha—the lote tree, contingency’s farthest limit—the Divine Throne, and to the nearness of two bows’ length.

The Everlasting: He is the Everlasting.

Said Nursi