'It is Ahmed, stunning on 'one chord to two bows' (qasida 19:10)

This is the motto of this section, which is for talking about our beloved prophet Mohammad [PPBUH].

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An illuminating Lamp

Allah Almighty says: [O Prophet! Indeed We have sent you as a witness and as a bearer of good tidings and as a warner ¤ and as a summoner to Allah by His leave and as an illuminating lamp] al-Ahzab 33:45-46.

From the interpretation of al-Alosy:

[O Prophet! Indeed We have sent you as a witness] for whom You were sent to watch their behaviors, witness their doings, and bear the testimony for their belief, denial, guidance and straying, this testimony that will be given and accepted on the day of judgment including what is for them and what is against them.  Now the bearing of the testimony for those who lived in His time, whom doings He witnessed, is an obvious matter. But the testimony to those who came after Him with their specific persons is an unseen matter, because it is known that He does not know the doings of those who come after Him in persons.

- There is a Hadith narrated by Abo-Bakr, Anas, Hozifa, Samra, and Abo-ad-Darda'; that He [PPBUH] said: (Some of my companions would come to me on my river - in the judgment day - and I would see and recognize them. Then they would be taken away from me. I would say: O My Lord. My companions, my companions. Then it would be said to me: You do not know what they did after you). Yes it would be said that He would know of obedience and disobedience that will be done after him but He would not know it by persons for either of them. This way we can combine between this Hadith and the other one which says that all doings are presented to Him every week, more or less.

- It was also said that He also know the deeds by person but He forgot and said: My companions, and to magnify the ugliness of what they did, it is to be said: You do not know what they did after you. It was said also, that He would know in person every deed except the disbelief as in this Hadith.

- Saying that He [PPBUH] knows their deeds because He is alive, body and soul, and goes everywhere, is built on on something that is unseen.

- Some Sufis also said that Allah showed him all the doings of all the people, slaves of Allah, and that is why Allah called Him [PPBUH] a witness; like Mawlana Galal ar-Romi [the Romanian] who mentioned it in his Mathnawi. So be aware and do not be heedless.

- They also said that He will testify for all prophets that they gave their messages to their people, and He knew that from Qur'an. Also they said: a witness that there is no God but Allah.

[and as a bearer of good tidings] of the Paradise for the obedient. [and as a warner] to warn the disbelievers and the sinners of the Hell. In the verse it is clear in its language - Arabic - that the warning is general and that the good tiding is special, as an exaggeration expression was used for the warning, but the good tiding came first in the sentence because it is the main mission of the Prophet [PPBUH] who is the gift of mercy for all worlds. And as if it a compensation was made in the next verse [And give good tidings to the believers] al-Ahzab 33:47.

[and as a summoner to Allah] i.e. for the acknowledgment of Allah Almighty, His oneness, and all what should be believed in of His [Almighty] properties and deeds. That is what was intended by ibn Abbas and Qatada when they said that the meaning of the this verse is to invite them to the testimony of "There is no God but Allah".

[by His leave] i.e. with Him [Almighty] making it easy and paving the way for it. Calling the easiness as leave or permission is reasonable here, especially if it is coming from Allah Almighty, so it is not actually permission. It also meaning that Allah has given His permission to the Prophet [PPBUH] for the summon or call for Him [Almighty] because it is also understood from the words [We have sent you as a summoner] means that Muhammad [PPBUH] is authorized and entitled to such call. Thus, it is understood from the aforementioned that [by His leave] is related to [summoner] As his call was associated with such permission, i.e. 'facilitation'; for it is a far reaching goal and a hard target. A matter that can not be fulfilled, but through Allah's aid and support. Of course, isn't he the al-mighty Allah, the ultimate resort and shelter and the one and only supporter? Because it means changing the direction of the worship from what they used to head for, surrendering the necks to unfamiliar necklaces, and it could be for all of them.

[And as an illuminating lamp] that those who have gone astray are to be guided by it. Also, pious ones are to borrow from it, the light of guidance. Such simile is either a complex reasonable one, or a metaphorical one.  Illuminating is used to emphasize the durability of such lamp. As there are some lamps that may go off, when its wicks get thinner.

Al- Zagag said: it means that Muhammad is of an illuminating lamp. Al- Faraa' said: illuminating lamp may be refereeing to the Holly Qur'an, which means that illuminating light may be pointing out to the Holly Qur'an as if it says 'we have sent you and the Holly qur'an'. It may also be interpreted on the basis of addition, as: [A messenger from Allah, reading purified pages] al-Bayena 92:2, and like in [And We verily gave Moses and Aaron the Criterion (of right and wrong) and a light] al- Anbiyaa'  21:48.

It could as well mean: [we made you following to…] As it is said that the verse means: we have sent you and then we sent an illuminating lamp with you. But in fact it has been generally interpreted that Muhammad is himself an illuminating lamp or that it is the prophetic light that illuminates such lamp.

Ibn Ajeeba's interpretation:  

Allah al-mighty says: [O Prophet! Indeed We have sent you as a witness] on those to whom you were sent, you should witness their beliefs and denials, i.e. your say is accepted by Allah whether for or against them, just like the testimony of competent witnesses at courts. [and as a bearer of good tidings] for those who believe in enduring happiness (heaven). [And as a warner] for the infidels, who do not believe, to the painful torture. [and as a summoner unto Allah] that call upon people to acknowledge his oneness, deism and all other aspects that should be believed in, from among his traits, promises and menaces. [by His leave], i.e. as per his wishes. The prophetic call was associated with such permission due to its difficulty, which can not be achieved without the support of Allah. [And as an illuminating lamp] that lights up the darkness of ignorance and spread at the lights of guidance. It is the illumination with which Allah has lit up the darkness of atheism, and guided those who have gone astray, just like illuminating lamps light up the darkness of night. It is said also that it refers to the Holly Qur'an, i.e. he is of a lamp. Illumination was mentioned to highlight the ever lasting durability of such lamp. As lamps may go off in case it's wicks got thinner. So the verse may also be interpreted as: a witness of my oneness, a bearer of glad tidings of my mercy, a Warner of my wrath and indignation and a summoner to the worship of mine and a lamp that illuminates the path leading to me.

Al-zamakhshari and Al-Bahr Al-Maded say: Allah provided the lights of insights with his prophetic light, as lamps provide eyes with the light of sights. Al-Baydawi says: [illuminating lamp] is the lamp with which darkness of ignorance is lit and from which the lights of insights are borrowed.

Edited by Samer el-Lail   

Translated by Noha

Whoever wants to get more about this subject, can seek it in the website of Al-Nabi [PPBUH]

the Editorial Team