Role of a Rasool? --- Taseer Cheema,MD

Role of a Rasool? This is a very important question and the answer can not be given in few lines. We have to dig deep in Quran to see what Quran tells us about a Rasool. It is going to be a very long post so please bear with me and read it at your leisure. First of all we have to understand what is Nabuvvat. History gives us a very beautiful example. Just turn few pages back and you would see a Man standing at the highest point of Mount safaa inviting his people to gather around. When they arrive, he lays down the newly arrived message before them and asks them to consider to embrace it. This story sheds light on the full role of a nabi. He is the one who evolves his personality to the maximum level achievable by a human being. He is the chosen one and this status can not be earned through meditation or any kind of hard work. Its "given" by Allah swt. Its not something we say " aag lainay gaay, Paighambaree mil gaee". Nabuvvat is not a spiritual experience but a real phenomenon which always produces same results. In Surah Najam ayah 11 describes the chemistry of Wahee so beautifully. 53/11 The knowledge given to the Rasool through Wahi is unlike that which the eyes perceive; and the heart too cannot decide whether it is reality or a delusion.

In Nabi’s case, his conscience confirms whatever his eyes see. (That is why Nabi is the first one to profess Eiman on the truthfulness of his Wahi ~ 2:285; 6:164.) The Nabi's experience is valid and reproducible unlike a dream 53/13 (Furthermore the state of Wahi is not that of a dream which cannot be experienced for the second time, in the same sequence and detail.) However, the Nabi’s eyes can see again the phenomena he has seen once. (Therefore for him the seeing of realities is not the same as dreaming. Wahi is not a dream. It is the observance of real facts.) It reminds me of Ghalib Tha Khawb main khayaal ko jo unn sai wastah Jo aankh khul gayee to na khaawb tha na khayala tha. ( please correct me if there is some mistake in this shair) The above ayah clearly tells us how the experience of Nabi is different from a mystic. Here i would take the opportunity to present how Allama Iqbal understood these ayah.. Allama Iqbal in his 5th lecture in "reconstruction of religious thought in Islam" states: ‘Muhammad of Arabia ascended the highest Heaven and returned.
I swear by God that if I had reached that point, I should never have returned.’1 These are the words of a great Muslim saint, ‘AbdulQuddës of Gangoh. In the whole range of Sufi literature it will be probably difficult to find words which, in a single sentence, disclose such an acute perception of the psychological difference between the prophetic and the mystic types of consciousness. The mystic does not wish to return from the repose of ‘unitary experience’; and even when he does return, as he must, his return does not mean much for mankind at large. The prophet’s return is creative. He returns to insert himself into the sweep of time with a view to control the forces of history, and thereby to create a fresh world of ideals. For the mystic the repose of ‘unitary experience’ is something final; for the prophet it is the awakening, within him, of world-shaking psychological forces, calculated to completely transform the human world. The desire to see his religious experience transformed into a living world-force is supreme in the prophet.

Thus his return amounts to a kind of pragmatic test of the value of his religious experience. In its creative act the prophet’s will judges both itself and the world of concrete fact in which it endeavours to objectify itself. In penetrating the impervious material before him the prophet discovers himself for himself, and unveils himself to the eye of history. Another way of judging the value of a prophet’s religious experience, therefore, would be to examine the type of manhood that he has created, and the cultural world that has sprung out of the spirit of his message. In this lecture I want to confine myself to the latter alone. The idea is not to give you a description of the achievements of Islam in the domain of knowledge. I want rather to fix your gaze on some of the ruling concepts of the culture of Islam in order to gain an insight into the process of ideation that underlies them, and thus to catch a glimpse of the soul that found expression through them. Before, however, I proceed to do so it is necessary to understand the cultural value of a great idea in Islam - I mean the finality of the institution of prophethood.2 A prophet may be defined as a type of mystic consciousness in which ‘unitary experience’ tends to overflow its boundaries, and seeks opportunities of redirecting or refashioning the forces of collective life.

In his personality the finite centre of life sinks into his own infinite depths only to spring up again, with fresh vigour, to destroy the old, and to disclose the new directions of life. This contact with the root of his own being is by no means peculiar to man. Indeed the way in which the word WaÁâ (inspiration) is used in the Qur’«n shows that the Qur’«n regards it as a universal property of life;3 though its nature and character are different at different stages of the evolution of life. The plant growing freely in space, the animal developing a new organ to suit a new environment, and a human being receiving light from the inner depths of life, are all cases of inspiration varying in character according to the needs of the recipient, or the needs of the species to which the recipient belongs. Now during the minority of mankind psychic energy develops what I call prophetic consciousness - a mode of economizing individual thought and choice by providing ready-made judgements, choices, and ways of action. With the birth of reason and critical faculty, however, life, in its own interest, inhibits the formation and growth of non-rational modes of consciousness through which psychic energy flowed at an earlier stage of human evolution. Man is primarily governed by passion and instinct. Inductive reason, which alone makes man master of his environment, is an achievement; and when once born it must be reinforced by inhibiting the growth of other modes of knowledge. There is no doubt that the ancient world produced some great systems of philosophy at a time when man was comparatively primitive and governed more or less by suggestion. But we must not forget that this system-building in the ancient world was the work of abstract thought which cannot go beyond the systematization of vague religious beliefs and traditions, and gives us no hold on the concrete situations of life.
This was Iqbal's description of a nabi and his experience when he dwells to explore the reality. During this search He is aided by the universal forces termed as Malikah in Quran. He the Nabi is the station where a Man reaches through complex system of evolution specially designed by the Divine Agent or Universal Agency. And no other human being can attain that station by any means. Once He becomes a Nabi ( one standing at the highest station) his other job to do is to deliver what was entrusted to Him. This is the point where a Nabi assumes the role of a Rasool, contrary to the popular belief, Nabi and Rasool are the two aspects of the same person. He delivers to the mankind whatever was given to Him for the betterment of mankind and adds or subtracts nothing. This is why He is called "Ameen" and "Sadiq". Therefore for the purpose of understanding we can divide the roles of a Nabi into the following three categories. Role # 1- He delivers the Message to the mankind: see 5/67 Despite their opposition, O Rasool, you should continue delivering Allah’s message to mankind. If you do not do this you will fail to perform the function of a Rasool. Allah will safeguard your mission from evildoers (3/144). Those who deny the truth deprive themselves of the chance to follow the right path.

And while doing this job He does not adds or withholds from the message. 10/15 O Rasool! when Our verses are recited to these people those who do not believe in the law of Mukaf’at say: “Bring a Quran different from this or alter some of its provisions.” Say: “It is not for me to make any changes therein according to my wishes. I follow only that which is revealed to me. Indeed, I fear the chastisement of the Day of Reckoning if I go against my Rabb” (11/113, 17/46, 74, 29/51, 68/9). 17/73 Your opponents tried hard to lure you away from what We had revealed to you and cause you to substitute something else in Our name and thus take you as a friend. And Allaha also warned Him if he happened to be dishonest He would receive chastisement in double proportions. 10/74 Had you not adhered steadfastly to Our Laws, you might have leaned a little towards them (10/15, 11/113, 68/9). 10/75 In that case you would have tasted double chastisement in this world as well as in the next and you would not have found anyone as a helper against Allah. More severe warning. 69/44-46. There is no mixture of human ideas in the Wahi of Allah. If the Rasool had ever dared to attribute some (of his own) saying unto Us, we would have indeed seized him firmly grip by his right hand and deprived him of his ability and power to act. We would never have allowed his programme to progress; and would have made his faculties ineffective and his plans lifeless. The first one who puts his faith in the Divine message is no one but Rasool HImself. 39/11-14 11. Tell them, "(You can do whatever you like but) I have been commanded to obey the Divine Laws in such a way that it does not imply any obedience to others. 12. “And I have been commanded to be the first amongst those who submit to the Divine Laws. (In other words my task is not only to deliver the sermons, but as a first step to become subservient to these laws and thereafter, to invite others to follow and form a group of like minded people.)”
13. And tell them that, Allah's Law of Mukafat is such that (in terms of consequences no one is spared or given any sort of concession; and let alone others) if even I were to disobey these laws, I too will be unable to escape the chastisement on the Great Day (of Decisions). (If this is my own position, then how can I save others from facing the consequences. No one can help in this regard.) My note: see how Quran abolished the Aqeedah of "Shifaat" which muslims borrowed from Christianity. 14. “Therefore, I obey only the Divine Laws with full devotion (and you too had better do so). Role # 2: Until this point we were discussing the personal experience and honesty of Rasool that how faithful he has to be but this is not the only role he plays, Quran assigns Him an other job too. In the first role He received the message and delivered to the mankind as it is but then he goes a step further. His other job is more vital and that is to establish a system based on the Laws he had received. Because with out implementation the laws are nothing but lifeless words. The real purpose is to implement and practice these laws in such a way that a man gets freedom from the slavery of other men and finally Al-Deen becomes manifest in the physical world.

And when this system is established one is to follow none but Divine Laws, Rasool also follows these Laws along with other muslimeen. 7/3 O Jama’at-ul-Momineen follow only that which has been revealed to you by your Rabb and do not follow another ally. This course of life is clear but people generally do not follow it absolutely. And once this system is established there has to be a central authority. Who would be the Central Authority in an Islamic System ? 49/13 (The above social evils have been mentioned because some people consider themselves superior and try to belittle others. This attitude is also prevalent in other walks of life. For instance, men think that they are superior to women; or that certain families are more respectable than others. Both these concepts are wrong.) We have created humans in a manner that all of them are formed from a male and female (meaning that in every child, whether male or female, there is a portion of a man and a woman.
It is therefore incorrect to presume that men are superior to women; or that women as human beings are different from men). As regards various families or tribes, the objective (of different distinctions) is that you should be able to recognize each other. No tribe or family is superior to the other. According to the Divine Law the criteria to determine status or superiority is how closely and consciously one follows and guards the Divine Laws? And Who obeys Him more? The one whose whole life is in conformity with this criteria is most worthy of respect. The person may either be man or woman, or from any family or tribe. The criteria for superiority is not race or status, but personal character and behaviour. This is being told by the Almighty, Who knows well what superiority means and how it is earned. This is the criterion for someone to be an Imaam of that system. In the times when Rasool Himself is alive no one else can claim this status. Because Rasool is the most steadfast and in complete harmony to the Divine Laws. He knows more than anyone else.
He is the closest to Almighty. see 53-9 As a result of this closeness and unison, he became Almighty's companion in the human world, to fulfil His Programme (8:17). This closeness was similar to the strengthening of the bond of friendship, just like drawing two bows together, both appearing almost one and then together shooting the arrow. This example shows the close affinity between the Rasool and Allah the Almighty. In fact however, it was far stronger and deeper. However, He would implement these Divine Laws and would not enslave other human beings for his personal gain. 3/78-79 The fundamental principle of Deen is that no human being – even though Allah may have given him a Code of Laws or the power to enforce it or even Nubuwwat – has the right to say to the others: “You should obey me rather than Allah,” what he should say is: “You should be amongst those who belong to Allah by following His Book which you study and teach to others.” He should also no tell the others to worship Malaika or their Anbia. A Momin will never do so.

Do you think that after he has himself believed he would bid others to resort to Kufr? He would ask others to join hands to establish this system and then practice the Divine Laws collectively. No one other than Allah would be the Ruler of this state, only His Laws would be the criterion to judge between right and wrong and rest are the subjects of this Divine System. Rasool Himself is an Ab'd. 19/36 (As regards the Christian belief that Jesus was God himself, there cannot be a better argument than Jesus's own proclamation that) Verily Allah is my Sustainer and yours as well. All of us should obey Him, for this is most certainly the (only) straight and balanced path (3:50). Rasool is on the fore front of this group of adherents of Divine laws and hence Quran calls Him "AbdoHoo" He warns people about the dangerous consequences of their wrong decisions38/65 (O Rasool!) Tell them that I am giving you warning about the forthcoming doom. That I am also telling you again and again, that you should clearly understand that in the universe no one holds absolute authority and control except Allah. He alone is the source of all powers. When the system was established for the first time in the life time of Rasool, he was the Central Authority and he was deciding among them according to the Divine Laws. Therefore, the obedience of Laws given out from this Central Authority was called Ateeullah wa Ateeur Rasool. As we have discussed above Rasool says nothing of his own but delivers and implements the words of Allah with absolute honesty.
To understand Ateeullah and Ateeur Rasool in more depth, we should move to the Ayah 59 or Surah Nisaa O Jama’at-ul-Momineen you should obey the System established by the Rasool in accordance with Allah’s Laws, and obey the local authorities appointed by this Order. In case of a dispute with the local officers, an appeal can be made to the Order (the Central Government). This will constitute evidence that you believe in Allah and the Hereafter. This is the best and fairest way to reach a settlement. The misunderstanding of this ayah created a havoc and left the whole Ummah confused. According to the traditional understanding, one concludes from this ayah, as below. 1-Ateeullah means accepting the authority of Quran 2-Ateer Rasool is translated as accepting the authority of Ahadith 3-AtaaAt-e-Oolil A'mr means obeying the Government. And then it was concluded that if you have any disaccord with the Government regarding some issue then you should take Quran and Hadith and grab the neck of the Govt.Thats is a recipe to disaster and anarchy. No system would ever prevail if masses display this kind of behavior. Islam stands for discipline and this interpretation is no way in conformity with the Quranic education. Nevertheless, this ayah is very simple which denotes that to obey Allah and Rasool means to obey the Central Authority. Then it was Rasool and in the present day when Rasool is not among ourselves, it would be justly elected government which is comprised of those who are well versed in Quran and hold the highest character and follow the Divine Laws day and night. And Oolil A'mr means Governmental officer or those who implement laws. Furthermore, its also commanded if you happen to have difference of opinion with the local officers then refer this case to the Central Authority and accept the decision or verdict.4/83 These people are not habituated to a disciplined life.

Whenever they hear any news of peace or danger they broadcast it directly. Had they brought the news to the notice of the Rasool or the local authority, those who have been charged with the responsibility of scrutinising news would have found out the truth. Were it not for Allah’s goodness towards you, the majority amongst you would have followed Shait’an. Which means if something happens in Madina it would be notified to Rasool himself and if its out side Madina it would be brought into the attention of local officers. The point to note is that not every head of state of so called Islamic counties is the Central Authority but it will be he who will establish the Divine Law in its entirety. The First central Authority was Rasool Himself and now if someone follows the same footsteps and establishes the same kind of system will be the Central Authority. It should also be noted that a Rasool's job is to implement the laws and not devise new ones of his own. He was the central Authority and now Ummah which adopts the Quranic laws would be the Central Authority. And to establish this Law , momineen who are intoxicated with the knowledge of these laws are required , as no system can be established with out men.
Role # 3: Now we will move to discuss the third job of a Rasool which is teaching and training to produce a group of individuals who would be instrumental in establishing and sustaining the Divine System. see3/163 Allah has been gracious indeed to the Momineen when He raised from amongst their own people a Rasool who communicates His Laws to them, purifies and develops their character and teaches them the Book and its objectives. Hitherto, they were in a state of rank ignorance. This role was the most difficult one.
He had to train group of people who were indulged in ages old evil practices.It was not easy to make the arabs amend their ways and purify their hearts.Why it was important? The purpose of training and education is to equip someone with the tools to awaken the abilities which are there in their potential form and then utilize those abilities to produce positive and fruitful results. The purpose of revelation of Quran is to liberate humanity from all evils and slavery. This slavery is of two kinds. One physical and one spiritual. The physical slavery is easy to throw away, in the history of mankind many weaker nations were able to liberate themselves from occupation forces but the second type of slavery is extremely complex and difficult to get rid of. The slaves of religion/priesthood accept the slavery out of their own free will. If a slave is told by the master to run away, he would waste no second to do so but if a Peer tells his mureed to get out of his circle, he would consider it the worst moment of his life and would fall on his feet and beg him to keep him in his circle.

This was the purpose of Quran to liberate humanity from all kind of enslavement. And the enemy was priesthood. As Iqbal said: Chaist Quran? Khajah ra paigham-e-marg Dastgeeray banda'ay bay saazo barg This was His job to develop independence of thought and dynamic behavior.And this independence of thought is very vital for the human potential abilities to go through the stages of evolution. Mental slavery is the biggest obstruction on this way of human liberation and Quran elevated this bar and brought freedom to the subjects of unjust system. Despite all these superior roles, He was repeatedly introduced as a Human being and not some super natural being. 10/2 Do these people wonder why We have charged one of them to warn human beings of the consequences of their wrong-doings and offer glad tidings to those who believe in His Laws that they shall have a high rank with their Rabb?
These people think that the Rasool should be superhuman. Hence they demand miracles from him and when he does not perform them they declare that he is a liar. also see 18/110 And say to them: “I am a human being like you with the only difference that it has been revealed to me that the entire authority rests with Allah - the one, let him who believes in His law of Mukaf’at do that which is right, and not to obey anyone other than Allah - and thus associate any authority with Him.” He lived like a common human being and did whatever every one else was doing, he ate, drank and walked like anyone else. There was nothing in His life which could be called Super natural. see25/7 (After levelling charges against the Quran they raise objections against the Rasool and say), “What kind of Rasool is he, who eats, drinks and moves around in the streets (like other human beings). (They think a Rasool should be a supernatural being and that) An angel should have been sent down with him; to warn people that if they did not listen to him they would be destroyed. He lived like a normal human being and then departed like any one else, see 6/50 The truthfulness of Our Laws can be understood and appreciated by observing these universal signs.
However these people still insist that the Rasool must produce signs which are different from natural phenomena, to show that he is someone supernatural. Tell them the Rusul are also like other human beings; they eat and drink and then pass away. Even before you We did not create any human being who would live forever. Just as you have to die one day, they too are not going to live forever! He does not even possess some secret knowledge of unseen, see 6/50 O Rasool, say to them: “I do not assert before you that I possess the treasures of Allah or have knowledge of the unseen. Neither do I assert that I am a malak. I only say that I receive Allah’s revelation which I follow myself.” Ask them “Is one who is blind at par with one who is seeing? Do you not reflect upon this?” He can not even interfere in the functioning of natural laws, he has no control over his own profit or loss except that what a common man possesses using the basic human intellect and will. see 7/188 O Rasool tell them: “I have not even the power to have control over what may be helpful or hurtful to me personally. All this is determined by Allah’s laws. If I had knowledge of the unknown I could have accumulated much that was good for me and seen to it that no ill touched me.

I am only a warner and announcer of glad tidings to those who believe in Allah.” His job is only to show the right path and has no control over people to make them go the way he is inviting them to. see 28/56 O Rasool! Your mission is to keep on delivering the right message to these people. As regards making the people adopt the right course, that is not your responsibility. In fact it is not even within your reach that every one whom you would like to take the right path necessarily adopts it. (2:272.) The only person who would take the right path, is one who himself wishes to do so. (How can one come to the right path when he does not want to utilize his human faculties of intellect and reason, and intead follows a path with his eyes closed. (10:99-100.) Allah knows very well who the people taking the right path, after thinking about it, are. Now we enter a very critical point where Quran abolishes the "Hero Worship" once for all. Hold you heart and read this beautiful ayah 3/144 Take note that the system based on eternal principles is not shaken by the death of an individual, no matter how important his position may be. This principle applies even to as great a personality as Muhammad (peace be upon him). He is no more than a Rasool from Allah.
Rusul before him have passed away. If he dies or is slain, will you then turn on your heels thinking that the system is finished? Whosoever does so will not harm Allah in any way. Allah will reward those who remain steadfast out of their conviction that the system does not depend upon personalities and will continue as long as the Book of Allah is followed. Is there any place left for Hero worship? This was Quran but lets see what kind of independence of thought this Trainer/Educator had developed among his followers. When Rasoolullah saw passed away there was a havoc and crises. Every one was sad and depressed and uncertainty and worries inflicted great misery on muslims. In that time of crises this greatest Student of Rasool who is known as Syedna Abu Bak'r stood up and said," O' People!Whosoever, had held Mohammad as his Mahbood must know that his mahbood has departed. But whosoever took Allah as his Mahbood should be aware that He is ever living and death would not come to Him." and then he recited 3/144. Rasool saw was the recipient of revelation of Quran and was the Central Authority in the system of Deen. Quran is preserved safely and its integrity is guaranteed by Allah swt therefore Mohammad's Risaalat is also preserved for ever. However, the position of Central Authority is now transferred to the right full Ummah. Now a nation or people who will take Quran as their Guide and will strive to establish the Divine System in its pure and pristine form would be the Central Authority. In spite of all these roles, He was a person also and he was prone to make mistakes in his personal capacity .

A mistake was made regarding the prisoners in the battle of Bad'r, Quran did not over look it and right away admonished, 8/67 O Jama’at-ul-Momineen! you wanted as many prisoners of war as you could have in order to secure their ransom. It does not behove your Rasool to do this since he is waging war in order to accomplish the Divine purpose and not for the fleeting gains of the world - Allah looks to your future as well as your present for He is not only Mighty but also Wise. Later on, during Ghuzwa-e-Tabook, Rasool saw let some people stay back, with out proper investigation, Qurans says: 9/43 O Rasool, Allah forgive you! why did you permit them so readily to stay away? If you had waited for a while they would have exposed themselves and thus given you an opportunity to tell apart those who were truly staunch in their Ei’man and those who were liars. At one occasion Rasool saw promised to himself not to eat something, Quran again corrected him, 66/1 O Nabi! Given whatever Allah Almighty has made legal for you, why did you impose prohibitions on yourself just to please your wives? (You have been warned so that) You should not have shortage of protection and development (which would be a natural consequence of declaring things legal or illegal). This is important because your actions do not remain confined to your person. You may leave something because you do not like it; but your followers might think that this thing is intrinsically bad and therefore forbid it for themselves. Therefore you have to be extra cautious.