It is well known that Prophethood and all the realities surrounding a man’s being a Prophet comprise a specific grant from Allah Almighty to His Prophets. Just as Prophethood was granted specifically to Prophets, exclusive of others, so the levels and rewards granted to sincere worshippers in the last time are granted specifically to them, and not to others. Grandsheikh never said that they would be granted Prophethood or levels above Prophethood, but only that those who held firmly to their religion in this time will be rewarded as no one before them was rewarded for their actions, even Prophets. You must understand this.
Look at the following example, which will illustrate our point: the great kings and monarchs of the past never witnessed nor enjoyed many of the things that our modern civilization has produced — inventions which even the peasants of our time use and benefit from. The emperors of the past tired themselves and caused others to tire for them; but in our times, villagers enjoy conveniences that great kings of the past never dreamed of.
Despite this, however, we can’t say that the peasants of our time have attained grandeur and high levels exceeding those of the kings of the past -— no, those kings are on their own and higher level. But from the specific point of view of what they attained from the particular conveniences of the modern civilization, we can say that they didn’t attain them — they never saw them and never enjoyed them — it wasn’t opened up to them. But the people of our times and be they unbelievers, hypocrites, ignoramuses or simpletons, have at their fingertips what no king had two hundred years ago. This doesn’t mean that they outdid the kings — no.
The very fact that worshipers and doers of good actions in this time will be rewarded in such a way indicates the fact that Allah’s attribute of endless, expansive all-embracing mercy is being opened by Him Almighty to the fallen people of this time. For, were He not to open the gates of His Mercy completely and most widely in this time we would all be doomed to destruction and Divine condemnation — all of us, from the first of us to the last — as a result of the all-pervasiveness of depravity, affliction, tyranny and unbelief in these times. But because those mercy gates are wide open, those of us who cling to the Islamic Law and beliefs, and especially those who hold to the Prophet’s Sunnah, will attain special stations that weren’t opened to earlier people not even to the Prophet’s Companions.
But ignoramuses among the so-called ‘learned’ of our time; people who don’t have the ability or the desire to interpret sayings correctly, and who are driven by their pride and envy to always try to find fault, will object, and did object (at the time the original Arabic version of this booklet was published). The view of such people is like the view of flies, who are always busy searching for wounds and pus on the bodies of animals and men to descend upon. Just like flies, the people of our time look for any mistake one might make, for any slip of the tongue or for any statement that might lend itself to being twisted in such a way as to provide them with an opportunity to condemn and rail against the one who said it.
To have such an attitude is opposed to the teachings of Islam; for Islam teaches us that to sometimes ignore what another believer says (especially if there is a likelihood that you simply missed the point or are not on a level to grasp it) is obligatory for Muslims. In this way we may either ignore the utterances of the Saints that are incomprehensible to us, or else we may try to search for the correct and sound interpretation of those startling sayings. The former attitude (ignoring the statements) is acceptable, as it at least keeps one from attacking knowledge that is above one’s head, and from claiming that it is no knowledge at all (i.e. like the man whose headache was cured with aspirin and then condemned the whole pharmacy full of medicines as being useless and unnecessary). But the latter attitude (to look for the good and correct interpretation) is better, as it opens one up to higher knowledge — that is the attitude of the real seeker of truth.
The matter which Grandsheikh mentioned here (that of the special ranks to be given to the loyal of the last times) is mentioned in the Qur’an and Sunnah. But despite the fact that they banter the terms “Qur’an and Sunnah” around so much,they don’t seem to really look at those sources — and even if they did they would see nothing and be able to draw no valid conclusions, as they have not been given the gift or “fiqh”, or clear understanding (the ability to draw the correct conclusions from the given information and circumstances). It is, indeed. as Allah says in the Qur’an:
“And we opened up the understanding of it (i.e. a difficult question of jurisprudence) to Solomon.”
Until they follow in the footsteps of the Prophet Solomon they will have no understanding.
Allah Almighty has given rights and authority to the one who is in the right; and so, in these matters, we have been given authority — authority to stave off the enemies of religion, the enemies of Sufism, the enemies of the people of Truth, the enemies of Allah’s Saints. Whoever declare war on Allah’s Saints, Allah in turn, declares war on him.
Those misguided people should fear Allah, as He has said in a Holy Hadith:
“I declare war on those who harm My Saints.”
Those who Object to the sayings of the People of Truth never attain anything, they are in reality, fighting the Invincible Allah, Who punishes them with debasement here and hereafter.
