This letter, written to the Naqîb Sayyid Shaikh Farîd, explains that all Prophets ‘alaihimussalâm’ taught the same îmân:
May Allâhu ta’âlâ protect us and you against bifurcating from your exalted fathers’ ‘rahmatullâhi ’alaihim ajma’în’ way! Salâm to the highest of your fathers and to all the others!
Allâhu ta’âlâ has guided men to the way of eternal salvation through Prophets ‘alaihimu ’s-salâm’, and has thereby saved them from endless torment. Had it not been for these beings, Prophets ‘alaihimu ’s-salâm’, Allâhu ta’âlâ would not have intimated His person or attributes to anybody. Nobody would have known of Allâhu ta’âlâ; nobody could have found a way to Him. The commands and prohibitions of Allâhu ta’âlâ would not have been known. Allâhu ta’âlâ is Ghanî. That is, He does not need anything. Pitying men, He has done them a favour by sending them commands and prohibitions. The benefits of the commands and prohibitions are for men. They do not render any advantage to Allâhu ta’âlâ. Allâhu ta’âlâ does not need them. Had it not been for Prophets, what Allâhu ta’âlâ likes and what He
dislikes could not have been known or distinguished from each other. Then, the sending of Prophets ‘alaihimu ’s-salâm’ is a great blessing. Whose tongue could express thanks for this blessing? Who could show this gratitude? We thank our Allah, who has sent us every blessing, who has allowed us to learn the Islamic faith, and who has blessed us with the fortune of believing in Prophets ‘alaihimussalâtu wassalâm’.
The essentials, the fundamentals of the religions of all Prophets are the same; they are not different; they all said the same thing. What they said about Allah’s person and attributes, about Hashr [assembling at the square of Arasat after rising from the graves], about Neshr [dispersing and leaving for Paradise or Hell after the settling of accounts], about Prophets, about the sending of an angel, about the revelation of books through an angel, about the infinite blessings in Paradise and the endless torment in Hell are all the same. Their words agree with each other. But their teachings about the halâl and the harâm and worships, that is, their teachings pertaining to the furű’ât (practices), are different; they do not agree with each other.
In one age, Allâhu ta’âlâ revealed the commandments suitable for the times and states of the people of that age to a Prophet who was ulűl’azm (distinguished as the highest), and commanded the people to obey him. For many reasons and benefits, Allâhu ta’âlâ made changes in the rules of the Sharî’at. Many a time, He sent the same Prophet possessing the same Sharî’at different commandments for different times. That is, He abolished or changed His former commandments some time later.
One of the never-changing principles which all Prophets stated unanimously is not to worship anything other than Allâhu ta’âlâ,
not to attribute a partner to Allâhu ta’âlâ, not to idolize creatures for others to worship. Only Prophets stated this fact. No one was honoured with this fortune except those who followed them. No one except Prophets stated this fact. A group of those who disbelieved Prophets said that Allâhu ta’âlâ is one; yet they either said so by hearing it from Muslims or meant that the one with indispensable existence is one. They did not say that only He is to be worshipped. However, Muslims say that He is the only One who is both indispensable and deserves being worshipped. “Lâ ilâha illâ-Allah” means that there is no deity besides Allâhu ta’âlâ who is to be worshipped. He, alone, is to be worshipped.
The second fact which these great people unanimously stated is that they know themselves as human beings like everybody, and that only Allâhu ta’âlâ is to be worshipped. They invited everybody to worshipping Him only. They stated that Allâhu ta’âlâ has not united with anything, that He has not settled in any substance. But those who disbelieved the Prophets did not say so; especially their chiefs tried to have themselves worshipped, and said, “Allâhu ta’âlâ has entered us. He is in us.” Thus, they were not ashamed to say that they were to be worshipped, that they were gods. Exempting themselves from their duties as slaves of Allâhu ta’âlâ, they committed all sorts of heinous and evil deeds. By assuming the status of a god, they thought that they could be irresponsible, that they could
trespass upon anything, that they could not be prohibited from anything. Assuming that all their words were true, that they would never go wrong, that they could do anything they wanted, they went wrong, misleading others, too. May such base people be accursed. And shame upon those idiots who believed them!
Another fact which Prophets ‘alaihimussalâm’ stated unanimously is that an angel was sent to them. None of those who denied the Prophets was blessed with this high luck. Angels are certainly innocent. That is, certainly they do their duties correctly. They are never wrong, evil, or dirty. They convey the Wahy without changing or forgetting it. They carry Allah’s word.
So, every word that the Prophets ‘alaihimussalawâtu wattaslîmât’ uttered is from Allâhu ta’âlâ. Every commandment or information which they brought is from Allâhu ta’âlâ. Also, every word which they said by ijtihâd was confirmed by way of Wahy. When they made an insignificant mistake in their ijtihâd, Allâhu ta’âlâ sent Wahy immediately and corrected them. On the other hand, every word of those disbelievers who denied Prophets
and imposed themselves as gods and had people worship them by saying, “We have created, rescued you,” were from themselves. They presumed their words to be true. Now, let us be reasonable! If a stupid, ignorant person thinks of himself as a god, commands others to worship him, and does every kind of evil, harmful deed, is he to be believed? Is he to be followed? Translation of a Persian line:
It is known by the Spring how much fruit the year will yield.
We have explained the matter in detail in order that it will be understood clearly. It might as well go without saying that right is different from wrong, and that light is different from dark. As a matter of fact, Allâhu ta’âlâ declares in the eighty-first âyat of the Sűrat-u-Isrâ: “When truth comes, falsehood runs away. Falsehood always goes.” O our Allah; keep us in the way of those great people! Âmîn.
You know Sayyid Mayân Pîr Kamâl well. It would be needless for us to write anything in this respect. Yet it could not go without saying that for some time I have been enjoying his company. He was desirous to kiss the threshold of your door. But lately he has become ill and bedridden. After recovering he will be honoured with your service and presence.