The Seventh Flash

The second way: the phrase

مَثَلُهُمْ فِى التَّوْرٰيةِAnd their description in the Gospel...

also gives the following news:

The SahābahThe Companions of Prophet Muhammad (saw); Muslims who met him, believed in him, and died as Muslims. and the generation following them would reach such a degree in worship that the radiance of their spirits would shine upon their faces, and a seal of walāyahThe spiritual state of a person who has attained high spiritual ranks., brought about by countless prostrations, would become visible upon their foreheads.

Indeed, the future confirmed this foretelling with complete clarity and certainty. During tremendous fitnahsTrials, tribulations, or periods of turmoil and discord that test a person’s faith and steadfastness. and political turmoil, many eminent figures—such as Zayn al-ĀbidīnGreat-grandson of the Prophet Muhammad (saw) and son of Husayn ibn Ali, renowned for his piety and devotion., who performed a thousand rak‘ahsThe units of prayer (salāh), each consisting of a prescribed sequence of standing, bowing, prostrating, and sitting. of prayer by night and day, and Tāwūs al-YamanīA renowned early Muslim scholar and Tābiī from Yemen, known for his knowledge, piety, and devotion., who for forty years performed the morning prayer with the ablution of the night prayer—displayed the mystery of:

مَثَلُهُمْ فِى التَّوْرٰيةِAnd their description in the Gospel...

The Seventh Aspect

The verse:

وَمَثلُهُمْ فِى اْلاِنْجِيلِ كَزَرْعٍ اَخْرَجَ شَطْئَهُ فَاٰزَرَهُ فَاسْتَغْلَظَ فَاسْتَوٰى عَلٰى سُوقِهِ يُعْجِبُ الزُّرَّاعَ لِيَغِيظَ بِهِمُ الْكُفَّارَAnd their description in the Gospel is like a seed that puts forth its shoot, then strengthens it, so that it grows thick and stands firmly upon its stem, delighting the sowers. In this way, He causes the disbelievers to be enraged by them.

contains, in two respects, a foretelling from the ghaybThe unseen; that which is hidden from human perception and knowledge..

The first respect: it reports the foretelling in the Gospel concerning the SahābahThe Companions of Prophet Muhammad (saw); Muslims who met him, believed in him, and died as Muslims., which, for the unlettered Prophet (saw)Sallallāhu alayhi wa sallam (Peace and blessings be upon him), belonged to the ghaybThe unseen; that which is hidden from human perception and knowledge. and was unknown.

Indeed, there are verses in the Gospel concerning the Prophet (saw)Sallallāhu alayhi wa sallam (Peace and blessings be upon him) who would come at the end of time, such as:

مَعَهُ قَضِيبٌ مِنْ حَدِيدٍ وَ اُمَّتُهُ كَذَلِكَHe has with him an iron staff, and his community is likewise.

That is to say, unlike Īsā (as)One of the great prophets and messengers of Allah, born miraculously to Maryam (Mary) without a father and sent to the Children of Israel., there would come a Prophet who would bear the sword and be charged with jihādStriving and exerting oneself for the sake of Allah; a broad Islamic concept that includes spiritual and moral struggle and, under specific circumstances, armed struggle., and his SahābahThe Companions of Prophet Muhammad (saw); Muslims who met him, believed in him, and died as Muslims. too would bear the sword and be charged with jihādStriving and exerting oneself for the sake of Allah; a broad Islamic concept that includes spiritual and moral struggle and, under specific circumstances, armed struggle..

The one possessing the “staff of iron” would become the leader of the world. For elsewhere in the Gospel it is written: “I am departing so that the leader of the world may come.” In other words, the leader of the world is coming.

Thus it is understood from these two passages of the Gospel that the SahābahThe Companions of Prophet Muhammad (saw); Muslims who met him, believed in him, and died as Muslims., though at first few in number and weak, would grow like seeds: they would sprout, rise, thicken, and gain strength. Then, at the time when the unbelievers’ rage would be made to choke them, they would subdue mankind with their swords and prove that their leader, the Prophet (saw)Sallallāhu alayhi wa sallam (Peace and blessings be upon him), is the leader of the world. These passages from the Gospel express exactly the meaning of the above verse of SurahChapter of the Qur’an. al-Fath.