MUSLIM DIGEST PROVIDES EVIDENCETHAT RASHAD KHALIFA IS THE APOSTLE OF THE COVENANT

The

Muslim Digest

INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE OF MUSLIM AFFAIRS

Founded by His Eminence MOHAMMED ABDUL ALEEM SIODIQUE, AL-QADERI

Vol. 38, No. 9 & 10 Ramadan 1408 April/May, 1988

THE PROPHET
OF THE
COVENANT

By HASAN M. RAWAT. M.A.
Of Barolia, Gujarat, India.

The writer

BEHOLD! Allah took the Covenant from the prophets (in the world of souls before the creation of Adam) saying:"I give you a Book and Wisdom. Then comes to you an Apostle confirming what is with you; do ye believe in him and render him help." Allah said: "Do ye agree and take this covenant as binding on you?" They said, "(Yes), We agree." He (Allah) said, "Then bear witness and I am with you among the witnesses." (Sura Al-i-Imran: Verse 81 Qur’an).

When Allah made this solemn covenant with His prophets about an Apostle to come, that Apostle should not only be the best and the most important, but also the last to come, so He (Allah) gathered His prophets and made a covenant with them. The prophets agreed with Him. The Apostle of the Covenant was Muhammad (s.a.w.). Hazrat Ali ibn Abi Talib (R.A.) and Abd-Allah ibn Abbas said that this Mithaq- e -Nabiyyin (Covenant of the Prophets) was for Muhammad (s.a.w.). Allama Subki says that all the prophets promised to believe in the prophethood of Muhammad (s.a.w.) and advise their followers to have faith in his (Muhammad's) prophethood; and, as such, they would be counted as members of his (Muhammad's) Ummah. So he was the prophet of all the prophets. The words: ثُمَّ جَاءَكُمْ "Then comes to you") indicates that such a great Apostle was to come as the last of all of them.

The words: مُصَدِّقٌ لِمَا مَعَكُمْ also say that he will vouchsafe all the knowledge given to the' prophets of the past; and thereby, too, it is suggested that he will come as the last of all the prophets.

So the Apostle of Allah said: "If Nabi Musa (A.S.) were alive he would have no alternative but to obey me."

And when Nabi Isa (A.S.) descends (in his second advent), he will follow the teachings of the Qur'an and the Prophet Muhammad's (s.a.w.) commands. (lbn Kathir).

In the Covenant of the Prophets with Allah the prophets gave Him the promise to fulfil the duties of their prophethood, help one another, vouchsafing one another's truthfulness, and announce to their peoples that Muhammad (S) is the last prophet of Allah and there is no prophet after him (Muzhari).

THE PROPHET OF THE PROPHECIES OF THE PROPHETS
The Ahle' Kitab (The Jews and the Christians) knew about the Apostle of the Covenant from their Scriptures (Pentateuch and Evangel of the
April/May, 1988 THE MUSLIM DIGEST Page 199

An article entitled "THE PROPHET OF THE COVENANT" was published in the latest issue of South Africa's MUSLIM DIGEST. Hasan Rawat bases his whole article on Verse 3:81. As shown in the photocopied portion of the article, Mr. Rawat acknowledges that Allah has taken a covenant from the prophets, whereby they pledged to believe in and support an apostle who will come after them. Mr. Rawat's basic understanding of 3:81 was correct. However, his identification of Muhammad as that particular apostle was founded on a number of glaring mistakes:

(1) Mr. Rawat's mistakes begin with the title of his article; Verse 3:81 proclaims the advent of an "apostle" (Rasool) who will confirm all the "prophets" (Nabis). The correct title should have been "THE APOSTLE (RASOOL) OF THE COVENAT," since the Verse talked about "Rasool" (messenger or apostle ), not a "Nabi" (prophet).

(2) The prophet Muhammad certainly was a prophet (Nabi), the final prophet, and must be included in "the prophets" (Nabiyyeen) of 3:81. Verse 3:81 talks about "THE PROPHETS" without any exclusions. It does not say "the previous prophets," or "the prophets prior to Muhammad," or any such exceptions. Why did Hasan Rawat exclude Muhammad from "the prophets"? This is his second glaring mistake.

(3) Obviously, Mr. Rawat is not at all aware that the Qur'an did specifically tell us that Muhammad was one of the prophets who gave that solemn pledge to God. God of course knew that some people, like Mr. Rawat, will exalt Muhammad beyond the truth, and make him the "Apostle of the Covenant." Consequently, God's infinite wisdom saw to it that Muhammad is specifically shown to have been one of those prophets who pledged to support the APOSTLE OF THE COVENANT. Verse 7 in Sura 33 tells the world that Muhammad was one of the prophets who made that historic pledge: "We took a covenant from all the prophets; from you (Muhammad),

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