We believe that before Prophet Muhammad, all the other Prophets came for a certain group of people or a certain area. And if at the time, first part is, did these Prophets know that they were only for a certain group of people or a certain area? And the second part is, if these Prophets were, for some reason, had to leave the area like the Prophet Jesus, who had to leave the area, did they still preach to the other group of people they went to, since it is evident that Christianity is not so evident in areas apart from the Israel and around there? Well, there are three questions in fact, not two now.
The last observation is a question in itself. First of all, I should draw your attention to an earlier session where I answered this question. According to my study of the Holy Qur’an, although earlier Prophets were sent initially to certain people, certain tribes living in certain regions, but the message was not limited to them alone. And the people living along with them were also addressed. For instance, you can find no better proof than the treatment of what happened during the time of Moses. The Holy Qur’an has treated this subject in detail, in so much detail that seldom do you find a Prophet discussed in the Holy Qur’an as Moses was.
And it is made very clear that he was sent to Israelites to relieve the Israelites of the burdens and the atrocities committed against them. Yet he addresses Pharaoh and invites him to believe in him and his God, while Pharaoh did not belong to Israelites. He was the oppressor, not the oppressed. So despite the fact that the main purpose of his appearance, his having been sent down by God, was to deliver a message to Israelites, but non-Israelites were also addressed and expected to believe in him. And when Pharaoh is known to have denied him, Pharaoh is known to have rejected him, the Holy Qur’an condemns this attitude and condemns him to hell for this reason.
If he was not to be addressed potentially, why should the Holy Qur’an have cared to tell us that because of his rejection he was condemned to destruction and doomed to be a hellish soul? Again the Holy Qur’an gives us another evidence of a different nature. This is the evidence of a negative nature, now I come to the evidence of a positive nature. The Holy Qur’an tells us that when Pharaoh and or certain people of the hierarchy of the government were planning to murder Moses, one of their people, who did not belong to the people of Moses, but belonged to the people of Pharaoh, who had believed in Moses, but was concealing his faith, approached them and told them to behave with common sense.
The verse I have in mind says, He addressed his people and said, why do you plan to murder Moses? Either of the two things are correct, either he is a liar or he is a truthful person. If he is a liar, then you will not be punished by God, he will be answerable to God. What is it to you? If he is a liar, he is lying against God, this is the spirit of this. If he is a false person, his falsehood will be measured against him, he will be punished for that falsehood, not you. So you have nothing to do with a false person. But look at the other alternative. If he happens to be a truthful person, a righteous person, then certainly some of what he warns you against, he is going to follow you, he is going to catch up with you, he is going to destroy you.
Now what a beautiful statement, whenever somebody claims to be a prophet, this is the correct attitude according to the Holy Quran, and such a wise, deep statement made by one of the followers of Moses, who did not belong to the Israelites, this is the relevant issue, who belonged to the people of Pharaoh, not the people of Moses, this has been mentioned in the Holy Quran. So from the positive evidence as well as the negative evidence, we can prove, roundly prove in fact, that although the earlier prophets were for certain tribes, or certain regions, but people other than those tribes and those regions, living generally there, once the message was delivered, they were also the addressees. This had to be like this.
The very first episode, which is mentioned in the Holy Quran, regarding what passed between God and angels and Satan before man was created, also speaks, there is no mention of Satan in the first order. But suddenly the Holy Quran tells us that all the angels obeyed the order of God and prostrated while they were addressed. But Satan did not. If he was not included in the addressees, why should he have been punished for his rejection of the order, for his disobedience?
The Holy Quran categorically states that Allah gave this order to Malaika, to the angels. And then it says Satan was punished because he did not obey like the angels. And he was one of the rebellious. So that again proves the point, that when revelation is made, revelation of God, the angels who are secondary in importance, or tertiary in importance, they also fall under the order, under the realm of that order, and they have to believe in that prophet which came in that region. Because light is particularly focused on certain people, but is also diffused and shed upon the rest.
The beam does not lighten up only the spot of the wall on which it is directed, but also it illuminates the whole room and the atmosphere around. This is the sort of phenomena of revelation. Hazrat Masih Maud A.S. has gone further ahead in explaining this phenomena most beautifully. Hazrat Masih Maud A.S. has revealed to us that when a prophet is born, a created, when revelation is made to him, it is not only the religious world which is illuminated around him, but it is also the material world which is recipient of that light, which is of course subdued as compared to that, but is enough to enlighten the whole world, materially as well.
So, Hazrat Masih Maud A.S. has mentioned that whenever a prophet appears, look for a new era in scientific advancements and philosophical advancements as well. An era of development would be connected with the coming of Moses. Another era of development would be connected with the coming of Jesus. Another era, and a much larger one, would be connected with the coming of Hazrat Muhammad Mustafa A.S. A new era of scientific developments and light and philosophy all emerged.
In his second advent, when his perfect slave, Hazrat Masih Maud A.S. came, you know, a completely new era started. In fact, all the modern inventions which are worth the song, which have benefited the mankind, started after Hazrat Masih Maud A.S.’s birth and particularly got accelerated when Hazrat Masih Maud A.S. was making his claim, when he was a recipient of that revelation. So, it extends, the light of revelation extends beyond the religious borders to the profane borders, to the worldly borders as well.
This is why, perhaps, once the light reaches somebody, whether he is initially addressed or not, if he begins to see it, he is bound to accept the dictates of light. For instance, people are sitting in darkness, or walking in darkness, and you bring light for the sake of your son. Would they not benefit from that light, because it was not brought for their sake? Would they keep on tumbling and misstepping and falling in pits and so on and so forth, because the light was not originally brought for their sake? No. If they don’t follow the benefits of light, they will suffer. And this is the punishment, according to the religious terminology, which one is meted out after the rejection of truth.
They begin to see things, they begin to see the truth, yet they reject. So for the rejection of truth, there has to be a punishment, whether initially you are addressed or not. After he finishes, you know, it’s only the first part of the first question. You are such a father, such a son. Just one point on that. What my question, I think, more was that if the Prophet leaves the area, would he still keep on… I’m coming to that now. That was the second part of your first question.
Can I mention one more thing you just mentioned? Sorry, sir. You said that when God addressed Malika and Satan was punished for not accepting, I thought our belief was that Satan was one of the angels as well. No, no. He was not. Because the Holy Quran itself says the angel was from among the jinn. So how can you believe in contradiction to the statement… Satan, Satan, I’m sorry, what did I say? Iblis. Iblis. Iblis. Iblis, who is mentioned in the first place, he belonged to the species of jinn. Malika, not jinn, whatever jinn be. I mean, that’s not the discussion.
So against this categorical statement of the Holy Quran, how can you believe that he belonged to the angels? He was not. Yet he was punished for defying the orders. So the second part, no, Dr. Syed, please wait. Don’t you know that son of Mr. Bashir Hayat has taken the floor? He won’t quit easily. The second question which he raised was, if a prophet travels, what happens to his mission and to his law? The same is the answer. If he travels, he travels only to those people to whom he has come to address initially. He’s responsible only for those people. But those who hear his voice, they become responsible to believe in him as well. Like the phenomenon of truth, as I mentioned.
So wherever a prophet goes, whoever listens to his voice and begins to see light, he becomes answerable automatically. What happened to Jesus Christ, peace be upon him, after he travelled to Kashmir, was this, that at that time, according to the historical evidence from Buddhism, the Buddhs were expecting a new incarnation of Buddha, exactly in that age. And because Buddhist teachings were very similar to the teachings of Jesus Christ, peace be upon him, so Jesus Christ was accepted as that Buddha. And not by mistake.
I believe it was ordained. I believe that in the second phase of Jesus’s life, he was ordained to act the role of Buddha, in that region where earlier the Israelites had migrated to. So he performed both the role of a Jesus, of a Christ, as well as a Buddha in those regions. This is why in the Nepalese inscriptions, new evidence has been unearthed to prove that it was Jesus himself who was believed to be the Buddha of that age. And Jesus’s name is also mentioned now. New evidence is coming forward. I have got a book on this subject. Perhaps one day I will ask somebody to, maybe Naeem Usman himself, to prepare a gist and enlighten you.
So that shows that Buddhism got mixed up with Christianity. And because they believed in Jesus Christ as a Buddha, so the name Buddha was already known and popular with them, so it remained, and the second part was alien to them anyway. So it got subdued and receded into background. But in the old inscriptions it is still found. That also solves the issue of the concept of virgin birth attributed to Buddha. In fact, it was attributed to the second Buddha, Hazrat Masih himself, not to the first Buddha. But later on people got confused and they attributed the issue of virgin birth to the first Buddha.
While everything about Hazrat Masih A.S. is found in form of tales and some statements in the Buddhist literature, so people are always surprised, even the Western scholars, they are really wonder-stricken why this happens. And some of them take the view that perhaps Jesus Christ went there before, but then it still does not solve the question. If he went there before the crucifixion, why that issue of crucifixion also got into that literature? And some believe that there is no Jesus Christ.
A myth was created because it was introduced from India into Palestine, that is the Buddhist teachings or tales were introduced, and a myth was woven in Palestine about a Christ imitating the person of Buddha. So many people have opined differently on this issue, but the real answer lies in this direction as I have mentioned. Have both the parts of your question been answered?
