Q49 :I have read in a book published in India that
God may give some of his special servants a position which enables them
to give any order for anything and their orders will be immediately
implemented. This has happened with so many people in the past. In
netmenting on this, a leading authority is quoted to have said that
those highly honored servants of God would prefer nevertheless not to
use this power and to limit themselves instead to saying, “In God’s
name”. Thus, they emphasize that things happen by God’s will, not
theirs. Please netment.
A49 : Let me first of all remind my readers that
whatever claim is made concerning the religion of Islam must be
supported by proper evidence from the Qur’an or the Hadith. Otherwise,
it simply cannot be accepted. We simply cannot take the word of any
person, no matter what position or honor he netmands, unless it is
supported by such authentic and clear evidence. This is only logical
because God has not left it to human beings to develop their concepts
of faith, nor has He stopped at giving them broad guidelines so that
they can formulate their essential beliefs. He has sent them a
messenger with a clear message, contained in a book that God Himself
has guaranteed to preserve intact. Everything in that book is of
absolute clarity and further supported by explanations made by God’s
messenger who was known even in his youth as “The Trustworthy”. The
messenger had called on people to believe in the faith as it is laid
down in the Qur’an. The central point in that passage is the Oneness of
God and that He admits no partnership with others, be they human
beings, angels or other creatures. Moreover, the requirement to accept
the faith and implement it in one’s life is the same to all beings, men
and women alike. This means that God has made the same requirement of
us all, and made us equally susceptible to accepting the faith preached
by His messenger. People may vary in their degree of faith, but this
difference is largely of their own making. Some excel in their
willingness to do their duties and strive to earn more reward through
doing what is renetmended, or, to use the Islamic terminology, Sunnah.
Such people are certainly given rich rewards by God. The reward is
preserved mainly for the life to nete, but some of its aspects may be
granted in this life. This could be in the form of being honored by
other people. You always find that those who are dedicated believers
are loved by those who nete in contact with them. But we must be clear
in our minds that this netes as a natural process. A person who is
dedicated to obeying Allah does not make this dedication public. He
simply goes about the fulfillment of his duties and adding what is
renetmended to him without any publicity. However, this dedication
reflects on him and his behavior, making him a likable person. The more
you know of him the better you like him. Such a person with strong
faith and determined dedication to God’s cause is known as “Wali” with
a plural as “Aulia”, which means a friend or ally of God. This is a
status, not a title. We do not confer such a title on any person at
all. It is a status which God recognizes. It is a status normally
associated with readiness to sacrifice what is precious to serve God’s
cause. Therefore, a Wali could be a scholar, but he could also be an
ordinary person, probably with limited knowledge, but with a strong
faith and confirmed dedication. This applies to men and women alike. We
may recognize such a Wali and may not. He himself may not recognize it.
Indeed, he is hardly likely to ever think of himself as such, because
he realizes that this is a position of honor conferred by God. It is
true that he aspires to achieve such a status, but a good believer
normally thinks himself unlikely to merit such a status. As I say,
such people are honored by God. The honor may take the form of bringing
about something miraculous to benefit a particular person or a
netmunity. This is what is known as “karamah”, or an act of honor
granted to such a wali. But this takes place by God’s will, not by that
person’s desire. It takes place when he does not expect it, although he
may pray hard for it. His prayer would be in general terms, such as
praying for a group of people to be rescued from danger. How the rescue
will nete about, he cannot tell. God may respond and rescue those
people without any intervening action on their part. The rescue takes
place by God’s will and in the way He determines. To do something
miraculous or supernatural is easy for God. When He wills something to
happen, He needs only to say to it, “Be”, and it is there. Now the
extract from the book you have sent me claims that such Aulia are given
the authority to will anything to be and it happens. I tell you in the
most unequivocal of terms that this is absurd. It is an assumption that
those people are given an authority which belongs solely to Allah
Himself. There is simply no evidence from the Qur’an or the Sunnah to
support this claim. Nor can there be any logical argument to support
it. Moreover, Islamic history shows clearly that those who had the
greatest status as dedicated believers were not given such a power. We
have not heard of anyone of the Prophet’s netpanions, or those who
succeeded them, having been given such a power. Nor indeed was this
granted to any of the great servants of Islam, whether scholars,
fighters, etc. It is claimed that those who are given such an authority
do not use it, as a gesture of deference to God’s authority. But this
is ridiculous, because a believer who is given some sort of authority
or power should use it for the benefit of the Muslim netmunity.
Besides, is it possible that such a privilege is given to a single
person in the Muslim world and he decides not to use it to relieve the
plight of Muslims in such places as Somalia, Bosnia, Kashmir,
Philippines or Palestine? Why not? Is it a privilege he uses for his
own benefit? That would bring him down in status to the position of a
selfish person. Moreover, how would we know that a person has been
granted such a privilege? The book tells us that those who are given
the privilege do not use it. From where, then, do we derive the
knowledge that they have it. We have nothing mentioned in the Qur’an or
Hadith about any person being given such a privilege. If he keeps
quiet about it and does not use it, then where does the information
nete from? Do you not see that there is something suspicious about the
whole claim? Let me tell you that if any person, regardless of his
position, makes the claim that God has given him such a privilege, then
he is a liar. As I have explained, when God grants someone or a group
of people an honor causing something miraculous to happen to them or to
others through them, the event will have all the mark of being an
acnetplishment of God’s will. It netes in a way which is least expected
by us. If it happens and someone claims that it is an honor granted to
him, then he is a liar. If other people claim it for him, then he
should stop them. If he does not then he is allowing his ego to express
itself. That is not the attitude of a wali, or a friend of God.
Besides, how would any person attain such a privilege? By strenuous
worship? Definitely not. By fighting for God’s cause? How, when we know
that the Muslims lost many battles and countless martyrs? I tell you
clearly that this claim is no more than an illusion. Whoever makes such
a claim for himself is a liar. We doubt whether he actually believes in
God. If it is claimed for other people, then the claimant simply
betrays his ignorance.
Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News – Jeddah )