The Distinctive Grandeur of the Leader of Both the Worlds

The Prophet Muhammad SAW has special distinctive notabilities. This was the reason that on the auspicious occasion of the Ascent (M'iraj), he was made the Imam (leader) of all the Prophets AS at Baitulmuqaddis. Similarly, on the Day of Judgement, too, it will be the Prophet Muhammad SAW who will act as an intercessor to implore Allah Most High to give His Judgements. This is the same Lauded Station (Maqam Al-Mahmud) which does not befit anyone but the Prophet Muhammad SAW. All the eminent Prophets AS and all the Holy Messengers AS, on that day, will not dare to act as the intercessor. Only the Prophet Muhammad SAW alone will stand at that station.

The eminent classical scholar - Ibn Hajar Al-Haythami Al-Makki says that Allah Most High has bestowed upon Rasulullah SAW all kinds of superiority over all other Prophets AS and Messengers AS. Ordinarily, the Prophet SAW's special qualities would require volumes upon volumes of kitabs for even the greatest of scholars to describe; and of these, there are Three Special Notabilities which are most obvious, clear and apparent. We shall cover these notabilities in this brief treatise.


THE FIRST SPECIAL NOBILITY

The Prophet Muhammad SAW was called for the Ascent (Mi'raj) with the corporeal i.e. external and physical body and this honour has not been achieved by anyone, save our Holy Prophet SAW, the Chosen Muhammad SAW, and the glory of his singularity is also displayed by the honours and dignity with which he was called.

In Baitulmuqaddis, the Prophet Muhammad SAW was made the Imam, to lead the Solat (prayer) of all the Angels and the Prophets AS. When the prayer was over, the Angel - Jibril AS introduced all the Prophets AS to him and they all congratulated him and paid tributes of praise.

Then the Prophet Ibrahim AS, praising Allah SWT said:

"Allah Alone deserves laudation, Who made me His Khalil (intimate friend) and bestowed upon me a vast spiritual realm, and made me an obedient ummah (as though one obedient man is equal to thousands of obedient men); and exalted me with His messages and took me out from Namrud's fire and made it cool and the cause of safety for me."

Then the Prophet Musa AS said:

"All praise is for that Lord Who made me His Kalim (i.e. gave me the privilege of speaking with Himself) and exalted me; and revealed the Taurat upon me and accomplished Pharaoh's destruction and the Israelites' emancipation at my hands."

Then the Prophet Dawud AS said:

"Allah Alone is worthy of praise Who invested me with Kingdom, revealed the Zabur upon me, made iron soft for me and made mountains subservient to me so that they and the birds used to glorify the Lord along with me; and bestowed upon me common sense and the capacity for deciding cases."

Then the Prophet Sulaiman AS said:

"Allah Alone deserves praise Who subjugated the winds, the Jinkind and the Mankind to me and made the Shaytaans obedient to me so that they used to make whatever I wished them to make - like fortresses, statues, pond-like troughs and cauldrons that would remain fixed at a place and would not admit any shaking. And He taught me the language of the animals and flowed a stream of molten copper so that I did not have to melt it and got made large vessels at the hands of the Jinnkind, and He bestowed on me such a vast empire which does not befit anyone."

The Prophet Isa AS said:

"Allah Alone is worthy of praise for He gave me knowledge of the Torah and the Injil and made me such that, by Allah's order, I could heal the stone-blind and the lepers and revive the dead to life, and He lifted me to the sky and kept me safe from the infidels' deceit and evil, and gave me and my mother shelter from the condemned Shaytaan and never allowed Shaytaan to have any power over us."

After all had spoken, the Noble Prophet Muhammad SAW began and said:

"You all have lauded your Lord and so I too eulogise my Lord that Allah Alone is worthy of praise who sent me as mercy for the whole Universe and as a harbinger of good and a warning for all the human beings, and He revealed the Qur'an unto me in which there is mention of every necessary thing, and He made my Ummah better than all other ummahs that came to this world, and made my Ummah the middle ummah, and made my Ummah such that as regards honour - it precedes all; and as regards appearance - it is the last of all. He (Allah) caused my bosom to dilate and eased me of my burden and exalted my remembrance; and me alone. He (by the award of prophethood) made first and (as regards advent) the last." (Tafsir Ibn Kathir)

Then the Prophet Ibrahim AS addressed all the Prophets AS and said:

"It is on account of these merits that Allah Most High has given superiority to Muhammad (SAW) over (all of) you."

The above long hadith about the Holy Prophet SAW's superiority over all other Prophets AS has been mentioned by the grand classical scholar of Qur'anic exegesis - Hafiz Ibn Kathir RA.

Since in this Hadith the Holy Prophet SAW has himself mentioned his notabilities, there remains nothing to write about. But the Arabic-knowing persons and religious scholars know full well how concise and succinct are the Holy Prophet SAW's sentences, for while the other Prophets AS mentioned their miracles instead of their specialities, the Holy Prophet SAW described only the latter. Moreover, in accordance he has expressed in a few words so many meanings - as if - he (SAW) has filled up the sea in a cup, and it is truly a fact that the words of kings are the kings of words. Even as he has had leadership over all the Prophets AS, Humankind and Jinnkind, his words also command superiority over all other words of the Creation of Allah SWT.


THE SECOND SPECIAL NOBILITY

The second special and important feature amongst the Prophet Muhammad SAW's special features is - his leadership over all Mankind and Jinnkind. The Prophet SAW is the leader of all the Prophets AS and Messengers AS, rather, the entire Humankind and Jinnkind.

It is narrated that - the Sovereign of the Two Worlds and the Pride of the Two Worlds has said:

"I am myself the leader of Mankind on the Day of Judgement and I am not proud of it. The Banner of Divine Praise shall be in my hands and on this too I take no pride, and the whole Mankind, rather the entirety of creatures, shall be under my banner and of this too I am not proud."

It is stated in another Hadith:

"I am the Friend (Habib) of Allah and I do not take pride on it and it is I who will be holding the Banner of Divine Praise but I am not proud of it, and it is I who shall be the first intercessor whose intercession will be accepted first and yet I do not pride over it. And I will be the first to knock at the door of Paradise which Allah Most High will get opened for me and at that time the poor Believers will be with me; and I am the most respectable amongst all the ancient and the modern ones but I don't take pride on it."

It is further stated in another Hadith, whereby the Prophet Muhammad SAW reports it from Jibril AS and Jibril AS from Allah Most High - that Allah Most High told His Prophet SAW:

"I have specially obliged and rewarded you with seven things : the first amongst them all is that I, in My View, have not created anyone more respectable than you in the Heavens and the Earth."

It is stated in another Hadith:

The Prophet Muhammad SAW states that the Angel Jibril AS told him:

"There is glad tidings and good news for you that you are most superior amongst all the Creation of Allah Most Glorious, and accept this good news that Allah Most High has saluted you in such a manner in which He has never saluted any favourite Angel nor any commissioned Prophet; and the Beneficent Most High has fixed a rank for you near the highest Heaven which was neither given to any inhabitant of the skies nor any denizen of the earth to reach there so far. May Allah Most Glorious make this great post and His salutation auspicious for you!"

It is reported from Abu Hurairah RA:

"On the Day of Judgement I will be the leader of all mankind." (Bukhari)

The Prophet Muhammad SAW is narrated to have said:

"I am the chief of the whole world." (Baihaqi)

Due to this position of leadership the Prophet Muhammad SAW will be awarded the "Lauded Station" on the Day of Judgement, and gracing that post he will request and intercede in the Divine Court to begin the audit of all the creatures. This is the Supreme Intercession and this intercession will be made on that day when all the human beings and Prophets AS will approach Prophet Adam AS, Prophet Nuh AS, Prophet Ibrahim AS, Prophet Musa AS and Prophet Isa AS; and will appeal to them to request Allah Most Glorious so that:

"...either take our account or throw us into Hell for we cannot bear the severity of this place..."

At this each one of the Prophet AS, remembering something about themselves, will say:

"Nafsi, nafsi."
("I am concerned about myself, I am concerned about myself.")

But on that day and at that time, our Master and Leader - the Noble Prophet Muhammad SAW will say:

"Ana laha, ana laha."
(I will perform this, I will perform this.")

All the creatures on that day will be in need of the Prophet Muhammad SAW's glance of magnanimity; their high ones as well as their low ones; their great Prophets AS as well as their Messengers AS. On that day, for that supreme intercession, none save the Holy Prophet Muhammad SAW shall be able to say anything.

Anas bin Malik RA reports that the Holy Prophet SAW said:

"Standing there I will be waiting for my Ummah that it may easily cross the Bridge when, all of a sudden, will approach Prophet Isa AS and say:

"O, Muhammad - These great Prophets have come to you for this reason that you may invoke that Allah Most High may disperse this multitude of all the ummahs from this Plain of Resurrection, and send them, as per the load of their sins, to the places where they are to be sent, because the people are drowning in perspiration."

However, perspiration will be flowing like catarrh from the believer, but death will be almost throttling the Unbeliever (Kafir).

The Holy Prophet SAW will say:

"O, Isa! Wait here. I will return quickly."

Saying this the Holy Apostle (SAW) will go and stand under the Divine Throne. Accordingly, he will receive that proximity to Allah that neither any favourite Angel could get nor any Prophet nor any Apostle. Then Allah Most High will tell Holy Jibril to tell Muhammad (SAW):

"Raise your head and ask. Whatever you request will be granted, intercede; and for whomsoever you intercede, your intercession will be admitted." "


THE THIRD SPECIAL NOTABILITY

The third notability of the Noble Prophet Muhammad SAW - which the grand scholar, Ibn Hajar Al-Haythami Al-Makki RA has mentioned concerns those innumerable miracles of his which will last forever, is as follows:

"And by way of a miracle, the Qur'an itself is sufficient which will last till the approach of the Day of Doom; and in itself the Holy Prophet's (SAW) countless miracles and unlimited merits and praises have been described."