BISMILLAH HIR RAHMAN NIR RAHEEM
(In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful)
NAHMADU WA NUSALLI ALA RASOOLI HIL KAREEM

ALLAHUMMA SALLI ALA MUHAMMADIN WA ALA ALI MUHAMMADIN KAMA SALLAITA ALA IBRAHEEMA WA ALA ALI IBRAHEEMA INNAKA HAMEEDUM MAJEED

ALLAHUMMA BARIK ALA MUHAMMADIN WA ALA ALI MUHAMMADIN KAMA BARAKTA ALA IBRAHEEMA WA ALA ALI IBRAHEEMA INNAKA HAMEEDUM MAJEED

Secrets of MEEM THE ARABIC LETTERPART 1

The Arabic letter Meem is equivalent to the letter 'M' in the English alphabet. It is the first letter in the name of our Prophet Muhammad . Meem in Arabic numerology which is known as Abjad,

has the value of 40.

What is the significance of the number 40? "Life begins at forty".

Where does this saying come from? From the Quran of course:

 

46 And We have commended unto man kindness toward parents. His mother bears him with reluctance, and brings him forth with reluctance, and the bearing of him and the weaning of him is thirty months, till, when he attains full strength and reaches forty years, he says: My Lord! Arouse me that I may give thanks for the favour You have given me and my parents, and that I may do good deeds acceptable to You. And be gracious unto me In the matter of my seed. I have turned to You repentant, and I am of those who surrender (unto You).

[Quran: Al Ahqaf Chapter 46]

 

From the physical point of view: At the age of forty, a person should reflect on his/her life. On average, two thirds of the persons life is already passed and only one third remains, if Allah Wills. It is a time for a new beginning. It is a time to turn to Allah and seek his forgiveness if we have not already started. It is a time to start thinking of our own death often and be prepared for it. It is not for morbid reasons, but to abstain from evil and turn towards good. It is a time to turn a new leaf and start learning Islam properly because at that time our children are growing up and we have to set an example to them. We cannot put all the responsibility on another persons shoulder, for example the Imam who teaches the children Islam. If we are not aware of Islam, ourselves how can we distinguish whether the children are being taught Islam according to Ahl-as-Sunnah or Islam according to the Ahl-al-Hadees depending on our preference. If we cannot read the Quran, now is a good time to learn.

There is no shame in asking what we do not know about Islam.

It is never too late to turn towards Allah.

 

Form the spiritual point of view: the number 40 is also explained by Allah in the Quran:

142 And when We did appoint for Moses thirty nights (of solitude), and added to them ten, and he completed the whole time appointed by his Lord of forty nights; and ....

[Quran: Al Aaraf Chapter 7]

Why did Musa () have to know about the spirituality of Muhammad? Because Allah says:

In The Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

1 To you We have given the Fount (of Abundance)

2 Therefore turn to your Lord in prayer and sacrifice.

3 He who insults you, will be cut off.

[Quran: Kawsar Chapter 108]

56 Allah and His angels shower blessings on the Prophet. You who believe! Ask blessings on him and salute him with a worthy salutation.

[Quran: Al-Ahzab Chapter 33]

What an incredibly high status that is for a Messenger of Allah which no other Prophet holds apart from Muhammad . If a person ignores Muhammad, then not only is he/she insulting him but he/she is also insulting Allah by insulting His Beloved. In ignoring Muhammad, the person is insulting the Prophet. If a person insults the Prophet Muhammad then he/she will be cut off from any goodness in this life or the next life.

Some readers may say that the Quran and Muhammad came after Musa ().

Muhammad had to attain the age of forty to receive his Message. He was born in Makkah and emigrated to Yathrib which changed its name to Madinah. He is also called Muzzammil and Muddassir, in the Quran.

31 And He (Allah) taught Adam all the names, then showed them to the angels, saying: Inform me of the names of these, if you are truthful.

32 They said: Be glorified! We have no knowledge except that which You have taught us. You, only You, are the Knower, the Wise.

33 He said: O Adam! Inform them of their names, and when he had informed them of their names, He said: Did I not tell you that I know the secret of the heavens and the earth? And I know that which you disclose and that which you hide.

[Quran: Al-Baqara Chapter 2]

 

We can interpret Adam as the first human creation of Allah or as every human created by Allah. Both the interpretations stand up to the test. Allah has stored the knowledge of every thing, that is going to come into existence, in all the human beings regardless of the persons religious orientation. So when the Arabic language had fully developed the Quran was revealed.

Coming back to Ahad and Ahmad, the difference between the two words is the Meem of Muhammad.

Muhammad's position in this life is the Seal of the Prophets or The Completion of the Prophets. His position in the next life is Makamam Mahmood (the Highest Station).

How is the Prophet Muhammad the Seal of the Prophets? What does it mean? What is the Makamam Mahmood? See the next article. Only Allah Knows Best!



FROM ALLAH TO MUHAMMAD


This article is about Allah's completion of the circle of Messengers (peace and blessings on them all).

Mawlana Abul Noor Mohammad Bashir of Kotli Loharan, Sialkot Pakistan has written a few books on Islam which are highly recommended reading for most people. The Urdu is kept simple so that someone like me who is hardly proficient at reading Urdu can easily read the book and understand about 97 percent of the content without too much difficulty. May Allah bless him for his effort and contribution to Islamic literature. He writes in his excellent book Jibreel Ki Hikayat (Stories about Jibreel ()) :

..... Allah started the circle of Messengers from Adam () and completed it with Isa (Jesus ()) and our Prophet the Master of the Messengers is blessed with the completeness and fulfillment of the circle. It is a requirement for Prophethood that the person is not a woman. It must be man. A woman cannot be a prophet. Allah says:

109 And We did send before you (Messengers) all men...

[Quran: Yusuf Chapter 12]

59 Before Allah the similarity of Isa is like that of Adam

[Quran: Al Imran Chapter 3]

Now I want to take this point a little further. It is related in a Tradition that Allah created the Light of Muhammad before any other creation including the angels. The Messenger of Allah said: I was a Messenger while Adam was between clay and water.

This makes Muhammad the First Messenger.

Jibraeel after making the call to prayers, answers this question: "Ya Muhammad , Most Honourable of beings in the sight of Allah, proceed to prayer". That is lead the prayer so that they, the Prophets and the angels, may all follow him. So that each one could meet and see the Beloved of Allah of whom each Messenger knew about (see the previous article).

Muhammad advanced to the front and led the prayer. All the Messengers of Allah knew Muhammad and his followers will be the first to enter heaven.

Then their communities. By following Muhammad in prayer, all the Messengers of Allah, they themselves have become his followers, but their communities have not. He was then taken to the heavens and he met all the Prophets again. It is clear from this that the Prophets of Allah are free to travel as they wish like the martyrs. They are Allah's guests not His prisoners. There are no constrains on them because they have pleased Allah, and they are pleased with Allah.

27 (To the righteous soul will be said:) "O (you) soul in (complete) rest and satisfaction!

28 "You come back to your Lord well pleased (yourself) and well pleasing unto Him!

29 "You enter among my Devotees!

30 "Yes you enter my Heaven"!

[Quran: Al Fajr Chapter 89]

26 "He (alone) knows the Unseen nor does He make any one acquainted with His Mysteries

27 "Except a Messenger whom He has chosen: and then He makes a band of watchers march before him and behind him

28 "That he may know that they have (truly) brought and delivered the Messages of their Lord: and He surrounds (all the mysteries) that are with them and takes account of every
single thing."

[Quran: Al-Jinn Chapter 72]

After the prayer at the Furthest Mosque, Muhammad was taken to the heavens which is the Ascension or Miraaj in Arabic. (For the purposes of this article only the names of the destinations will be mentioned here.) He travelled to:

1. The first heaven, The Place of Peace - Dar as Salaam.
2. The second heaven, The Place of Constancy - Dar al Qarar.
3. The third heaven, The Place of Eternity - Dar al Khuld.
4. The fourth heaven, The Sheltering Garden - Jannat al Mawa.
5. The fifth heaven, The Garden of Beauty and Joy Jannat al Naeem.
6. The sixth heaven - The Garden of Eden - Jannat Aden.
7. The seventh heaven - The Garden of Firdaws - Jannat al Firdaws.
8. The Furthest Boundary - Sidrat ul Muntaha.

From there, Muhammad travelled onwards until the angels Jibraeel (), Mikaeel () and Israfeel () stopped in succession at their stations beyond which they dare not pass. Then he passed the station of the Spirit. Still going further. He reached the place where Allah placed in Muhammad's heart the knowledge of the First and the Last, heaven and earth, then a voice was heard "Ya Muhammad! I have made you the intercessor for everyone." He was placed in the Fields of Allah's Eternity and Endlessness. In the first he found no beginning and in the second he found no end. Then Allah revealed to him: "My end is my beginning and My beginning is my end." The Prophet knew that all doors were closed except those that led to Allah. Allah cannot be described within the confine of a place, He encompasses everything everywhere. This is the Secret of Secrets, that cannot be described. This is the place of Magam Mahmood. The Highest Station.

There are a few interesting points to be noted here.

I know what you are thinking.... It is Isa () who is the Messenger of Allah and not Maryam (). That is true! Read the last sentence of the last paragraph again. The circle is completed FROM Meem not by Maryam ().

19 He said: "No I am only a messenger from your Rabb (Lord) (to announce) to you the gift of a holy son."

[Quran: Maryam Chapter 19] 19:19

MEEM PART 2 Click Here

 
Darood (Blessings) and Salaam (Peace) on Muhammad, his Family, and his Companions.

Khalid M. Malik Ghouri