Explanation of "Chishti Rasul Ullah" by Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanwi رحمة الله عليه

بِسۡمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحۡمٰنِ الرَّحِیۡمِ

In the Name of Allah, the Rahman, the Merciful

In the previous post I cited Pir Mehr Ali Shah Golrawi (rahmatullah ‘alaih) in his explanation of the difficulty concerning the Kalimah ‘Chishti Rasul Ullah’. I am satisfied with his explanation. Here I shall cite the explanation of Hakim ul-Ummat Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanwi (rahmatullah ‘alaih) of the same incident and Kalimah:

اگر یہ تاویل کی جاوے کہ رسول سے مراد معنے لغوی ہوں اور عام ہوں بواسطہ وبلاواسطہ کو اور اس بناء پر یہ معنے ہونگے کہ چشتی اللہ تعالے کا پیام رسال اور احکام کی تبلیغ کرنے والا ہے بواسطہ رسول اللہ صلے اللہ علیہ وسلم کے جیسا حدیث وارد فی المشکاۃ باب الوقوف بعرفۃ میں ابن مربع انصاری صحابی کا قول ہے

انى رسول الله اليكم

جس میں لفظ رسول اول معنے لغوی ہے اور جیسے قرآن مجید میں حضرت عیسے علیہ السلام کے فرستاووں کو جو انبیا نہ تھے سورہ یسین میں مرسل فرمایا ہے تو پہر کلمہ کفر نہیں رہتا

Translation: “If this Ta’wil (interpretation) is made that what is intended by Rasul is the linguistic and general meaning, and based on this the meaning is that Chishti does Tabligh (conveyance) of Allah’s message and commandments through the Messenger of Allah, sall Allahu ‘alaihi wasallam, as narrated in a Hadith in al-Mishkat, Bab al-Wuquf fil-’Arafah, that the Sahabi Ibn Mirba’ Ansari said ‘I am the Messenger of Allah to you’ in which the word Rasul is upon its linguistic meaning, and as the Quran calls the three followers of Jesus ‘Mursal’ in Surah Yasin, though they were not Prophets, then it does not remain words of Kufr.” (As-Sunnat al-Jaliyyah, pp.124-125)

In most versions of the Hadith cited by Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanwi (rahmatullah ‘alaih) the words of the Sahabi Zaid bin Mirba’ al-Ansari (radi Allahu ‘anhu) have been reported as:

إِنِّي رَسُولُ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم إِلَيْكُمْ

I am the Messenger of the Messenger of Allah to you

In some versions and manuscripts the narration occurs with the words:

‌أنا ‌رسول ‌الله ‌إليكم

I (Ibn Mirba’) am the Messenger of Allah to you

(Usud al-Ghabah, p.438)

And as Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanwi has explained Ibn Mirba’ used the word Rasul for his person in the linguistic sense, not that he was actually claiming to be a Prophet or Messenger appointed by Allah. Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanwi also cited the example of three ‘Apostles’ of Jesus as mentioned in Surat Ya Sin, which I have explained in a previous post six years ago.