Proof for Permissibility of the Names Abd un-Nabi, Abd ur-Rasul, Abd ul-Mustafa, etc. (Part 2)

 بِسۡمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحۡمٰنِ الرَّحِیۡمِ 

In the Name of Allah, the Rahman, the Merciful

الصلاة والسلام عليك يا سيدي يا رسول الله

In the previous post, I presented the proof from the Holy Quran that the Believers are the slaves [ibad] of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him:

قُلۡ یٰعِبَادِیَ الَّذِیۡنَ اَسۡرَفُوۡا عَلٰۤی اَنۡفُسِہِمۡ لَا تَقۡنَطُوۡا مِنۡ رَّحۡمَۃِ اللّٰہِ

Say [My beloved Prophet Muhammad]: “O my slaves who have transgressed against their souls, despair not of the mercy of Allah”

(Surah 39, Ayah 53)

While the mufassirin have generally understood “my slaves” as attributed to Allah, the correct interpretation based on the grammatical structure of the Ayah is that here “my slaves” are attributed to the Prophet, peace be upon him.

For if “my slaves” is Allah speaking in the first person, then the Ayah would read “despair not of My mercy” rather than switching to the third person “despair not of the mercy of Allah.”

Hence, the great Sufi saint of the Chishti order, Imdadullah Muhajir Makki (1819-1899), may Allah have mercy on him, incidentally the shaykh of the elders of Deoband, says:

عباد اللہ کو عباد رسول کہہ سکتے ہیں جیسا کہ اللہ تعالیٰ فرماتا ہے

قُلۡ یٰعِبَادِیَ الَّذِیۡنَ اَسۡرَفُوۡا عَلٰۤی اَنۡفُسِہِمۡ

مرجع ضمیر متکلم آنحضرت صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم ہیں۔مولانا اشرف علی صاحب نے فرمایا کہ قرینہ بھی انہیں معنی کا ہے آگے فرماتا ہے

لَا تَقۡنَطُوۡا مِنۡ رَّحۡمَۃِ اللّٰہِ

اگر مرجع اوسکا اللہ ہوتا فرماتا

من رّحمتي

Slaves of Allah may be called slaves of the Apostle, as Allah the Exalted says, “Say: O my slaves who have transgressed against their souls”. The pronoun returns to the speaker, the eminent Prophet, peace and blessing of Allah be upon him. Maulana Ashraf Ali has said that there is an indication of this meaning because He proceeds to say, “do not despair of the mercy of Allah”. If it was referring to Allah He would say, “My mercy.” (Shama’im-i-Imdadiyyah, pp.135-136)

To claim that our interpretation of Surah 39:53 is a novel, modern one is also false. The eminent Sufi mystic and poet, Jalaluddin al-Rumi (1207-1273 CE), may Allah have mercy on him, said:

بنده‌ خود خواند احمد در رشاد

جمله عالم را بخوان قل یا عباد

Ahmad (Mohammed) in righteousness called (the people of) the whole world his servants: read (the text), “Say, O My servants.”

(Mathnawi; Daftar Awwal, #2496)