22. The Role of the Ikhwan
There is a saying of the Prophet in which he refers to his ‘ikhwan’, or his brothers:
The Prophet said, ‘I want to see my brothers (and sisters).’ When asked by his Companions, if they were not his brothers (and sisters), the Prophet replied, ‘No, you are my Companions. My brothers (and sisters) will come later. They will believe in me without seeing me.’
In the above hadith, when the Prophet spoke of his ikhwan, or brothers (and sisters), he meant those believers who would emerge in times to come to spread the message of God to mankind and who would believe in the Prophet without seeing him.
The word ikhwan ar-rasul has been considered mysterious for more than a thousand years. It was not clear as to who these people would be and what role they were to play in the future. But now, for the first time in Islamic history, this word can be applied to a specific group, as it has become clear what role this group will play.
This hadith makes it clear that the prophetic role of dawah (calling people to God) remains to be performed—that of spreading the message of God (in its pure and unadulterated form) to all mankind in the language of today, i.e. of the post-scientific era.
The dawah team of the present time are the potential candidates for this honoured position of ikhwan ar-rasul. Now it is up to each and every one of the followers of the Prophet to convert this potential into actuality by performing this role, first discovering Islam for themselves—and then becoming da‘ees (those who call people to God) in the true sense of the word. This entails imbibing the spirit of well-wishing for all mankind, so that the following hadith comes true in their case:
‘There will be no home remaining—big or small—into which God has not caused the word of Islam to enter.’
This is not a matter of being a chosen people; it is a matter of discharging one’s responsibility. And it is only by living with the dawah mission and dying with the dawah mission—by making it their primary concern and making everything else secondary—that they will be able to discharge this responsibility.
