Real Picture and the Historical Picture

Like the Companions, the Brothers of the Prophet (Ikhwan-e-Rasool) will also have a significant role in dawah work in the last phase of human history.

Today the Companions of the Prophet are held in great honour. But this picture was formed after historical grandeur was attached to their names. The Companions of the Prophet appeared first like ordinary men to their contemporaries. Then, on the occasion of the signing of the treaty of Hudaybiyyah (6 AH), the Prophet of Islam held negotiations with the Quraysh. At that time, the Prophet was accompanied by fourteen hundred Companions, and the representative of the Quraysh, Urwah ibn Masood As-Saqafi, referred to them with contempt as a mere crowd. (As-Seerah An-Nabawiya, Ibn Kathir, Vol. 3, p. 331)

Later, the same will occur in the case of the Ikhwan-e- Rasool (Brothers of the Prophet). Their contemporaries will fail to recognize them. This is a general human weakness, borne out by the well-known saying: “A prophet is never honoured in his land.” (Mark, 6:4). This is because individuals and groups with a special mission are seen by their contemporaries as ordinary men. But in later times, historical grandeur is attached to their names. For later generations, their names conjure up the image of historical persons or groups rather than what they were to their contemporaries. This difference between the actual person and the historical person will again emerge. Thus, people will accord great honour and greatness to the Companions of the Prophet, but they will ignore the Ikhwan-e-Rasool, holding them to be inferior, they being their contemporaries.