BROTHERS OF ABRAHAM,
BROTHERS OF MUHAMMAD
‘The Brothers of Prophet Abraham’ advanced the monotheistic mission in its first stage in the 7th century. It is the responsibility of The Brothers of Prophet Muhammad to carry forward this mission to the next stage, by taking the divine message to the world.
The Prophet of Islam was born in Makkah in the year 570 CE and he passed away in Madinah in the year 632 CE. This is approximately 2,500 years after the era of Prophet Abraham. He was born as a result of Prophet Abraham’s supplication (The Quran, 2:129). The Quran states: “Then We revealed Our will to you [O Muhammad], saying, ‘Follow the religion of Abraham, the upright in faith; he was not one of the polytheists.’” (16:123)
This is not a trivial matter. It is, in fact, an announcement of historical reality. The Prophet of Islam and his Companions were the culmination of a 2500-year historical process. Prophet Abraham initiated a historical process through his extraordinary sacrifice in Makkah. This process, progressing through its natural stages, reached its culmination in the seventh century CE. It was during that time that specific individuals were born in Arabia who are known as the Companions of the Prophet.
Through the sacrifices of the Prophet and his Companions, another historical process began in the 7th century CE. This process spanned more than a thousand years, culminating in the 20th century. Now, there is a need for a new group that embodies the completion of the subsequent historical process. After the Prophet’s Companions, this will be the second group after the Companions of the Prophet, which has been called Ikhwan-e-Rasool, The Brothers of the Prophet, as mentioned in a tradition, narrated by Abu Hurayrah, in which the Prophet of Islam said, ‘I want to see my brothers.’ The Companions of the Prophet said, ‘O Prophet of God, are we not your brothers?’ The Prophet replied, ‘You are my Companions. My brothers have not yet come. They will come in later times.’ (Sahih Muslim, Hadith No. 249)
It is as if the Prophet of Islam and his Companions were ‘the brothers of Abraham’, and the group that will emerge later will be the brothers of Muhammad. ‘The Brothers of Abraham’ advanced the dawah mission in the 1st stage, and now it is the responsibility of The Brothers of Prophet Muhammad to carry forward this dawah mission to the next stage, by taking the divine message to the world.
The pilgrimage of Hajj is a sacred journey towards God. It represents the highest level of closeness to one’s Lord in this worldly life. While other forms of worship serve as a means of remembering God, however, Hajj is a means of attaining proximity to God. If other forms of worship are the worship of God at the level of the unseen, then Hajj is the worship of God at the level of the seen. Hajj is a divine encounter: It is a meeting with the Almighty. When a person embarks on the pilgrimage and reaches the sacred destinations of Hajj, he experiences extraordinary divine feelings. It is as if he has left behind his own world and entered into the realm of God. When he performs the Tawaf, he feels a profound connection with his Lord. He hastens towards Him with great zeal. He undertakes the journey solely for His sake. He offers his sacrifices in His presence. He symbolically casts stones at His adversaries. He beseeches Him for his every desire. He seeks from Him all that he needs.
