وَجَاهِدُوا فِي اللَّهِ حَقَّ جِهَادِهِ هُوَ اجْتَبَاكُمْ وَمَاجَعَلَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ مِنْ حَرَجٍ مِّلَّةَ أَبِيكُمْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ هُوَ سَمَّاكُمُ الْمُسْلِمينَ مِن قَبْلُ وَفِي هَذَا لِيَكُونَ الرَّسُولُ شَهِيدًا عَلَيْكُمْ وَتَكُونُوا شُهَدَاء عَلَى النَّاسِ (78:22)

And struggle for the cause of God in a befitting manner. He has chosen you [for this responsibility], and laid on you no burdens in the observance of your faith. He has chosen for you the way of Abraham, your father. He has named you Muslims earlier and in this [period of the last Prophet] as well. [He has chosen you] so that the Prophet may bear witness against you, and that you yourselves may bear witness [to this religion] against other people of this world. (22:78)

In this verse of Surah Hajj, the Quran specifies that just as the Almighty chooses certain great personalities from among the progeny of Adam for shahadah (bearing witness to the truth), on similar lines, He also chose the progeny of Abraham (sws) for the responsibility of shahadah, and directed it to make an effort to fulfil all the requirements of this position. The Quran says:

إِنَّ اللّهَ اصْطَفَى آدَمَ وَنُوحًا وَآلَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَآلَ عِمْرَانَ عَلَى الْعَالَمِينَ (33:3)

God chose Adam and Noah, Abraham’s progeny and the progeny of ‘Imran above the people of the world. (3:33)

It needs to be kept in consideration that this shahadah is not mere preaching and propagation: it results in a miniature Day of Judgement on this earth. The history of this shahadah mentioned in the Quran and in other divine scriptures is that the first manifestation of this Judgement took place in the time of Noah (sws). After that, the Almighty, at various intervals, sent His rusul and their shahadah also resulted in a worldly Judgement of their peoples. This process continued till Abraham (sws) was sent. The Almighty then decided that this position of shahadah would also be bestowed upon his progeny in their collective capacity, and through them religion would become an established and irrefutable fact before all the peoples of the world to the extent that they are left with no excuse to reject it. The account of this worldly Judgement is mentioned in detail in the Quran and in the Bible. The Quran has stated that the mount of Olive, the village of Fig, the mount of Sinai and the city of Makkah all bear witness to this Judgement. The mount of Olive is the place where, after Jesus (sws) was lifted, the punishment of those who had rejected him which was to continue till the Day of Judgement was declared. It was also at this place that the nasara, a new ummah from among the Israelites who professed belief in him was constituted. Fig is a village situated on this mountain. [1] It is known that it was on the mount of Sinai that the Israelites were constituted as an ummah. Makkah was the place where the Ishmaelites began their life as a collectivity, and it was here that they were given the custodianship of the Baytullah, the first centre of worshipping God made on this earth. It is evident from these details that all these areas were centres of the worldly Judgement of God mentioned above. The Quran has presented them as witnesses to this Judgement with the declaration that what is it that can negate the Day of Judgement after witnessing this worldly Judgement:

وَالتِّينِ وَالزَّيْتُونِ وَطُورِ سِينِينَ وَهَذَا الْبَلَدِ الْأَمِينِ لَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنسَانَ فِي أَحْسَنِ تَقْوِيمٍ ثُمَّ رَدَدْنَاهُ أَسْفَلَ سَافِلِينَ إِلَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ فَلَهُمْ أَجْرٌ غَيْرُ مَمْنُونٍ فَمَا يُكَذِّبُكَ بَعْدُ بِالدِّينِ أَلَيْسَ اللَّهُ بِأَحْكَمِ الْحَاكِمِينَ (95 :1 – 8)

The Fig and Olive bear witness and [so does] the mount of Sinai and this secure city of [yours] that We have created man [at these places] in the best of moulds. Then We reverted him to the lowest [position] when he himself wanted to become low. Save those who accepted faith and did righteous deeds. For them shall be a reward unending. Now [O Prophet!] What is it that denies you about the Day of Judgement? [Ask them]: “Is not Allah the best of Judges?” (95:1-8)

For this very reason, the Almighty has regarded the Ishmaelites as the أُمَّةً وَسَطًا (the intermediate community) on one side of which is God and His Prophet and on the other side of which are النَّاس (all the people of the world), and just as Muhammad (sws) has borne witness to the truth before the Ishmaelites, the Ishmaelites have to bear witness to the truth before the rest of the world:

وَكَذَلِكَ جَعَلْنَاكُمْ أُمَّةً وَسَطًا لِتَكُونُوا شُهَدَاءَ عَلَى النَّاسِ وَيَكُونَ الرَّسُولُ عَلَيْكُمْ شَهِيدًا (143:2)

And similarly, We have made you an intermediate community so that you be witnesses [to the truth] before the people, and the rasul be such a witness before you. (2:143)

كُنتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ تَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَتَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ وَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللّهِ (110:3)

You are the noblest community raised up for mankind [to bear witness to the truth before it because] you urge [each other to] good and forbid evil, and you truly believe in God. (3:110)

It is because of this status of the progeny of Abraham (sws) that if it adheres to the truth in its collective capacity, and keeps presenting it to other peoples of this world with full certainty and while maintaining full integrity of its contents, the Almighty will grant them dominance over their addressees who reject them. If the progeny of Abraham (sws) does not adhere to the truth in its collective capacity, then the Almighty through these very addressees will mete out the punishment of humiliation and subjugation to the progeny of Abraham (sws). Currently, both the Israelites and the Ishmaelites are facing this punishment.

It is mentioned in the Quran that on the Day of Judgement the shuhada’(witnesses) would be called upon. These shuhada’are actually the progeny of Abraham (sws). Because of the status of shahadah which the Almighty has granted them in this world, they will be called to give shahadah (witness) on the Day of Judgement in the very manner the rusul would be called for this purpose. It will be they who would be first of all asked the question of their people’s attitude towards the truth and whether they had really fulfilled the responsibility of delivering the truth to others:

@68وَنُفِخَ فِي الصُّورِ فَصَعِقَ مَن فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَن فِي الْأَرْضِ إِلَّا مَن شَاء اللَّهُ ثُمَّ نُفِخَ فِيهِ أُخْرَى فَإِذَا هُم قِيَامٌ يَنظُرُونَوَأَشْرَقَتِ الْأَرْضُ بِنُورِ رَبِّهَا وَوُضِعَ الْكِتَابُ وَجِيءَ بِالنَّبِيِّينَ وَالشُّهَدَاء وَقُضِيَ بَيْنَهُم بِالْحَقِّ وَهُمْ لَا يُظْلَمُونَ (39: 68-69) @39@68

And on that Day, the trumpet shall be sounded, and all who are in the heavens and on earth shall fall down fainting, except those who shall be spared by God. Then the trumpet will be sounded again and they shall suddenly rise and gaze around them. And the earth will shine with the light of her Lord, and the book [in which deeds have been recorded] will be laid open and all the prophets and all those who were bestowed with the position of shahadah shall be called in, and all shall be judged with fairness: none shall be wronged. (39:68-69)

(Javed Ahmed Ghamidi)

(Translated by Dr. Shehzad Saleem)

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[1]. In the Bible, it is referred to as Beth Phage. Here the word “Phage” is actually the word “Fig”. It is mentioned in the Gospel of Luke (19:29) that when Jesus (sws) came to Jerusalem, he stayed at this place before entering the city.