Because the manifestations of Prophet Muhammad (s) that Abu Zar had seen
were not the manifestations of any common human being.
That was not the human attribute nor was it the angelic attribute,
it was not the attribute of Gabriel or Israfel.
They were the manifestations of God.
Therefore, it had to be said:
qul innama ana basharun mislukum (tell them that you are a human being like them).
[And] ‘the only difference between you and me is that I receive divine revelations’.
Allahu Akbar.
What Did the Special Companions See in the Prophet (s)?
There were a few facets of the Person of Muhammad (s) that were exposed upon the Ashab e Sufa.
So what happened?
They were sitting with the Prophet (s) one day and they witnessed the Ana of the Prophet (s).
When they witnessed the Ana of the Prophet (s), the three veils that are atop the Ana ruptured.
And then they said, ‘forget your homes, forget everything and just sit here on this platform’.
This is why they sat on that platform.
We also had this thought - we would have many such thoughts because we’d constantly compare ourselves to the companions.
The companions sat on a platform and we claim to love HDE but we haven’t built a platform to sit on, why?
And then the secret was disclosed that we would also sit on a platform when the three veils [on the Ana] are ruptured.
In the era of Prophet Muhammad (s) the companions, the veils of the Anas of whom were ruptured became the Ashab e Sufa.
Nobody else.
All the other companions would return to their homes and they would come to the mosque from their homes.
However, when the veils of the Ana of those in the company of Prophet Muhammad (s) were ruptured,
they bid their homes ‘Gohar Hafiz’ and said, ‘now we shall stay here on this platform’.
They spent their mornings, afternoons, evening and nights there.
They began to love the Prophet (s) so much so that it came into God’s notice.
God became their supporter.
God said to Prophet Muhammad (s), ‘Make your lower self patient toward them.
So what if their hair is matted with sand and they have body odour?
They seek your Lord so never deprive them of your splendour’.
Why were these people blessed as such?
Why not Umar bin Khattab? Why not Abu Bakr Siddiq? Why them?
It’s up to God.
So the Ashab e Sufa were those upon whom were revealed certain exclusive visuals of the Prophet (s).
And then there were some people upon whom even greater spiritual visuals of the Prophet (s) were revealed.
Such as Talah bin Zubair and Abu Zar Ghaffari.
The likes of Salman Farsi!
They were those before whom appeared the Jussa e Taufiq e Ilahi.
And that’s it.
When the Jussa e Taufiq e Ilahi appeared before them and they attained spiritual benevolence from it,
now the next point is very sensitive, hold fast to your faith when you listen.
So now when they attained spiritual benevolence from Jussa e Taufiq e Ilahi - the Jussa e Taufiq e Ilahi is not a prophet.
That’s why they abandoned prayers because Ishq was enough for them.
Because he did not offer salah, Abu Zar Ghaffari.
He said, ‘I have heard it from the Prophet (s),
that the one who has prostrated to God is in conversation with Him. So it means we can’t speak to God during qiyaam.
Therefore, the soul of salah is prostration’.
He would just come and prostate, that’s it.
He wouldn’t perform ruku or qiyaam or anything else as he considered it a waste of time.
The special spiritual facets of Prophet Muhammad (s) were revealed unto them.
So then what happened?
‘They’ve made these 100-150 people insane!
They don’t care about their homes or anything else. They just here all day. Who are they? What’s going on here?’
People began to talk. ‘What is happening here? This is magic!’
‘Such wealthy folks, lords who had beautiful wives and children,
they shunned their families and abandoned their wealth and have made this platform their abode.
Their hair is matted with dirt and infested with lice.
What have they done to them?’
And on the other hand, those upon whom were revealed even greater spiritual facets of the Prophet (s),
they began to say that Prophet Muhammad (s) is not a human being, he is in fact God.
There is no human element in them.
And then what did they do?
Whenever the Prophet (s) would pass water, they would collect it in a vessel. They wouldn’t even let the Prophet (s) do that.
They would collect it in a vessel and drink all of it.
When the Prophet (s) would perform ablution, they wouldn’t allow a single drop to touch the ground.
They would drink all of the water.
The Prophet (s)’s saliva - if they were ever plagued with an illness or wounded, they wouldn’t go to any doctor,
they would go to the Prophet (s) and the Prophet (s) would apply some of their saliva [on their ailment] and voila!
All of their ailments would be cured.
Now, when this happened, they had seen the truth with their eyes.
Now, they saw the reality but not everyone had the same faith; those who had not seen the truth amongst the companions.
So the latter would object, ‘What are you doing?!’
So, in order to maintain the majority’s [correct] opinion and to uphold Islam,
God then said: qul - ‘so say it, what’s wrong with just saying it?’
innama basharun mislukum (I am a human being like you).
Because the manifestations of Prophet Muhammad (s) that Abu Zar had seen were not the manifestations of any common human being.
That was not the human attribute nor was it the angelic attribute,
it was not the attribute of Gabriel or Israfel.
They were the manifestations of God.
Therefore, it had to be said:
qul innama ana basharun mislukum (tell them that you are a human being like them).
[And] ‘the only difference between you and me is that I receive divine revelations’.
Allahu Akbar.
[God] had to reveal such verses just to save people’s faiths.
This is why these verses are known as ayat e mutashabihat which means there is use of tashbeeh in them.
What does tashbeeh mean in English? Metaphor!
It’s all about understanding the matter. And how do you understand it?
Not through knowledge.
It is understood by the divine understanding granted by the Lord.
A man from Anjuman Sarfaroshan e Islam
showed me a statement of HDE in which the Lord were saying,
‘I have never said that I am Imam Mehdi’.
I said to him, ‘Yes, that’s true’.
He asked, ‘So why are you saying it then?’
I said, ‘Well, I’m saying it, HDE isn’t’.
What is the Lord saying? ‘I have never said that I am Imam Mehdi’.
This doesn’t mean that They are not! They’re saying ‘I just haven’t said it’.
‘I have never said that I AM Imam Mehdi’.
This doesn’t mean that They are not Imam Mehdi.
It means: I am, but I haven’t said it. I am but I’ve never said it.
So since They are [Imam Mehdi] but haven’t said it, so why don’t we say it instead?
‘I have never said that I am Imam Mehdi’ - this doesn’t mean that They are not.
They’re talking about saying it, that ‘I have never said it’.
Have I ever told you that I’m Younus? You know that I’m Younus, don’t you?
Well, you know, right? Have I ever said, ‘I’m Younus’ to you?
What would you say, ‘Yes, we know’. Right?
Similarly, HDE is saying, ‘I have never said that I am Imam Mehdi’.
And one day during a discourse in Manchester,
The Lord spoke about Imam Mehdi,
During that discourse, the Lord said, ‘I am Imam Mehdi’.
Now, this is a matter of a public announcement but we’ve had a personal relationship with the Lord, too.
We know the story, don’t we?
There is a public statement and then there’s the inside story.
So the inside story, the conversations that took place between us and the Lord - the Lord has told us already.
HDE told us, ‘We knew in Lal Bagh that we are Imam Mehdi’.
I asked HDE Gohar Shahi, 'When will the announcement of Mehdihood be made?'
HDE Gohar Shahi said, '[It was announced] when we were in Lal Bagh'. What!?
It was announced when we were In Lal Bagh!
I said, 'Lord, you knew since then?'
HDE Gohar Shahi said, 'Yes, we did’.
I asked, ‘Master, why didn’t you tell us?’
HDE said, ‘God had said to me: you may announce it whenever you deem it appropriate'.
Whenever you deem it appropriate.