Just as the sun rises in its various forms and ignites the fountain of light known as day, the prophet is born, bringing forth a fountain of light called religion into humanity. Day is merely the awakening of life manifesting its actions, while religion is but the awakening of the soul realizing its virtues.
The rays of light from the sun tell the story of guidance for the universe in words of light, while the rays of revelation in the prophet narrate the story of guidance for humanity in the light of speech.
The great divine force operates in the system of the soul and the earth through two similar instruments:
The celestial bodies of the suns and planets, and the embodiments of reason from messengers and prophets.
The prophet is not merely a notable human being whose history is read through thought coupled with logic, and with logic, doubt, then studied in light of the general principles of human nature; rather, he is a stellar human who reads with the precision akin to a telescope, accompanied by knowledge, and with knowledge, faith; and then he studies all of that based on the principles of his own luminous nature alone.
Life establishes the science of history, but this method of studying the prophets—blessings be upon them—makes history itself establish the science of life. The prophet is, in essence, a divine illumination upon humanity, guiding it within its moral orbit, and attracting it towards perfection in a system that mirrors the law of gravitation among celestial bodies.
When the prophet comes, the divine accompanies him with the fluency of rhetorical art, making it more impactful, easier to understand, and more creatively represented, and there is no contradiction from the senses regarding it.
This is the method that turns one person into the artist of all people, just as eloquence is the art of an entire language; he is the interpreter when people distort life, unaware of where to seek belief or how to navigate within it. Millions of humanity become agitated as they are overwhelmed by worldly ambitions and desires, then one man emerges to serve as the interpretation of what has passed and what is to come, revealing through him the truths of high morals in the form of a visible working human, far more powerful than those that emerge from a narrated eloquent account.
The testimony to the prophethood is that the prophet’s soul is more eloquent than the souls of his people, to the point where his qualities and characteristics establish a nature that stands alone, as if it is the precise psychological state set to correct the erroneous condition of humanity in the world of matter and the struggle for survival. It seems that the sublime truth within this prophet calls upon people: to abide by this principle and correct the errors afflicting their souls from the follies of life and the distortions of humanity.
Thus, the prophet for all of humanity is the one who is resurrected with the religion of actions finely detailed for the soul, as precise and fulfilling as its own interests. He provides life in every era with its stable, established, practical reason, organizing the states of the soul with distinction and insight, while leaving for life its renewable, changeable scientific reason, to organize natural affairs with purpose and guidance.
This is the essence of Islam in its most specific meanings; no other religion can replace it, nor can any literature, knowledge, or philosophy fulfill this need, as if it is a spring in the earth for meanings of light, alongside the sun's spring of light in the sky.
And all of this you see in the essence of Muhammad(PBUH); for, overall, it is the most eloquent of all souls, and the earth cannot know a more complete essence than it, even if the virtues of wise individuals, philosophers, and the divine were gathered into one frame - they would not reach a level comparable to his essence. It is as if this essence emerged from a form like that of a pearl in its shell, or a diamond in its mine, or the quality of gold in its vein. It is the great social soul; wherever you explore it, you see it over humanity like the sun in the highest horizon, spreading and shining.
This is the testimony to him that he is the Seal of the Prophets and that his religion is the final religion of humanity. This religion, in its entirety, is nothing but the image of that great soul: its steadfastness is proportional to the fixed human truth, not to the changing human who may, because of a cause, be a towering mountain, and at another cause, sweet water flowing.
It is a religion that rises with strength and calls for it, seeking to subdue the world and govern it, concentrating its concern on that, not to exalt the stronger and humiliate the weaker, but to elevate the weaker to the stronger.
The difference between his law and the laws of power is that the latter is merely the force of the dominance of nature and its control, while his is the force of the dominance of virtue and its triumph. Those work for differentiation, while he works for equality, and the dominance of nature and its functions for differentiation are the foundation of servitude, while the triumph of virtue and its functions for equality are the greatest means of freedom.
Thus, it is natural in Islam that what it brought forth is that there is no virtue except it bears the image of paradise with its eternal bliss, and no vice except it bears the image of eternal fire whose fuel is people and stones; thus, the believing eye does not look at the causes of life with a perspective of strife: striving for what is his, craving for what is not his, scheming in deceit, and creating means of deception, thereby complicating the world even more.
Rather, it is the perspective of the peaceful heart: detaching from worldly possessions and being generous with all that is held dear; he refrains from much, recognizes humanity, and aspires to its highest goals; he forgives much and realizes that what is lawful - even if it is lawful - comes with its Account, and that what is forbidden - even if it charms - is nothing but a momentary excuse that will lead thereafter to everlasting punishment.
From this, it follows that the greatest objective of Islam is to make the fear of God the law of human existence on earth; for from whichever side this human turns, he finds to his right and his left two angels from the angels of God writing his deeds, both good and bad.
If this angelic court is established and recognized in the consideration of the self, there arises from it a valid law for the self, which is the law of discerning will: it desires good deeds and works for them, fears bad deeds and turns away from them. Thus, the meanings of the body govern one another, not for the realization of government and authority, but for the realization of goodness and interest. And if the crazed laws of nature in this animal have risen alongside it, the laws of the wise will in man stand as well.
And if every small and large matter in the soul is from its owner a matter subject to an accusation before its judge in its court, and if everything in man and around man is intended only for the peace of the soul in its outcome, and if the meaning of peace is the dominant meaning that shapes humanity in its world."
All the works, ethics, and manners of Islam have this as their ultimate goal, and this is their philosophy; they are not merely established for humanity, but are deeply ingrained in inheritance through habitual practice and continuous training. This allows them to become both knowledge and action, enabling peace of mind amidst the inevitable challenges of life and the desires of instinct, especially in the hands of adversaries who may be threatening it.
Peace can only prevail if this religion, along with its ethics, spreads across the earth or at least the majority of it. For then, the law of the world becomes derived from the nature of compassion; it either replaces the law of natural conflict or mitigates its harshness. On that day, a child is born along with human morals.
Establishing a sense of permanence for all actions of the soul, even the weight of an atom of good or evil, and regulating that through a continual practical discipline mandated for all people—that is the foundation of Islamic belief. Humanity cannot be rectified without it, nor can it be returned to its intended path. This is what creates the intellectual qualities that dominate society and harmonize its individuals, directing humanity as a whole toward the possible attainments of perfection, continuously guiding them toward the higher ideals, ruling the corrupt with the good, and holding the disobedient accountable to the obedient. Thus, as a person's years increase, both the individual and the law mature. The seeker of psychological happiness in this world does not become like a madman chasing after his shadow, only to realize in the end that he was engaged in futile endeavors and wasted efforts.
Islam is profoundly committed to establishing this great divine concept—not through logic, but through action, then in the soul and its emotions—not in intellect and opinions—on a general basis, without exceptions or special cases. This is the secret behind the strenuous effort imposed on the soul; for its philosophy is that this soul is the foundation of the world, that the moral order is the foundation of the soul, and that continuous action is the foundation of that order. The spirit of continual action lies in what is somewhat difficult, yet does not reach hardship or distress, just as it can be in what is somewhat easy yet does not descend into laziness or neglect.
The soul has two aspects: what it declares and what it conceals. Its declaration is not valid until its conscience is truthful, and its outward expression is not sound until its inner secrets are rectified. A socially virtuous individual is not truly virtuous merely in outward appearances; they must also be so in their hidden nature.
