That the Holy Prophet (PBUH) was the last Messenger of God is an article of our faith. No one ever like him (PBUH) was born, and none will ever be. To him (PBUH) we owe our pride as Muslims and our identity as Allah’s chosen people.
Prophethood apart, my observations in this essay are related to only such mortals who had no communication with the Almighty, and my intention here is only to focus on one simple fact of history that has defined many a period, with not many exceptions.
Was there any Alexander before Alexander, and has there been any since his departure from this world?
Was there any Saladin before Saladin, and has there been any after him?
Was there any Iqbal before Iqbal, and has there been any to replace him?
One common reply to these questions is a big No.
And this is true about every mortal in history who has contributed to shaping it, in one or the other field. Whether we talk of the luminaries of the Islamic history—like Hazrat Abu Bakr, Hazrat Omar, Hazrat Osman, Hazrat Ali, Hazrat Khalid Bin Walid, Tariq Bin Ziad, Qateeba Bin Muslim, Sultan Mohammad the Conqueror, Suleiman the Magnificient, and Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, or glance over the list of the Non-Islamic luminaries like Aristotle, Caesar, Chengis Khan, Newton, Napoleon, Hitler and scores of others, we have to contend with the same phenomenon over and over and again and again. The Almighty Allah hasn’t been interested in giving life to two of a kind. Always one. We have to learn to resign to the fact that the likes of Iqbal and Jinnah will never again come into our lives to earn our adoration, gratitude and loyalty—as well as to transform our fortunes by the sheer force of their presence.
Till Allah the Almighty chooses to send among us some one blessed with some gift, some mission and some role of as unique a nature as associated with the great luminaries of the past, we have largely to depend on our ability to rally behind any of the mediocres surrounding us, whom we consider most worthy of our trust.
Preferably one of our own type, our own looks, our own outfit and our own non-elitist character.
30-12-2013
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