His Holiness Younus AlGohar replies to questions sent in from the public.
1) What Sufi Order does His Divine Eminence Imam Mehdi Gohar Shahi belong to? Does HDE Gohar Shahi have a spiritual guide? Does HDE Gohar Shahi come from the Household of the Prophet Mohammad (Ahle Bayt) and how is this proved?
Initially, many Spiritual Orders were established in the Ummah of Prophet Mohammad such as the Farooqi Sufi Order and Usmania Sufi Order, who obtained Spiritual Grace from Usman Ghani. There are many Sufi Orders which have now become extinct. However, four main Sufi Orders were established and a large number of Saints emerged from them.
1 - Qadri Sufi Order:
This Sufi Order is associated with Abdul Qadir Jillani and the Spiritual Grace is directly linked to Prophet Mohammad.
2 - Chishti Sufi Order:
This is a very large Sufi Order which is related to Hazrat Ali. Spiritual dignitaries such as Khwaja Bakhtiyar Kaki, Nizamuddin Auliya, Khwaja Ghareeb Nawaz and Baba Farid emerged from the Chishti Sufi Order.
3 - Naqshbandi Sufi Order:
This Sufi Order is related to Abu Bakar Siddiq.
4 - Soharwardi Sufi Order:
The interfusion between the Chishti and Naqshbandi Sufi Orders is called the Soharwardi Sufi Order.
Some Arab countries such as Egypt and Syria have the Rafa’i Sufi Order and the Spiritual Grace within it comes from Ahmed Rafa’i.
Now the question is, those who obtained Spiritual Grace from Hazrat Ali were known as Chishti and those who obtained Spiritual Grace from Abu Bakar Siddiq were known as Naqshbandi, but what Sufi Order were Hazrat Ali and Abu Bakar Siddiq from? The answer is that they received Spiritual Grace from Prophet Mohammad. Similarly Prophet Mohammad directly passed on Spiritual Grace to Imam Mehdi and Imam Mehdi is dispensing Spiritual Grace to all Sufi Orders. Imam Mehdi does not belong to any of the above mentioned Sufi Orders.
Prophetic Traditions mention that Imam Mehdi shall resemble Prophet Mohammad from head to toe. The thing to ponder is whether resembling the Prophet physically has any esoteric value? Does this affect anyone’s faith? No Prophetic Tradition mentions the Sufi Order of Imam Mehdi because these Sufi Orders were established after Prophet Mohammad; and during the era of the Prophet there were no Sufi Orders. Such questions are fabrications of the clerics and they are not based on reality.
Imam Mehdi is directly linked to Prophet Mohammad and in various narrations it is said that the spiritual powers and knowledge of all Prophets and Messengers combined will be in Imam Mehdi. Imam Mehdi shall grant all humanity Divine Love and enlighten the hearts and souls with the presence of God. When God enters the heart, this is known as the stage of Ehsaan (Martaba-e-Ehsaan). To recite the Kalima with the tongue is affirmation and the initial stage. To stop here is prohibited. One must obtain the acknowledgement of the heart and to do so you need the stage of Emaan (Martaba-e-Emaan). For this stage, you need a Perfect Spiritual Guide (Murshid-e-Kamil). The spiritual guide takes a pledge of allegiance and revives your heart with the name of God. He enlightens the souls and enables them to make spiritual journeys (Muraqba) to their respective realms. This is spirituality and its culmination is the Stage of Ehsaan. Once you have reached this stage, whenever you worship, you shall see God standing in front of you.
Imam Mehdi has not come to establish a small Sufi Order. Imam Mehdi has come to grant humanity what no prophet or saint has granted before. His Divine Eminence Imam Mehdi Gohar Shahi is taking sinners, without the hardships of austerities, to the spiritual stage where even the greatest Saints could not reach, through HDE’s merciful glance (Nazar).
For us, it is not a big deal that Imam Mehdi shall resemble Prophet Mohammad. We believe that Imam Mehdi Himself is Prophet Mohammad. Those who have a spiritual mindset shall understand what this means, because for a disciple, his spiritual guide is equivalent to God. Now, because the presence of God is within the spiritual guide, his company is the company of God. Is it not possible for Imam Mehdi to have the presence of Prophet Mohammad in Him? Imam Mehdi has been awaited for centuries and He shall grant spiritual grace by virtue of His own spiritual authority and power. To physically resemble Prophet Mohammad is not a big deal; but if we go into the depth of this matter, Imam Mehdi is Prophet Mohammad himself.
HDE Gohar Shahi’s image in the Holy Black Stone (Hajre Aswad) has two heads and one body. The Quran says:
وَلَلْآخِرَةُ خَيْرٌ لَّكَ مِنَ الْأُولَى
[93:4]
‘Your second era shall be greater than your first.’
When the Companions of the Prophet inquired about Imam Mehdi’s appearance and personality, the Prophet would reply, ‘Look here.’ The Companions began to ask if the Prophet himself would return in the guise of Imam Mehdi. Prophet Mohammad simply smiled and remained quiet. Now, it is possible the Prophet did not acknowledge this due to some Divine Wisdom. Or perhaps the people sitting in the company of the Prophet were not able to spiritually bear this knowledge. The teachings of HDE Imam Mehdi Gohar Shahi help us understand that the Prophet did not acknowledge this because Imam Mehdi is only the partial being of Prophet Mohammad (through the terrestrial souls), not the complete being.
The Quran said:
وَكُلَّ شَيْءٍ أَحْصَيْنَاهُ فِي إِمَامٍ مُّبِينٍ
[36:12]
‘We have accumulated all the qualities in the Imam un Mubeen.’
Now, when we say that part of the being of Prophet Mohammad is present in Imam Mehdi, the question of whether Imam Mehdi is from the household of the Prophet Mohammad (Ahle Bayt) is self-explanatory. If God is present in somebody’s heart, would you question if he is a Momin (believer) or a Kafir (infidel)? As far as proving it is concerned, nobody can prove anybody is from the household of the Prophet, because this is a blood relation and not that important. Through spiritual methodology, you can prove whether someone is pious or in close proximity of God. The son of Noah was the son of a prophet, but God said he is not from the household of Noah because he is not Sualeh (righteous).
قَالَ يَا نُوحُ إِنَّهُ لَيْسَ مِنْ أَهْلِكَ ۖ إِنَّهُ عَمَلٌ غَيْرُ صَالِحٍ ۖ فَلَا تَسْأَلْنِ مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهِ عِلْمٌ ۖ إِنِّي أَعِظُكَ أَن تَكُونَ مِنَ الْجَاهِلِينَ
[11:46]
We understand that being Sualeh is more important. For your information, Imam Mehdi is Fatimi, from the progeny of Fatima Zahra. But there are many Fatimi descendents from the household of the Prophet and today they are engaged in sins. It was the immediate household of the Prophet at the time of the Prophet whom God intended to purify. This did not apply to every coming generation. In God’s eyes, the standard and criteria is piety, purification of the heart and Self that makes one a Sualeh and from the Ahle Bayt.
2) Why did God grant man the rank of ‘Elite amongst all Creations’ (Ashraf al Makhlooqat)?
The question arises whether all human beings are ‘elite amongst all creations’? Most people believe God is closer to man than his jugular vein. The story begins with the creation of Adam Safi Allah, when the body of Adam Safi Allah was being created in the heaven and the angels objected. They said, ‘O’ God, you are creating man again. He will cause blood-shed and mischief in the world.’ God replied, ‘You do not know. We are granting him a special knowledge; if you know it, then tell me.’ The angels replied, ‘How would we know of the knowledge which you did not give us?’ God said, ‘I am giving him eminence over all previous Adams. I am giving him the knowledge of my names (Ilamal Asma); the knowledge of producing Divine Light (Noor) from my names.’
But we see today that Muslims such as Osama bin Laden, Al-Qaeda all believe in prophets, but still there is blood-shed. God said that this Adam would have eminence above all and would not cause blood-shed and mischief, but where do you see the eminence of the progeny of Adam Safi Allah today? There is no other religion like Islam, but where is your eminence today? Why doesn’t your religion reflect in your lives? The eminence of Adam was in the esoteric knowledge he was given, the knowledge of God’s Names. The human beings who obtained this knowledge of God’s names and the method of producing Divine Light became the elite amongst all creations. Such people came in the guise of Saints such as Ghous Pak, Data Sab, Guru Nanak, Sai Baba.
Regardless of religion, if you have the presence of God in your soul, you are ‘Elite amongst all Creations’. Angels are made of God’s Light, but they do not have the presence of God in them. But human beings have the ability to bring God into their hearts, and those who succeed in doing so are Ashraf al Makhlooqat.
3) What is the Kalima of ‘La Ilaha Illa Riaz’? What is Ghaib (Unseen)?
The Quran says that all of the progeny of Adam was but one nation. But as different prophets came, they began to divide into different religions, sects and tribes; and they would never have divided into so many sects had God not been awaiting the Kalima-e-Sabaqah (First and Foremost Declaration of Faith). ‘La Ilaha Illa Riaz’ is the Kalima-e-Sabaqah and it is the Kalima of the Unseen World (Alam-e-Ghaib). Obviously, people used to question the Prophet Mohammad about the Unseen World. This is why the Quran says:
فَقُلْ إِنَّمَا الْغَيْبُ لِلَّهِ
[10:20]
'If anyone asks about the Unseen, then tell them, "this is for God only."'
The Unseen World is one thing and to know of the Unseen World is another. God gave the news about the Unseen World to some of his favourite prophets, but none were able to access it, not even Prophet Mohammad.
Hadith-e-Qudsi: ‘I was inside the hidden treasure.’
God said, 'I was inside a hidden treasure and I wanted to be known'. When he came out of the hidden treasure, he created Makhlooq (creation). When God was inside the hidden treasure and had not created, was there ‘La Ilaha Ilallah’? This question goes to all the scholars and clerics of Islam. When God was inside the hidden treasure, who was he hidden from? ‘La Ilaha Ilallah,’ there is no creator (Ilah) for except God – when there was no one except God, then who was this treasure hidden from? God became a creator when he created the Makhlooq, and he created the Makhlooq when he came out from the hidden treasure. But this Kalima-e-Sabaqah existed before God emerged from the hidden treasure, before he created his Makhlooq.
4) What is the meaning and explanation of Rab al Arbab (Grand God)?
The thing to ponder on is the hidden treasure that God spoke of. A treasure does not consist of just one diamond. There are many diamonds and valuables that make up a treasure. The question is: when God said, ‘I was inside the hidden treasure,’ if he was alone, then there would be no need for him to come out and neither would it have been called a treasure. This means that the Johar (pearls) present in God’s Being were present amongst others in the treasure also; but one of them, God, came out from the hidden treasure. Then God said, ‘I loved to be known.’ Because God loved to be known, he created the Makhlooq and became a creator (Ilah). Then he said, 'There is no creator for except me (La Ilaha Ilallah)'. Because God was the only individual to come out from the hidden treasure and he was the sole creator of his Makhlooq, the Kalima ‘La Ilaha Ilallah’ is the truth. But as long as God was inside the hidden treasure, there was no ‘La Ilaha Ilallah’.
What was present then? Who created this treasure in which God was hidden? The secret of the creator of the hidden treasure lies in the Quran.
الر ۚ تِلْكَ آيَاتُ الْكِتَابِ الْحَكِيمِ
[10:1]
The creator of the hidden treasure kept Imam Mehdi in His spiritual company. Imam Mehdi became associated with this creator of the hidden treasure. Prophet Mohammad brought the Being of God hidden within him because of which he had eminence over all other prophets. But Imam Mehdi has brought ALRA, the Being of Rab al Arbab hidden within him. All other eminence has been terminated.
The creator of the hidden treasure is the Rab al Arbab (Grand God). Imam Mehdi Gohar Shahi is associated with Rab al Arbab and because of our association with Imam Mehdi, we have been fortunate to have been granted this Kalima of ‘La Ilaha Illa Riaz’. The Kalima that pre-existed all else.
5) What are the secrets of Alam-e-Ghaib (Unseen World)?
The secret of the Unseen World is that the other members of the Community of God reside there.
6) It is said that Imam Mehdi shall come in the era of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Jesus has not returned yet, so how can the advent of Imam Mehdi take place?
You know about the advent of Imam Mehdi because we have told you. It has been 16-17 years since the arrival of Jesus into this world, but his mission has not reached you; this is why you are not aware of it. Jesus is spiritually training his followers in the mountains of Sri Lanka and Thailand.
HH Younus AlGohar: I have met Jesus many times, physically and spiritually. Jesus has arrived but his message has not reached you yet.
It is said that Jesus would tell his followers about Imam Mehdi and Imam Mehdi would tell His followers about Jesus. It is not as if the whole world would gather in one field and Jesus and Imam Mehdi would be revealed in front of them. Both Jesus and Imam Mehdi have arrived in this era.
7) What is Alam-e-Wehdat (Realm of Divine Union) and Alam-e-Barzakh (Realm of Purgation)?
Alam-e-Wehdat is also known as the Reality of Mohammad, where the soul of Prophet Mohammad resides. Those who reach Maqam-e-Wasal (Station of Divine Union), there is a river (Behr-e-Wehdat) into which they transfuse and that river is in Alam-e-Wehdat. It is also known as Kousar.
إِنَّا أَعْطَيْنَاكَ الْكَوْثَرَ
[108:1]
Alam-e-Arwah is the Station of the Souls, where the souls are kept before their arrival into this world. Alam-e-Barzakh is the station where the souls are kept after the person dies. This includes the stations of Sijiyeen and Iliyeen.
8) What is meant by ‘The heart of a Momin is the Throne of God’?
There is a Prophetic Tradition that says the heart of a Momin (Believer) is the throne of God. God has created the Qalb (spiritual heart) of a human being as an imitation of Arsh-e-Ilahi (Throne of God). When the name of God enters the heart and it becomes inscribed on the heart, the echo of God’s name in the heart also echoes in Arsh-e-Ilahi. The heart becomes connected to the Arsh-e-Ilahi. A spiritual guide serves as a medium because he is connected to God; the voice of his heart reaches the Throne of God. People would please the spiritual guide so that through him, they may please God.
9) Why has God created us? What is the purpose of our creation?
In Hadith-e-Qudsi God explained the reason why he created human beings. God said, ‘I loved to be known, hence I created’. God is pleased with those who obtain Esoteric Knowledge (Irfan-e-Ilahi) and reach God. Therefore, those who are involved in wrongful acts and offer prayers without enlightenment of the heart do not know God, and God is displeased with them. The reason why God created you is so that you may recognise him and understand him. Understanding knowledge and understanding God are two different things.
To understand God means to know who he is, to know his divine mercy, to be able to see him and reach his essence. When you bring God into your heart and obtain Divine Union, God is pleased with you. The purpose of our creation is to bring God into our hearts so that we may recognise him.
10) What is the meaning of the word ‘Rab’?
The word ‘Rab’ is an Arabic word that means Provider; one who provides for, spiritually nurtures and protects the soul.
11) Why did Prophet Mohammad say, ‘Rabbi Zidni Ilma (Increase in my knowledge)’?
After seeing God, what is it that the Prophet Mohammad desired when he said, ‘Increase in my knowledge’? To see God is spiritual culmination, but there was some other knowledge that the Prophet Mohammad desired to know and that is the knowledge of the Unseen World.
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