a Sovereign Doer of whatever He wills. 85:15
Know your Limits and Limitations
This is a story whose origins lie in a debate with one of my acquaintances who was from the Ahmadiyyah community (which us Muslims often call Qadiani or Mirzai, in a derogatory way), before reverting back to Islam after renouncing his beliefs in the community. Knowing that I am from Kashmir, he had tried to form a connection using the name of Hakeem Noor-ud-din, who spend several years as the court physician of the Maharaja of Kashmir. Hakeem Noor-ud-din was of the most well read and well traveled of those involved in the missionary activity in the cause of the Ahmadiyyah, and was influential in shaping their discourse. I read up on his biography, and on page 106, I found an interesting story, which not only showcases the vision of true scholars of the ummah such as Maulvi Abdul Qayyum, but also has lessons for all of us.
The story goes like this.
When Hakeem Noor-ud-din was leaving Bhopal after studying for a while with a famous scholar of Hadith at the time, Maulvi Abdul Qayyum, he asked him for some advice. Knowing his student has not completed his studies yet, and probably realizing what the future holds for him, Maulvi Abdul Qayyum gave him the following, somewhat cryptic, advice in Urdu:
خدا نہ بننا اور رسول نہ بننا
Roughly translated, it means "Do not (ever) try to be God, nor a prophet."
Obviously flustered by such an outwardly outrageous statement, Noor-ud-din pleaded ignorance regarding understanding the message behind such a statement. Not only that, he claimed that no one present in the audience, however august, could not decipher the meaning behind the statement.
Seeing that the message has been missed, Maulvi Abdul Qayyum asked, "Whom do you consider God?" meaning, what is the quality, in your mind that defines God. Noor-ud-din blurted that "God is the One Who possesses the attribute "a Sovereign Doer of whatever He wills" (referring to the Qur'anic verse 85:15). Maulvi sahib replied "This is what I am referring to. If something that you desire does not come to fruition, then (do not distress but) tell your ego that are you God?" (that all what you want is bound to happen).
Similarly, since a prophet gets direct commandments from God, he feels distressed when people disobey those, worrying for their well-being in this world and the Hereafter whether they might end up in the Fire. But if someone rejects your opinion, or disagrees with it, does that necessarily mean they will end up in the same Fire? So you need not take that personally.
It is not apparent that Hakeem Noor-ud-din benefited from this advice, but for sure we can benefit from it and learn to know ourselves, especially our limits and limitations.
