Role of the Believers of Later Times

Malik al-Ashari says that the Prophet of Islam once said: “There are some such believers as are neither prophets nor martyrs, but even prophets and martyrs will envy them, because of their status and nearness to God, on the Day of Judgement.” (Musnad Ahmad, Hadith No. 22894) In these traditions, it is most likely that the believers mentioned therein, who will be born in the age of science, are the group called the “Brothers of the Prophet”. Owing to the discoveries of nature, a new societal framework will come into existence, by availing of which it will become possible for them to experience higher levels of realization. In one respect, the Companions of the Prophet and the Brothers of the Prophet share the same motivation: to avail of the opportunities in their respective eras to promote the peaceful message of Islam. Therefore, the Companions of the Prophet used whatever opportunities were available in ancient times. For their part, the Brothers of the Prophet will avail of the opportunities available in the scientific age of later times for spreading the word of God. In my view, there will perhaps be three ways in which the Brothers of the Prophet will avail of the prevailing opportunities: