ISLAM
Rasul Continues: Hablillah, Wasilah and the Sanad of the Bearers of the Risalah
Muhammad ﷺ is al-Nabiyy al-Ummiyy, the original bearer of the Risalah for this Ummah. Prophethood reached its completion with him, but the trust of carrying the Risalah continues through bearers who receive, preserve and convey it.
The Quran states:
مَّا كَانَ مُحَمَّدٌ أَبَا أَحَدٍ مِّن رِّجَالِكُمْ وَلَٰكِن رَّسُولَ اللَّهِ وَخَاتَمَ النَّبِيِّينَ
“Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but the Messenger of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets.”
— Al-Ahzab 33:40
The wording is:
خَاتَمَ النَّبِيِّينَ
— the Seal of the Prophets
not:
خَاتَمَ الرُّسُل
Therefore, what is sealed is the position of prophethood with Muhammad ﷺ, while the Risalah continues to require bearers.
⸻
EVERY UMMAH HAS A RASUL
The Quran states:
وَلِكُلِّ أُمَّةٍ رَّسُولٌ
“And for every Ummah there is a Rasul.”
— Yunus 10:47
And:
وَلَقَدْ بَعَثْنَا فِي كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ رَّسُولًا أَنِ اعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ وَاجْتَنِبُوا الطَّاغُوتَ
“And indeed We raised among every Ummah a Rasul: ‘Worship Allah and avoid taghut.’”
— An-Nahl 16:36
This indicates that the function of the Rasul is present together with the Ummah.
The Quran also states:
ثُمَّ أَرْسَلْنَا رُسُلَنَا تَتْرَا
“Then We sent Our messengers in succession.”
— Al-Mu’minun 23:44
تَتْرَا — tatrā
= successively, continuing one after another.
And:
وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَا مُوسَى الْكِتَابَ وَقَفَّيْنَا مِن بَعْدِهِ بِالرُّسُلِ
“And indeed We gave Musa the Book, then We followed him with messengers.”
— Al-Baqarah 2:87
The important words are:
وَقَفَّيْنَا مِن بَعْدِهِ بِالرُّسُلِ
= We followed him with messengers.
The structure is:
BEARER → BEARER → BEARER
The Risalah does not travel by itself. It continues through human beings.
⸻
EVERY UMMAH HAS A WARNER
Fatir 35:24 states:
وَإِن مِّنْ أُمَّةٍ إِلَّا خَلَا فِيهَا نَذِيرٌ
“And there has been no Ummah except that a warner has passed among them.”
Al-A‘raf 7:35 also states:
يَا بَنِي آدَمَ إِمَّا يَأْتِيَنَّكُمْ رُسُلٌ مِّنكُمْ يَقُصُّونَ عَلَيْكُمْ آيَاتِي
“O children of Adam, when messengers from among you come to you, relating My verses to you…”
The important words are:
رُسُلٌ مِّنكُمْ
= messengers from among you
and:
يَقُصُّونَ عَلَيْكُمْ آيَاتِي
= relating My verses to you.
A Rasul is a bearer of the Risalah and a warner.
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SANAD: THE RISALAH IS RECEIVED FROM HUMAN BEINGS
The Prophet ﷺ said:
بَلِّغُوا عَنِّي وَلَوْ آيَةً
“Convey from me, even if it is one verse.”
— Sahih al-Bukhari 3461
Notice:
عَنِّي
= from me
بَلِّغُوا
= convey.
There is a source.
There is a receiver.
There is a subsequent transmitter.
Sunan Abi Dawud 3659 makes this clearer:
تَسْمَعُونَ وَيُسْمَعُ مِنْكُمْ وَيُسْمَعُ مِمَّنْ سَمِعَ مِنْكُمْ
“You will hear, then others will hear from you, and others will hear from those who heard from you.”
— Sunan Abi Dawud 3659
This is the picture of a continuous sanad:
THE PROPHET ﷺ
↓
YOU HEAR
↓
OTHERS HEAR FROM YOU
↓
THE NEXT PEOPLE HEAR FROM THOSE WHO HEARD FROM YOU
The following hadith reinforces this:
نَضَّرَ اللَّهُ امْرَأً سَمِعَ مِنَّا حَدِيثًا فَحَفِظَهُ حَتَّى يُبَلِّغَهُ
“May Allah brighten the person who hears a hadith from us, preserves it, and then conveys it.”
— Sunan Abi Dawud 3660
The structure is:
سَمِعَ مِنَّا — receives from us
↓
فَحَفِظَهُ — preserves it
↓
يُبَلِّغَهُ — conveys it
This is a living inheritance, not a text disconnected from its bearer.
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HABLILLAH — THE BOND OF CONNECTION
Ali ‘Imran 3:103 states:
وَاعْتَصِمُوا بِحَبْلِ اللَّهِ جَمِيعًا وَلَا تَفَرَّقُوا
“Hold firmly, all together, to Hablillah and do not become divided.”
حَبْل — ḥabl
= rope, bond, connection.
The wording of the verse is not:
دِين — dīn
Habl is not dīn.
A rope functions by connecting.
Within the structure of sanad:
حَبْلِ اللَّهِ
= the connection between the bearers of the Risalah that connects the receiver to the previous bearer until it returns to the original bearer of the Risalah.
Therefore:
وَلَا تَفَرَّقُوا
is not merely a prohibition against quarrelling.
It means:
DO NOT ALLOW THAT CONNECTION TO BE BROKEN.
The following verse states:
وَلَا تَكُونُوا كَالَّذِينَ تَفَرَّقُوا وَاخْتَلَفُوا مِن بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَهُمُ الْبَيِّنَاتُ
“And do not be like those who became divided and differed after clear proofs had come to them.”
— Ali ‘Imran 3:105
The connection must be preserved so that the trust does not become an inheritance without a source.
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WASILAH — THE CONNECTING PATH TO REACH
Al-Ma’idah 5:35 states:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَابْتَغُوا إِلَيْهِ الْوَسِيلَةَ
“O you who believe, be mindful of Allah and seek the Wasilah towards Him.”
Al-Isra’ 17:57 states:
أُولَٰئِكَ الَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ يَبْتَغُونَ إِلَىٰ رَبِّهِمُ الْوَسِيلَةَ أَيُّهُمْ أَقْرَبُ
“Those whom they call upon themselves seek the Wasilah towards their Lord, seeking which of them is nearer.”
After الْوَسِيلَةَ comes:
أَيُّهُمْ أَقْرَبُ
= which of them is nearer.
Therefore:
HABL
= the rope that connects
WASILAH
= the path through which one reaches
SANAD
= the chain of human beings who preserve that connection.
Hadith also connects al-Wasilah with Muhammad ﷺ:
ثُمَّ سَلُوا اللَّهَ لِيَ الْوَسِيلَةَ
“Then ask Allah to grant me al-Wasilah…”
— Sahih Muslim 384
Wasilah is not separated from the position of Muhammad ﷺ as the original bearer of the Risalah.
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ULAMA AS INHERITORS OF THE PROPHETS — NOT EVERYONE CALLED AN ULAMA
The hadith states:
وَإِنَّ الْعُلَمَاءَ وَرَثَةُ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ
“Indeed, the ulama are the inheritors of the Prophets.”
The hadith then explains:
وَإِنَّ الأَنْبِيَاءَ لَمْ يُوَرِّثُوا دِينَارًا وَلَا دِرْهَمًا وَرَّثُوا الْعِلْمَ
“The Prophets did not leave dinars or dirhams as inheritance; they left knowledge as inheritance.”
— Sunan Abi Dawud 3641
Here, the term must be understood:
ULAMA AS INHERITORS OF THE PROPHETS
It is a specific category.
For example:
a petroleum tanker
refers to a particular category of lorry, not every lorry.
Likewise:
ULAMA AS INHERITORS OF THE PROPHETS
does not mean every person who is given the title of ulama.
Not every religious graduate.
Not every PhD holder.
Not every preacher.
An inheritor must possess an inheritance.
And that inheritance must have a connection through which it was received.
The structure is:
THE PROPHET ﷺ
↓
TEACHER
↓
STUDENT
↓
NEXT TEACHER
↓
NEXT BEARER
That is the sanad of inheritance.
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LEARNING FROM AHL AL-DHIKR
The Quran states:
فَاسْأَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِن كُنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ
“So ask Ahl al-Dhikr if you do not know.”
— An-Nahl 16:43; Al-Anbiya’ 21:7
Notice the direction:
the one who does not know → asks the one who possesses dhikr/knowledge.
Knowledge is received through people, not merely through reading materials separated from their bearers.
The Quran also states:
وَكُونُوا مَعَ الصَّادِقِينَ
“And be with those who are truthful.”
— At-Taubah 9:119
Not merely:
“read about the truthful.”
But:
مَعَ — with.
The connection from one human being to another is part of the education of the Risalah.
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LEARN → RETURN → GIVE WARNING
At-Taubah 9:122 is particularly important:
فَلَوْلَا نَفَرَ مِن كُلِّ فِرْقَةٍ مِّنْهُمْ طَائِفَةٌ لِّيَتَفَقَّهُوا فِي الدِّينِ وَلِيُنذِرُوا قَوْمَهُمْ إِذَا رَجَعُوا إِلَيْهِمْ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَحْذَرُونَ
“Why does a group from each community not go forth to gain understanding of the dīn, then warn their people when they return to them, so that they may be cautious?”
The structure is:
GO AND LEARN
↓
UNDERSTAND
↓
RETURN
↓
GIVE WARNING
This is very close to the function of a bearer of the Risalah.
Knowledge is received.
Then it is brought back.
Then it is conveyed.
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BEARERS OF THE TRUTH CONTINUE UNTIL THE END
The Prophet ﷺ said:
لَا تَزَالُ طَائِفَةٌ مِنْ أُمَّتِي ظَاهِرِينَ عَلَى الْحَقِّ لَا يَضُرُّهُمْ مَنْ خَذَلَهُمْ حَتَّى يَأْتِيَ أَمْرُ اللَّهِ
“There will always remain a group from my Ummah manifest upon the truth; those who abandon them will not harm them until the command of Allah comes.”
— Sahih Muslim 1920
And:
لَنْ يَبْرَحَ هَذَا الدِّينُ قَائِمًا … حَتَّى تَقُومَ السَّاعَةُ
“This dīn will continue to stand… until the Sā‘ah is established.”
— Sahih Muslim 1922
Therefore, the connection of the bearers of truth does not disappear along the way.
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MUHAMMAD ﷺ — THE ORIGINAL BEARER OF THE RISALAH
Muhammad ﷺ is:
النَّبِيّ الأُمِّيّ
He is the original bearer of the Risalah.
From him:
بَلِّغُوا عَنِّي
— convey from me.
Then:
تَسْمَعُونَ
— you hear.
Then:
وَيُسْمَعُ مِنْكُمْ
— others hear from you.
Then:
وَيُسْمَعُ مِمَّنْ سَمِعَ مِنْكُمْ
— others hear from those who heard from you.
This is a living chain.
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UMMATAN WASATHON — WITNESSES AT THE TRANSITION
Al-Baqarah 2:143 states:
وَكَذَٰلِكَ جَعَلْنَاكُمْ أُمَّةً وَسَطًا لِّتَكُونُوا شُهَدَاءَ عَلَى النَّاسِ وَيَكُونَ الرَّسُولُ عَلَيْكُمْ شَهِيدًا
“And thus We have made you a middle Ummah so that you may be witnesses over humanity, and the Messenger may be a witness over you.”
The structure is:
الرَّسُولُ
↓
أُمَّةً وَسَطًا
↓
شُهَدَاءَ عَلَى النَّاسِ
The Messenger becomes a witness over the middle Ummah.
The middle Ummah becomes witnesses over humanity.
Ummatan Wasathon stands at the transition between the Worldly Realm and the Akhirah Realm.
Their task is:
to convey the Risalah of Tawhid,
to give the final warning,
to prepare the Ark of Salvation,
to provide an opportunity to return,
and to bear witness that humanity has been warned.
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THE FINAL RASUL — THE PATTERN OF NUH عليه السلام
At the final stage of the transition, the bearer of the Risalah takes on a role following the pattern of Nuh عليه السلام.
Nuh gave warning:
قَالَ رَبِّ إِنِّي دَعَوْتُ قَوْمِي لَيْلًا وَنَهَارًا
“He said: My Lord, indeed I have called my people night and day.”
— Nuh 71:5
The warning was given repeatedly.
The Ark was prepared.
Human beings were given a choice.
Then came the testimony that they had been informed.
Likewise, the function of the Rasul together with Ummatan Wasathon is:
RASUL
→ carries the warning
UMMATAN WASATHON
→ conveys and bears witness
HUMANITY
→ is given the choice to accept or reject.
⸻
HABLILLAH + WASILAH + SANAD
The complete structure is:
مُحَمَّد ﷺ — النَّبِيّ الأُمِّيّ
THE ORIGINAL BEARER OF THE RISALAH
↓
SANAD
chain of transmission and reception
↓
حَبْلِ اللَّهِ — HABLILLAH
the bond of connection that must not be broken
↓
الْوَسِيلَة — WASILAH
the connecting path through which one reaches the original bearer
↓
ULAMA AS INHERITORS OF THE PROPHETS
those who receive the inheritance through that connection
↓
RASUL / BEARER OF THE RISALAH IN EVERY AGE
↓
أُمَّةً وَسَطًا — UMMATAN WASATHON
↓
شُهَدَاءَ عَلَى النَّاسِ — WITNESSES OVER HUMANITY
CONCLUSION
The Risalah is not inherited through a name.
It is not inherited through a certificate.
It is not inherited because someone has many followers.
It is inherited through continuous reception.
The Prophet ﷺ himself described it:
“You hear; others hear from you; and the next people hear from those who heard from you.”
That is sanad.
Hablillah is the bond of connection.
Wasilah is the connecting path.
The ulama who are inheritors of the Prophets are those who receive that inheritance through this connection.
Muhammad ﷺ is the original bearer of the Risalah.
And when humanity enters the final transition:
THE RASUL CARRIES THE WARNING.
UMMATAN WASATHON CONVEYS IT.
HUMANITY IS GIVEN AN OPPORTUNITY.
AND THE SANAD BECOMES A WITNESS THAT THE RISALAH HAS NEVER BEEN BROKEN.