Surah Al-Furqaan (25) — Ayah 1

1. Blessed [1] is He who sent down the Criterion [3] (the Qur’an) upon His servant [2], so that he may be a warner [4] to all the worlds.

[1]
The Literal Meaning of ﴿تبارك﴾:

The root of ﴿تبارك﴾ is ب ر ک. From this comes the word barakah (blessing), and barakah refers to obtaining the maximum expected or unexpected benefits from something. And "blessed" is that being who grants others the maximum expected and unexpected benefits. Furthermore, the word ﴿تبارك﴾ also contains the meaning of exaltation and sanctity, and this word is specific to the Being of Allah.

[2]
The Exaggeration of Muslims in the Status of Their Prophet:

Allah Almighty has used the word "abd" (servant) for His beloved Messenger at many places in the Noble Quran. The reason for this is that previous nations, out of devotion, exaggerated in the status of their messengers and elevated them from their true position to the level of Allah. The Jews said that Allah incarnated in the body of Uzair and that he was an avatar of Allah. Among Hindus, the belief in avatars or incarnation is also widespread. The Christians called Isa (Jesus) ؑ the son of Allah, and even went further to make him Allah Himself. That is why the Prophet ﷺ clearly warned his Ummah: "Do not exaggerate in praising me as the Christians exaggerated in praising Isa ibn Maryam. I am only Allah's servant, so say: Allah's servant and His Messenger." [بخاری، کتاب بدء الخلق۔ باب واذکر فی الکتاب مریم]

But it is unfortunate that despite this warning, Muslims did the same as the previous nations. A group among Muslims declared the Prophet to be "light from the light of Allah." And some people said:

He who was established on the Throne as God
Has descended in Madinah as Mustafa

The Jews and Christians limited this belief of incarnation to the prophets, but Muslims went further and adopted the belief of Allah's incarnation in other saints as well. Another similar verse:

Allah Himself took a name in India
Khawaja Gharib Nawaz

This also clarifies the belief of incarnation.

The Role of Abdullah bin Saba the Jew:

The one who introduced this belief into Islam was a Jew named Abdullah bin Saba. He was from the city of Sana'a in Yemen and was a very intelligent and clever man. When he realized that the Jews no longer had the strength to take revenge on the Muslims in the practical field, he accepted Islam as a deception and appeared in the guise of asceticism and piety. He became Muslim during the time of Umar ؓ and waited for the right moment. His conspiratorial movement was working very secretly from Makkah and Madinah and in other areas such as Kufa, Basra, and Egypt. Eventually, the supporters of this Jew leveled various accusations against Uthman ؓ and, finding an opportunity, committed hooliganism and martyred him in 35 AH. Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un. He struck Islam in two ways and, for the success of his conspiracy, chose Ali ؓ as a hero. His first blow was to give the impression to the newly converted non-Arab Muslims that, due to his kinship with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, Ali ؓ was the rightful heir to the caliphate and the first three caliphs had usurped his right. The new Muslims were not yet fully aware of Islamic teachings, so, according to the general worldly custom of inheritance and succession, they fell into his trap. The second blow was to introduce the religion of mysticism (tariqat) into Islam. He himself appeared in the guise of asceticism. Thus, by distinguishing between the outward and inward, and by explaining the secrets of shariah and tariqat, he introduced the heretical and infidel beliefs of the religion of tariqat among these new Muslims and claimed that Ali ؓ is the manifestation of Allah's Being and that Allah has incarnated in his body. Thus, in Islam, Ali ؓ is the first person about whom the belief of incarnation was adopted, and the belief of incarnation regarding the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is a much later development.

Sayyiduna Ali ؓ Punishing Those Who Called Him Allah:

Abdullah bin Saba himself once addressed Ali ؓ in Kufa in symbolic language and said, "Anta Huwa" meaning "You are He." Ali ؓ understood his belief and rebuked him severely, and later summoned him for punishment, but it was found that he had fled from Kufa. Nevertheless, he had prepared a group of followers. Once, these people were openly propagating their belief in the market when Ali ؓ's servant Qanbar heard them and informed Ali ؓ that some people are calling you Allah and believe in divine attributes in you. Ali ؓ summoned them; they were seventy people from the Zutt tribe. He asked them, "What do you say?" They replied, "You are our Lord, Creator, and Sustainer." He said, "Woe to you! I am only a servant like you and in need of food and drink like you. If I obey Allah, He will reward me, and if I disobey, He will punish me. So fear Allah and abandon this belief." The next day, Qanbar again informed Ali ؓ that they were repeating the same thing. He summoned and warned them again. But still, they did not desist. On the third day, he summoned them and threatened, "If you say this again, I will give you a severe punishment." But the leader of this group, Abdullah bin Saba, was running this movement under a special mission. Therefore, these people persisted in their belief. Ali ؓ had a pit dug, in which a fire was lit, and said to them, "See, even now desist, otherwise I will throw you into this pit." But as they remained firm in their belief, they were thrown into the fire by Ali ؓ's order. [فتح الباري۔ ج 12، ص 238]

Imam Bukhari has briefly recorded this hadith in the Book of the Repentance of Apostates and has used the word "zanadiqah" (heretic) for these incarnationists, and has also clarified that Ibn Abbas ؓ used to say that if he were the ruler, he would have sufficed with killing them instead of burning them. Those who held the belief of incarnation and survived became even more extreme in their belief. Their argument was that only Allah is entitled to punish with fire and water, and since Ali ؓ also punished with fire, therefore he is Allah Himself. They used to say:

«لا لعذب بالنار الا رب النار» meaning "The Lord of fire also punishes with fire."

The belief of Abdullah bin Saba passed from his followers, the Nusayriyyah, Kaisaniyyah, Qaramitah, and Batiniyyah, into the Sufis. Husayn bin Mansur Hallaj (d. 309 AH) is considered the chief standard-bearer of this belief, and he is the first person in Islam who openly claimed about himself that Allah had incarnated in him. That is, even before him, some Sufis were supporters of this belief and kept it hidden in their hearts, but the belief gained lasting fame through Hallaj. He himself claimed "Ana al-Haqq" (I am the Truth). When, despite being explained, he persisted in his belief, the Caliph of Baghdad, al-Muqtadir Billah, after taking a fatwa from the scholars, had him executed in Baghdad on 24 Dhu al-Qa'dah 309 AH (914 CE), and his "godly" corpse was burned and thrown into the river, and his divinity could not save even himself from death and the torment of burning. But it is astonishing that despite such a grave crime, the majority of Sufis supported him as being in the right, so the belief of incarnation has continued among Muslims to this day. Thus, Imam Ahl al-Sunnah Raza Khan Barelvi says: Question: Hazrat Mansur, Tabriz, and Sarmad uttered such words that prove divinity (i.e., these three claimed divinity), but they are considered saints of Allah, whereas Pharaoh, Shaddad, Haman, and Nimrod made the same claim and are eternally in Hell. What is the reason for this? Answer: Those disbelievers themselves said it and were accursed, and these (i.e., Mansur, Tabriz, and Sarmad) did not say it themselves. It was said by the One Who is worthy of saying it. And the voice was also heard from them, just as Musa heard from the tree: "Indeed, I am Allah, the Lord of all the worlds." Did the tree say it? Rather, Allah said it. Likewise, these personalities at that time are the tree of Musa. [احكام شريعت ص 93]

Ahl al-Sunnah and the Belief of Incarnation:

Reflect on the marked words and their reasoning in this answer, and see how the Imam Ahl al-Sunnah is advocating the secrets and mysteries of the belief of incarnation. Allah declared Pharaoh, Shaddad, Nimrod, Haman, etc., as dwellers of Hell and informed us of this in the Quran. As for Hallaj and Sarmad, you people call them saints. The general Muslims and scholars declared Mansur a heretic and disbeliever and issued a fatwa for his execution, and the fate of the other two is left to Allah. In another place, the same Imam Ahl al-Sunnah says that the radiant presence of Sayyiduna Ghawth al-Azam is the perfect inheritor and complete deputy, the mirror of the Being, of the Most Noble and Luminous Master of the Worlds ﷺ, and that the Prophet ﷺ, with all his attributes of beauty, majesty, perfection, and grace, is manifested in him. Just as the Being of Divine Oneness, with all its attributes and qualities and majesty, is manifested in the Muhammadan mirror ﷺ. [فتاويٰ افريقه ص 101]

Thus, the Imam's statement has clearly shown that the Being of Allah is manifested in the person of the Messenger of Allah. Similarly, in Ghawth al-Azam, the person of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is manifested. This is the belief of incarnation, which even a group among the Sufis has declared to be a misguided belief, because this is not only clear evidence of shirk (associating partners) in attributes but also in the Being itself. In refutation of this false belief, Allah said in Surah Nisa:

﴿يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ لَا تَغْلُوا فِي دِينِكُمْ وَلَا تَقُولُوا عَلَى اللَّـهِ إِلَّا الْحَقَّ﴾ [171:4] "O People of the Book! Do not exaggerate in your religion and speak only the truth."

And in Surah Ma'idah:

﴿قُلْ يٰٓاَهْلَ الْكِتٰبِ لَا تَغْلُوْا فِيْ دِيْنِكُمْ غَيْرَ الْحَقِّ﴾ [77:5] "O People of the Book! Do not exaggerate unjustly in your religion."

[3]
The Meaning of Furqan:

Furqan is an intensive form, meaning that which completely distinguishes between truth and falsehood, or between disbelief and faith. It refers to the Quran, which has so clearly explained every trait of faith and, in contrast, disbelief, polytheism, and hypocrisy, that no ambiguity remains. Some scholars have taken Furqan to mean the clear explanation of the commands of lawful and unlawful. And Yawm al-Furqan refers to the Day of Badr, which proved to be a decisive battle between truth and falsehood.

[4]
The Prophethood of the Prophet and the Guidance of the Quran is for All People Until the Day of Judgment:

The pronoun in "liyakuna" can refer to "abdihi" (His servant), to "Furqan" (the Quran), and to the possessor of the Quran. Because the invitation of both the Quran and the possessor of the Quran is the same. If the Quran is meant, the meaning will be that the Quran is a book of guidance for all people until the Day of Judgment. If the possessor of the Quran is meant, the meaning will be that you are Allah's Messenger ﷺ for all people until the Day of Judgment. And whether it is the Quran or the possessor of the Quran, the purpose of both is to warn people of the evil consequences of their evil deeds.