Shaikh Abdul Haqq (d. 1642 C.E.): This most famous muhaddis (scholar of Hadith) of Delhi, wrote:

``Wilayat [sainthood, or being a wali] is the zill of prophethood.''

(Sharh Futuh al-Ghaib, Lucknow, India, 1918, p. 23)

``As wilayat is, in point of fact, the zill of prophethood, whatever that man has will also appear in the shadow, especially the greater wilayat.''

(ibid., p. 12)

Shaikh Ahmad of Sirhind (d. 1624 C.E.), Mujaddid Alif Sani:

``In short, the station of wilayat is the zill of the station of prophethood, and the attainments of wilayat are the zill of the attainments of prophethood.''

(Maktubat, Daftar II, Letter no. 71, p. 236, published in Lahore)

``As the zill has no intrinsic value of its own, but the intrinsic value of the original which has manifested itself in the zill, hence the original is closer to the zill than the zill's ownself because the zill is the reflection of the original, not of its own self.''

(ibid., Daftar III, Letter no. 1, p. 6)

Sayyid Ismail Shaheed (d. 1831 C.E.): This theologian who fought under Sayyid Ahmad Barelvi in a military campaign against the Sikhs, wrote in his books:

``There will be many pure and holy souls who shall bear a likeness to the prophets, and shall be the zill of messengership. In short, these persons are of such a rank that, if there had not been an end to prophets, they would have held the office of prophethood. To conclude, such persons will continue to exist till the Last Day.''

(Preface to Sirat-i Mustaqim, p. 1, Urdu translation by Abdul Jabbar)

``Point no. 1: Imamat is the zill of messengership (risalat). Point no. 2: The Imam is the deputy of the Messenger (rasul).''

(Mansab-i Imamat, p. 125, Urdu translation by Muhammad Husain Alwi, published by A'inah Adab, Lahore, 2nd ed., 1969)

Qari Muhammad Tayyib: The well-known Deoband theologian writes:

``Prophethood is the original, and reformership [Tajdid or being a mujaddid] is its zill because reformership is the actual zill of prophethood.''

(Ulama-i Hind ka Shandar Mazi Jadeed, i.e. `Bright recent past of the Indian Ulama,' p. 308, Dehli, 2nd edition)

Professor Yusuf Saleem Chishti:

``The third question is, what is the meaning of zill? The answer is that the zill, for its existence, is the follower of the original, i.e. it stands in need of real existence. For example, if a man stands in the sun, although his zill, i.e. the shadow, exists, but it does not have a real or independent existence of its own. If the man moves into the shade, the zill ceases to exist. In other words, the essence of the zill has no existence.''

(Sharh Bab Jibreel, p. 162, Delhi, 1970)

Qazi Sana-ullah of Panipat: Commenting on the Quranic verse: ``O Mary, God has chosen thee'', this classical commentator writes:

``That is, He has chosen thee for Himself, for His brilliance which the Sufis term as attainments of prophethood. These attainments, in the real sense, are for the prophets. The truthful ones [sadiq, rank of saint] gain them by way of obedience and inheritance. Mary was a truthful one, as God said: His [Jesus'] mother was a truthful woman.''

(Tafsir Mazhari, vol. ii, under verse mentioned)

Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad has discussed extensively the concept of zill. He wrote precisely the same as the scholars cited above, as can be seen from the extracts given below:

``When some persons of the Muslim nation turn to the obedience of the Holy Prophet Muhammad with perfect humility, and totally lose themselves in their humbleness, God, finding them like a clear mirror, manifests the blessings of the Holy Prophet through their being. And whatever praise they receive from God, or whatever blessings and signs are displayed by them, all these praises are for the Holy Prophet, and he is the source of all these blessings. But because the perfect follower of the Holy Prophet is a zill [spiritual image], the Divine light of that Holy Person can be seen in his zill as well. It is not a hidden matter that the shadow has the form of its original. However, the shadow has no existence of its own, and no real attribute, but all that it has is an image of its original.''

(Barahin Ahmadiyya, Part III, Section 1, footnote on footnote 1, p. 243)

``No status of honour or perfection, and no position of dignity and Divine nearness, can be achieved by us except by true and perfect following of the Holy Prophet Muhammad. Whatever [spiritual achievement] we get is obtained through the medium of the Holy Prophet by way of reflection (zill).''

(Izala Auham, p. 138)

``There have been hundreds of persons in whom the `reality of Muhammad' was established, and with God they had the names `Muhammad' and `Ahmad' by way of reflection (zill).''

(Ainah Kamalat Islam, p. 346)

``Sainthood (wilayat) is the perfect zill of prophethood.''

(Hujjat-Ullah, p. 24)

``The prophet is the real thing, and a saint is the zill [his image or shadow].''

(Karamat as-Sadiqeen, p. 85)

``Thus the person who, totally effacing himself in the one he serves [i.e. Holy Prophet], receives the title of prophet (nabi) from God, does not contravene the finality of prophethood. It is just as when you see yourself in the mirror, you do not become two, but remain only one, though there appear to be two. The only difference is that between the real and the zill.''

(Kishti Nuh, p. 15)

``Of course, muhaddases will come who will be spoken to by God, and possess some attributes of full prophethood by way of zill [reflection], and in some ways be coloured with the colour of prophethood. I am one of these.''

(Nishan Asmani, p. 28)

``Remember well that the fruits of perfect obedience [to the Holy Prophet] are never wasted. This is an issue of Tasawwuf. If the rank of zill had not existed, the saints of the Muslim nation would have died. It was exactly this perfect obedience, and the rank of burooz and zill [becoming a reflection or image of the Holy Prophet], due to which Bayazid [famous Muslim saint, d. 874 C.E.] was called `Muhammad'. In brief, the people who oppose us are unaware of these facts.''

(Badr, 27 October 1905)

In short, zilli nabi (a prophet by way of reflection) means the image (zill) of a prophet, i.e. such a person who mirrors the prophethood of a prophet, or the image of prophethood is manifested through him. If this was real prophethood, it would be absurd to call it the image of prophethood. What the Holy Quran calls wilayat (sainthood) the Sayings of the Holy Prophet Muhammad call muhaddasiyyat, and exactly the same thing is called zilli nubuwwat (reflected prophethood) by the Sufis. So being a ``prophet by way of reflection'' is precisely the same as being a saint (wali or muhaddas). It is not prophethood.