Belief in the Prophets and Messengers
We have
discussed belief in Allah (Mighty & Majestic) and His Oneness, and we have
proven, with evidence and testimony, in several different ways, the Existence
of God, the Creator of this universe and of all things from nothing, with His
Supreme Attributes, Absolute Power, and Comprehensive Knowledge, as we have
shown.
We have also discussed the point that, as a
requirement of our belief in God, the Creator (Mighty & Majestic), His
Attributes, and His Oneness—which is known as the unity of lordship (tawhid
al-rububiyyah)—we must worship Him and draw near to Him without setting up
partners or equals with Him!
It
is from the Ultimate Wisdom of Allah (Mighty & Majestic) that He sent
prophets and messengers to His slaves with the Straight Religion, so that they
might know the Supreme Attributes of their God and Creator, how to worship Him
(Noble & Sublime), how to maintain His unity, how to draw near to Him, and
how to know the path that will lead to His good pleasure (Noble & Sublime)
and how to avoid His displeasure.
What we would like to shed light upon very
briefly is: some of the proof that Allah (Mighty & Majestic) raised
prophets and messengers from amongst the people and sent them with a message,
and that we are therefore required to believe in them, in their call, and in
everything they came with.
Proof that
Allah (Mighty & Majestic) sent prophets and messengers:
1.
Man's unspoiled, good nature
and sound, straightforward reason:
Allah (Mighty & Majestic) created
human beings and designed them to believe in His Existence (Noble &
Sublime) and His Oneness. He sent to them prophets and messengers of their own
kind (human), speaking their own language, so that they might comprehend him
and understand from him, and also that they might be able to talk to him and
converse with him.
If He (Noble & Sublime) had sent to
mankind a messenger of another type, like the angels, they would not have been
able to face him or receive knowledge from him.
As such, it was from among the duties of
prophets and messengers, according to the Saying of Allah Most High,
{And We send not the Messengers but as givers of glad tidings and as
warners. So whosoever believes and does righteous good deeds, upon such shall
come no fear, nor shall they grieve. * But those who reject Our Signs, the
torment will touch them for their disbelief.}
[Al-An`aam 6: 48-49]
In other words, the prophet and messengers
came bearing glad tidings of goodness, reward and blessing to Allah's good,
believing slaves from Him (Blessed & Exalted). They were also sent to warn
those who disbelieve in Allah Almighty and deny His signs (following in this
their vain desires and trivial passions) of torment and punishment from Him
(Noble & Sublime).
Man's unspoiled nature and sound reason do
not deny what we have mentioned, nor do they stand against it; rather, they
accept and agree with it in the strongest way. In fact, man's good nature and
sound reason reject and oppose anyone who tries to make them doubt that Allah
(Mighty & Majestic) sent prophets and messengers.
As a supplement to clarify the Wisdom of
Allah (Mighty & Majestic) in sending prophets and messengers from among the
same kind as those they were sent to (humans):
-
If the prophets and messengers had been from
among the angels, for instance, the people would not have been able to see them
in their true form, due to the splendor of their appearance, and they would not
have taken to them. They would have been overcome with fear and trembling when
they spoke or touched them, and this would have made their speech and
invitation of no benefit.
-
If the angels had come as prophets and
messengers in human form, it would have been confusing for the people, and they
would have said to them: You are not angels; you are human.
-
If the prophets and messengers had been from
among the angels, men would not have been able to imitate them well.
If the angels
called people to do what Allah (Mighty & Majestic) commanded them to
do—from performing their religious duties to forsaking what they were forbidden
to do—and if the angels had modeled this behavior for them, by obeying the
Commands of Allah (Mighty & Majestic) and avoiding what Allah (Noble &
Sublime) had forbidden them, so that the people could emulate them, the people
would have said: It is not within our capacity to do what you have called us to
do. You—angels—are able to do it and fulfill everything you were called to do
because you are angels, and you are strong, but we are human, and we are weak.
That is why, in the Ultimate Wisdom of
Allah (Mighty & Majestic), He sent prophets and messengers from among the
same kind of being as those to whom they were sent—human beings. This is in
addition to the many other wisdoms we have discussed, so we will suffice
ourselves with the aforementioned.
2.
Belief in the Perfect,
Ultimate Wisdom of Allah (Mighty & Majestic), in accordance with His Saying
(Noble & Sublime), {And He is the All-Mighty, the All-Wise.}[Al-Hashr 59:
1]
We have
mentioned before the Supreme Attributes of Allah (Mighty & Majestic) and
His Absolute Power, and we have proven it scientifically, with a variety of
incontrovertible evidence and clear proof.
Among the Supreme Attributes of Allah
(Glorious & Exalted), there is that which demands of us that we believe in
it: His Complete, Ultimate, Perfect Wisdom.
For to God the Creator (Noble &
Sublime), belongs Absolute Perfection in all His Names and Attributes.
From the Wisdom of Allah (Mighty &
Majestic) is that He provided for man everything his body needs, from food,
drink, clothing, and balance in the universe which acts for man's benefit—from
earth, sun, moon, sky, mountains, cultivation, animals, birds, water, etc.—He
(Noble & Sublime), in His Wisdom and Perfection, provided man with what his
soul needs, for this more important than his body. He provided an upstanding
religion, lofty instructions, and guiding rites of worship, which bring him
closer to his God and Creator, and to victory in the realm of blessing and good
pleasure.
But, from where can a human being learn
what pleases his God and Creator?
It was the prophets and messengers who
were tasked with the job of calling people to Allah Almighty. It was their
responsibility to invite people to that which is pleasing to God, the Supreme
Creator: Allah, Lord of the Worlds.
Then if any disbelieved—in error and
contempt—that Allah Almighty had sent messengers to His creation, due to their
false claim that they (those who deny the prophets and messengers) had found
the world independent of any knowledge and without any of the commands of the
prophets and messengers, seeing as how they can discover good and evil through
reason alone, then it was the job of the prophets and messengers to refute
their arguments and doubts, saying to them:
Do you not see that when Allah's servants
remind one another, warn one another, and teach one another, their knowledge,
gratitude, obedience to Allah Almighty, and fear of Him (Noble & Sublime)
increase? According to them, they will say: Yes, since that is part of what
sound, rational, rightly-guided minds must do.
We say to them: Therefore, the persistent
succession of prophets and messengers were only sent by Allah Almighty to His
creation in order to renew the covenant of Allah (Noble & Sublime) with His
slaves—that they believe in Him, affirm His Oneness, and purify their worship
for Him Alone—on the tongues of His prophets and messengers. Likewise, were the
succession of warnings, reminders, and guidance to proper rites of worship,
noble directives, prudent standards of interaction, and upstanding laws, in
addition to the details of ambiguous matters, between what Allah (Mighty &
Majestic) has permitted and what He has forbidden, and thus, true awareness of
both paths: the good and the evil, without conjecture or assumption, and
without blindly following vain desires, especially since the nature, ideas, and
standards of human beings differ.
As such, it is from the Perfection of
Allah's Wisdom that He sent prophets and messengers, out of compassion and
mercy from Him (Blessed & Exalted) toward His slaves.
Another example of this is:
If there was a king or ruler and some of
his soldiers rebelled against him, would it not be from wisdom, justice,
leniency, and reconciliation for this ruler to send a messenger to them to tell
them to abandon their rebellion and forsake their resistance and disobedience
before crushing them without advising them first and taking them by surprise
without forewarning?[1]
The answer is: Of course, for that is from
wisdom, justice, mercy, and compassion.
3. Miracles
and Wonders with which Allah (Mighty & Majestic) Supported His Prophets and
Messengers:
Allah (Mighty
& Majestic) sent His prophets and messengers, supported by miracles and
wonders as testament to their prophethood, message, the truth of their call,
and all the news they came with, especially since their call conformed
completely to pure, unspoiled human nature and straightforward, honest reason.
We have presented previously some aspects
of the tangible miracles of Allah's Messenger, Muhammad (pbuh).
Thus, all people must believe in each of
Allah's prophets and messengers when it becomes clear that their call—which
agrees with pure human nature and straightforward, honest human reason—is true,
and when supporting testimony for the truth of their prophethood and message
appears in the form of miracles and wonders, sent by Allah (Mighty &
Majestic) to support them with that which none other than the prophets and
messengers are capable of producing.
As such, rejecting or opposing any
of the prophets or messengers is, in fact, rejection of all the prophets
and messengers. Indeed, it is rebellion against Allah (Mighty & Majestic)
Who sent them.
Just as those who believe in a messenger
are obliged to believe in all the messengers, anyone who disbelieves in one of
them has necessarily disbelieved in them all. In the Words of the Most High,
Verily, those who disbelieve
in Allah and His Messengers and wish to make a distinction between Allah and
His Messengers, saying, "We believe in some, but reject others,"
wishing to adopt a way in between, * They are, in truth, disbelievers. And We
have prepared for the disbelievers a humiliating torment. * And those who
believe in Allah and His Messengers and make no distinction between any of
them, We shall give them their rewards, and Allah is Ever Oft-Forgiving, Most
Merciful.
[Al-Nisaa' 4: 150-152]
Likewise, we
would like to make it clear that every time a prophet has reached a people,
they became his nation, and they were obliged to obey him. For example:
If someone believed in the Prophet of
Allah, Moses (peace be upon him), because of what he learned about the truth of
his call, which agrees with pure human nature and sound reason, and he followed the law with which Moses
(pbuh) came, and then this person met the Prophet of Allah, Jesus (peace be
upon him), and became convinced of his prophethood and message, could this
person, who believed in Moses (pbuh) and followed the law with which he came,
not follow the Prophet of Allah, Jesus (pbuh), and the law with which he came,
claiming that he was from the nation of Moses (pbuh) and not from the nation of
Jesus (pbuh)?
Of course not, since that person would
have reached the Prophet of Allah, Jesus (pbuh). Thus, he would become of his
nation and he would be obliged to abide by the law with which he came, not the
law with which Moses (pbuh) came.
Therefore, everyone who reaches the
Messenger of Allah, Muhammad (pbuh), has become of his nation, and he becomes
obliged to follow him (pbuh), and abide by the law with which he came, whether
he was a Jew, a Christian, or otherwise.
The truth is that everyone who follows the
Prophet of Allah, Moses (pbuh) or the Prophet of Allah, Jesus (pbuh),
correctly, would be led by this following to believe and have faith in the
prophethood and message of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and to follow him. That
is because both the Torah and the Gospels, as well as other divine scriptures
brought good tidings and news of this prophet, the Seal of the Prophets and
Messengers, Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him). We shall, by the Will of
Allah Almighty, mention some of these prophecies in good time.
Thus, authentic scriptural reference and
straightforward logic both lead to belief in the Final Message—that of
Muhammad, may the peace and blessing of Allah be upon him.
[1]
The Method of Argument and
Debate in Settling Matters of Belief (Manhaj al-Jadal wal-Munadharah fi Taqrir al-I`tiqaad), by Dr.
Uthman Ali Hassan
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