What is the divine purpose for sending prophets? - Part 3

Continued from Part 2...

After these introductory points, we shall explain the Divine purposes for sending the Prophets.

God declared in the Qur’an:

I have not created jinn and mankind except to serve me. (al-Zariyat, 51.56)

We have not been created to eat, drink and reproduce; these are natural facts of our life, and natural needs. The main purpose for our creation is to recognize God and serve Him. For this reason, all the Prophets were sent to show us the way to the service of God. Again, God declares in the Qur’an:

We never sent a Messenger before you except that We revealed to him, saying, ‘there is no god but I, so serve Me!’ (al-Anbiya’, 21.25)

Indeed, We sent forth among every nation a Messenger, saying, ‘serve you God, and eschew ‘taghut’ [idols, tyrants, Satan and the party of Satan]’. Then some of them God guided and some were justly disposed to misguidance. (al-Nahl, 16.36)

God sent the Prophets so that they might guide us to His service. All the Prophets were sent for the same purpose, with the exception that while the mission of all the previous Prophets was ‘limited’ to only one nation and a fixed period, the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, was sent as a mercy to all the ‘worlds’, including mankind and jinn.

The jinn are beings that we cannot see. According to an authentic narration, Ibn Mas‘ud reports the following incident concerning the Prophet’s preaching his Message to the jinn:

Once God’s Messenger and I went somewhere. He drew a circle around me and said, Do not leave this circle until I return. He went, and after a while, some tumults broke out on the other side. I wondered whether something had happened to God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, but he had commanded me not to leave the circle until his return. Some time later, God’s Messenger returned and I asked him about the uproar. He replied: The jinn have believed in, and taken the oath of allegiance to, me. When some among them insisted on unbelief, fighting broke out between them. The uproar you heard was the fighting. This implies that my life is about to terminate.1

By this last sentence, God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, meant that the purpose for his being sent was to open the way to the guidance of mankind and jinn, and once this way was opened, it would be of no use for him to live longer because there was nothing more left to him to do in life. This also implies that a believer should never be neglectful of his essential duty in this world and pray to God, as instructed by God’s Messenger, saying, ‘O God, make me die if death is good for me; or else, make me live long as long as living is good for me!’2

1. Tabari, Jami‘ al-Bayan, 24.33; I. Hanbal, 1.499.

2. Bukhari, Marda, 19; Muslim, Dhikr, 10.

What is the divine purpose for sending prophets? - Part 2

Prophets were chosen men through whom God manifested Himself

Before further elaboration on the Divine purpose for sending the Prophets, I would like to emphasize three points.

Firstly, the Prophets were far from being as some lacking in manners and sound reflection have described them. They were not, as some think, ordinary men like us. They were chosen men through whom God manifested Himself. God chose them from among people and paid great attention to their upbringing, so that during their life they would always seek to gain His approval. Like his predecessors, the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, always pursued God’s good pleasure and his last words were: ‘To Rafiq al-A’la (the Highest Abode)’. ‘A’isha, Mother of Believers, gives the following account of his last moments:

I was with him during his last moments. Whenever he became ill, he used to ask me to pray for him and, expecting my prayer to be accepted through the blessing of his auspicious hand, I held his hand and prayed. During his last illness, I wanted to do the same and pray, when he suddenly withdrew his hand and said, ‘to Rafiq al-A’la!’1

Secondly, the world has never been devoid of the successors to the mission of Prophethood, who devote their lives to the dissemination of truths. They should seek what the Prophets sought, they should preach what the Prophets preached, and they should strictly follow the Prophets in performing their duties – in enjoining good and forbidding evil. By explaining the Divine purpose for sending the Prophets, I hope I will be able to shed some light on the way of those who try to lead the people along the path of the Prophets.

Thirdly, death is not total annihilation. It is only a changing of the worlds, but without completely breaking away from this one. In addition, the death of the Prophets is different from that of ordinary people. God declares about martyrs, whose spiritual degrees are lower than that of the Prophets, Say not of those slain in God’s way, ‘They are dead’, but they are alive but you understand not’ (al-Baqara, 2.154). So we should not say of the Prophets, ‘they are dead’. For this reason, the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, did not taste death in the manner we know; he only changed places and passed on into another dimension or degree of life. Those who can penetrate with their inner faculties into the dimensions other than the ones in which we live, can experience different dimensions of time and space. They can see different creatures and look into things and events from different viewpoints. We consider things and events according to the stream in which we are, but if we can rise high enough to see this stream with all its dimensions, and the scope of our sight is enlarged as we rise, then we will be able to obtain a more comprehensive capacity and standard in our judgment of everything. Thus, those who have been able to gain this capacity, while sitting among us, might also be sitting in the presence of God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, and God’s Messenger himself may now be stroking the heads of some among us. While performing prayer here with us, he may also be leading the same prayer in the Hereafter before the angels. There is a particular class of saints called abdal – substitutes – for when one of them dies, he is immediately substituted with a new one, who can see the Prophet whenever they wish. Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti, a sixteenth-century scholar, once said: ‘I have seen God’s Messenger twenty-eight times while awake.’

1. Bukhari, Maghazi, 78; Muslim, Salam, 50,51; Abu Dawud, Tib, 19.

Continued in Part 3...

What is the divine purpose for sending prophets? - Part 1

The Prophets were sent to illuminate the way of mankind

Today, the greatest problem of mankind is that they do not recognize the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, and that they neglect and, in some parts of the world, even refuse, to follow his way. God sent Muhammad, as He had sent all the previous Prophets, to illuminate the way of mankind. He said:

God was gracious to the believers when He raised up among them a Messenger from themselves who recites to them the verses (of His Book) and shows them His signs [in their selves and in the universe], purifies them [of their sins and their deviations of thought and belief], and instructs them in the Book and the Wisdom. They were evidently in manifest misguidance before. (Al ‘Imran, 3:164)

God sent Messengers to mankind throughout the ages so that mankind might be guided to the truth and be purified of sins. Those who were enlightened by the Messengers of God, found the way to the Divine Presence and attained the highest rank of humanity. In the words of Ibrahim Haqqi, ‘God declared that He could not be contained by heavens and earth; He can be known and reached through hearts only.’ It is for this reason that the Messengers led mankind to the knowledge of God. Through them, He was deeply felt by the ‘innermost senses‘ of people. The ‘innermost sense‘ of man, whether we call it heart or soul, or ‘conscience‘, is so great that through it man can ‘grasp‘ God with all His greatness and other attributes. God cannot be contained by the heavens and earth. Minds cannot comprehend Him. Philosophical thoughts are by no means sufficient to reach Him. It is only through his soul or heart that a man can rise to the holy Presence of God. Therefore, it was the Prophets who purified the souls so that they could be the mirrors in which God might manifest Himself.

The Prophet Muhammad is the last and greatest of these Prophets, and he left us the Qur’an and Sunna so that we can, by following them, live in accordance with the purpose for which all the Prophets were sent.

Why was No Prophet Raised from Among Women?

God sent to every nation Messengers from among their own people. Without exception, these prophets were raised from among the men, never from among the women. The overwhelming consensus of scholars of the Law and Tradition among the Sunnis is that no woman has been sent as prophet. Except a questionable, even unreliable tradition that Mary and the wife of the Pharaoh, who, although married to one of the most cruel tyrants and obstinate unbelievers in human history, believed in God in utmost sincerity, there is no Qur’anic authority, nor any in Hadith, that a woman was sent to her people in the rank or role of a prophet. And certainly this is no argument that God’s revelation of religion for His human creatures has for that reason been lacking in some way or defective.

God the All-Mighty created all entities in pairs. Even things, the inanimate part of creation, function according to principles and forces in pairs—like positive and negative, for example. This is true of every creation, viewed as microcosm or macrocosm. If the minute particles which constitute atoms were not held apart by a subtle balance of paired, opposite charges, the nucleus would explode or implode. The human being, also constituted of atoms, is the balancing term between the micro and macrocosms. Man was created to be as the steward of this creation and is fitted to it: what is true of the universe is true of man, as well. In other words, human beings are also created in pairs, male and female, and there is complex relation between them of attraction and repulsion. While in one of them balance is to-wards softness, weakness and compassion; in the other the balance is towards strength, force and competitive toughness. It is so that they may come together and establish the harmony of the family unit—just as, in the micro and macro universe, there is a harmony between atoms and celestial bodies.

Today the issue of gender has been inflamed to such an extent that some people have gone be-yond all bounds of sense and experience and refuse to acknowledge the very real differences between male and female; some even attempt to make out that men and women are in all respects alike and equal. The issue has therefore become vulnerable to ridicule, and when over-presented and over-stated, has become a source of much misery in individual lives. Where in the most ‘modern’ lifestyle, the woman has forsaken her real identity in order to imitate the characteristics and functions of the man, family life has completely eroded: children are sent out to nursing centers or boarding schools, the parents being now too preoccupied as ‘individuals’ in their own, separate self-indulgence to be parents. This violence against nature and culture has destroyed the home as a place of balance between authority and love, as a focus of security and peace.

God the Wise ordained some principles and law in the universe, and created human beings therein with an excellent and lofty nature. With regard to physical existence, the man is considerably stronger and more capable than the woman, and plainly constituted to strive and compete, without needing to, for physical reasons, withdraw from the struggle. The woman is plainly not so constituted. Because of the menstrual period (which can be difficult, even painful, and sometimes last up to 15 days), and the necessary confinement before and after childbirth, the woman cannot always pray and fast. Nor can she be continually available for public duties with the same degree of presence and commitment as can the man. How, if the woman is also a mother, can she, with a baby in her lap lead and administrate armies, make life and death decisions, sustain and prosecute a difficult strategy against an enemy? The role of a prophet is to give the lead to mankind in every aspect of social and religious life and to do so without pause or hesitation for as long as God wills. That is why prophethood is impossible for woman. If the man were the child-bearer prophethood would have been impossible for him too. The Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace, points to this fact when he describes women as those who cannot fulfil the religious obligations totally and cannot realize some of them (Sahih al-Bukhari, ‘Hayd,’ 6).

A prophet is an exemplar, a model for conduct, therefore a human being in every respect—so that people do not have the excuse that they are required to follow a way which is beyond the powers of human beings. As for the matters that relate exclusively to women, they are guided through the teaching of the women in the household of the prophets.

Source: Islam Answers .Net

How Many Prophets Have Been Sent to Mankind?

Prophets were raised and sent to the whole of mankind in different lands and at different times. One version of a hadith puts the number of prophets sent to mankind as 124,000 (Ibn Hanbal, Musnad, 5, 169); another puts the number at 224,000. Both of these versions, however, should be critically evaluated according to the science of Hadith. Besides, whether the number was 124 or 224 thousand is not important. What is essential is that no land, people or period was neglected; prophets were sent to all.

The Qur’an says:

There never was a people without a Warner having lived among them’ (35:24)

We would never visit our wrath (chastise any community) until We had sent a Messenger to give warning’ (17:15)

To punish people for any wrong they may do without their being warned beforehand by a prophet from God is contrary to His Glory and Grace. The warning precedes responsibility which may be followed by reward or punishment: So anyone who has done an atom’s weight of good, shall see it. And anyone who has done an atom’s weight of evil, shall see it (99:7–8). If a people have not been sent any Warner, they will not know what is good and evil, and so will not be chastised for it. However, since every individual will be called to account for good and evil deeds, we may infer that to every people has been sent an Messenger: For We assuredly sent amongst every people a messenger with (the command), ‘Serve God and eschew evil’ (16:36).

The prophets were not, as some people mistakenly suppose, raised only in the Arabian Peninsula. Such a claim is contrary to the teachings of the Qur’an and is not based upon any evidence. In fact, we do not even know all of the prophets who were raised in the Arabian Peninsular, let alone in other places of the world. Whether they were 124 or 224 thousand, we know for certain only 28, and the prophethood of three out of these 28 is not wholly certain. The Qur’an gives us the names of all 28, from Adam, the first, to Muhammad, the last, upon them be peace. Nor can we say with confidence where these 28 emerged. It is supposed that the tomb of Adam and the place of his reunion with Eve is Jiddah, but this information is not certain and sound. We do not know by any means where the very first prophet carried out his mission. By contrast, we do know a little about the location of Abraham: We know that, at some time, he was in some part of Anatolia, Syria and Babylon. Lot was associated with the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, around the Dead Sea; Shu‘ayb with Madyan, and Moses with Egypt. Yahya (John the Baptist) and Zakariyya (Zechariah) with Mediterranean countries—probably they may have crossed to Anatolia, since Christians link Mary and Jesus with Ephesus. But these associations are not certain and not based upon any strong evidence.

We also know the names of some of the other prophets sent to the Israelite peoples, but we do not know the names of any others, nor where they appeared. Moreover, because their teachings have been distorted and lost over time, it is quite impossible for us to say anything about who those prophets were and where they were sent.

There may be many religions once of Divine origin which have become distorted and lost their truth. That is why we cannot definitely say that such and such persons were sent as prophets to such and such places. We may speculate that Confucius, Buddha (or perhaps even Socrates?) were prophets, but it can be only speculation. Let us be clear on this: we are not saying that they were prophets. What the history of religions tells us about those men is not satisfactory, and based upon information gathered from different sources. However, it is known that at the time Confucius and Buddha lived, their teachings influenced great numbers of people. Today, what is practiced by their followers—no doubt because of distortions in the original teachings—does not appeal to sense and nature; rather it is extremely unnatural: who can be attracted to the sanctification of animals, or the extremes of asceticism and sense deprivation, or to such customs as the cremation of wives with their deceased husbands?

Of Socrates, some have said that he was a philosopher under the influence of Judaism, but there is no documentary evidence to support such a claim. Words attributed to Socrates by Plato imply that he (Socrates) was ‘inspired’ from a very early age to ‘instruct’ people in true understanding and true belief. But it is not clear that such words are correctly attributed, nor is it clear what exactly these words were understood to mean. Only this much is reliable—that Socrates taught in an environment and in a manner which supports the use of reason.

Let us again stress that we are not saying that these ancient teachers were indeed prophets. To say that someone is a prophet when he is not is kufr, an unbelief as grave as refusing to believe in a true prophet. We say only that it may perhaps have been so, given the hadith that mentions either 124 or 224 thousand prophets as having appeared in all parts of the world. In the light of this hadith, the findings of recent studies of religious beliefs and practices in different lands are more easily understood.

In particular, the observations of Professor Mahmud Mustafa on two tribes of primitive Africans confirm what has been said above. He remarks that the Maw-Maws believe in God and call him Mucay. This God is one and only, and acts alone in His deeds. He does not beget nor is begotten. He has no associate and no partner. He is not seen or sensed, but only known through His works. He dwells high up in the heavens, and ordains everything from there. That is why the Maw-Maws raise their hands when praying. Another tribe, the Neyam-Neyam, expresses similar themes. There is one God who decrees and ordains everything. What He says is absolute. It is He who makes everything in the forest move according to His will, He who sends thunderbolts against those He is angry with.

As is obvious, the general concept of God ascribed to by these tribes is similar, certainly comparable, to what we find in the Qur’an. Certainly the creed of the Maw-Maws comes very close to the con-tent of the sura al-Ikhlas in the Qur’an.

How could these primitive tribes, worlds apart and removed from civilization and from the influence of the prophets known to us, come to so pure and sound a concept of God? This reminds us of the Qur’anic verse which refers explicitly to every people, none being excluded: ‘For every people there is a messenger. When their messenger comes, the matter is judged between them with justice, and they are not wronged’ (10:47).

Professor Adil, from Kirkuk in Iraq, a mathematician of Riyadh University, when I met him in 1968, spoke of the many native American Indians he had met whilst studying for his Ph.D. in the U.S.A. He had been struck by how many of them believe in One God who never eats and drinks nor is con-strained by time; He rules and governs all things in the universe, everything without exception being under His sovereignty and dependent on His will. They also referred to some of God’s attributes that He has no partner, and if He did, there would surely be conflicts between the partners. How does one reconcile the alleged ‘primitiveness’ of such peoples with such loftiness in their concept of God? It certainly seems that true Messengers conveyed these truths to them, truths still present in what remains of soundness in their actual, present beliefs. As the original Message was passed down the generations it may have suffered slight, gradual alterations until it became confused and obscured.

In sum, the Qur’an, and history and present reality confirm that God has chosen and sent prophets to every people in different parts of the world, though we only know for certain the exact places of four of them, and though we do not know for certain their exact number.

Source: Islam Answers .Net

Is There a People to Whom a Prophet was not Sent?

Recent studies in comparative religion, philosophy and anthropology, have shown how many communities, living at very great distances from each other, share certain concepts and practices. For example, turning from plural to a singular conception of God; in their supplications in times of exceptional stress seeking refuge only in the One Supreme Being and raising their hands and asking some-thing from Him. There are very many such phenomena which indicate a singular source, a single teaching. (We shall not dwell on this point here; the subject is discussed also in answer to the question (p.68, below), ‘How many prophets have been sent to mankind?’)

If primitive tribes cut off from civilization and the influence of the known prophets, have a sure understanding of the Oneness of God, though they may have little understanding of how to live according to that belief, it must be that, as the Qur’an tells us, every people and nation has had its own Message and Messenger:

For every people is a Messenger. When their Messenger comes, the matter is judged between them with justice, and they are not wronged. (10:47)

No people and no land are excluded from that commandment.

This brings us to the question of whether those who claim they have not been sent prophet will be held responsible for their beliefs and actions. As we have just explained, there is no reason to believe that any peoples in the world have been deprived altogether of the prophets’ light. There may have been periods in which darkness seemed to prevail. But such were temporary darkness, after which the Grace and Blessing of God again enlightened the people through revelation to His chosen servants. Thus, whether it be less or more, every people, at some point in their history, saw or heard or experienced to the full, the mercy of revelation. Nevertheless, we must allow that, in some instances, the destruction of the beliefs which the prophets established was so absolute and people introduced so many distortions into the religion and bizarre rites of worship that the true teachings were generally, if not al-together, lost by the people. In such cases, a long interregnum of darkness may have replaced enlightenment. Though darkness is ever followed by an enlightenment, and an enlightenment by darkness, there may be some peoples who remained in darkness as it were unknowingly and against their own will. For such people there are glad tidings in the Qur’an. These are not punished or blamed for the wrong they may do, until and unless due warning has been conveyed to them: We would never visit our wrath on any community until We had sent a Messenger to give warning (17:15). That is, the warning precedes responsibility and then reward or punishment.

As for the details of this matter, the imams of the Islamic schools of thought think differently. For instance, Imam Maturidi and his school argue that no people can be excused given that there is plenty of evidence pointing to the One Creator which leads to belief in Him. By contrast, the Ashari school, referring to the Qur’anic verse quoted above, argue that warning and guidance must precede judgment and people can only be held responsible if they have been sent a prophet. There is a third body of scholars who have combined these two positions. They hold that those who have not been sent any prophet and thus have not wilfully strayed into unbelief or worshipped idols are ahl-i najat (the people who will be excused and so escape the punishment and who, as God wills, may be saved). For, in fact, some people cannot analyze the things and events around them, cannot penetrate to their meaning, nor deduce therefrom the right course of belief and action. Such people are first taught the right way, given explanations and directions on how to act and then, in line with their actions thereafter, are answerable and accordingly rewarded or punished. But as for those who wilfully take to unbelief or adopt an hostile, negative attitude to belief and religion, or knowingly defy God and His commandments, they will certainly be questioned and punished for their deviation and corruption, even though they live in the farthest, most desolate and deserted region of the world.

To summarize : no region or people has been altogether deprived of Divine enlightenment through God’s chosen servants, His prophets. Directly or indirectly, all people of all periods have, at some time in their history, known or been aware of a prophet and of his teaching. A period during which the names of the prophets have been forgotten and their teachings completely eroded, until another prophet is sent, is described as an interregnum. It is accepted that people who live in those periods would not be punished but rather excused, on the condition that they have not knowingly and wilfully deviated into polytheism or atheism.

And God, the All-Knowing and All-Encompassing, knows best.

Source: Islam Answers .Net

What is the meaning of Prophethood and its function?

God has created no community of beings in the world without a purpose and left them without a guide or leader. It is inconceivable that God Almighty, Who has not left bees without a queen, ants without a leader, and birds and fish without a guide, has left humanity without Prophets to guide them to both spiritual and intellectual and material perfection.

Although man is capable of finding God by reflecting upon natural phenomena, without a Prophet, he is unable to discover the purpose of his creation, from where he comes and what his final destination is in life, and how he should worship his Creator. The Prophets also taught people the meaning of creation and the truth of things and unveiled the mysteries behind both historical and natural events. Again, they instructed people in the relations between man and the universe and between the Divine Scriptures and the universe. But for the Prophets, mankind would not have been able to achieve any scientific development. For, although those who adopt evolutionary approaches in explaining historical events tend to attribute everything to chance and fully deterministic evolution, it was again the Prophets who guided men in intellectual and therefore scientific illumination. For this reason, tradition-ally, farmers have accepted the Prophet Adam as their first master, tailors, the Prophet Enoch, ship-makers and sailors, the Prophet Noah, watch or clock-makers, the Prophet Joseph, and so on. Also, through the miracles they worked, the Prophets marked the final points in scientific and technological advances and urged people to them.

Both through their personal conduct and through the heavenly religions and Scriptures they conveyed to people, the Prophets have also guided people to develop their inborn capacities and directed them towards the purpose of their creation. Had it not been for the Prophets, man—this fruit of the tree of creation—would be left to decay.

Man needs justice in social life as much as he needs inner peace in his private life. It was again the Prophets who taught people the laws of life and established the rules of a perfect social life on the basis of justice.

Prophethood is the highest rank, the highest honor, possible. It proves the superiority of a man’s inner being to that of others. A prophet is like a branch which arches out from the Divine to the human realm. He is the very heart and tongue of creation. He does not only possess what we call a supreme intellect, which penetrates into the reality of things and events, as is the case with geniuses, but also he is an ideal being, all of whose faculties are harmoniously excellent and active, and who strives and progresses steadily towards heaven, who awaits Divine inspiration for the solutions to the problems he meets, and who is considered to be the connecting point between the things and beings here and the Beyond. His body is subject to and follows his heart—figuratively, the seat of spiritual intellect; his mind likewise is subject to and follows his heart. His perceptions and reflections are always directed to the Names and Attributes of God. He goes to what he perceives; he arrives at the destination he aims for.

A prophet’s perception, developed to the full—seeing, hearing and thus knowing—surpasses that of ordinary people. Nor can his power of perception or understanding be expressed or explained in terms of different wavelengths of light or sound, or in some other such way. It is not within an ordinary man’s power and means to acquire a prophet’s knowledge, which goes beyond the limits of ordinary human nature. However intently deployed, our human powers of analysis and synthesis, can never at-tain to a prophet’s knowledge.

Through the prophets, man has been able to gain an insight into creation, and thus to find out and to know the meaning of it. But for the prophets and their teachings, man would neither have seen nor understood the true nature and meaning of things and events, nor therefore could he have entered into and coped with what is in and around him.

In addition to conveying the Divine message and guidance, the prophets have also taught man something of God and His Names and Attributes. Their first mission was to teach the reality of this life, its true purpose and meaning. Since God is beyond man’s perception and comprehension, it fell to the prophets to be the most obedient, careful, conscious, self-disciplined of people whilst they were per-forming their tasks. If there had not been any clear utterances by the prophets about the Creator, the All-Mighty, the All-Knowing, who governs and sustains and cherishes the whole creation, from the smallest atom to the largest nebula, it would never have been possible for man to think or know or say anything right and proper about God.

Everything in the universe tries to, as it were, exhibit the Names and Attributes of the All-Mighty, All-Encompassing Creator. In the same way, the prophets have taken note of, affirmed and been faithful to, the subtle, mysterious relation between God and His Names and Attributes. Their duty was to know and speak about God. Therefore, they entered into the true meaning of things and events, and conveyed it directly and sincerely to their fellow human beings.

Just as, even in the smallest exhibitions, public fairs and the like events, we benefit from a guide or usher, who directs our steps and prepares our attention, so also with the magnificent exhibition of this creation, we are in need of guides who draw attention to the reality of it, direct us towards its purpose and meaning, and show us our way in it.

Is it possible that the One who, in order to make Himself known, ordered this creation, opened to us His works, for our wonder and awe—is it possible that He would not, through some distinguished servants, reveal His names and Attributes to those who long to know Him? If this were so, would it not make His creation a vain work? The Supreme Being who made everything like a tongue and a letter and who revealed His Wisdom and Blessings through such things is absolutely free from vanity and absurdity. Thus, it seems to us, most unlikely that a people in one or other part of the world have been deprived of God’s revelation through His prophets. The Qur’an, indeed, is explicit on this point:

For We assuredly sent amongst every people an Messenger (with the command), ‘Serve God and eschew evil.’ (16:36)

However, mankind forgot the teachings brought by those appointed servants, and over time went astray, sometimes deifying the very men who preached against it, and sank into idolatry.

Throughout the earth there are examples of what man’s imagination has idolized—like the mountain of the gods in ancient Greece or, to this day, the River Ganges in India. Even accepting that there must be a tremendous difference between their first appearance and the actual position now, it is quite impossible to understand the conditions that raised Confucius in China and Brahman and Buddha in India. It is equally difficult to guess what they originally taught, or to know how far time and human de-generation have corrupted the first message.

If the Qur’an, which eradicates doubts, had not introduced Jesus Christ to us, it would not now be possible to have a true picture of his life and his teaching. For priests have confounded the truth about Jesus Christ with the philosophies and idolatries of the Ancient Greeks and Romans, attributing divinity to man, and anthropomorphizing God.

Perhaps it was one of the conditions of the Roman Empire accepting Christianity as the official, state religion, that some of the festivals, holy days, rites and rituals of the church were derived from or imitate directly, the practices of the ancient Romans, Greeks and certain Asian religions like Manihaism.

Considering what the followers of the earlier religions did to their prophets and to their Books, we may well wonder how many prophets have been treated in the same way by their followers over time? From a reliable Islamic source, there is a hadith which says: ‘a prophet’s disciples will carry out his mis-sion after his death but some of his followers will later upset everything he established’ (Sahih al-Muslim, ‘Fada’il al-Sahaba,’ 210–12; Ibn Hanbal, Musnad, 417) This is a most important point. Many of the religions which we now consider false turned to falsehoods, superstitions and legends over time through the deliberate malice of their enemies—despite the fact that, originally, they may have come from the purest, Divine source.

To say that someone is a prophet when he is not is tantamount to kufr (unbelief), just as to refuse to believe in a true prophet is also kufr. On the other hand, if the case of these false religions is similar to that of Christianity, that is, if they were distorted by their followers over time, we should look at those religions with some caution and reserve judgment in some measure. We should consider what Buddhism may have been in its true original; similarly, Brahmanism; or the doctrines attributed to Confucius; or shamanism and other such: it may be that we may find in them some remnant of what they were in their origins.

What they were—whether true or false (we do not know)─is not what they are. Supposing the impossible that their founders returned and saw the religion they originally established, they would not now recognize them.

There have been many religions which have been distorted and altered in the world, and consequently it is essential to accept that the purity of their original foundation. The Qur’an says:

There never was a people without a Warner having lived among them. (35:24)

And We assuredly sent among every people a Messenger. (16:36)

These revelations universally declare that God sent Messengers to every people throughout the world. The names of some of these are known to us through the Qur’an, but there is also a large number whose names have not been made known to us. The names we know are 28 out of 124,000 (or perhaps 224,000); even then we do not know exactly where and when many of them lived.

Essentially we are not bound to know all the past prophets. The Qur’an says:

We did in times past send Messengers before you; of them there are some whose stories We have related to you, and some whose story We have not related to you. (40:78)

In this way, the Qur’an warns us not to deal with some of those whom it does not mention to us.

Article Partial taken from Islam Answers .Net

Six Pillars of Faith (Continued) - Relating Them All

Continued from the previous post on Six Pillars of Faith, believing in all of these will build character of a strong Muslim. As described below, there are strong connections of these believes in our daily life.

i. Believing in Allah, the only God. If a person believe in Allah, the One and Only God, he will believe that Allah is the Creator of this World. Allah has created this world in a very organized manner, very complex, and carefully managed. Allah has created Angles to be workers who are very obedient to carry out Allah's order. Allah does not require any help to maintain and organize the world, only on Allah's will that he created angles to show how highly intelligent, how highly organized, and how highly perfect Allah is to create such a beautiful world and everything inside it.

ii. After believe in Allah, a person will then believe the Angles since Allah has created them. Angles are obedient creatures who will carry out all tasks given by Allah without any hesitation, objection and flaws. They will do a task constantly, flawlessly forever until Allah tells them to stop. They don't have any feeling so that they won't feel tired, hungry, sleepy or any other reason for him to stop from working. They does not have genders since there is no need for them to breed. They were created with light and have the ability surpassing human. They can travel at speed of light, enormous strength and a lot more.

iii. Then a person can believe that Books of Revelation could be revealed to humankind since angles exist and one of his duty is to bring the Words from Allah down to earth for humankind. With flawless work of Angle, they won't be doing any mistakes in revealing the Words of Allah and all were sent directly, completely without any errors to a representative of men on earth. No one can stop the Angles from sending the Words of Allah, nothing at all except by the will of Allah. Of course, Angles won't bring the hard copy of the Words in a book, rather it is human work then to compile the Words of Allah into a preserved book.

iv. The representative of human to receive the Words of Allah is some special men selected by Allah, usually known as the Prophets. The Prophets have a very strong belief to Allah and have a very good characteristics. They spoke only the truth, trustworthy, patient, brilliant, obedient and totally surrenders their life to Allah. Prophets only were selected among men since men have been destined, ordered and acknowledged as leaders. Prophets do not necessarily ordered by Allah to preach to humankind. Those who were given the revelation without any order to preach to other human are called Anbiyya' while those who were ordered to preach others and led them to the right path are called Rasul Allah (the Messenger of Allah). There are almost 24000 numbers of Rasul and 124000 numbers of Anbiya but there's no complete list and history for all of them.

v. A person then shall believe everything that has been said by prophets are the truth and undeniable. And one of the prophets teaching also include the life after death or the judgement day. This is an important thing to remember since everything that a person do in this world will be judge and awarded or punished during that day. A person won't live forever and he will die eventually. Some early human have lived more than thousand of years but they eventually die. How powerful they are either kings, presidents, dictators, leaders or any other living being shall meet death and could not escape from Allah's judgement. With this believe, a person will always remember to do good things all the time, to obey all the rules and orders by Allah as written in the book and as taught by the Prophets so that he won't be punished but rewarded later.

vi. Finally, a person need to believe that everything happening in this world has been determined by Allah. The moon as it rotates around the earth is one of the determination by Allah. The rise and fall of a person, a country, or a tribe has been determined by Allah. A person should readily to accept any determination by Allah as the world progress since Allah is the most Powerful and has the absolute ownership and determination to this world. He must not believe any other power that can override Allah's will. And he must turn to Allah if he wanted to request anything since only Allah can give and determine everything. He also must remember that Allah will only be helpful to those who strive and work to change his life rather then just hoping to Allah without doing nothing.

This is a simplified discussion to relates all the six articles of faith in Islam. With all the believes intact in a Muslim heart, it will govern a Muslim's life and lead him to the right path.

Hopefully this discussion will help as a starter to know more about Islam. More learning shall be done from a Guru, scholar and teachers in this field to understand more and to get more evidence.

While this blog focuses on history of 25 most important prophets and all other related articles, other topics shall be learned and discovered form other sources.

Comments, corrections and discussions are very much appreciated.

Syukran, Wassalam.

Six Articles of Faith in Islam

Six Articles of Faith in Islam provide six important aspects that a Muslim need to believe to become a complete believer.
Believing on this aspects won't just making a person to be a Muslim, but it will help a lot in building a Muslim character of a person.
Without believe on these subjects, a Muslim will not have a complete understanding of Islam and may being mislead.

Those Six Articles of Faith in Islam are:

Six Articles of Faith

The six articles of faith are the main doctrines of Islam. All Muslims share beliefs in the following:

1. God

Islam preaches that there is only one Supreme, Eternal, Infinite and Unparallel entity, Allah (God). He alone is the creator of all the universe. Quran declares "That is God, your Lord. There is no god but Him, the Creator of everything. So worship Him. He is responsible for everything." (6:102)

2. Angels

Muslims believe in angels. They are comprised of light, and each have different purposes. Angel Gabriel brought the divine message to Mohammad. Two angels (Kiraaman and Katibeen) are assigned to record the actions of the human beings; one records good deeds, the other bad deeds. The angel of death (Azrael) takes the soul out of the body. Angels Munkir and Nakir questions each person in grave.

3. Scriptures

It refers to believing in all the four books; the Torah (Moses), the Psalms (David), the Gospel (Jesus) and the Quran (Mohammad). Muslims also believe that all other books are alteration with time by its followers. Muslims believe that Quran is the only book which can never be distorted as God has himself taken the responsibility of its protection, "We have, without doubt, sent down the Message; and We will assuredly guard it (from corruption)." (15:9)

4. Prophets

It is obligatory on every Muslim to believe in all the messengers from Adam to Mohammad without any discrimination. Quran treats all the prophets equally, "Say (O Muslims), we believe in Allah and that which is revealed unto us and that which was revealed unto Abraham, and Ishmael, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the tribes, and that which Moses and Jesus received, and that which the Prophets received from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and unto Him we have surrendered." (2:136)

5. Resurrection

Muslims have faith that after the end of the world, every human will be resurrected from the grave. They will be held accountable for whatever they have done in their lives. The day is known as the Day of Judgment. On this day, justice will be done to every individual soul. The innocent ones will stay in Heaven, whereas, the corrupted ones will go to hell. Quran testifies it by saying, " This day We seal up mouths, and hands speak out and feet bear witness as to what they used to earn." (36:65)

6. Divine Creed

It is one of the main aspect of Islam. Believing in divine creed refers to predestination. Muslims believe that unlike living beings, God is not limited to anything; even with time. Everything that has happened, is happening, or will happen is evident to Him. Living beings are being given a free choice to do whatever they want to do, but God knows what choice they will make. It must also be clear that God's knowing does not restrict anyone from making a free choice. Quran proclaims, " Knowest thou not that Allah knows all that is in heaven and on earth? Indeed it is all in a Record, and that is easy for Allah."

This article was taken from: http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/cultural/religion/islam/beliefs.html

Five Pillars of Faith

The Five Pillars of Faith

The five pillars of faith are duties each Muslim performs to demonstrate his or her faith.


1. Testimony of Faith (Kalima) - To be held and believed for the rest of a Muslim life.

One must state, "There is no god, but Allah, and Muhammad is the Prophet of Allah." It consists of three parts

a) To reject all the false gods.

b) To accept Allah as the only sole creator of everything.

c) To Mohammad as the last messenger of Allah.

Quran declares, "Say: He is Allah, the One and Only! Allah, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not nor is He begotten. And there is none like unto Him. "


2. Prayer (Salat) - To be done 5 times daily.

It is compulsory for every Muslim to pray five times a day at respective timings facing towards the direction of Mecca. During the prayer, Muslims narrate verses from the Holy Quran, specially the following prayer which is recited at least 17 time a day,

"All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, and Sovereign of the Day of Judgment. It is You alone we worship and You alone we ask for help. Guide us to the straight path; The path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of those who have evoked Your anger or of those who are astray." (1:1-7)

Quran tells about those who will get eternal success by stating that, "Certainly will the believers have succeeded, they who are during their prayer humbly submissive" (23:1-2)


3. Almsgiving (Zakat) - To be done when wealth reaches certain amount after a certain time.

The word Zakat means "to grow" or "to purify". It literally means to gain Allah's blessings and purify the wealth by helping the needy. It is mandatory on every Muslim to give 2.5% of their yearly savings (or excess money) for charity.

Quran emphasizes the importance of zakat on various occasions, "Alms are for the poor and the needy, and those employed to administer the (funds); for those whose hearts have been (recently) reconciled (to Truth); for those in bondage and in debt; in the cause of Allah. and for the wayfarer: (thus is it) ordained by Allah, and Allah is full of knowledge and wisdom." (9:60)


4. Fasting (Sawm) - One month in Ramadhan every year.

Following zakat, every Muslim is required to fast during the month of Ramadan from sunrise to sunset. During this period, Muslims are forbidden to eat, drink, smoke or have an intercourse. It not only physical discipline in one's life, but it is also a way to feel the afflictions of the poor.

Quranic verses explain fasting in detail,

"O ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, that ye may (learn) self-restraint" (2:183)

"Ramadhan is the (month) in which was sent down the Qur'an, as a guide to mankind, also clear (Signs) for guidance and judgment (Between right and wrong). So every one of you who is present (at his home) during that month should spend it in fasting, but if any one is ill, or on a journey, the prescribed period (Should be made up) by days later. Allah intends every facility for you; He does not want to put to difficulties. (He wants you) to complete the prescribed period, and to glorify Him in that He has guided you; and perchance ye shall be grateful." (2:185)


5. Pilgrimage (Hajj) - Once in a lifetime for those who are capable.

Hajj literally means to "set out for place". For Muslim, it is a pilgrimage to Kaaba (House of Allah) in Makkah. It is the responsibility of every physically and financially able Muslim to perform this offering at least once in a lifetime. Hajj is performed on the 10th day of Dhu al-Hijjah (the 12th and the final month of the Islamic calendar). Hajj is the symbol of unity among the Muslims. Millions of believers from all over the world participate in the ritual irrespective of their caste, color, creed or tradition. It tears down the difference of social status and brings all the Muslims on one platform. During this occasion, men only wear two unstitched clothes; one covers the lower part, and the other is wrapped around the shoulders. Women wear simple white dress and headscarf.

Allah says in the Holy Quran, "For Hajj are the months well known. If any one undertakes that duty therein, Let there be no obscenity, nor wickedness, nor wrangling in the Hajj. And whatever good ye do, (be sure) Allah knoweth it. And take a provision (With you) for the journey, but the best of provisions is right conduct. So fear Me, o ye that are wise." (2:197)

Islam: Know the Basic

Islam is an Arabic word and it connotes submission, surrender and obedience. As a religion, Islam stands for complete submission and obedience to Allah (God).

Islam, in fact, is an attributive title. Anyone who possesses this attribute, whatever race, community, country or group he or she belongs to, is a Muslim. According to the Qur'an (the Holy Book of the Muslims), among every people and in all ages there have been good and righteous people who possessed this attribute - and all of them were and are Muslims.

Islam is a universal and eternal religion. Its appeal is to the whole humanity. Any person who declares belief in La ilaha illallah Muhammad-ur-Rasulullah (there is no deity but Allah, and Muhammad is His Prophet) enters the fold of Islam and entitles him or herself to the same rights as those of other Muslims.

Prophet Muhammad (blessings of Allah and peace be upon him) has enjoined us to believe in six articles of faith, which are believe in Allah the one God, Angles, Books of Revelations, Prophets, Day of Judgement (Life after Death) and Pre-Destined Events by God (Qada' and Qadar).

One who believes in these articles enters the fold of Islam and becomes a member of the Muslim community. But one does not become a complete Muslim by mere vocal profession alone. To become a complete Muslim one has to fully carry out in practice the instructions given by Prophet Muhammad (blessings of Allah and peace be upon him) as ordained by God.

These five articles form the foundation for the superstructure of Islam. Their gist is contained in the short sentence known as Kalimah-tayyibah (also called the Shahada). When you declare La ilaha illallah (their is no deity but Allah), you give up all false deities, and profess that you are a creature of the One God; and when you add to these words Muhammad-ur-Rasulullah (Muhammad is Allah's Messenger) you confirm and admit the Prophethood of Muhammad (blessings of Allah and peace be upon him). With the admission of his Prophethood it becomes obligatory that you should believe in the divine nature and attributes of God, in His angels, in His Revealed Books and life after death, and earnestly follow that method of obeying God and worshipping Him which the Prophet Muhammad (blessings of Allah and peace be upon him) has asked us to follow.


In the name of Allah (God), the Beneficent, the Merciful.

All Praise is due to Allah (God), Lord of the worlds, the Beneficient, the Merciful, Owner of the Day of Judgement.

Thee alone we worship and Thee alone we ask for help.

Show us the straight path, the path of those whom Thou hast favoured, not (the path of) those who earn Thine anger nor (of) those who go astray. (Amen)

The Holy Qur'an (The Opening Chapter, Al-Fatihah, Surah 1)

Source: http://www.islamicity.com/mosque/Muslim.htm
Minor Edition by the blog admin.
Notes from the Source: This article was edited for IslamiCity in Cyberspace and was compiled from various chapters of the book titled, "Towards Understanding Islam" by Abul A'la Mawdudi, translated by Khurshid Ahmad, and published by The Islamic Foundation, United Kingdom. ISBN 0-86037-053-4 (pages 17, 86-93, 115-116)

A Light on the History of the Prophethood

Taken also from www.al-islam.org...

Wilson: The history of the monotheistic religions shows that all their prophets came from the Semitic race and that most of them came from the descendants of the Prophet Abraham, either from the children of Isaac or from the children of Ishmael. This might be construed as a privilege by which the Israelites and the Ishmaelites were distinguished from the rest of mankind. But it is very difficult to believe that God would present only these two communities with the heavenly message. God is the Lord of all nations and His message should have been revealed to other nations as well. If the history of religion is correct, there must be some reason for confining the prophethood to these two communities.

Chirri: The history of the human race shows us that the human understanding, in the early times, was incapable of rising above the sensuous surroundings, or of conceiving the high and universal ideas. As for human interactions, the individual was limited to love of family and friendship of relatives All other tribes were strange or gentile to him. National and humane concepts rarely took place in his thinking.

However, some gifted individuals had lived among those people and were capable of profound understanding and rising above the sensuous limitation and ready to take the responsibility of guiding and teaching. Knowing their unusual capacities, the Most Benevolent revealed to them the truth and commissioned them with the hardest task, the guidance of humanity.

These individuals were chosen for their own merits, not for their relation to a particular race or community. As expected, these individuals were confronted with insurmountable difficulties. People were not ready to follow or accept their teachings, and most of them were either like Noah who gained a very small number of followers, or like Abraham, who lived almost as a prophet without followers.

As society refused to change, it is presumed that a prophet like Abraham was required to try to secure the continuity of his religion through his children, Ishmael and Isaac, who faithfully followed the faith of their father and conveyed it to their children. The religious teaching continued to spread narrowly through a tribal line. Centuries elapsed, and the faith neither gained followers from outside, nor was it believed by all the descendants of Abraham.

The heavenly purpose, however, was not to confine the faith within tribal or national borders. The Most Merciful and Compassionate planned to spread the faith throughout the world and to show all mankind the right path. The Almighty administers the universe through the usual and natural courses and subjects all the events of the world to the law of cause and effect. He preserved the revealed faith and kept it alive, though at a standstill, through a small community, which was blessed by inheriting that faith from its holy father. He caused that faith to inflame and spread when that community grew and acquired a power adequate to the great task of spreading the faith.

That small community was destined to grow through two lines, the Ishmaelite and the Israelite. Both of them were blessed and both were tested and commissioned with the great task of preserving and spreading the faith, but the two tests were not simultaneous. Though Ishmael was the first son of Abraham and acquired a heritage of faith and blessing like that of his brother Isaac, God put off the test of his descendants for many centuries. He was preparing them to continue the mission which the descendants of Isaac had started.

To begin with the line of Isaac, the Almighty God established a covenant with him. From the Old Testament:

"As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him and make him fruitful and multiply him exceedingly; he shall be the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. But, I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this season next year." Genesis, Chapter 21

Wilson: According to your statement, the heavenly purpose was not to confine the faith to one or two communities or nations but to spread the true faith throughout the world and to introduce the heavenly principles to all nations. This, however, does not seem to be the case. The Old Testament repeatedly calls the Israelites God's chosen people. It calls the other people gentiles. This shows that the Israelites were the main concern of the heavenly message.

Chirri: With the covenant which was established between God and Isaac, the children of Israel were supposed to embrace and follow sincerely the heavenly instructions and to lead the rest of the nations to the path of God. But the Israelites did not live up to this expectation. Only a small minority adhered to the heavenly teaching and that minority was incapable of conceiving the faith as universal or humane. As a result, the successive prophets of Israel spoke to their people according to their understanding. Under the circumstances, the faith was characterized as tribal or national; God is God of Israel, and the Israelites are His chosen people. The prophets had endeavored to make the Hebrew community adhere to the faith sincerely. All the prophets of Israel were concerned mainly with that community, and none of the gentile nations concerned them. Even the great Jesus, according to Matthew, had the same attitude:

"Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. And, behold, a woman of Cana-an came out of the same coasts. And cried unto him, saying, have mercy on me, O Lord, thou the son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. . . But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, it is not meet to take the children's bread and to cast it to dogs." Matthew, Chapter 15

Wilson: The Bible informs us that God had ordered Abraham to harken to Sarah, his wife, and to cast Ishmael in the desert of Paran, where there was neither food nor water. This does not only seem to be unmerciful, but also suggests that God did not have any purpose in Ishmael and his children.

Chirri: The preparation of the Ishmaelites had been started since God advised His obedient servant Abraham to hearken to his wife, Sarah, by taking Ishmael and his mother Hagar away to the wilderness of Paran. The readers of the Old Testament are entitled to wonder about the wisdom of such advice which seems to be very merciless and ruthless. But when we ponder on the subsequent events which took place in history, we may understand the wisdom.

The task of spreading a true religion is the task of transforming the characters of the individuals and changing the lives of the nations. The first thing this task encounters is a disagreement between the teacher of the new ideology and those whom he attempts to influence. Such an attempt usually meets resistance, and it is not unusual for this resistance to lead to an armed conflict. In such a case, the freedom to believe, preach, and practice is threatened, and can be secured and protected only when the camp of the new ideology is ready to accept the challenge and meet violence with violence. The mission, then, needs a heavenly leader supported by a strong, brave and obedient community which is ready to make any sacrifice without hesitation.

From all nations of the Middle East, the Arab nation, for many centuries, had been distinguished and, therefore, qualified for such a performance. The Arabian Peninsula had remained inaccessible to invaders and unsubdued by any foreign power. The individual Arab had enjoyed a freedom rarely checked by rulers. He became self-confident, ready to protect himself and his freedom by his own power and to translate his will into action. A nation composed of such individuals is qualified to carry a great mission; and when it is inspired by a heavenly leader, it would be capable of performing wonders.

To impart the religion of Abraham to that strong and brave nation and to prepare that nation for its great destiny, the Almighty advised His servant Abraham to hearken to his wife, Sarah, by sending his son Ishmael away so he may dwell among the Arabs. Through intermarriage, the descendants of Ishmael were to be united with the Arabs and become a great nation that was destined to bear the great mission in the future .

"And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her: What aileth thee, Hagar? Fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is. Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him into thine hand; for I will make him a great nation. And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink. And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness. . . and he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran." Genesis, Chapter 21.

By placing Ishmael in the Arabian Peninsula, Abraham had planted the seed of his faith in the Arabian soil. To make the seed grow and the faith continue, he laid the foundation of the future by raising the foundation of the Sacred House, the Kaabah, in the midst of Arabia, as the first temple of God in the world. As God foretold Abraham and as Abraham expected, the House attracted the dwellers of Arabia and became the holy center of the country. The holy city of Mecca later was established around it, and since then the call of Abraham is annually responded to by a large number of pilgrims who visit the Sacred House and worship God at His temple. From the Holy Qur'an:

"And when We pointed to Abraham the place of the House, saying: 'Associate naught with Me, and purify My House for those who make circuits and stand to pray and bow and prostrate themselves. And proclaim to men the pilgrimage; they will come to thee on foot and every lean camel, coming from every remote path; that they may witness benefits (provided) for them, and mention the name of God on appointed days over what He has given them of the cattle quadrupeds; then eat of them and feed the distressed one, the needy." 22:26-28

It was heart-rending to Abraham, to settle his first son in the desert of Arabia where there is neither fruit nor water nor town. But he had two goals to accomplish, and each was great enough to make Abraham willing to offer such a sacrifice and to do his utmost.

The first of the two goals was immediate, namely: to establish the Sacred House and to assign to that mosque his son as a guardian who would worship God, conduct the service according to the true religion of God, and teach his children and the people of the country the right principles. By this, Abraham not only widened the scope of his faith but also assured the continuity of that faith. Should the line of Isaac fail in its religious task, the faith may continue through the children of Ishmael in Arabia. From the Holy Qur'an:

"My Lord, I have settled a part of my offspring in a valley unproductive of fruit near Thy Sacred House, Our Lord, that they may keep up prayer; so make the hearts of some people yearn towards them, and provide them with fruits; haply they may be grateful. " 14:37

We do not know the extent of growth of Abraham's faith on the soil of Arabia. History does not inform us clearly on the religious situation in Arabia during the long period which extends from the time of Abraham to the end of the fifth century of the Christian era. In the sixth century we find the majority of the Arabs idolaters. But in spite of this, we find, at the same time, some rites and practices which could be attributed only to the teaching of Abraham. Among these are the pilgrimage to the Sacred House in Mecca and the circumcision which was performed and practiced by all the non-Christian tribes of Arabia. Along with these rites and practices, we find a small minority among the Arabs, believing in God, worshipping Him, and rejecting idols.

The second goal for Abraham was to prepare the children of Ishmael and the nation with which they were united, for the distant and glorious future-when the Arabic-speaking people would be privileged and honored to have the Final Prophet among them; when they would be ready to receive his great message and spread the word of God throughout the world. From the Qur'an:

"And when Abraham and Ishmael raised the foundations of the House (with this prayer): Our Lord, accept (this service) from us; surely Thou art the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing. Our Lord, and make us both submissive to Thee, and (raise) from our offspring, a nation submissive to Thee, and show us our way of devotion and turn to us (mercifully); surely Thou art the oft-returning (to mercy) the Merciful. Our Lord, and raise up in them a messenger from among them who shall recite to them Thy messages and teach them the Book and the Wisdom, and purify them. Surely Thou art the Mighty, the Wise." 2:127-129

The prayer of the Prophet Abraham was graciously answered in the seventh century AD. The anticipated Prophet had arrived with an unprecedented method of presentation which is capable of supporting the truth, securing the needed freedoms and opening the way for the heavenly doctrines. It is the method of using logic as the main means for convincing and displaying strength in the face of anyone who threatened the sacred freedoms.

Yes, in the seventh century, the world was blessed by the advent of the Final and Universal Prophet Mohammad, who rose from Mecca, the center of Arabia, to shine over the East and the West.

Why Do We Need Prophets?

To answer the question above, let's go through the discussion below. It's a question and answer session between Imam Mohamad Jawad Chirri
(Late Director of the Islamic Center of America) and Dr. Wilson H. Guertin long long time ago somewhere around 1965. The conversation below was taken from a book "Inquiries About Islam by Imam Mohamad Jawad Chirri" first published in 1965, and now available on the internet at www.al-islam.org. Proceed reading...

Wilson: Why does mankind need to have a prophet or a messenger from God? Man is endowed with a mental ability by which he can distinguish between right and wrong. One can say that there is no need for heavenly guidance to tell him what to do or not to do. The average individual is able to conduct himself sensibly, so he may deal with others and with his own family in a rational way without any need for Divine law.

Chirri: The prophethood is needed for many reasons:

1. THERE IS A NEED TO REMIND PEOPLE OF GOD

Theoretically, man is capable of deducing the existence of the Creator through his observation of God's creations on earth. The free human mind is capable of comprehending abstractions and universal ideas. Because of our biological appetites or needs, we are closely bound to the material world. The material attractions of the world divert the best of us. The average person does not seem to be capable of a detached comprehension of his Maker. Nor can we expect the average man to divorce himself from the material things in the world to think clearly about God.

Moreover, the wondrous regulation of the universe implies the existence of an Orderer, the Almighty God. But man is too engrossed in his petty concerns to notice natural laws, let alone think of their origins. Man has become too accustomed to the sun rising in the east to think about why it does. Mankind falls short of the important recognition of the Creator. The universal recognition of His existence by man is not the result of common thinking but due to the teachings of some gifted individuals who succeeded in leading mankind to this conclusion.

2. THERE IS A NEED FOR AN INCONTROVERTIBLE AUTHORITY

People differ in education, abilities, feelings and backgrounds; so they differ in their views. Many important issues concerning man's actions are highly controversial among individuals and groups. Ethics and morals are strongly disputed. Philosophic justifications can be found for almost any viewpoint. Rather than clarifying the issues so that one finds it possible to make a rational choice, the rational philosophies amplify the confusion. Reason and philosophy have failed as a solution for ethical and moral questions. The answers we seek must come from an incontrovertible authority to which individuals and groups should submit. That authority is God.

3. THERE IS A NEED FOR ADORATION OF GOD

Though a free thinker may be able to recognize God and His greatness, he usually overlooks the importance of adoration. Even if one recognizes the need for adoration, he does not know how to do it. Some people may think it is important to sacrifice and burn animals, others pursue animal passions in the name of God. One believes the ascetic life is loved by Gods while others believe that life is an abomination to God and destructive to the human race. Others adore God by singing and playing instruments, while others believe in submission and kneeling as their form of devotion. The acceptable form of devotion must accord with God's will, not our desires and whims. He should make His will clear to us through a messenger or prophet.

4. THERE IS A NEED TO RESTRAIN THE IMPULSES

Man, unguided and untrained, resembles the animals in his instinctive constitution. Reason is subverted to the service of satisfying his passions unless a restraining element is introduced. Philosophy is not helpful in restraining our passions, since it is available to only a few; nor is there a consistency in philosophy that urges us to control the passions. Some people reach the conclusion that we should strive only for instinctive satisfaction. We are now struggling against such an ultra-materialistic ideology, the doctrines of which discourage the restraint of passions for moral reasons. The ultimate moral and ethical standards all lie with God. When His messenger transmits His word, it will be a sound basis for ending dispute over these matters.

5. THERE IS A NEED FOR INFORMATION ABOUT AFTERLIFE

For a man who believes in God, it is highly probable that his life may continue after death in some form. It is also probable that there will be a Day of Judgment on which man will be rewarded or penalized. If there is such an afterlife, man should prepare himself for the judgment. Only God could know about the existence of an afterlife. Philosophy is of no help here; nor can the human mind deduce the existence of the afterlife from observation or experience in this world. Only God has the certain knowledge. He can transmit this information through a messenger so that mankind will know and will be warned.

The answers to the questions raised above lie with God. He can impart the knowledge to man in any way He desires. One of these techniques is to send a prophet who clearly answers each of the questions as a mediator between God and man. The teachings of such a heavenly messenger would serve the following purposes:

A. To draw the people's attention to the real significance of the great order of the universe, which becomes insignificant to the common man, because of familiarity. The universe is truly infinite and full of wonders; and, if contemplated attentively, it could lead to a strong and sound faith in the Creator. Man's attention can be drawn to those natural signs through the prophet's teachings and directions.

B. To express the moral and ethical standards and codes with which mankind could conform and settle the controversial ethical issues.

C. To make the imperativeness of God's worship evident and to teach us how to perform such adorations.

D. To deliver to us the codes which are needed for curbing our appetites and to stimulate our

aspirations for loftiness and purity which, if progressively increased, could rank us with the angels.

E. To inform us definitely that there is or there is not a life after death. This information could only be received from the Creator Who alone knows whether or not He will create the other world.

Wilson: The heavenly teachings did not serve all these purposes since we still dispute the ethical and moral issues. Disagreement still prevails on the manner of worship of the Creator, His existence, and life after death.

Chirri: These purposes have been satisfactorily served, since a great portion of humanity had agreed on most of the moral issues and believed in the Creator and the Hereafter. With the acceptance of these heavenly principles by such a great portion of humanity, mankind could restrict the loose appetites and moralize the world to some extent.

Furthermore, the heavenly information is necessary even if it does not serve any of these purposes. This holds true because the Creator should bring about the opportunity which may enable us to know Him and help promote our morality, which draws the actual line between human beings and animals. When God creates the other world or plans to create it, He should make it well-known to mankind by His heavenly information, which is the only way we can become aware of it. If the Creator does not send his messenger to transmit to mankind this information, we may be excused when we ignore it, and we will have no opportunity to have a relative perfection. Moreover, if He creates the other world and makes it unknown to us, its creation would be utterly futile.

The historical facts had accorded themselves with this hypothesis, the necessity of the heavenly teachings. Providence did not neglect the human beings since they were in their primitive stage. Thus, many gifted individuals were chosen by the Creator to perform the great and noble task of reforming and teaching.

Wilson. From the word "prophet" we understand that the prophet is supposed to communicate with God and receive His words. The human ways of communication are physical, either through hearing some audible voice or reading some written words. A prophet is a human being like us. He can hear the voice by his ears and see the written word by his eyes. But God is not physical. He does not speak by voice, nor does He write by hand. How can a prophet communicate with God?

Chirri: A prophet may communicate with God through one of the following ways:

(a) He may receive the revelation mentally. God may show him spiritually some specific truth by creating, in his mind, a clear knowledge of that truth.

(b) God may create some words audible to the prophet, in some non-speaking object. The first revelation that was received by Moses came to him by this method. He heard the words of God coming from a tree.

(c) A prophet may receive a clear message from God through an angel messenger. The Prophet Mohammad received the Holy Qur'an through the angel Gabriel. From the Holy Qur'an:

"And it is not fitting for a mortal that God should speak to him, except by inspiration, or from behind a veil, or by sending a messenger to reveal, by His permission, what He chooses. Surely, He is High, Wise." 42:51

None of these ways through which a prophet communicates with God is usual to the rest of the people, and none of them is beyond the area of possibility. The Creator is able to communicate with His servant in any way He pleases. The recipient of revelation, however, is supposed to have certain qualifications which place him spiritually above the rest of mankind .

Wilson: History has witnessed many individuals who claimed prophethood. These individuals appeared in various periods, and some of them are still alive. We know that some of them were true prophets, and some of them were untrue. How can we distinguish between true and untrue prophets?

Chirri: A prophet is a messenger of God. He is an ambassador of God to mankind. An ambassador is supposed to have some credential papers, some signs which demonstrate his truthfulness. No one should be received as an ambassador on his own claim. Therefore, we find that those individuals who are believed to be prophets were equipped with some unusual powers which could not be found with other people.

Moses was empowered by God to convert his staff into a serpent, to transform water into blood, and to split the sea with a strike of his staff. Jesus was empowered to cure the sick without medicine, to make the blind see, to bring the dead back to life, and, according to the Holy Qur'an, to speak to the people while he was in the cradle. Mohammad was equipped with the superb speech, the Holy Qur'an, which challenged mankind to produce its like in the Arabic language.

Wilson: Should the prophet be human or may God send to mankind a non-human messenger?

Chirri: A prophet is an example to mankind. He should share with them the same nature, the same ability, and the same limitation. An attractive example to the people must be obtainable. It must have the capability of inducing the people to follow it. Should the prophet be from a different nature, people will not attempt to follow his example. A relative perfection shown by a prophet should be possible for his followers. Should a human being show me a high degree of virtuous life, I may be tempted to try to attain that degree. He and I are human. What is possible for him is possible for me. But if an angel shows me a high degree of morality, I may not attempt to follow his example. What is possible for him may be impossible for me; he is not from the same nature.

There is another reason to believe that mankind should receive human prophets: We have advanced that a prophet is expected to substantiate his truthfulness by showing people unusual performance. By doing so, people would know that he is empowered by God because what he does is beyond his natural ability. This will not work if the prophet is non-human,-let us say an angel. A human prophet may, for example, show his truthfulness by taking an unaided flight. Should an angel do the same, it will not demonstrate his truthfulness. Such a flight will not necessarily be beyond his natural ability, since he may not be affected naturally by gravitation.

Wilson: What does the belief in the prophethood include from the Islamic point of view?

Chirri: The belief in the prophethood, from the Islamic point of view, includes the following:

1. The belief in the prophethood of Mohammad. Mohammad is a major prophet sent not only to a particular nation, but to all mankind. From the Holy Qur'an:

"Say: O mankind, surely I am the messenger of God to you all, of Him, Whose is the kingdom of the Heavens and the Earth. There is no god but He; He gives life and causes death. So believe in God and His messenger, the unschooled prophet who believes in God and His words, and follow him, so that you may be guided aright." 7:158

2. The belief in the prophethood of all the prophets who came before Mohammad because they are recognized by the Holy Qur'an:

"Say: We believe in God and (in) that which has been revealed to us, and (in) that which has been revealed to Abraham and Ishmael and Jacob and the tribes, and (in) that which was given to Moses and Jesus, and (in) that which was given to the prophets from their Lord. We do not make any distinction between any of them, and to Him do we submit." 2:136

3. The belief in Mohammad as the final of the prophets whose death brought the prophethood to a close. From the Holy Qur'an:

"Mohammad is not the father of any of your men, but he is the messenger of God and the 'Khatam' of the prophets, and God knows all things." 33:40

The word Khatam means the seal which closes a container or the seal whose imprint confirms the authenticity of certain contents of a written document or a message. Sealing for closure or for confirmation comes at the end of what it closes or confirms.

The Prophet Mohammad said to his cousin Ali:

"Thy position from me compares to the position of Aaron from Moses, but there will be no prophet after me. "