Prophethood in Islam

Prophethood in Islam


Prophethood in Islam has a special status and significance. According
to Islam, Allah created man for a noble purpose: to worship Him and
lead a virtuous life based on His teachings and guidance. How would
man know his role and purpose of his existence unless he received
clear and practical instructions of what Allah wants him to do? Here
comes the need for prophethood. Thus Allah had chosen from every
nation a prophet or more to convey His Message to people. One might
ask: How were the prophets chosen and who were entitled to this great
honor? Prophethood is Allah's blessing and favor that He may bestow on
whom He wills. However, from surveying the various messengers
throughout history, three features of a prophet may be recognized:

1 . He is the best in his community morally and intellectually. This
is necessary because a prophet's life serves as a model for his
followers. His personality should attract people to accept his message
rather than drive them away by his imperfect character. After
receiving the message he is infallible.

2. He is supported by miracles to prove that he is not an impostor.
Those miracles are granted by the power and permission of God and are
usually in the field in which his people excel and are recognized as
superiors. We might illustrate this by quoting the major miracles of
the three prophets of the major world religions: Judaism, Christianity
and Islam. Moses' contemporaries excelled in magic. So his major
miracle was to defeat the best magicians of Egypt of his days. Jesus'
contemporaries were recognized as skillful physicians. Therefore, his
miracles were to raise the dead and cure the incurable diseases. The
Arabs, the contemporaries of the Prophet Muhammad, were known for
their eloquence and magnificent poetry. So Prophet Muhammad's major
miracle was the Qur'an, the equivalent of which the whole legion of
Arab poets and orators could not produce despite the repeated
challenge from the Qur'an itself.
Again Muhammad's miracle has something special about it. All previous
miracles were limited by time and place, i.e., they were shown to
specific people at a specific time. Not so the miracle of Muhammad,
the Qur'an. It is a universal and everlasting miracle.

Previous generations witnessed it and future generations will witness
its miraculous nature in terms of its style, content and spiritual
upliftment. These still can be tested and will thereby prove the
divine origin of the Qur'an.

3. Every prophet states clearly that what he receives is not of his
own but from God for the well-being of mankind. He also confirms what
was revealed before him and what may be revealed after him.

A prophet does this to show that he is simply conveying the message
which is entrusted to him by the One True God of all people in all
ages. So the message is one in essence and for the same purpose.

Therefore, it should not deviate from what was revealed before him or
what might come after him. Prophets are necessary for conveying God's
instructions and guidance to mankind. We have no way of knowing why we
were created. What will happen to us after death? Is there any life
after death? Are we accountable for our actions? In other words, is
there any reward or punishment for our deeds in this life? These and
so many other questions about God, angels, paradise, hell, etc. cannot
be answered without revelation from the Creator and All-Knower of the
unseen.

Those answers must be authentic and must be brought by individuals
whom we trust and respect.

That is why messengers are the select of their societies in terms of
moral conduct and intellectual ability.