9.4. BELIEF IN THE MESSENGERS OF ALLAH
This article of faith addresses the belief that Allah has conveyed His message through selected human beings. These individuals, called prophets and messengers, were selected by Allah to be examples of how the scriptures were to be understood and implemented. Prophets have demonstrated practically, for their followers, how one should live by the law. The way of the prophets is the only way to Allah, because it has been prescribed by Allah Himself. Hence, without prophets, people would not know Allah, His attributes or how to worship Him.
The role of the prophets can be summarized as follows:
1. Receive the message from Allah.
2. Deliver it to the people.
3. Advise people to fear Allah and abide by His Commandments.
4. Advise people who have deviated, disobeyed Allah, or worshipped anything or anyone other than Him, to repent and obey and worship Him only.
5. Inform people about the fundamental aspects of faith.
6. Teach detailed religious and moral tenets to their Followers.
7. Be a model for their people, and lead them to eternal paradise.
Allah has sent a prophet or prophets to every nation; their duty was to convey the message that He alone should be worshipped and anything worshipped along with Him or besides Him is false and unacceptable. The Qur’an has mentioned the names of twenty-five prophets (see diagram) while indicating that many others existed yet were not mentioned by name. The first of these prophets was Adam (peace be upon him) and the last was Muhammad (blessings and peace be upon him). May Allah’s mercy and peace be upon the prophets.
Every prophet was sent to a specific people for a specific era. Prophet Muhammad (blessings and peace be upon him) was an exception, who was sent as the last and final messenger until the hour of judgement. The proofs that Muhammad (blessings and peace be upon him) was a messenger of Allah are innumerable; all have been mentioned in his detailed biography. The greatest proof is the miracle of the Qur’an, which could not have been written by any human; also, it could not have been conveyed except through a Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace be upon him).
Indeed, the books of the Bible mention the advent of Prophet Muhammad (blessings and peace be upon him), in spite of the changes which have been introduced in their content.
The Qur’an and the sayings and of Prophet Muhammad (blessings and peace be upon him) relate, with reverence, the lives of many of these prophets. Prophet Muhammad (blessings and peace be upon him), the last prophet, has remained as the absolute example for his followers. His teachings were further elucidated in practice by his Rightly-Guided successors. The Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) encouraged his followers continuously to follow the prophets’ way, and warned against conflict over Islamic principles and values. This was to ensure that his followers would not deviate from the right path, as had happened to the followers of previous prophets.
Prophet Muhammad’s followers owe him two things: obedience and love.
4.1 Obedience to the Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) (followship)
Obedience to the Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) has been mentioned in thirty different verses of the Qur’an. It implies following his commands and avoiding what he prohibited. Obedience to the Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) indicates the true fulfilment of the second part of the declaration that brings a person into Islam, “I bear witness that Muhammad is Allah’s Messenger.”
When we examine anything the Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) encouraged, urged or ordered, we find that it is all from Allah and that it leads to something good either for us personally or for others who are close to us in our families or for our wider community, whether it is the Muslim community in general or humanity at large. He has only prohibited what is harmful or of no benefit, like adultery, gambling, alcohol, lying, disrespect to parents and so on. The Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) prohibited satanic ways in many statements because these tend to pull a person away from the right path.
A good believer reaches a state of mind when his or her desires and pleasures in this life are in line with what Allah wants from him or her. Every individual should be obedient to Allah and His Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him), and observe strictly the instructions from Allah. The spirit develops by following Islamic teachings, while it decays and suffers from a spiritual loss if these teachings are abandoned.
4.2 Loving the Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him)
Islam teaches that loving the Prophet is part of the Islamic faith.
The Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) has been quoted as saying:
<<None of you is a true believer unless I am dearer to him than his parents, his children, and all other people.>> (Bukhari and Muslim)
The Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) also said: <<There are three qualities which are certain to give anyone the sweetness of faith: to love Allah and His Messenger more than anyone else, to love a person for no purpose other than for Allah’s sake, and to hate to relapse into disbelief after Allah has saved him from it as much as one would hate to be thrown into the fire.>> (Bukhari and Muslim)
We are required to love Prophet Muhammad (blessings and peace be upon him) more than all others (except Allah) because it was through him that we learned who Allah is along with His attributes, our position in relation to Him, what Allah wants from us, and how to worship Him. He has guided us, through practical example, along the way; following this is certain to earn us Allah’s acceptance and the ultimate bliss. He has spared us the worst calamity that can ever befall anyone, which is incurring Allah’s anger and punishment. He sacrificed everything to deliver Allah’s message to us. He sacrificed his health and wealth and his whole life. If we realize all this, how can we not love him more than we love ourselves and all Others?
We love Prophet Muhammad (blessings and peace be upon him) because, as described in the Qur’an, he was a ‘mercy for all nations’. His compassion extended to all: friends and enemies. Consider this: his enemies often became his beloved Companions and followers. They embraced Islam, saying that his character proved he was a true Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace be upon him).
It should be noted that we must love Allah more than the Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him); the Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) comes after Allah. Loving
Allah, the Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) and his followers is an act of worship for which one will be rewarded. The reverse is also true: hating Allah or His Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) will expel one from the bounds of Islam. Correspondingly, hating those who hate Allah or the Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) is part of the Islamic belief, for which the individual will be accounted for and Rewarded.
It needs to be clarified here that the emotion of ‘hate’ that is referred to in this context does not lend itself to the commonly known evil type of hate which is the imperfect human emotion; rather, it is the type of hate that perfects one’s faith as it is directed – in the right measure – against those who have taken a defiant stance against the Creator and His chosen messengers. It is a lot like the negative feeling one may hold against the actions of a human who defies and abuses his or her elderly parents in an evil manner, or an outlaw who fights the justice system and spreads fear and corruption in society. It is clear that hating the actions of such individuals is a natural feeling that good people are expected to have. Although Islam teaches love in all its forms, it also instructs faithful believers not to love those who do not love Allah and His messengers, until they change their ways, in which case, they are commanded to love them! In a nutshell, a Muslim loves as well as hates for Allah’s sake. Here is a great fact about this emotion of hate: a Muslim is instructed not to hate anyone for personal reasons. For example, if a Muslim person has been insulted by anyone, he or she has been instructed to forgive; surely, the difference is great between hating for the sake of Allah (well- placed emotion) versus hating for self-satisfaction (a destructive emotion).
The love we should have for the Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) must be genuine love, not a mere verbal statement. It should be supported and proven by obedience: following his commands and avoiding what he has prohibited. Correspondingly, again, the expression of our feelings of hate or revulsion at the refusal of our fellow human beings to believe in Allah’s Oneness and follow the monotheistic teachings of His prophets should be in our positive and pro-active approach to those who disbelieve. We pray for them to be guided to the truth; at the same time, we need to work for that and work with them towards that.
Source: (THE PURPOSE OF CREATION)
Compiled by Majed S. Al-Rassi
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