MANKIND’S NEED FOR THE MESSENGERS
The Prophets are Allah’s Messengers to His slaves; they convey His commandments to them, they give them glad tidings of the bliss which Allah has prepared for them if they obey His Commandments, warn them of the everlasting punishment if they disobey Him and tell them the stories of the past nations and what befell them of the punishment and torment in this world because they disobeyed the commandments of their Lord.
These Divine Commandments and prohibitions cannot be known independently by human reasoning, that is why Allah ordained and prescribed commandments and prohibitions as an honour for mankind and to protect his interests. For people tend to obey their desires, thereby violating forbidden things, attacking other people and usurping their rights. It is therefore out of the utmost wisdom too that Allah should send Messengers among mankind, every now and then, who would remind them of the commandments of Allah, warn them against disobedience, recite to them admonitions and tell them the stories of past generations. Because, when wonderful stories are heard and marvellous concepts awaken the psyche, the sense of reason embraces that, increases in knowledge and has right perception. The more man listens the more he thinks; the more he thinks the more he reflects; the more he reflects the more he understands and the more he understands the more he acts. So, sending Messengers is inevitable and there is no alternative for them if the truth is to be established. (A’lam An-Nubuwwa by ‘Alee bin Muhammad Al-Mawardee p. 33.)
Shaykhul Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (He is Ahmad bin Abdul-Haleem, popularly known as Ibn Taymiyyah. He was born in the year 661 A.H. and died in the year 728 A.H. He was one of the great Islamic Scholars and the author of many valuable books.) said, “Divine Message is necessary for reformation of man in his worldly life and his final abode. As there will not be well-being for him in his Hereafter if he does not follow the message, there will also not be well-being for him in his worldly life if he does not follow the Message. He is therefore, bound to follow the Law of Allah for he lives between two movement: a movement by which he seeks what benefits him and another by which he wards off what harms him. The Law of Allah is then the light that shows him what can benefit or harm him. That is the Light of Allah on the earth, His justice between His slaves ad His fortress which provides safety for whoever enters it. What is meant by the Law of Allah is not physical distinction between the harmful and useful; for even the animals can do that. The donkey or camel can differentiate between barley and sand. What is meant by that is to be able to distinguish between deeds that can harm their doer in his worldly life and his Hereafter and deeds that can benefit him in his worldly life and his Hereafter. Like the benefit of faith, belief in the Oneness of Allah, justice, righteousness, kindness, honesty, chastity, courage, knowledge, perseverance, enjoining all that is good, forbidding all that is evil, being kind to the kith and kin, being dutiful to parents, being kind to neighbours, fulfilling obligations, purifying deeds for Allah, putting trust in Him, seeking help from Him, being pleased with His pre-decrees, submission to His rule, believing in Him and His Messengers in all that they inform him and all other deeds that are beneficial to man in his worldly life and his Hereafter. In the opposite of the above lies his misery and harm in his worldly life and his Hereafter.
Had it not been because of the Divine Message, the human intellect would have not been guided to the details of what could benefit or harm him in his worldly life. Among the greatest favours of Allah upon His slaves is that He sent His Messengers to them, revealed to them His Books and showed them the Straight Path. Had it not been for this, humans would have been like cattle or even worse. So, whoever accepts the message of Allah and stands firm on that is among the best of all creation. But whoever rejects it and deviates from it, such is among the worst of the creation and worse in condition than the dog and pig and the most contemptible creature. There is no way the inhabitants of the earth can survive except by the effects of the message that is existent among them, for when the impacts of the message become exterminated from the earth and the signs of their guidance become wiped off, Allah will dismantle the heaven and the earth and bring forth the Resurrection.
Further, the dweller of the earth’s need for the Message is not like their need for sun, moon, air and rain, and it is also not like their need for their own souls or like the need of the eye for the light; or like that of the body for food and drink. Rather the need for the Messenger is greater than all that and all other things one could think of or assume. The Messengers are the intermediary between Allah and His creatures as far as His commandment and prohibitions are concerned; they are the envoys between Him and His slaves. The last of them, their leader and the dearest of them to Allah is Muhammad. Allah sent him as mercy for mankind and all that exists. He makes him a proof for the followers of the right path and a proof against all creatures. He commanded His slaves to follow, love, respect and honour him, and to give him all obligations due to him. Allah took covenants and pledges from all other Prophets and Messengers that they would believe in and follow him (if they were to meet him or hear of him) and He also ordered them to take the same covenant from their believing followers. Allah sent him at the threshold of the Hour. With him, He guided many from error, rescued many from ignorance, and opened through his Message blind eyes, deaf ears and sealed hearts. He lightened the earth through his message, after it had been in darkness and united with it the separated hearts. He straightened with the Messenger the crooked faith and explained through him the bright path. Allah opened for him his heart, removed from him his burden, raised high his fame and subjected those who were against him to humiliation and disgrace. He sent him after a break in the succession of the sent Messengers and extermination of the impacts of the previously revealed Books; when words had been twisted and the law altered, when every nation relied on injustice in their opinions, made decisions regarding Allah and between His slaves with their own corrupt sayings and desires. It was then that Allah guided mankind through him and showed them the right way, He brought people from darkness to light through him and made distinction with him, between those who deserve success and those who were sinners. Whoever follows his guidance will be rightly guided and whoever deviates from His Path will go astray and such has only oppressed himself. May Allah bestow peace and blessings on him and all other Messengers and Prophets. (Qai’dah fee wujoobil I‘tisaam bir-risaalah by Ibn Taymiyyah, See: Al-Fatawa 19 p.99-102.)
We can now summarise man’s need for the message in the following points:
1. That man is a nurtured creature and it is inevitable for him to know his Lord and Creator; to know what He wants from him and why He created him. Man cannot however know all that independently except by knowing the Prophets and the Messengers and knowing the guidance and light which they brought.
2. Man is a component of body and soul. The nutrition for body is whatever is available of food and drink, but the nutrition of the soul has been prescribed by the One Who created it; that nutrition is true religion and righteous deed. So, it is the Prophets and Messengers who brought true religion and guided to righteous deed.
3. Man is religious by nature and he must have a religion which he must practice and this religion must be the true one. So, there is no way to know the true religion except through belief in the Prophets and Messengers and to believe in all that they brought.
4. Man is in need of knowing the way that can lead him to the pleasure of Allah in this world and to His Paradise and bliss in the Hereafter. And no one can guide to this way except the Prophets and Messengers alone.
5. Man is in himself weak and many enemies lay in wait for him: Satan wants to mislead him, evil companions make bad things fair-seeming to him and his base self incites him to do evil. Hence, he needs what can protect him against the evil plans of his enemies and it is the Prophets and Messengers who guided man to that and clearly explained it to him.
6. Man is civil by nature, his meeting with people and his relations with them therefore need a law by which justice and equality can be established among people – the absence of which can make human life be like that of the jungle. Also, this law must be able to protect the right of every one without excessiveness and negligence and none could bring such perfect law except the Messengers and Prophets.
7. Man needs to know what can give him tranquility and psychological security and guide him to means of real happiness. This is what the Prophets and Messengers guided to. After explaining why, the creation is in need of Prophets and Messengers, it is now appropriate to discuss the final return and explain the proofs and evidences that support that.
By Dr. Muhammad bin Abdullah As-Suhaym
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