Belief in the Prophets and Messengers of

God

What is a 'prophet' or 'messenger' of God?

A prophet ('nabi' in Arabic ) or messenger ('rasul' in Arabic ) of God is a human being  to whom God gives His guidance and whom He charges with the task of conveying that guidance to the people, so that they may do good and avoid evil. Muslims believe in all the messengers and prophets of God. Furthermore, they believe that God has provided a messenger to every people. At one time or another, every people or nation of people has been allotted a specific messenger who they are to obey and whose teachings they are to follow.

There are many verses in the Qur'an, which attest to this basic truth. For the purpose of this explanation, however, we need only mention the following verse: "For We assuredly sent amongst every people a messenger, (with the command), "Serve God, and eschew evil": of the people were some whom God guided, and some on whom error became inevitably (established). So travel through the earth, and see what was the end of those who denied (the truth). [16: 36]

In which countries (nations) of the world did  the Prophets and messengers  arise?

-According to Islam, God sent prophets to all nations on earth, at various stages of their histories. The Holy Quran says:

"And for every nation there is a messenger." (10:47)

"And there is not a nation but a warner has gone among them." (35:24)

 Why were the Prophets Humans, and not 'gods (or Angels) on earth'?

Because they were sent to guide other human beings, not only by preaching, but also by personal example. So they had to be completely human to show other people how to live. According to Islam, each Prophet was himself the first and foremost follower of the guidance God revealed through him for people to follow. This is why previous prophets are called 'Muslims' in the Holy Quran, being not only teachers but also followers of God's guidance. See for example 3:67. As for the Holy Prophet Muhammad, not only does Islam teach that he was a human being, but a study of his life shows that he regarded himself as a humble mortal, and mixed with people as just one of them.

 What did the Prophets teach?

They all gave the same basic teaching: that man should worship God, and God alone, and do good to his fellow beings. Of course, the details of the teachings differed according to the nation and the time in which a Prophet appeared. In the Holy Quran, the teachings of all Prophets are called Islam (Submission), and the Prophets and their true followers are labelled Muslims. See, for example, in (2-131:133) Allah says: When his Lord said to him, "Submit (i.e. be a Muslim)!" He said, "I have submitted myself (as a Muslim) to the Lord of the ‘Âlamîn (mankind, jinn and all that exists 132. And this (submission to Allâh, Islâm) was enjoined by Ibrâhîm (Abraham) upon his sons and by Ya‘qûb (Jacob) (saying), "O my sons! Allâh has chosen for you the (true) religion, then die not except in the Faith of Islâm (as Muslims - Islâmic Monotheism 133. Or were you witnesses when death approached Ya‘qûb (Jacob)? When he said unto his sons, "What will you worship after me?" They said, "We shall worship your Ilâh (God - Allâh), the Ilâh (God) of your fathers, Ibrâhîm (Abraham), Ismâ‘îl (Ishmael), Ishâq (Isaac), One Ilâh (God), and to Him we submit (in Islâm). and (5:111) Allah says: "And when I (Allâh) revealed to Al-Hawâriyyûn (the disciples) [of ‘Îsâ (Jesus)] to believe in Me and My Messenger, they said: "We believe. And bear witness that we are Muslims."  This refers to the fact that the fundamental teachings given by all of them were the same - submission to God and peace with fellow human beings.

Since Muslims believe in all the Prophets equally, what is the special position of Prophet Muhammad?

-All Prophets were equally from God, and equally true, but the scope of their missions varied. The messengers before the Prophet Muhammad were each given teachings limited to their respective nations, because in those times a nation did not have much to do with other nations. Furthermore, the teachings of each Prophet applied for a limited period of time only, after which God would raise another Prophet to revise some of the teachings for the new circumstances. But at last the time came to unite all the nations upon a single religion so that mankind may live in peace as one nation. For this purpose Prophet Muhammad was sent, to whom God gave teachings for the whole world for all time to come.

By Fatma Dawod

References:

http://english.islammessage.com/articledetails.aspx?articleId=773

http://www.muslim.org/islam/int-is33.htm

http://www.the-prophet-muhammad.net/islam/beliefs_of_islam.html

http://www.suite101.com/content/the-prophets-of-islam-a184486