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Belief in the Messengers
The Messengers are sent to deliver a Message. They
are the ones to whom Allah has sent down revelation
and who convey His Law to mankind. Allah ordered them
to deliver these Messages.
The first Messenger to be sent was Noah and the last
one was Mohammad. Allah said, what translated means,
(Verily, We have inspired you (O Mohammad) as We inspired
Noah and the Prophets after him.) [4:163].
Anas ibn Malik narrated that the Prophet said, during
his Hadith about Shafa'ah (the right of intercession
on mankind's behalf that Allah grants to His Messenger
on the Last Day), "Mankind come to Adam to intercede
on their behalf but he declines, saying: 'Go to Noah,
the First Messenger that Allah sent...'" [Al-Bukhari].
Also, Allah said, what translated means, (Mohammad is
not the father of any man among you, but he is the Messenger
of Allah, and the Last (end) of Prophets.) [33:40].
Allah sent Messengers to every nation and provided
them with Laws that their nations must follow. Some
Messengers were sent to revive a Message of a previous
Messenger. Allah said, what translated means, (And verily,
We have sent among every nation a Messenger (proclaiming):
"Worship Allah (alone), and avoid all Taghut (false
deities).") [16:36], (And there never was a nation
but a warner had passed among them.) [35:24] and, (Verily,
We did send down the Torah (to Moses), therein was guidance
and light, by which the Prophets, who submitted themselves
to Allah's will, judged the Jews.) [5:44].
The Messengers are only humans and they do not possess
any attributes that qualify them to be gods. Allah described
His Messenger, Mohammad, the master of all Messengers
and the best of mankind, saying, what translated means,
(Say (O Mohammad): "I possess no power of benefit
or hurt to myself except as Allah will. If I had the
knowledge of the Unseen, I should have secured for myself
an abundance of wealth, and no evil should have touched
me. I am but a warner, and a bringer of glad tidings
unto people who believe.") [7:188] and, (Say (O
Mohammad): "It is not in my power to cause you
harm, or to bring you to the Right Path." Say:
(O Mohammad): "None can protect me from Allah's
punishment (if I were to disobey Him), nor should I
find refuge except in Him." ) [72:21].
The Messengers are only humans. They get sick and they
die, they need to eat and drink and they have other
human needs. Abraham described his Lord, saying, as
was mentioned in the Quran, ("And it is He Who
feeds me and gives me to drink. And when I am ill, it
is He Who cures me; And Who will cause me to die, and
then will bring me to life (again).") [26:79-81].
Also, the Prophet said, what translated means, "I
am only human, just like you, I forget as you forget,
therefore, when I forget, remind me." [Al-Bukhari
& Muslim].
Allah described the Messengers, while praising them,
that they reached the highest attainable degrees in
worshipping Him. He said about Noah, what translated
means, (Verily, he was a grateful slave.) [17:3], and
about Mohammad, (Blessed be He Who sent down the Criterion
(of right and wrong, this Quran) to His slave (Mohammad)
that he may be a Warner to the 'Alamin (Mankind and
the Jinn).) [25:1], and about Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,
(And remember Our slaves, Abraham Isaac and Jacob, (all)
owners of strength (in worshipping Us) and (also) of
religious understanding. Verily, We did choose them
by granting them the Remembrance of the home (in the
Hereafter). And they are in Our Sight, verily, of the
Chosen and the Best.) [38:45-47], and about Jesus, (He
was not more than a slave. We granted Our favor to him,
and We made him an example to the Children of Israel.)
[43:59].
Belief In The Messengers Has Four Parts
1 - To believe that their Messages are truly from Allah.
Whoever disbelieves in one Messenger, will have disbelieved
in all Messengers. Allah said, what translated means,
(The people of Noah belied the Messengers.) [26:105].
Allah considered the people of Noah disbelievers in
all Messengers, although they only disbelieved in one
Messenger. Therefore, the Christians, who disbelieve
in Mohammad and do not follow him, are disbelievers
in Jesus, the son of Mary. Jesus gave the glad tidings
of the coming of Mohammad to the Christians. These glad
tidings will be of no benefit to the Christians if they
do not follow Mohammad to guidance and the Straight
Path.
2 - To believe in the Messengers whom we were told
about, like Mohammad, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Noah.
These are the five strongest Messengers. Allah mentioned
them in two versus of the Quran, (And (remember) when
We took from the Prophets their Covenant, and from you
(O Mohammad), and from Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus,
son of Mary.) [33:7] and, (He (Allah) has ordained for
you the same Religion (Islam) which He ordained for
Noah, and that which We have inspired in you (O Mohammad),
and that which We ordained for Abraham, Moses and Jesus,
saying you should establish Religion (by implementing
the Commandments) and make no divisions in it.) [42:13].
We must also believe in all other Messengers and Prophets
whose names were not mentioned to us, (And, indeed We
have sent Messengers before you (O Mohammad), of them
some We have related to you their story and some We
have not related to you their story.) [40:78].
3 - To believe in all what the Messengers have conveyed
to us.
4 - To implement the Laws of the Messenger who was
sent to us, Mohammad, the final Messenger. Allah sent
Mohammad to all mankind, (But no, by your Lord, they
can have no Faith, until they make you (O Mohammad)
judge in all disputes between them, and find in themselves
no resistance against your decisions, and accept (them)
with full submission.) [4:65].
Benefits Of Believing In The Messengers
1 - Knowing how Allah takes care of His slaves by sending
them Messengers to guide them to His Path. The Messengers
teach their nations how to worship Allah, because the
human mind cannot know how Allah should be worshipped
without guidance from Him.
2 - Thanking Allah for this great bounty.
3 - Dutifully loving, respecting and praising the Messengers
of Allah. They are Allah's Messengers, they worshipped
Him, conveyed His Message and gave the best advice to
His slaves.
Many rebellious people rejected their Messengers, claiming
that Allah's Messengers cannot be human. All mentioned
this claim and refuted it, (And nothing prevented men
from believing when the Guidance came to them, except
that they said: "Has Allah sent a man as (His)
Messenger?" Say: "If there were on the earth,
angels walking about, in peace and security, We should
certainly have sent down for them from the heaven an
angel as a Messenger.") [17:94-95]. Allah refuted
this claim, saying that the Messengers must be sent
from among humans, because they are sent to the people
of earth, who are humans. If the inhabitants of earth
were angels, then Allah would have sent Messengers from
among the angels to them. Allah mentioned what the disbelievers
in the Messengers said, ("You are no more than
human beings like us! You wish to turn us away from
what our fathers used to worship. Then bring us a clear
authority (a clear sign that supports what you say)."
Their Messengers said to them: "We are no more
than human beings like you, but Allah bestows His grace
to whom He will of His salves. It is not ours to bring
you an authority (proof) except by the permission of
Allah.") [14:10-11].
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