How would one know the role and life purpose of existence unless one receives clear and practical instructions of what God wants and expects of him or her? Here comes the need for Prophet hood. Thus, God has sent thousands of Prophets and Messengers to humankind. Every nation on Earth received a Prophet. God states in the Quran:
“And We certainly sent into every nation a messenger, [saying], "Worship Allah and shun False Gods, and among them were those whom Allah guided, and among them were those upon whom error was [deservedly] decreed. So proceed through the earth and observe how was the end of the deniers” (16:36).
They all preached the same general message that there is only one deity worthy of worship. He is the One and Only God, without a partner, son, daughter, or an equal. All other gods are false and are only creations of God and not the actual Creator. All the Prophets and Messengers came with the same purpose, to lead mankind to God. Muslims believe that God communicates His guidance through human Prophets. Belief in certain prophets who God chose to relay His message to humans is a required article of Islamic faith. God states:
"The Prophet (Muhammad) believes in what has been sent down to him from his Lord, and (so do) the believers. Each one believes in God, His Angels, His Books, and His prophets. (They say,) ‘We make no distinction between one another of His prophets..." (Quran 2:285)
The Prophets do not seek anything for their personal interest in this world. Rather they seek things for the public interest by warning their people against what may harm them. God sent Prophets to mankind for a number of reasons, for instance to guide humanity from worshipping created beings and to worship their Creator, the Creator of all things. The Prophets came to guide humankind to build a relationship with their creator, to know Him and to love Him. The Prophets taught humanity that life is only a test where the successful will enter Heaven eternally and the unsuccessful will enter the hell fire. Prophets and Messengers were sent to teach humanity about righteousness, morals, ethics, and how to purify their souls from evil. They were also sent to teach about unseen world which exist beyond our normal senses and physical universe, such as existence of Angels. Additionally, God sent Prophets and Messengers to stand as witnesses on the Day of Judgement to the ones that will claim they never heard the message.
Muslims believe, respect, honor, and love the all the Prophets and Messengers of God, starting with Adam, including Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Jacob, Moses, and Prophet Jesus, All whom invited people to worship God and shun false gods. Muslims believe in many of the Prophets found in Jewish and Christian traditions. God states:
"And ask (O Muhammad) those of Our prophets whom We sent before you: ‘Did We ever appoint gods to be worshipped besides the Most Merciful (God)?’" (Quran 43:45)
Muslims also believe God’s final message to man, a reconfirmation of the eternal message, was revealed to the last and final Prophet. Prophet Muhammad was sent to the last and final nation, our nation. God states in the Quran:
“Muhammad is not the father of any one of your men, but he is the Messenger of God and the last of the prophets” (Quran 33:40)
Out of the Infinite Mercy and Love of God, God continued to send Prophets and Revelations. Each Prophet and Book was sent down to different nations and people. There were over one hundred thousand Prophets and Messengers sent to all of mankind, to all nations and races, in all corners of the world. Some Prophets were superior to others. The best among them were Prophets Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Prophet Muhammad. God states:
“And We have already sent messengers before you. Among them are those [whose stories] We have related to you, and among them are those [whose stories] We have not related to you. And it was not for any messenger to bring a sign [or verse] except by permission of Allah . So when the command of Allah comes, it will be concluded in truth, and the falsifiers will thereupon lose [all]” (Quran 40:78)
Islam states, all the pervious Prophets and Books other than the Holy Quran and Prophet Muhammad were sent down only for a particular nation and a particular group of people and were only meant to be followed for a particular time period. For example, Muslims believe Jesus was one of God’s mightiest Messengers who was sent down with the same message of all the pervious Prophets, but was only sent to the Children of Israel as their final Prophet because they were veering away from the laws and disobeying the commandments of God. Prophet Jesus mission was to confirm the Torah that was previously sent, to make lawful things that were previously unlawful, and to proclaim and re-affirm the belief in One God. Prophet Jesus was not meant for the non- Israelites.
God states in his final revelation the Quran that He would teach Prouhet Jesus the Torah, the Gospel and the Wisdom.
"And He will teach him writing and wisdom and the Torah and the Gospel" (Quran 3:48)
In order to effectively spread his message to the Israelites, Jesus was taught the Torah, and he was provided with his own revelation from God, the Gospel (Injeel). God also bestowed Jesus with the ability to guide and influence his people with signs and miracles to prove he was sent down by God. The miracles were proof he wasn’t an imposter. All the miracles that were granted by Prophet Jesus or any Prophet of God, is only with the power and permission of God and are usually in the field in which his people excel and are recognized as superior at the time and place of the Prophet.
All the earlier Messages or Revelations of God were disoriented by people of later generations. As a result, pure Revelation from God was polluted with myths, words of men, superstitions, irrational philosophical ideologies, and idol worship. The religion of God was lost in a plethora of religions.
Later, when mankind was in the depth of dark ages, God Almighty sent his last and final Messenger Prophet Muhamad and his final Revelation, the Holy Quran, to redeem humanity. The Quran and the final Messenger Muhammad who affirms everything that was revealed to all the previous messengers in the past. The way of the Prophet Muhammad abrogates the previous laws and by the wisdom of God, He did not allow the teachings of the
previous prophets to remain preserved in a completely undistorted manner. There will be no Prophet or Book after him Prophet Mohamad and the Holy Quran. Prophet Mohamad was not only sent down to the Arabs or Muslims, rather were sent down for all of humanity. This final Prophet could not simply be sent for one community among humankind which could cause differing amongst the communities. The Revelation to Prophet Muhammad represents the ultimate and permanent source of guidance of mankind.
The Quran states:
“And We have not sent you (O Muhammad) except as a bringer of glad tidings and a warner unto all humanity; but most people know not” (Quran 34:28)
God chose the best among humanity to deliver His message. Prophet hood is not earned or acquired thru certain practices or higher education. God chooses whom He pleases and think would be the best fit for this purpose. The Prophets and Messengers were best in morals and manners and were mentally and physically fit for the task and were protected by God from falling into major sins. The Prophets were the best in their community morally and intellectually so they can serve as good role models for his followers. Their personality was one that attracted people to accept his message rather than drive them away. They did not err or commit mistakes in delivering the message. All of God’s messengers preached the same message. They preached there is Only One God, love Him with All your heart, Worship Him to your best ability & praise Him and Follow His Laws. The Prophet’s messages came with glad tidings and a warning. The glad tidings are for those who believe informing them that their past sins will be forgiven and a generous reward of Paradise will be awarded to them. The warning is for those who disbelieve informing them that if they continue their evil ways, their final destination will be the hell fire. The Quran states:
“Verily! We have sent you with the truth, a bearer of glad tidings, and a warner. And there never was a nation but a warner had passed among them” (Quran 35:24)
and the Quran also states:
“Verily, those who fear their Lord unseen, theirs will be forgiveness and a great reward” (Quran 67:12)
The Prophet Muhammed was sent with a message in the language of the people he was sent upon. So, they can easily understand the message, apply it in their lives, and then convey it to others. If he had not conveyed the message in their language, they would not have understood him. Since Prophet Muhammad was sent among the Arabs speaking plain Arabic, they had no excuse but to hear his message. God states in the Quran:
“And We never punish until We have sent a Messenger (to give warning)” (Quran 17:15)
Prophet Muhamad’s message was certainly not limited to the people of his time. Rather, Prophet Muhammad was sent to all humanity. This is stated repeatedly in the Qur’an. Whereas Prophet Muhammad was an Arab, only 4 of the 25 mentioned Prophets in the Quran were Arabs. The Arab Prophets were Hud (Eber in English), Saleh, Shuaib (known in the Biblical literature as Jethro) and Muhammad. In fact, Prophet Muhammad is only mentioned four times in the Koran by name. The most mentioned Prophet in the Quran is Moses. Moses is mentioned in over 70 passages.
Moses was the most mentioned Prophet in the Quran because he was the most similar to Prophet Muhammad. Moses had a group of followers with him (the Israelites) and a divine law which was revealed to him that people were supposed to follow similar to Prophet Muhammad. Bit of pieces of the story of Prophet Moses and his people is mentioned in the Quran numerous times to demonstrate to Prophet Muhammad that he is the not the first person to suffer hardship from those near and dear to him. Similarly, Prophet Mose’s people, the Israelites, are compared to the Muslim community. In reading and learning what happened to the Israelites and their errors, our nation can avoid making the same mistakes they made. One way God choses to deliver his guidance to humanity is through giving examples of past nations, their stories, and their mistakes, so people now can benefit, not make the same mistakes, and live their lives accordingly. The Almighty states:
“There was certainly in their stories a lesson for those of understanding. Never was the Qur'an a narration invented, but a confirmation of what was before it and a detailed explanation of all things and guidance and mercy for a people who believe” (Quran 12:111)
In each story mentioned in the Quran, there are numerous of lessons some of which we can discover now and some of them we are yet to discovered. People went to extremes with the Prophets that were sent from God. Some Prophets were rejected and accused of being sorcerers, madmen, Forgers, Plagiarizers, Magicians, Poets, soothsayers, imposters, and liars, even though they came with miracles and Books beyond the power of humans, to prove they were sent from God. For instance, Prophet Jesus, son of Mary, was rejected by the Jews and they refused to consider him to be the Messenger they had been waiting for. The Jews rejected Prophet Jesus and Prophet Muhamad, even though their own Book spoke about an upcoming Prophet that will come ‘I will establish a Prophet for them from among their brothers, like you, and I will place My words in his mouth; and he shall speak to them all that I shall command him’ (Devarim 18:18). This Prophet was no other than the Prophet Muhamad. The Christians also rejected Prophet Muhamad. However, Muslims believe in all Prophets sent from God starting with Prophet Adam to the last and final Prophet, Prophet Muhamad. Muslims accept them all as Messengers of God who brought guidance to mankind. However, the Revelations which the Prophets before Prophet Muhammad brought from God have been tampered with in one way or another by men over the years. Since the Bible was sent down for a particular group of people and for a particular time period, God did not feel it fit to preserve the Bible. It is now mixed with words of men and contain hundreds of scientific errors which prove it’s no longer in the same form as it once was when Prophet Jesus was present. On the other hand, since the Holy Quran is meant for all of mankind as a whole and is meant till eternity. God made sure he preserved it from tampered with. The Quran is the only Book of God that remains untampered, untouched, standing the same form as it came down over 1400 years ago. God states in the Quran:
“Indeed, it is We who sent down the Qur'an and indeed, We will be its guardian (guard it from corruption)” (Quran 15:9)
While some took the Prophets as a joke and rejected them, some on the contrary, turned Prophets into gods by giving them divine powers or declared them to be children of God like in the case of Prophet Jesus with the Christians. Certainly, Prophets are to be loved and respected, but no form of worship is to be directed towards them nor are they to be treated as demi-gods or intermediaries between humankind and God. However, Christians appointed him to divine heights that he was not entitled to. Jesus’ message lasted in its original purity for a period of time. While the Israelites and the Roman authorities rejected his message, there were a group of people that accepted and believed in his message called his disciples. Soon after God elevated Prophets Jesus soul and body to heaven. The early devoted followers of Jesus tried to maintain the purity and clarity of his teachings that he is only a Messenger of God. Jesus’ message lasted in its original purity for a period of time, but the scripture he received was slowly altered as well as his original message of absolute oneness of God became corrupted. Soon later, in the next few centuries, different beliefs about Jesus developed amongst some of the early Christians. They claimed that he was divine, calling him the son of God, which eventually became the dominant Christian belief. Six centuries after Jesus, God sent His last and final Messenger Muhammad to mankind with His final scripture, known as the Holy Quran.
If Jesus really claimed to be God than there would be many verses in the Bible which would have mentioned so. However, there is not a single verse in the entire Bible that states Jesus said ‘I am God’ or ‘worship me’ Furthermore the Bible itself calls Jesus a Prophet: “When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, Who is this? The crowds answered, This is Jesus, the Prophet from Nazareth in Galilee" (Matthew 21:10-11). How could Jesus be God as well as God’s Prophet at the same time? That wouldn’t make any logical sense. Jesus never claimed he was God or he should be worshipped. Jesus never claimed divinity. All Prophets and Messengers were created human beings who had no divine attributes, power or any divine qualities of God. They were the best slaves of God that walked the Earth; who ate, drank, slept, and lived normal human lives.