T2: PROPHETS & MESSENGERS Flashcards
Intro
Prophets = Nabi
Messengers = Rasul
Like other monotheistic religions (Christianity and Judaism), Islam places great emphasis on the importance of prophets and messengers. So much so that stories of the prophets regularly feature in the Qur’an.
A belief in prophethood is also one of the 6 Articles of Faith.
Examples of individuals include: Nuh (Noah), Musah (Moses), and Isa (Jesus).
Prophets (Nabi):
The Arabic word for Prophet is ‘Nabi’, according to Islamic tradition there have been 124,000 prophets in total with the first being Adam and the final being Muhammad, who is often referred to as the ‘Seal of the Prophets’.
The purpose of a prophet is to preach the word of God to the people.
25 out of the 124,000 prophets are mentioned by name in the Qur’an, these include: Isa, Muhammad, Musah and Abraham.
Muslims consider the prophets to be to be sinless and were individually selected by Allah for their strong moral character.
The main reason for the importance of Muhammad is explained by Chris Turner who stated that “they provide a means in which Allah may address man.”
The distinction between Prophets and Messengers
Arabic term ‘Nabi’ translates as prophet and the Arabic term ‘Rasul’ translates to messenger. Islam teaches there are 124,000 prophets and 313 messengers.
The most popular distinction between the 2 is that a Rasul is someone who brought with them a written message or scripture to deliver to the people, whilst the Nabi doesn’t come with a new message, they have the responsibility of preaching the word of God. The simplest explanation is that every messenger is also a prophet but not every prophet is a messenger.
For example, Islam teaches, Yahya (John the Baptist) was only a prophet whilst Isa was both a prophet and a messenger as the scripture he delivered was the Bible.
Its important to remember that these messengers are there to pass on the same message as the Qur’an states: “Muhammad is not but a messenger. Other messengers have passed before him.”
The message of previous Messengers
The Arabic word for messages is ‘risalah’.
Muslim believe that all prophet should be revered and respected, for example, Isa is considered second only to the prophet Muhammad and the most mentioned prophet in the Qur’an is Musah.
Islam teaches that even before the prophet Muhammad there were many prophets that brought with them the message of Allah which were intended to guide their moral and behaviour.
In some cases, these messages were ignored, forgotten or even distorted which is why there was need for a new message to bring back the original, unchanged message.
These messages include:
1) Ibrahim (Abraham) - was given the Sahifa (scrolls). This books contains messages of exhortation, wisdom and lessons on moral behaviour. It is believed to have perished overtime and is now referred to as the ‘lost body of scripture’.
2) Musah (Moses) - given the Tawrat (Torah). Contained stories of previous prophets, lessons and commandments. It was largely rejected by the people at the time and those who did accept it distorted its message.
3) Dawud (David) - given the Zabur (Psalms), which included guidance from God through wisdom, lessons and moral direction. Islam teaches it wasn’t properly recorded as it wasn’t written down until years after Dawud’s death.
4) Isa (Jesus) - given the Injil (Bible), scripture that included stories, lessons and guidance. Tis scripture was rejected by the people at the time and distorted after Isa left the earth.
Muhammad
Is considered the founder of the Islamic faith. Was born in the city of Mecca in year 570, at a time when the most popular religious beliefs centred around Paganism - the worship of idols.
He is seen as both a prophet and a messenger, this is because he was selected by God to preach his word and was given a scripture - the Qur’an.
Muhammad - the Seal of the Prophets
Muhammad is seen as the ‘Seal of the Prophets’ as there isn’t intended to be any prophets after him. No individual can be added to the list of 124,000 prophets after Muhammad.
The concept of the Seal of the prophets links to the idea that prophethood ended with him - he delivered what Muslims consider to be the final message of Allah.
Muslims believe that Muhammad is no different to previous prophets in the sense that he was not an angel or the son of Allah as the Qur’an states “I only follow that which is revealed to me and I am not but a clear warner.”
5) Muhammad - given the Qur’an, a scripture largely associated with Islam and was revealed to him by Allah through the angel Jibril. Was revealed over a 23 year period through revelations that Muhammad received. I t was revealed in the Arabic language and consists of 114 chapters. Over the course of these chapters this book of guidance provides commandments, wisdom and stories of previous prophets such as the story of Nuh. Muslims believe the Qur’an can never be distorted as it was recorded as when it was revealed, in its original Arabic language, unlike other religious texts that have been translated in numerous languages. Keeping the message in its original form is something Allah made reference to when he stated “it is We who revealed it and We will be its guidance.
Character of Muhammad
Muslims believe due to the nature of revelations only someone with strong character like Muhammad could manage and handle this. Due to the strong character traits, the Qur'an directs humans to imitate his character and exemplary behaviour. Also believe his mental character had to be strong in order to deal with some of the trials he faced such as people rejecting him. His actions (Sunnah) and teaching (hadith) are the ultimate benchmark and are what Muslims intend to follow. The Sunnah & Hadith describe his character as: selfless, man of peace, modest, generous and considerate.
