Opinion

Islam's response to contemporary world problems (2)

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The Universality of the Prophethood

The Holy Qur'an says in this regard:

                                                                   وَلَقَدۡ بَعَثۡنَا فِیۡ کُلِّ اُمَّۃٍ اُمَّۃٍ رَّسُوۡلًا اَنِ اعۡبُدُوا اللّٰہَ وَاجۡتَنِبُوا الطَّاغُوۡتَ ۚ 

We raised up in every people a Messenger with the teaching, "Worship Allah and avoid the evil one" (Q. 16: Al-Nahl: 37).

Secondly, the Holy Qur'an declares:

O Prophet of God, you are not the only Prophet in the world!

                                            وَلَقَدۡ اَرۡسَلۡنَا رُسُلًا مِّنۡ قَبۡلِکَ مِنۡہُمۡ مَّنۡ قَصَصۡنَا عَلَیۡکَ وَمِنۡہُمۡ مَّنۡ لَّمۡ نَقۡصُصۡ عَلَیۡکَ عَلَیۡکَ ؕ 

Verily We have sent Messengers before you; among them are some whom We have mentioned to you, and among them are some whom We have not mentioned to you (Q. 40: Al-Mu'min: 79).

The Holy Qur'an reminds the Holy Prophet of Islam:

                                            اِنۡ اَنۡتَ اَنۡتَ اِلَّا نَذِیۡرٌ ﴿۲۴﴾ اِنَّاۤ اَرۡسَلۡنٰکَ بِالۡحَقِّ بَشِیۡرًا وَّنَذِیۡرًا ؕ وَاِنۡ مِّنۡ اُمَّۃٍ اِلَّا خََلَا فِیۡہَا نَذِیۡرٌ 

Thou art but an Admonisher. Verily We have sent thee with the Truth, as a bearer of glad tidings and a Warners; and there is no people to whom an Admonisher hath not come. (Ch. 35: Al-Fatir: 24-25)

In view of the above, it is manifestly clear that Islam does not monopolise the truth, eliminating all other religions, but categorically declares that in all ages and parts of the world God has been taking care of the religious and spiritual needs of mankind, bringing forth Messengers who delivered the divine message to the people for whom they were intended.

All Prophets are equal

The question arises that if there are so many Prophets of God sent to all the peoples of the world, in different parts and at different times, do they all have the same divine authority? According to the Holy Qur'an, all Prophets belong to God, and therefore, as far as their divine authority is concerned, they exercise their authority with equal strength and capacity. No one has the right to discriminate one Prophet over another. As far as the authenticity of their message is concerned, all Prophets are equal. This attitude of Islam towards other religions and their Founders, as well as their minor Prophets, can function as an important unifying and consolidating factor between different religions. The principle that the authenticity of each Prophet's Revelation is of equal status can be used as a powerful unifying force to bring diverse religions together. This transforms the attitude of hostility towards the revelation of Prophets of other religions into one of respect and reverence. This is, again, the clear and logical position held by the Holy Qur'an:

                      اٰمَنَ الرَّسُوۡلُ بِمَاۤ بِمَاۤ اُنۡزِلَ اُنۡزِلَ اِلَیۡہِ مِنۡ رَّبِّہٖ وَالۡمُؤۡمِنُوۡنَ ؕ کُلٌّ اٰمَنَ بِاللّٰہِ وَمَلٰٓئِکَتِہٖ وَکُتُبِہٖ وَرُسُلِہٖ ۟ لَا نُفَرِّقُ بَیۡنَ اَحَدٍ مِّنۡ رُّسُلِہٖ ۟ وَقَالُوۡا سَمِعۡنَا سَمِعۡنَا وَاَطَعۡنَا ٭۫ 

This Messenger, the Holy Founder of Islam, believes in what was revealed to him from his Lord, and so do the believers; they all believe in Allah; and in His angels, and in His Books, and in His Messengers, saying, "We make no distinction between any of His Messengers. And they say: "We have heard, and we are obedient...." (Q.2: Al-Baqarah: 286)

This theme is repeated in other verses of the Holy Qur'an. For example:

Verily, those who disbelieve in Allah and His Messengers and try to make a distinction between Allah and His Messengers, and say, "We believe in some of them and disbelieve in others" and try to take a middle way, these are indeed the disbelievers; and We have prepared for the disbelievers a humiliating punishment. But those who believe in Allah and all His Messengers and make no distinction between them, to these We shall soon give their rewards. For Allah is the Most Forgiving and Most Merciful. (Q. 4: Al-Nisa: 151-153)

Can the rank be different if the authenticity is the same?

If all the Prophets have the same authenticity, must they be equal in rank? The answer to this question is that, in different respects, the Prophets may vary in their personal qualities and in the way they carry out their responsibilities. In terms of their proximity to God and the relative status they hold in the sight of God, Messengers and Prophets may differ from one another. The study of the history of the Prophets in the Holy Bible, the Holy Qur'an and other Scriptures confirms this conclusion.

The Holy Qur'an admits that there are differences of status, but in a manner that does not disturb the peace of man. The Holy Qur'an itself declares that there is no difference as regards the authenticity of the Messages coming from God between one Prophet and another. It states:

                                          تِلۡکَ الرُّسُلُ فَضَّلۡنَا بَعۡضَہُمۡ عَلٰی بَعۡضٍ ۘ مِنۡہُمۡ مَّنۡ کَلَّمَ اللّٰہُ وَرَفَعَ بَعۡضَہُمۡ دَرَجٰتٍ دَرَجٰتٍ ؕ

These Messengers We have exalted, some of them above others; among them there are those to whom Allah spoke frequently; and some of them He exalted in different categories (Q. 2: Al-Baqarah: 254).   

Accepting this proposition, one wonders who should be considered the highest in rank among the Prophets. This is a delicate issue, but one cannot close one's eyes to the importance of this question.

The followers of almost all religions claim that the Founder of their religion possesses supremacy and that no one can rival him in excellence, dignity, piety, honour, and, in general, in all the qualities that make up a Prophet. So, does Islam also declare that Muhammad, the Holy Prophet of Islam, peace and blessings of God be upon him, is the highest of all Prophets? Indeed, Islam makes an unequivocal statement about the excellence and supremacy of the qualities of the Holy Prophet over the rest of the Prophets of the world. However, there is a very clear difference between Islam and other religions in terms of attitude to this claim.

First of all, it should be noted that no other religion apart from Islam recognises the universality of the Prophetic Office. When Jews declare - if they so claim - that Moses was the greatest Prophet, they are not comparing Moses with Buddha, Krishna, Jesus or Muhammad, peace and blessings of God be upon them all, because they deny that the statements of all the great Founders of the above religions are genuine and worthy of acceptance. Therefore, in the Jewish list of Prophets, no Prophets other than those specifically mentioned in the Old Testament are included, dismissing the mere possibility that Prophets might exist elsewhere. In the light of this attitude, their claim to the supremacy of a certain Jewish Prophet does not belong in the same category as Islam's claim to Judaism. Prophets outside the Holy Bible simply do not exist. It is exactly the same with similar statements in Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, etc.

There is also another difference that has to be taken into account. When we speak of their Prophets, we are aware that they do not always consider their holy and religious personages as Prophets. The concept of Prophets and Messengers as understood in Judaism, Christianity and Islam is not understood in exactly the same way by most other religions. On the contrary, they treat the Founders and saints of their religion as holy personages, reincarnations of God, God in person, or something that resembles Him. Perhaps in this respect, Jesus Christ is to be understood as an exception - from the point of view of Christianity.

However, according to Islam, all those who are called gods or reincarnation of God, or the so-called sons of God, are only Prophets and Messengers who have been deified by their followers at a later period. In fact, to be more specific, according to Islam, the deification of holy personages in different religions is a gradual process and not of "spontaneous generation" contemporary to the Prophet. But more on this later.

When Islam, however, declares that its Holy Founder has supremacy among the Prophets, it takes into account all the holy personages of all the world religions in the sense given by the Judeo-Islamic concept of the Prophets. It is worth reiterating that Islam regards the Founders of all revealed religions as mere human beings who were elevated by God to the rank of Prophetic office.