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The role of the messenger
Whereas we need no intercessors to present our prayers to Allah, who is All-Hearing, He is not of this world and does not speak to us directly. Instead of approaching each of His creatures individually with a personalised message, He has chosen messengers of impeccable character to bring His universal message to all of us. The task of these messengers was both to bring the message and to guide by personal example. They would always practice what they preached. In English, the term prophet is frequently used to describe these people, as part of their job was to warn of the consequences of non-compliance with the instructions of Allah, and this telling of future events or prophecies became a key characteristic in the perception of people. Whilst the messengers were given insights not usually available to other people and were often given miracles in support of their authenticity, it is important to understand that they were not superhuman. If Allah wanted to equip them in this way, He could have sent angels, but for the messengers to be followed, their life example had to be comprehendible; they had to be like everybody else in many respects, so that all who encountered their message would feel that they had the capability of trying to walk in their footsteps. For this reason, messengers were always chosen from amongst their own people, speaking their own language.
Since the
days of Adam, the universal content of the message itself
remained unchanged: that there is only one God, Allah, that
all depend on Him alone, that righteous conduct was the route
to success in His eyes, and that He would judge everybody’s
deeds on the Day of Reckoning. As mankind evolved through
various stages, however, the detailed set of rules
accompanying this general message equally evolved. Each
messenger, in addition to calling his people to the undivided
worship of Allah alone, addressed the major sins and
injustices of his time and was such a social reformer by
divine command.
Given the
many generations of humans on this planet, spread across the
vastness of the globe, the number of messengers sent for their
guidance and betterment is too great for all their stories to
have been preserved. The Qur’an mentions only a select number
of them by name and tells in detail about their mission, where
their example continues to provide beneficial admonition and
guidance for us. Messengers were sent to all kinds of
communities, but many of those whose stories are preserved for
us were sent to the Children of Israel whom Allah had favoured
amongst the nations for many generations. Each messenger takes
his place in a long chain of such emissaries, and finally,
when the time was right, Allah sent a final messenger to all
mankind to revive, confirm and seal His message for the
remaining generations of mankind. This messenger was Muhammad,
peace be with him. Once mankind had reached a stage of
development which could guarantee that the message brought by
him, the Qur’an, would be preserved unchanged and its content
would remain valid for all times to come, there will be no
further new messenger after him. The messengers mentioned by
name in the Qur’an are Adam, Idris, Nuh (Noah), Hud, Salih,
Lut (Lot), Ibrahim (Abraham), Ismail (Ishmael), Ishaq (Isaac),
Yaqub (Jacob), Yusuf, (Joseph), Shu’ayb (Jethro), Ayyub (Job),
Musa (Moses), Harun (Aaron), Dawud (David), Sulayman
(Solomon), Yunus (Jonah), Ilyas (Elijah), Al-Yasa (Elisha),
Zu-l-Kifl, Zakariya (Zechariah), Yahya (John), Isa (Jesus),
and Muhammad, peace be with them all.
[Next: The life and message of Muhammad
]
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