Definition of Prophet:
The Prophets too are human beings; they are not endowed with divinity because Divinity merits only Allah the Peerless; The Prophets, however, have one distinctive feature that the Revelation descends upon them; Allah Almighty says:
وما ارسلناقبلك من المرسلين الا انهم لياكلون الطعام ويمشون في الاسواق
“And we sent not before thee Messengers but that they ate food and walked in the markets(bazaars).”
“faith in the Prophets is based on three premises”
1. Islam does not discriminate between Prophets.
2. All Prophets are human beings.
3. Faith in the Miracles of Prophets.
There are people among the followers of other prophets who talk disparagingly about prophets other then the ones they follows, but Islam has made it incumbent that all prophets should be equally respected. If a person talks insolently of any prophet or reproaches him, he violates the dictates of Islam. Allah says:
"امن الرسول بما انزل اليه من ربه والمؤمنون كل امن با لله وملئكته
وكتبه ورسله لانفرق بين احد من رسله وقالوا سمعنا واطعنا غفرانك ربنا واليك المصير"
The Messenger accepted what was sent down on him from his Lord and the Muslims too. All of them believed in God and in His Angels and in His Books and His Messengers they say, “We make no division between any one of His Messengers” and they spoke out “We heard and accepted we want thy pardon, Our Lord and unto Thee is our return”
In other words, a Muslim loves and respects Moses and Jesus just as he loves and respect the prophet SAW. He reveres them all, like his own prophet SAW, without discrimination. This means that it a Jew becomes a Christian he does not undergo any loss of not believing in Moses; he rather, benefits by believing in both Moses and Jesus. If after this, this Christian becomes a Muslim, he is not at a loss of not believing in the prophet SAW as well as believing in all the prophets and messengers.
All Prophets are human beings; they are born like other human beings and die like them. They fall ill like other human beings and recover also like them. They are not any whit different from other human beings so far as the structure of their bodies, the outward appearance of their limbs and organs, the circulation of blood and the function of the heart is concerned. They eat and drink like other human beings. It is only to indicate that they have no features of Divinity which behaves only Allah and is reserved for Him. However ,in spite of being human beings, they have one distinction that the Revelation descends on them from Allah .
And ,this is not an ordinary things. the earlier communities were flabbergasted when the Revelation descended upon man from Allah , on which Allah called their perplexity improper and said.
اكان للناس عجبا ان اوحينا الي رجل منهم ان انذر الناس وبشرالذ ين امنواان لهم قدم صدق عند ربهم
Was it a wonder to the people that we revealed to a man from among them : ‘Warn the people and give good tidings to the Believers that they have a true footing with their Lord?’
قل انما انا بشر مثلكم يوحي الي انما الهكم اله واحد
Thou say : I am also a man as you are, the order comes to me that upon you the worship is of One Single Sovereign.
قالوا ابعث الله بشرا رسولا
They said : “Has God sent forth a mortal as Messenger?”
When the incidence of Ascension {Mi’raj} took place and the prophet SAW was transported from Makkah to Quds .and he SAW returned the same night the Quresh did not believe it. In their opinion is was impossible because it was inconceivable ,with the then available means of transport {camels, horses, etc.}to travel such a long distance and return in the same night but this very impossible thing has not only became possible in our times but has become common…and nobody is amazed at that nor any body denies it.
A century or two ago .if the greatest physicist was told that soon people will fly in “ metallic machines” and that they will fly faster than sound ,or that it will be possible to record somebody’s speech ,etc, which may be later reproduced at any time ,even after his death ,even that scholar would have shaken his head in disbelief, whereas, it has become a common thing today which all know .
How did all these impossible things become possible after all? it may be said that impossible are of two types: One is the Common impossible .{muhal’adi} occurrences which we are not used to see while happening and we consider them impossible only because of hat .Its example is the incident of Ascension or other miracles. the second type of “impossible.” is that the occurrence of which is rationally impossible, such as the co-existence of opposites {ijtima-i-diddain} for example ,existence and non –existence are opposites of each other, and is impossible for any one to be present at one place and absent from it at the same time. Similarly, things cannot assume different forms at the same time : a book, while” it is a book, cannot become a morsel of bread at he same time.
The rationally impossible “occurrences” are inconceivable but the so-called impossible occurrences in ordinary circumstances have become possible through our scientific knowledge and progress and have become commonplace Is it not possible for Allah ,the All-Powerful, who originated these laws Himself ,to make impossible, possible? certainly, the Omnipotent Allah is competent to make a thing , impossible in the ordinary circumstances, happen .therefore. If we hear through a true report that a thing impossible under the ordinary circumstances has occurred, we will take it as a real happening and will accept it.
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