Let us think rationally and give ourselves an example from what we see and do in our daily lives. If you own a company that work in the construction business for instance, and you wanted to hire a new principal engineer who would be responsible for preparing all the junior engineers, choose from among them their most clever ones to be the senior engineers and team leaders, he will teach them, train them, answer their questions, revise their work, correct their mistakes, approve or reject their work, etc. What would be the most correct method of hiring such an engineer?

Logic says that the most correct approach would be to review all existing candidates, then choose the one who has the best qualifications, whom you can prepare to face the difficulties and hardships of such a job. After this, you will assign a deputy to prepare him and transfer to him the information he needs to carry out the tasks for which he is appointed. Finally, you will watch his progress to interfere when necessary.

This approach is almost the same as what the Creator has been doing to teach and guide us. Allah Almighty—ever since Adam the father of all prophets—has been sending down his revelations with the angel he created and assigned for this job, namely “Gabriel,” to the best and the most pious believing humans who can bear the burden of delivering the divine messages to their people. This human is like the principal engineer in the above example and the one whom we call a messenger or a prophet. Prophets are the ones chosen by Allah to deliver his messages to us as humans and teach us about His attributes, our existence, the best way to live in this worldly life, what’s harmful and what’s useful, the laws by which if we abide we shall prosper, he teaches us about our tasks and how to do them.

Some people teach that Allah has given a covenant to a particular lineage or race to bestow his revelations and messages upon a prophet chosen only from among them. But Islam teaches that Allah Almighty chooses whomever He likes and knows in His ultimate wisdom to be the best among every nation for delivering His message, without any regards to his race or lineage. For Allah Almighty is not a racist, nor could He be, all praises be to Him. Islam teaches that Allah never punishes any people except after sending them a warner or a messenger to educate them about their Creator’s laws and moral teachings. In the Holy Qur’an, Allah says about this:

“Allah chooses as His messengers whomever He wills. So believe in Allah and His messengers. If you believe and ward off evil, for you, there will be a great reward.” [The Qur’an (3:179)].

“The decree of Allah is at hand, so do not seek to hasten it. Holy is He and exalted far above what they associate with Him. He sends down the angels with revelations by His command to whomever of His servants He pleases, saying, ‘Warn mankind that there is no God but Me, so beware of Me.’ ” [The Qur’an (16:1-2)].

“Allah chooses messengers from among the angels and from among men. Allah is All-Hearing, All-Seeing.” [The Qur’an (22:75)].

“We have never sent a messenger who did not use his own people’s language to make things clear for them.” [The Qur’an (14:4)].

“Whoever accepts guidance does so for his own good, whoever strays does so at his own peril. No soul will bear another’s burden, nor do We punish until We have sent a messenger.” [The Qur’an (17:15)].

It is true that most of the prophets mentioned in the Qur’an, and sent after Abraham, where from his offspring, but the Qur’an does not teach that this was some kind of a covenant between Abraham and Allah, it was instead a blessing bestowed from Allah on those who were pious among Abraham’s offspring. Abraham P.B.U.H. invoked Allah to bless his family with prophets from among themselves to teach them about their creator. This is mentioned in the Qur’an as follows:

“Remember when Abraham’s Lord tested him with certain commandments, which he fulfilled, He said, ‘I will make you a religious model for the people.’ Abraham asked, ‘And from among my descendants too?’ Allah answered, ‘My pledge does not hold for those who do evil.’ ” [The Qur’an (2:124)].

Allah also says in the Qur’an:
“We have sent other messengers before you (O Muhammad), some We have mentioned to you and some We have not.” [The Qur’an (40:78)].

Islam teaches that the previous holy books pointed out and informed that there will be the last prophet, the seal of all prophets. He will be sent to deliver to all people the final message and final law by which they should abide till the judgment day comes. All of the preceding prophets were explicitly sent to their people, to teach them about their creator, the one and only God, treat what they have corrupted in this understanding in a way that fits their conditions and their capability of understanding. None of the prophets was ordered to preach his message to all people on earth, but only to his people or a particular nation as specified to him by Allah. Of course, all these messages preached the same creed of faith but had different laws according to the era and state of the people to whom it was sent. For example, the rules of marriage for the previous nations permitted a man to gather to himself in marriage two sisters, like Prophet Jacob’s marriage to Leah and Rachel. This was later on abrogated and forbidden in the message Allah bestowed upon His Prophet Moses. But the creed of faith has always been the same, and it never changed, for changing it only means that God Himself is altered, which is entirely impossible.

When humanity reached the era in which it had acquired the fundamental knowledge capable of introducing mankind into a self-sustaining stage of progress, most people were straying from the prophets’ pure creed and teachings. Instead, they followed the teachings of sects of men who have added, hidden, struck-off and corrupted those teachings according to their own understanding, whim, and will. The world was mostly occupied by 2 major fighting empires (i.e. Roman and Persian empires), besides small scattered poor communities that were incapable of achieving any progress on their own. Men were categorized according to their colour, lineage, race, status and wealth. It was then the time for that last prophet, the one by whom all prophets would be sealed, the original pure creed of faith would be restored, the previous messages and correct laws would be confirmed, and what was corrupted or misunderstood from them would be explained, clarified and preserved from any distortion by the Almighty’s own care. It was time for one final message, sent to all people telling them that they are all one nation, with one God “Allah,” one faithful father “Adam,” and one land “Earth.” All people are one family and should be gathered by mercy, justice and respect in their pursuit to fulfill the task for which they were created, that is keeping their trust in being their Creator’s vicegerents on earth.

Many of the prophets were informed of that last prophet. They gave glad tidings to their companions and followers about his coming and ordered them to follow and support him if they witness his coming. This last prophet’s attributes and signs were described in the previous holy books sent by Allah. The holy teachings and final law that he would deliver were alluded to, and even his followers were described, the ones who would stand by him, support, and strengthen him through his mission.

When Prophet Muhammad P.B.U.H. was sent, people of the book (i.e. Jews and Christians) split into two groups since his time and until this moment. The first group believed in him to be that last prophet, they embraced Islam and taught their children that the Qur’an is Allah’s final testament to all people, and the other group declined.

IMME, ISBN:9789779027395
Written By: Ehab Shawky