Belief in the Messengers

[ابوالوليد المسلم]

Belief in the Messengers

Al-Marja


The Messengers are sent to deliver a Message. They are the ones to whom Allah has sent down revelation and who convey His Law to mankind. Allah ordered them to deliver these Messages.
The first Messenger to be sent was Noah and the last one was Mohammad. Allah said, what translated means, (Verily, We have inspired you (O Mohammad) as We inspired Noah and the Prophets after him.) [4:163].
Anas ibn Malik narrated that the Prophet said, during his Hadith about Shafa'ah (the right of intercession on mankind's behalf that Allah grants to His Messenger on the Last Day), "Mankind come to Adam to intercede on their behalf but he declines, saying: 'Go to Noah, the First Messenger that Allah sent...'" [Al-Bukhari]. Also, Allah said, what translated means, (Mohammad is not the father of any man among you, but he is the Messenger of Allah, and the Last (end) of Prophets.) [33:40].
Allah sent Messengers to every nation and provided them with Laws that their nations must follow. Some Messengers were sent to revive a Message of a previous Messenger. Allah said, what translated means, (And verily, We have sent among every nation a Messenger (proclaiming): "Worship Allah (alone), and avoid all Taghut (false deities).") [16:36], (And there never was a nation but a warner had passed among them.) [35:24] and, (Verily, We did send down the Torah (to Moses), therein was guidance and light, by which the Prophets, who submitted themselves to Allah's will, judged the Jews.) [5:44].
The Messengers are only humans and they do not possess any attributes that qualify them to be gods. Allah described His Messenger, Mohammad, the master of all Messengers and the best of mankind, saying, what translated means, (Say (O Mohammad): "I possess no power of benefit or hurt to myself except as Allah will. If I had the knowledge of the Unseen, I should have secured for myself an abundance of wealth, and no evil should have touched me. I am but a warner, and a bringer of glad tidings unto people who believe.") [7:188] and, (Say (O Mohammad): "It is not in my power to cause you harm, or to bring you to the Right Path." Say: (O Mohammad): "None can protect me from Allah's punishment (if I were to disobey Him), nor should I find refuge except in Him." ) [72:21].
The Messengers are only humans. They get sick and they die, they need to eat and drink and they have other human needs. Abraham described his Lord, saying, as was mentioned in the Quran, ("And it is He Who feeds me and gives me to drink. And when I am ill, it is He Who cures me; And Who will cause me to die, and then will bring me to life (again).") [26:79-81]. Also, the Prophet said, what translated means, "I am only human, just like you, I forget as you forget, therefore, when I forget, remind me." [Al-Bukhari & Muslim].
Allah described the Messengers, while praising them, that they reached the highest attainable degrees in worshipping Him. He said about Noah, what translated means, (Verily, he was a grateful slave.) [17:3], and about Mohammad, (Blessed be He Who sent down the Criterion (of right and wrong, this Quran) to His slave (Mohammad) that he may be a Warner to the 'Alamin (Mankind and the Jinn).) [25:1], and about Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, (And remember Our slaves, Abraham Isaac and Jacob, (all) owners of strength (in worshipping Us) and (also) of religious understanding. Verily, We did choose them by granting them the Remembrance of the home (in the Hereafter). And they are in Our Sight, verily, of the Chosen and the Best.) [38:45-47], and about Jesus, (He was not more than a slave. We granted Our favor to him, and We made him an example to the Children of Israel.) [43:59].
Belief In The Messengers Has Four Parts
1- To believe that their Messages are truly from Allah. Whoever disbelieves in one Messenger, will have disbelieved in all Messengers. Allah said, what translated means, (The people of Noah belied the Messengers.) [26:105]. Allah considered the people of Noah disbelievers in all Messengers, although they only disbelieved in one Messenger. Therefore, the Christians, who disbelieve in Mohammad and do not follow him, are disbelievers in Jesus, the son of Mary. Jesus gave the glad tidings of the coming of Mohammad to the Christians. These glad tidings will be of no benefit to the Christians if they do not follow Mohammad to guidance and the Straight Path.
2- To believe in the Messengers whom we were told about, like Mohammad, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Noah. These are the five strongest Messengers. Allah mentioned them in two versus of the Quran, (And (remember) when We took from the Prophets their Covenant, and from you (O Mohammad), and from Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus, son of Mary.) [33:7] and, (He (Allah) has ordained for you the same Religion (Islam) which He ordained for Noah, and that which We have inspired in you (O Mohammad), and that which We ordained for Abraham, Moses and Jesus, saying you should establish Religion (by implementing the Commandments) and make no divisions in it.) [42:13].
We must also believe in all other Messengers and Prophets whose names were not mentioned to us, (And, indeed We have sent Messengers before you (O Mohammad), of them some We have related to you their story and some We have not related to you their story.) [40:78].
3- To believe in all what the Messengers have conveyed to us.
4- To implement the Laws of the Messenger who was sent to us, Mohammad, the final Messenger. Allah sent Mohammad to all mankind, (But no, by your Lord, they can have no Faith, until they make you (O Mohammad) judge in all disputes between them, and find in themselves no resistance against your decisions, and accept (them) with full submission.) [4:65].
Benefits Of Believing In The Messengers
1- Knowing how Allah takes care of His slaves by sending them Messengers to guide them to His Path. The Messengers teach their nations how to worship Allah, because the human mind cannot know how Allah should be worshipped without guidance from Him.
2- Thanking Allah for this great bounty.
3- Dutifully loving, respecting and praising the Messengers of Allah. They are Allah's Messengers, they worshipped Him, conveyed His Message and gave the best advice to His slaves.
Many rebellious people rejected their Messengers, claiming that Allah's Messengers cannot be human. All mentioned this claim and refuted it, (And nothing prevented men from believing when the Guidance came to them, except that they said: "Has Allah sent a man as (His) Messenger?" Say: "If there were on the earth, angels walking about, in peace and security, We should certainly have sent down for them from the heaven an angel as a Messenger.") [17:94-95]. Allah refuted this claim, saying that the Messengers must be sent from among humans, because they are sent to the people of earth, who are humans. If the inhabitants of earth were angels, then Allah would have sent Messengers from among the angels to them. Allah mentioned what the disbelievers in the Messengers said, ("You are no more than human beings like us! You wish to turn us away from what our fathers used to worship. Then bring us a clear authority (a clear sign that supports what you say)." Their Messengers said to them: "We are no more than human beings like you, but Allah bestows His grace to whom He will of His salves. It is not ours to bring you an authority (proof) except by the permission of Allah.") [14:10-11].