Prophecy

Prophecy
General Prophecy Themes

Prophecy is the third base of religion. Man is in need of someone who indicates for him the path in order to anxiously follow his God and in order to overcome all the obstacles preventing him from reaching the destined divine aim i.e. the happiness of the human being in the two abodes: this world, and the hereafter.

The indicator of the straight path is the one related to The Most Glorious and Reverent God through the revelation. Man can reach this desired aim through following this path which is obvious due to the prophet who clarified the way and enlightened the road.

What Is Meant by Prophecy

The Nobowwa [Prophecy] is derived from the Nabaa’ [News]. When it is said, “He [nabba’a] him about the matter,” it is meant that he told him about the matter. Here, it is used to mean the notification from The Most Great The Most High God.

The prophet, therefore, is the one who carries to us a sure news from The Most Glorious and Reverent God, in which he calls to knowing, obeying, following the orders, and avoiding the forbiddances of The Most Glorified and High God. The prophet is then the intermediary between The Most Glorified and High God and mankind in order to guide them to the straight path.

The Role of the Prophets (God’s prayers and peace bestowed upon them)

Having recognized the importance of the sending of the prophets and the messengers from the All-Knowing All-Wise God, we move to the role which is assigned to them. This role represents everything which the nation needs along the path of its spiritual and moral sublimity and perfectness. In addition, it includes the laws the nation needs in order to arrange the life of mankind and to guide them to real happiness and human perfection. Here we are going to mention some divine roles and functions:

* Strengthening and fastening the connection with God, worshiping Him, and avoiding all sorts of polytheism: The Most High God says in His Noble Book: ﴾And verily We have raised in every nation a messenger (proclaiming), “Serve Allah and shun false gods﴿1 Besides, The Prince of the Believers (God’s peace bestowed upon him) said in reference to the aim of the sending of the prophets, “…so that the mankind will know their God after having ignored Him; will acknowledge Him after having refused to; and will uphold His Existence after having denied so.”3

* Illustrating the divine lores for the people, purifying then, and teaching them: The Most Glorious and Reverent God says, ﴾He it is Who hath sent among the unlettered ones a messenger of their own, to recite unto them His revelations and to make them grow, and to teach them the Scripture and wisdom…﴿3 From the first missions of the prophets and the messengers (God’s peace bestowed upon them) are to illustrate the divine lores, to purify and cultivate the souls, and to teach the people what they need in order that they will attain their happiness.

* Establishing justice in the human society: The Most Glorified God says, ﴾We sent aforetime our messengers with Clear Signs and sent down with them the Book and the Balance (of Right and Wrong), that men may stand forth in justice﴿4 It is obvious that the establishment of justice is related to the people’s acquaintance with the true justice which is accomplished by means of the divine illustration through the great prophets (God’s prayers and peace bestowed upon them).

* Judging in the disputes and settling the conflicts among the people: The Most High God says, ﴾Mankind were one community, and Allah sent (unto them) prophets as bearers of good tidings and as warners, and revealed therewith the Scripture with the truth that it might judge between mankind concerning that wherein they differed…﴿5 This can happen through the takeover of the political and social role and other missions in order to put an end to all the disputes in the various fields of life.

* Leaving mankind with nothing to have as a plea against God: The Most Glorified and High God says, ﴾…Messengers of good cheer and of warning, in order that mankind might have no argument against Allah after the messengers. Allah was ever Mighty, Wise﴿6 The Most Glorified and High God, on the basis of His Justice, does not torture or punish anybody till He had left the mankind with nothing to plea against Him i.e. through sending the messengers and the prophets (God’s prayers and peace bestowed upon them).

The Evidence for the Prophecy

We previously testified the existence of the All-Manager All-Wise and All-Just Creator Who is The Most Glorious and Reverent God. He did not create the creatures frivolously, but for an aim and wisdom. At this, the human being becomes wakeful and starts craving towards knowing the aim for the sake of which he was created. Since The Most Glorified God is Just, Kind, and Merciful with His mankind, it is obvious that He will show them the path and clarify for them the aim. From here arose the necessity of the sending of the messengers and the prophets.

The Most High God says in His Noble Book, ﴾I created the jinn and humankind only that they might worship Me﴿7 Therefore, the basic aim of the creation and existence of the human being is to worship and obey The Most Glorious and Reverent God, which leads in turn to the happiness of the human being in his life continuously.

So that we will know the correct form of this worship and obedience which is accepted from The Most Glorified and High God and so that we will reach the divine aim, it was indispensable to send the prophets and the messengers who are the ones chosen by The Most Glorious and Reverent God to carry out these divine missions and duties.

In Nahj Al-Balagha [The Path of Eloquence], The Prince of the Believers (God’s peace bestowed upon him) said, “And He, The Most Glorified, did not leave His creatures without either a sent prophet, a descended Scripture, a strong argument, or a straight path.”

The Characteristics and Conditions of the Prophet

The prophet must be characterized with several traits and must meet several conditions, so that the divine aim of the prophecy will be achieved. These characteristics and conditions can be summarized as follows:

* The perfection of mind and wisdom i.e. he must be the best one among the people of his nation
* The good management, administration, courage, and patience which he needs in declaring his call and in illustrating his message
* The impeccability from making mistakes, forgetfulness, and inadvertence; otherwise, the people will find a probability of inadvertence, forgetfulness, or making mistakes in everything which is announced by the prophet
* The impeccability from the disobedience: Had the prophet been a disobedient of God- God forbids, this would have implied the abolishment of the aim of the prophecy because the prophet is the model and the example; The Most High God says, ﴾Verily in the messenger of Allah ye have a good example…﴿8

The Prophecy of The Greatest Prophet Mohammad bin Abdullah (God’s prayers and peace bestowed upon him and his Household)

The Most Glorious and Reverent God sent thousands of prophets during historical eras and in various places around the world. They (God’s prayers and peace bestowed upon them) had excellently carried out their missions in guiding humanity towards its perfection and happiness.

However, these religions had been exposed to deviation and distortion till they had gone astray on their right path. Consequently, the torches of guidance had been snuffed with the world drowning in injustice, falsehood, ignorance, and seduction. As a result, God sent Mohammad as a prophet harbingering people, warning them, guiding them to God by His Permission, and being a luminous candle. So, he, with God’s Kindness and Mercifulness, saved humanity from what it was floundering in.

The Most High God says, ﴾He it is Who hath sent among the unlettered ones a messenger of their own, to recite unto them His revelations and to make them grow, and to teach them the Scripture and wisdom, though heretofore they were indeed in error manifest﴿9

The Evidence for the Prophecy of The Concluding Prophet Mohammad (God’s prayers and peace bestowed upon him and his Household)

The evidence which the prophets usually present in order to confirm their assignment with prophecy from The Most Glorified and High God is the miracle. The miracles of The Noblest Prophet (God’s prayers and peace bestowed upon him and his Household) are more than one can count; still, the most prominent one is the divine celestial Book, which no one can bring a like to even if the jinn and the mankind gathered, helped, and supported each other, which even no one can bring a like to one of its verses; it is The Noble Qur'an.

The Most Glorified and High God says, ﴾Say, “Verily, though mankind and the jinn should assemble to produce the like of this Qur’an, they could not produce the like thereof though they were helpers one of another”﴿10

Also, The Most Glorious and Reverent God says, ﴾Or they say, “He hath invented it.” Say, “Then bring ten surahs, the like thereof, invented, and call on everyone ye can call beside Allah, if ye are truthful﴿11

Moreover, The Most Glorified and High God says, ﴾And if ye are in doubt concerning that which We reveal unto Our salve (Mohammad), the produce a surah of the like thereof, and call your witness beside Allah if ye are truthful﴿12

The Aspects of the Inimitability of The Noble Qur'an

As regards the inimitability of The Noble Qur'an, we can recognize several aspects, among which we are going to mention the following:

1- The Uniqueness of the style and the wonderfulness of the composition, for it does not have and is not going to have any like in the texts of the poets and the eloquent ones
2- Its involvement of what was unknown from the past news and the ancient times, such as the stories of the People of the Cave, Saba’, Thou Al-Qarnayn, and Al-Khodor

3- Its mentioning of the future events before they took place, such as: the triumph of the Romans in the coming time in the following Saying of The Most High God: ﴾The Romans have been defeated in the nearer land, and they, after their defeat, will be victorious﴿13

The Concluding Prophecy

The Islamic religion is a comprehensive message and a universal declaration. It is not special to some nation rather than the other or to a certain region rather than the other. What indicates this is that it addresses all the people: "O people" "O Sons of Adam". Moreover, it is manifested in the blessed verses that it is a general comprehensive message, such as: ﴾Mercy for all the worlds? ?And We have not sent thee (Mohammad) save as a bringer of good tidings and a warner unto all mankinds﴿14

It is the immortal religion till the Day of Judgment, and The Prophet of Islam Mohammad bin Abdullah (God’s prayers and peace bestowed upon him and his Household) is the last prophet. He (God’s prayers and peace bestowed upon him and his Household) addressed The Prince of the Believers (God’s peace bestowed upon him) in saying, “You are to me as Haroun was to Musa; however, there is no prophet to come after me.” 15

For Reading

The Inimitability of The Qur'an

It is related that Hisham bin Al-Hakam said, “Ibn Abi Al-Awja, the atheist Abou Shaker Al-Deesany, Abdul Malik Al-Basiri, and Ibn Al-Mouqaffaa met at God’s Sacred House, mocking the pilgrim and defying The Qur'an.”

“Ibn Abi Al-Awja said, ‘Let each one of us invalidate a quarter of The Qur'an, and our meeting is to be next year in this place, we having invalidated the whole Qur’an, for in invalidating The Qur'an is the abolishment of Mohammad’s prophecy; and in abolishing Mohammad’s prophecy are the abolishment of Islam and the confirmation of our creed.’ They agreed on that and then went apart.”

“In the next year, they met at God’s Sacred House. Ibn Abi Al-Awja said, ‘Since we went apart, I have been thinking about the following verse: ﴾Now when they saw no hope of his (yielding), they held a conference in private﴿16 I could add nothing to its eloquence, so it occupied me and prevented me from thinking about any other one.’”

“Next, Abdul Malik said, ‘I, also, have been thinking about the following verse since I left you: ﴾O men! Here is a parable set forth! Listen to it! Those on whom, besides Allah, ye call, can not create (even) a fly, if they all met together for the purpose! And if the fly should snatch away anything from them, they would have no power to release it from the fly. Feeble are those who petition and those whom they petition!﴿17 And I could not produce a like to it.’”

“Then, Abou Shaker said, ‘And I, since I left you, have been thinking about the following verse: ﴾If there were (in the heavens and the earth) other gods beside Allah, there would have been confusion in both﴿18 And I could not produce a like to it!’”

“Next, Ibn Al-Mouqaffaa said, ‘O people! This Qur’an is not like the talk of the humans; and since I left you, I have been thinking about this verse: ﴾Then the word went forth: O earth! Swallow up thy water, and O sky! Withhold (thy rain)! And the water abated, and the matter was ended. The Ark rested on Mount Judi, and the word went forth: Away with those who do wrong!﴿19 I could neither understand it fully nor produce a like to it!’”

Hisham bin Al-Hakam added, “…Jaafar bin Mohammad Al-Sadik (God’s peace bestowed upon him) passed by them and said, ﴾If the whole of mankind and jinns were to gather together to produce the like of this Qur’an, they could not produce the like thereof, even if they backed up each other with help and support!﴿20”

“So, they looked at each other and said, ‘If Islam is true, Mohammad’s recommendation will have arrived to none but Jaafar bin Mohammad. By God! Never have we seen him but have we revered him and have our skins shivered due to his awe!’ And then they went apart, thus acknowledging their feebleness.”

1- The Noble Qur'an/ Al-Hadeed [The Iron] Chapter/ Verse 25
2- The Noble Qur'an/ Al-Jomaa [Friday] Chapter/ Verse 2
3- The Noble Qur'an/ Al-Nahel [The Bees] Chpater/ Verse 36
4- Nahej Al-Balagha [The Path of Eloquence]/ Part Two/ Page 30
5- The Noble Qur'an/ Al-Baqara [The Cow] Chapter/ Verse 213
6- The Noble Qur'an/ Al-Baqara Chapter/ Verse 213
7- The Noble Qur'an/ Al-Thareeyat [The Scattering Winds] Chapter/ Verse 56
8- The Noble Qur'an/ Al-Ahzab [The Parties] Chapter/ Verse 21
9- The Noble Qur'an/ Al-Jomaa [Friday] Chapter/ Verse 2
10- The Noble Qur'an/ Al-Israa [The Journey by Night] Chapter/ Verse 88
11- The Noble Qur'an/ Houd Chapter/ Verse 13
12- The Noble Qur'an/ Al-Baqara [The Cow] Chapter/ Verse 23
13- The Noble Qur'an/ Al-Rum [The Romans] Chapter/ Verses 2 and 3
14- The Noble Qur'an/ Saba’ Chapter/ Verse 28
15- Al-Kafi [The Sufficient]/ Sheikh Al-Koulayni/ Part Eight/ Page 107
16- The Noble Qur'an/ Youssef Chapter/ Verse 80
17- The Noble Qur'an/ Al-Hajj [The pilgrimage] Chapter/ Verse 73
18- The Noble Qur'an/ Al-Anbeeyaa [The Prophets] Chapter/ Verse 22
19- The Noble Qur'an/ Hood Chapter/ Verse 44
20- The Noble Qur'an/ Al-Israa [The Journey by Night] Chapter/ Verse 88