In our last article, we touched on one of the core beliefs in Islam - belief in God. It is the prerequisite for all Islamic teachings. Without believing in God, how then to justify the belief in His messengers and His messages and more.
We continue the article with the next core belief in Islam - Belief in Messengers from God.
Belief in Messengers from God – and their Messages
Throughout human history, men have always wondered about the unseen or abstract. “Who is the creator of the world and what are His attribute? What is the purpose of life? Is there life after death?”.
Despite advancement of knowledge and technology, these crucial questions about the nature of our reality cannot be answered – unless by the Creator of the reality Himself.
Therefore, to teach men what they cannot learn by reasoning alone, Allah sent prophets. The prophets were chosen people who are divinely inspired. They are sent by Allah to teach men the truth from Him and His expectations on them. In Islam, all the prophets without exception are men of exceptional character - the best of mankind.
All the prophets bring the same messages regardless of which nations they were sent for. To teach people the existence of God and the requirement to obey, submit and worship Him (only). To tell them about the Day of Judgement and the Hereafter. Life is temporary and a test – every choice have consequence and accountability.
To tell them of the good rewards for those who believe and do righteous deeds, and to warn those who deny the truth from God of His anger and punishment.
Islam taught that there were many prophets sent throughout the history to different people and different nations. Some of the more famous prophets are Noah, Moses, Abraham, Jesus and Muhammad S.A.W. Even though they were sent separately, their messages regarding the oneness of God are the same.
[Note: From the Islamic perspective, the similarities of many religions can be traced to the fact that they all came from the same source. However, any differences are due to the unwarranted tampering and manipulation by men afterward.]
Muslims are taught not to make distinction between any of the prophets. They are all to be treated with respect due to their special rank, yet not to be idolized or deified to the point of worship.
Muslims believe that Muhammad S.A.W is the last prophet, and the Quran is a message from God transmitted to him – verbatim Words of God that has been preserved unchanged until today. Muslims also preserved sayings and example of Muhammad S.A.W (known as Hadith) as guidance alongside the Quran.
In Islam, both the acceptance of God and His last messenger cannot be separated in order to be a Muslim. To deny the prophets is to deny God Himself.
To Be Continued...
We continue the article with the next core belief in Islam - Belief in Messengers from God.
Belief in Messengers from God – and their Messages
Throughout human history, men have always wondered about the unseen or abstract. “Who is the creator of the world and what are His attribute? What is the purpose of life? Is there life after death?”.
Despite advancement of knowledge and technology, these crucial questions about the nature of our reality cannot be answered – unless by the Creator of the reality Himself.
Therefore, to teach men what they cannot learn by reasoning alone, Allah sent prophets. The prophets were chosen people who are divinely inspired. They are sent by Allah to teach men the truth from Him and His expectations on them. In Islam, all the prophets without exception are men of exceptional character - the best of mankind.
All the prophets bring the same messages regardless of which nations they were sent for. To teach people the existence of God and the requirement to obey, submit and worship Him (only). To tell them about the Day of Judgement and the Hereafter. Life is temporary and a test – every choice have consequence and accountability.
To tell them of the good rewards for those who believe and do righteous deeds, and to warn those who deny the truth from God of His anger and punishment.
“And We certainly sent into every nation a messenger, [saying], “Worship Allah and avoid Taghut (falsehood).” And among them were those whom Allah guided, and among them were those upon whom error was [deservedly] decreed. So proceed through the earth and observe how was the end of the deniers. Al-Quran 16:36 (Surah Al-Nahl)
Islam taught that there were many prophets sent throughout the history to different people and different nations. Some of the more famous prophets are Noah, Moses, Abraham, Jesus and Muhammad S.A.W. Even though they were sent separately, their messages regarding the oneness of God are the same.
[Note: From the Islamic perspective, the similarities of many religions can be traced to the fact that they all came from the same source. However, any differences are due to the unwarranted tampering and manipulation by men afterward.]
Muslims are taught not to make distinction between any of the prophets. They are all to be treated with respect due to their special rank, yet not to be idolized or deified to the point of worship.
The Messenger has believed in what was revealed to him from his Lord, and [so has] the believers. All of them have believed in Allah and His angels and His books ad His messengers [saying], “We make no distinction between any of His messengers.” And they say, “We hear and we obey. [We seek] your forgiveness, our Lord, and to You is the [final] destination. Al-Quran 2:285 (Surah Al-Baqarah)
Muslims believe that Muhammad S.A.W is the last prophet, and the Quran is a message from God transmitted to him – verbatim Words of God that has been preserved unchanged until today. Muslims also preserved sayings and example of Muhammad S.A.W (known as Hadith) as guidance alongside the Quran.
In Islam, both the acceptance of God and His last messenger cannot be separated in order to be a Muslim. To deny the prophets is to deny God Himself.
To Be Continued...