{"id":777,"date":"2018-10-21T14:16:54","date_gmt":"2018-10-21T11:16:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/quran-for-all.com\/blog\/2018\/10\/21\/allahs-messengers-a-divine-favour-for-the-believers\/"},"modified":"2018-10-21T14:16:54","modified_gmt":"2018-10-21T11:16:54","slug":"allahs-messengers-a-divine-favour-for-the-believers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quran-for-all.com\/blog\/allahs-messengers-a-divine-favour-for-the-believers\/","title":{"rendered":"Allah\u2019s Messengers: A Divine Favour for the Believers"},"content":{"rendered":"
By Abdur Raheem Kidwai<\/strong><\/pre>\n
Who are Allah\u2019s Messengers?<\/p>\n
Allah has certainly done a favor\u00a0to the believers when He sent down among them a Messenger from among themselves, who recites to them His revelation, purifies them, and teaches them the Book and wisdom, while before that people had been in manifest error.<\/b> (Aal `Imran<\/a> 3:164)<\/p>\n
This concise Qur\u2019anic passage states who is Allah\u2019s Messenger, why he is sent down and what role and functions he performs.<\/p>\n
\"Allah\u2019s<\/a><\/p>\n
The Qur\u2019an makes a point of bringing out the humanness of all the messengers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
A clear understanding of this key Qur\u2019anic passage helps one grasp the Islamic concept of messengership and the important position of the Messenger in Islam, which is next only to that of Allah. Since the Messenger is central to faith, the Qur\u2019an spells out distinctly his status and the domain of his activities.<\/p>\n
This definitive Qur\u2019anic statement was also necessary in view of the prevailing misperceptions among the Arabs of the day about venerating their messengers beyond the permitted limit, even to the point of ascribing divinity to them. The most glaring such example is that of the Christians<\/a> who mistook their Messenger Jesus, son of Mary as, God forbid, the Son of God. The Hindus too, have misconstrued messengers as the incarnation of God.<\/p>\n
Servants of Allah<\/strong><\/h2>\n
The Qur\u2019an dismisses such an outrageous proposition, asserting that it is beyond any messenger to lay claim to divinity:<\/p>\n
It is not possible that a man to whom the Book has been given and wisdom and the Messenger\u2019s office, should say to people: \u201cBe you my worshipers, rather than Allah\u2019s.\u201d On the contrary, he would say: \u201dBe you worshippers of Him Who is truly the Cherisher of all.\u201d<\/b> (Aal `Imran<\/a> 3:79)<\/p>\n
Allah does not ask you to take angels and prophets for lords and patrons. What! Would He ask you to unbelief after you have surrendered to Him?<\/strong> (Aal `Imran<\/a> 3:80)<\/p>\n
The Qur\u2019an makes a point of bringing out the humanness of all the messengers, especially the Prophet Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him). Take this statement as illustrative: \u201cJesus Christ does not disdain to serve and worship Allah\u201d<\/strong>. (An-Nisaa\u2019<\/a> 4:172)<\/p>\n
He is seen declaring: \u201cI am indeed a servant of Allah. He has blessed me with revelation and made me a Messenger.\u201d<\/strong> (Maryam<\/a> 19:30)<\/p>\n
Significantly enough, almost all the messengers are introduced in the Qur\u2019an as Allah\u2019s servants, for example, Zakariyah (Maryam 19:2), Noah (al-Isra\u2019 17:3), David (Sad 38:17), Solomon (Sad 38:30), Job (Sad 38:41 and 44), Abraham, Isaac and Ishmael (Sad 38:45) and Muhammad<\/a> (peace and blessings be upon him) (Al-Israa\u2019 17:1, Al-Baqarah 2:23, Al-Furqan 25:1, Al-Kahf 18:1 and Al-Hadid 57:9).<\/p>\n
In all these instances, the messengers are described as `AbduAllah<\/em> (servant of Allah). Likewise, the Arabs of the Prophet Muhammad\u2019s day found it hard, rather impossible, to believe that a fellow human being could serve as God\u2019s Messenger. For them, it was too elevated an office to be held by a fellow human being.<\/p>\n
Ordinary Human Beings <\/strong><\/h2>\n
The Qur\u2019an recounts the unbelievers\u2019 rejection of messengers on the grounds that they are ordinary human beings:<\/p>\n
There came to them Messengers with clear signs. But they said: \u2018Shall a mere human being direct us?\u2019 So they rejected the Message and turned away.<\/strong> (At-Taghabun<\/a> 64:6).<\/p>\n
The same point features in their remarks reported in the Qur\u2019an elsewhere (see Ibrahim 14:10, Ya-Sin 36:15, Ash-Shu`araa\u2019 26:154 and 186, Al-Israa\u2019 17:94, Al-Anbiyaa\u2019 21:3, Al-Mu\u2019minun 23:24, 33 and 47).<\/p>\n
The messengers, however, always presented themselves as human beings<\/a>:<\/p>\n
Their Messengers said to them: \u2018True, we are human like you, but Allah grants His grace to such of His servants as He pleases\u2019.<\/strong> (Ibrahim<\/a> 14:11)<\/p>\n
Of a similar import are the following Qur\u2019anic verses: Al-Israa\u2019 17:93, Al-Kahf 18:110 and Fussilat 41:6).<\/p>\n
In sum, serious misgivings about the Messenger\u2019s humanness, his office and his role had been in circulation when the Qur\u2019an declared the above. This statement dispels all the mental cobwebs about this important institution, clarifying who the Messenger is and what he does by Allah\u2019s command.<\/p>\n
Invaluable Favour<\/strong><\/h2>\n
The first and foremost point to be noted is that the Messenger represents Allah\u2019s invaluable favour to mankind<\/a>. For, without the Messenger, mankind would have groped in error and ignorance.<\/p>\n
Man would not, of course, have found his own way to Allah, and as a result, he would have missed forever such everlasting bounties from Allah as divine guidance, an excellent role model for leading one\u2019s life and deliverance in the Next. We must be thankful to Allah for having blessed us with His messengers in the same measure as we owe gratitude to Allah for providing us with the basic necessities of life, for example, air, water, food and parents<\/a>.<\/p>\n
That Allah\u2019s Messenger constitutes a divine favor for believers signifies that believers show their readiness to derive numerous and abiding benefits from the Messenger.<\/p>\n
On the contrary, the unbelievers follow the path of self-destruction in rejecting him. The believers greet his message and so doing they improve their prospects both in this life and the Next<\/a>. Allah\u2019s Messenger, like any bounty of nature such as sunlight or rainfall is a source of immense benefit for everyone.<\/p>\n
The Believers<\/strong><\/h2>\n
However, only the believers make the most of his message. By opposing and rejecting him the unbelievers foolishly deny themselves a great bounty.<\/p>\n
As to the Qur\u2019anic statement that the Messenger is \u201cfrom among\u201d the people whom he addresses, it stands out as yet another favour from Allah.<\/p>\n
Had the Messenger been from some other species, say an angel or jinn, it would have been impossible for people to follow in his footsteps. For, he would simply have been too different to be emulated in any degree. In his response system, his abilities and capacities, his performance level and his deportment, someone from another species would not have provided an inspiration for man to follow.<\/p>\n
_________________________<\/p>\n
The article is an excerpt from Abdur Raheem Kidwai\u2019s book \u201cThe Qur\u2019an: Essential Teachings\u201d, published by the Islamic Foundation.<\/em><\/p>\n
Abdur Raheem Kidwai is a professor of English at the Aligarh Muslim University, India and a well-known author of many works on the Qur\u2019an, Islam and Muslims. Of his books are \u201cThe Qur\u2019an: Essential Teachings\u201d, \u201cDaily Wisdom: Selections from the Holy Qur\u2019an\u201d, \u201cDaily Wisdom: Islamic Prayers and Supplications\u201d, \u201cEmpowerment of Indian Muslims: Perspectives, Planning and Road Ahead\u201d. <\/em><\/p>\n
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