Are prophets determined before they are born?

- Atheists show verses 40 and 41 of the chapter of Ta Ha and say that prophets were not determined before they were born.

Dear Brother / Sister,

Verses 40 and 41 of the chapter of Taha are as follows:

“Behold! Thy sister goeth forth and saith, ‘shall I show you one who will nurse and rear the (child)?’ So We brought thee back to thy mother, that her eye might be cooled and she should not grieve. Then thou didst slay a man, but We saved thee from trouble, and We tried thee in various ways. Then didst thou tarry a number of years with the people of Midian. Then didst thou come hither as ordained, O Moses! And I have prepared thee for Myself (for service).”

There is no expression that casts a cloud on the fact that “prophets are determined before they are born by Allah”.

The system of the universe along with the heavenly books witness that Allah knows everything that happens and will happen with His pre-eternal knowledge. Doubtlessly, it is not possible for the identity of the prophets to be outside this pre-eternal knowledge. 

There is no difference between the existence of a prophet in the pre-eternal knowledge and his existence in the world life in terms of nature but there are a lot of differences in terms of quality. When a child is born, he cannot cope with the conditions of life on his own; he is equipped with certain skills in the course of time due to divine wisdom; similarly, a person who is a “candidate to be a prophet” in Allah’s pre-eternal knowledge does not become a prophet as soon as he is born. He is educated and trained in accordance with the determinations of divine wisdom.

It is an indication of this special education and training that Muhammad (pbuh) went up to Mount Hira for meditation and led a life different from other people before he became a prophet.

The statement “I have prepared thee for Myself (for service)” in the verse in question does not show that Hz. Musa (Moses) was not determined as a prophet beforehand/before he was born but that he was subject to special education and training.

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