How are prophets chosen?
- What should a person do in order to be chosen as a prophet? How is a prophet chosen? What is the basis of it? How should we understand it within the framework of the name al-Adl?
Submitted by on Wed, 26/10/2022 - 15:06
Dear Brother / Sister,
Prophets are chosen from among people by Almighty Allah. Therefore, prophethood is not a task that can be achieved through working or worshipping.
Allah chose and appointed some of the people to convey His message. Those special people conveyed Allah’s commands to other people. Therefore, being chosen by Allah is the most basic condition for being a prophet.
It is undeniable that there is a need for a person to convey divine orders and prohibitions to people. And it is also necessary for that messenger to be a human being. Allah chose those messengers from among human beings.
Since Allah is wise, merciful, knowledgeable and just, He definitely chooses prophets from among His servants according to His wisdom, mercy, eternal knowledge and justice, which gives everything its due.
Allah knows how everything will turn out; therefore, it is a necessity of His wisdom, mercy and justice to equip those distinguished servants, whom he will assign, with characteristics to fulfill that task.
On the other hand, Allah knows with His eternal knowledge that those prophets will fulfill their duties properly. They know how and where to use the special characteristics given to them, what to do and how to act.
“Should He not know,- He that created? and He is the One that understands the finest mysteries (and) is well-acquainted (with them).” (al-Mulk, 67/14)
It should not be forgotten that Allah is Malikul-mulk; He uses His property as He wishes. He sends a prophet with a much more important mission than another one. He bestows characteristics upon that prophet accordingly. He does not give such an important mission to another prophet, and his characteristics become suitable for that mission.
Every prophet fulfilled their special task properly, and Allah bestowed upon them the characteristics to fulfill their task since He knew it with His pre-eternal knowledge.
All prophets are sinless. There is no deliberate mistake in their lives. They are exceptional people who are distinguished and specially created. Not only are they good, they are also more distinguished among the good ones than the most distinguished ones. (See al-Hajj, 22/75) And they did not cast any shadow on their distinction throughout their lives.
The nature of the prophets is pure, their souls are sublime, their will is strong and their hearts are bright. The manifestations that come from Allah become manifest, are seen and felt on them in the way they come. They are like a drop reflecting and the rays of the sun.
They convey to people what Allah reveals to them, and invite them to believe and obey that revelation.
They are educators who educate people with revelation.
Because they were chosen by Allah, they are the purest people; they are role models for humanity.
They experienced whatever Allah revealed to them. Prophets are living examples of the revelation they receive. Every prophet was an example (model) chosen by Allah for the people of his time.
They worship Allah truly and show how ubudiyyah (servitude) should be done.
The messengers Allah choose from among people are also in charge of conveying a certain message to people, informing them about certain things, and setting an example for people with the revelation they receive.
Risalah, in a sense, is prophethood and is Allah’s way of conveying news to people. It is a way of leading people to guidance, arranging their lives in the worldly life, bringing them out of the darkness to the light, and preparing them for the life in the hereafter.
Risalah is the system of educating people with the revelation of Allah. Thanks to this institution, human beings can discover their servitude to Allah and the beauty in their nature. With the revelation they receive and the task they assume, the messengers practice the beauty, goodness and devotion to God in the depths of human nature; they try to remove bad deeds and evil from human life.
So prophethood is a divine gift, grace, and a special duty. Allah definitely gives every task to His servants who will do it.
No prophet will be sent after Muhammad (pbuh), the Last Prophet.
“Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but (he is) the Messenger of Allah, and the Seal of the Prophets: and Allah has full knowledge of all things.” (al-Ahzab, 33/40)
Questions on Islam
- PROPHET, PROPHETHOOD
- 1. Prophethood
- Can religion be practiced with the mind (brain)? In other words, can I practice my religion / Islam with my mind, or should someone (a prophet, a teacher) tell me how to practice Islam?
- Were prophets born with the nature of prophethood?
- What is the difference between prophethood and messengership?
- Attributes necessary to be present in Prophets
- Is it possible for prophets not to be innocent before their duty of prophethood? Does the attribute of ismah (innocence) start after the duty of prophethood starts?
- Humanity has never been away from the light of Prophethood in any period
- Are angels Allah's daughters?
- Was the Prophet Isa (Jesus) crucified? Will you explain the issue?