The Prophet, the Messenger, Prophethood, and the Message
Selections from the Book Lot (peace be upon him) and his Mission in Confronting Corruption and Sexual Deviance …
Written by Dr. Ali Muhammad al-Sallabi...
Episode (7)
1- The Prophet in terminology:
He is the one sent to establish the divine law before him.
2- The Messenger in terminology:
He is the one sent with a new divine law. Imam Ash-Shawkani clarified the distinction between the Prophet and the Messenger by stating that the Messenger is the one sent with a divine law and commanded to convey it. The Prophet, on the other hand, is the one commanded to invite people to the law established before him, without receiving a book. Both of them require clear miracles.
So there is a difference between the Prophet and the Messenger as defined in their technical terminology. The Prophet came to confirm a previous religious law, while the Messenger was entrusted with a new law. Every Messenger is a Prophet, but not every Prophet is a Messenger.
3- The Reality of Prophethood:
Prophethood is the connection between the Creator and the created in conveying His law, an embassy between The Only One, The Incomparable, The Owner of Dominion and His servants, and an invitation from the Most Merciful to His creation, to lead them from darkness to light, and to transition them from the narrowness of this world to the vastness of both worlds—the worldly life and the Hereafter. It is a bestowed blessing from Allah Almighty to His servants, a divine grace He bestows upon them. In regard to the recipient of prophecy, it is an acknowledgment from Allah, a favor He grants to them, and a divine selection from the Lord among all people. Prophethood cannot be attained through knowledge or training, nor achieved through excessive obedience or worship, nor does it come by starving or satiating the soul—as some might assume based on their own conjecture. Rather, it is purely a divine favor, a divine selection. As Allah Almighty Himself has declared: {But Allah selects for His mercy whom He wills, and Allah is the possessor of great bounty} [Al-Baqarah: 105].
Indeed, prophethood does not come by the choice of the prophet, nor is it attained through his seeking. This is why when the disbelievers said: {And they said, "Why was this Qur’an not sent down upon a great man from [one of] the two cities?"} [Az-Zukhruf: 31], Allah, blessed and exalted, responded to them: {Do they distribute the mercy of your Lord? It is We who have apportioned among them their livelihood in the life of this world and have raised some of them above others in degrees [of rank] that they may make use of one another for service. But the mercy of your Lord is better than whatever they accumulate} [Az-Zukhruf: 32]. So it is Allah who determines this, and He favors whom He wills among the people, selects whom He wills from His servants, and chooses whom He wills from His creation. The choice was not for anyone but Him, and the selection was for no one other than Him.
Truly, faith in prophethood is the path that leads to knowing Allah Almighty and His love, the route to attaining Allah's satisfaction and paradise, and the way to salvation from the punishment of Allah and achieving His forgiveness.
Ibn Taymiyyah states: "Indeed, faith in prophethood is the foundation of salvation and happiness. Whoever does not realize this aspect will be confused between the path of guidance and misguidance, belief and disbelief, and will not distinguish between right and wrong. The need of humans to acknowledge prophethood is greater than their need for the air they breathe, the food they eat, and the water they drink. For whoever loses any of these loses the world. But whoever lacks acknowledgment of prophethood, his loss is greater and more bitter, as he loses both this world and the Hereafter, seeking refuge in Allah. It is from the wisdom of Allah Almighty that whenever people are in greater need of knowing something, He makes it easy and straightforward, without complications".
The need of people to know prophethood, and to acknowledge the messenger, has been elucidated by the Almighty in His book in a manner greater than can be explained here, as the explanation would be extensive. Here, Ibn Taymiyyah says: "The confirmation of prophethood from the Noble Quran is too vast to be fully explained in this context, as it is the pillar of religion, the essence of prophetic call, and the source of all goodness and the congregation of all guidance".
The great Imam Ibn Taymiyyah eloquently summarizes what has been elucidated before, saying: "Indeed, Allah, glorified and exalted be He, has made the messengers intermediaries between Him and His servants in defining for them what benefits them and what harms them, and in completing what rectifies their worldly affairs and their affairs in the Hereafter. They were all sent with the call to Allah, to define the path that leads to Him, and to clarify their condition after reaching Him;
- The first principle: includes affirming the attributes, belief in the oneness of Allah, and belief in predestination. It also involves mentioning the events ordained by Allah for His supporters and His enemies, which are the stories narrated to His servants and the examples set for them.
- The second principle: involves detailing the Sharia laws, commands, prohibitions, and permissions, as well as elucidating what Allah loves and what He dislikes.
- The third principle: encompasses belief in the Last Day, Paradise and Hell, reward and punishment.
Based on these three principles, the orbit of creation, command, happiness, and success revolves around them. There is no way to know them except through the prophets, as the intellect alone cannot comprehend their details or grasp their realities, even though it recognizes the necessity of them in general, similar to a patient who understands the need for medicine without comprehending the details of the illness or the prescription. The need of humans for the message of the prophets is far greater than the need of a patient for medicine. For the last thing a physician may predict is the death of bodies, but If a person does not receive the light of the message and its guidance, their heart dies a death from which there is no hope of life, or they suffer a misery from which there is no happiness. Thus, there is no success except in following the prophets.
- Ali Muhammad al-Sallabi, Lot (peace be upon him) and his Mission in Confronting Corruption and Sexual Deviance, pp. 48-51.
- Fath al-Taqdeer, Al-Shawkani, 3/461.
- Book of Prophecies, Ibn Taymiyyah, 1/20.
- Noah, peace be upon him, and the great flood, Al-Sallabi, p. 79.
- Book of Prophecies, 1/21, Introduction to the Editor.
- The Collection of Fatwas, Ibn Taymiyyah, edition by Dar Alam al-Kutub, Riyadh, 1412 AH, 19/96-97.
For further information and review of the sources for the article, see:
The Book of ‘’Lot (peace be upon him) and his Mission in Confronting Corruption and Sexual Deviance’’ on the official website of Sheikh Dr. Ali Muhammad al-Sallabi:
