Prophethood and Muhammad's Prophethood
God creates every community of beings with a purpose and a guide or a leader. It is inconceivable that God Almighty, Who gave bees a queen, ants a leader, and birds and fish each a guide, would leave us without Prophets to guide us to spiritual, intellectual, and material perfection.
Although we can find God by reflecting upon natural phenomena, we need a Prophet to learn why we were created, where we came from, where we are going, and how to worship our Creator properly. God sent Prophets to teach their people the meaning of creation and the truth of things, to unveil the mysteries behind historical and natural events, and to inform us of our relationship, and that of Divine Scriptures, with the universe.
Without Prophets, we could not have made any scientific progress. While those who adopt evolutionary approaches to explain historical events tend to attribute everything to chance and deterministic evolution, Prophets guided humanity in intellectual—and therefore scientific—illumination. Thus, farmers traditionally to accept Prophet Adam as their first master, tailors accept Prophet Enoch, ship-makers and sailors accept Prophet Noah, and clock makers accept Prophet Joseph. Also, the Prophets' miracles marked the final points in scientific and technological advances, and urged people to them.
Prophets guided people, through personal conduct and the heavenly religions and Scriptures they conveyed, to develop their inborn capacities and directed them toward the purpose of their creation. Had it not been for them, humanity (the fruit of the tree of creation) would have been left to decay. As humanity needs social justice as much as it needs private inner peace, Prophets taught the laws of life and established the rules for a perfect social life based on justice.
Whenever people fell into darkness after a Prophet, God sent another one to enlighten them again. This continued until the coming of the Last Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings. The reason for sending Prophets Moses and Jesus, upon them be peace, required that the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, should be sent. As his message was for everyone, regardless of time or place, Prophethood ended with him.
Due to certain sociological and historical facts, which require a lengthy explanation, Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, was sent to all worlds as "a mercy for all worlds." For this reason, Muslims believe in all of the Prophets and make no distinction among them:
The Messenger believes in what has been sent onto him by his Lord, and so do the believers. They all believe in God and his angels, His Scriptures and His Messengers: "We make no distinction between any of His Messengers"—and they say: "We hear and obey. Grant us Your forgiveness, our Lord; to You is the journeying." (2:285)
That is why Islam, revealed by God and conveyed to humanity by Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, is universal and eternal.
Describing Prophethood and narrating the stories of all Prophets is beyond the scope of this book. By focusing on the Prophethood of the Seal of the Prophets, upon him be peace and blessings, who told us about the other Prophets and Divine Scriptures and made our Lord known to us, we will make the other Prophets known and prove their Prophethood.
Belief in God, the source of happiness, and following the Last Prophet and Messenger of God are the keys to prosperity in both worlds. If we want to be saved from despair and all negative aspects of life and attain intellectual, spiritual, and material perfection, we must believe wholeheartedly that Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, is the Messenger of God and follow his guidance.
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