Voices of Islam (24 page)

Say: We believe in God and that which is revealed unto us and that which is revealed unto Abraham and Ishmael, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the Patriarchs, and that which Moses and Jesus received, and that which the Prophets received from their Lord. We do not distinguish between any of them, and we are unto him submitters.

(Qur’an 2:136; 3:84)

SUBMISSION (
ISLAM
) AND PROPHECY

Every revelation to every Prophet of God is seen as a form of
Islam
or submission to God. The Qur’an thus presents previous Prophets and their followers as Muslims—those who submit to God. The first Prophet to refer to himself as a submitter is Noah, who said to his people, ‘‘My recompense is but with God, and I was commanded to be among those who submit to God (
muslimin
)’’ (Qur’an 10:72). The Qur’an says of Abraham: ‘‘Abraham was not a Jew or a Christian, rather he was a true devotee (
hanif
),
5
a submit- ter to God (
muslim
)’’ (Qur’an 3:67). According to the Qur’an, ‘‘[Abra- ham’s] Lord said to him, ‘Submit!’ He said, ‘I submit to the Lord of the Worlds’’’ (Qur’an 2:131). After Abraham and Ishmael erected the Ka‘ba, they prayed, ‘‘Our Lord, make us submitters unto You, and make our off- spring a nation submitting unto You. Show us our rites and turn, relenting, unto us’’ (Qur’an 2:128). From this prayer began the spread of ‘‘submis- sion’’ among all the Children of Abraham: ‘‘And Abraham counseled his sons, as did Jacob, ‘O my sons, God has chosen the religion (
din
) for you, so do not die but as submitters to God’’ (Qur’an 2:132). In obedience to the wish of Jacob, the Prophet Joseph said to God, ‘‘Let me die as a submitter and bind me to the righteous’’ (Qur’an 12:101). Indeed, all of Jacob’s sons promised their father to worship God and to be submitters to His will:

Were you witnesses when death came upon Jacob, when he said to his sons, ‘‘What will you worship after me?’’ They said, ‘‘We worship your God, the

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God of your fathers, Abraham, Ishmael, and Isaac, a single God, and we are submitters unto Him.’’

(Qur’an 2:133)

These passages demonstrate how former Prophets are presented in the Qur’an as Muslims, submitters to God. Although they are less numerous, there are other passages that refer to the followers of the Prophets as submit- ters as well. The first of these in order of revelation refers to Moses, who tells his followers, ‘‘O my people, if you believe in God then trust [in Him] if you are submitters’’ (Qur’an 10:84). Pharaoh’s magicians believe in Moses after witnessing his miracles and respond to Pharaoh’s threats, saying, ‘‘You only take vengeance on us because we believed in the signs of our Lord when they came to us. Our Lord, pour patience upon us and let us die as submitters’’ (Qur’an 7:126).

The next account in order of revelation is the story of Bilqis, Queen of Sheba, who was called with her people to follow Solomon. First, Solomon sent a bird with his message, saying: ‘‘O you people, a Noble Book has been presented to me. It is from Solomon, in the name of God the Merciful, the Compassionate, that you not resist [God] and come to [God] as submitters’’ (Qur’an 27:29–31). Solomon then confirms that he and his people are sub- mitters to God, saying, ‘‘We were given knowledge before this and we were submitters’’ (Qur’an 27:42). After meeting Solomon, Bilqis agrees to follow his religion, saying, ‘‘My Lord, truly I have wronged myself. I have submitted with Solomon to God, the Lord of the Worlds’’ (Qur’an 27:44). This story gives a fresh account of one of the many Hebrew Prophets who are men- tioned in both the Bible and the Qur’an. In other passages, the Apostles of Jesus also refer to themselves as submitters, saying to Jesus, ‘‘We are helpers of God! We believe! Bear witness that we are submitters’’ (Qur’an 3:52). This is confirmed in the following verse, where God states: ‘‘Then I revealed to the Apostles to believe in Me and My Messenger [Jesus]. They responded, ‘We believe and bear witness that we are submitters’’’ (Qur’an 5:111).

Through passages such as these, the whole of religious history is presented as different modes of Islam—as different ways in which human beings have submitted to God. Thus, the Qur’an says of Jews and Christians: ‘‘When [the Qur’an] is recited to them, they say, ‘We believe in it. Truly, it is the truth from our Lord. Indeed, before it [was revealed] we were submitters’’ (Qur’an 28:53). The forms of submission to God—the rites, rituals, and laws incumbent upon God’s message—may differ, but the Message of submission and divine oneness never changes: ‘‘We never sent a Messenger before thee save that We revealed to him, saying, ‘There is no god but Me, so worship Me’’’ (Qur’an 21:25).

According to Ayatollah Ja‘far Sobhani, ‘‘Each of the religious dispensa- tions brought by the Prophets was the most complete form of religion for

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the time and the people concerned.’’
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Because of this difference in religious forms, some Prophets are favored over others, although all Prophets are equally revered as Messengers of God:

And those Messengers— some We have favored above others. Among them was [Moses] to whom God spoke, and [God] raised some in degrees. We gave Jesus son of Mary the clear explications, and We confirmed him with the Holy Spirit.

(Qur’an 2:253)

Yet God also says, ‘‘We do not differentiate between any of His Messen- gers’’ (Qur’an 2:285) and commands Muslims to have faith in all of them. Therefore, the degree to which one religion can be seen as superior to another depends not on the Messenger or Prophet through whom it was revealed but rather on the degree to which its adherents remain true to the teachings of God and the Messenger or Prophet through whom God revealed them.

The words Messenger (
rasul
) and Prophet (
nabi
) are often used inter- changeably, but they have specific meanings in an Islamic context. According to some scholars, Messengers differ from Prophets in that Messengers bring an entirely new religion, a new
din,
whereas the Prophets reaffi a previ- ously revealed religion and reestablish its proper observance. A Messenger is also enjoined by God to call people to follow His message, whereas this is not incumbent upon all Prophets. A Messenger thus fulfills all of the func- tions of a Prophet, but a Prophet does not perform the same functions as a Messenger. The Prophets are far more numerous than Messengers, totaling 124,000 according to one tradition. Among the Messengers, Muslim schol- ars identify an elite group known as
Uluw al-Azm,
‘‘Those who Possess Steadfastness’’ (Qur’an 46:35). This term refers to five key Prophets of the Judeo-Christian-Islamic tradition: Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad.

All Prophets and Messengers teach divine oneness (
tawhid
) and submis- sion (
Islam
), such that all people can follow them and implement their teach- ings. However, the Prophets and the Messengers are also believed to possess qualities that cannot be imitated. The most evident of these are the miracles (
mu‘jizat
) they perform. Well-known examples of Prophetic miracles include Jesus’ ability to raise the dead and the miracles of Moses to which both the Torah and the Qur’an attest. These include the staff that turned into a serpent (Qur’an 7:117; 27:10; 28:31,
et passim
), the hand that turned white (Qur’an 7:108; 20:22;
et passim
), the parting of the Red Sea (26:63), and Moses’s bringing forth water by striking a boulder with his staff (Qur’an 2:60; 7:160).

The Messengers and the Prophets are also inimitable in their inerrancy and impeccability (
‘isma
), meaning that they cannot make errors in

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conveying the revelation that is entrusted to them and that they cannot be disobedient toward God. The following passage is generally understood as alluding to the all-encompassing protection under which God places His Prophets:

[He is] Knower of the Unseen; He reveals His secret unto no one, save whom He pleases as a Messenger. Then He makes a guard to go before and behind [His Messengers], that He may know if they have indeed conveyed the messages of their Lord. He surrounds all their actions, and He takes account of all things.

(Qur’an 72:26–28)

Inerrancy is believed to be essential for the Prophets so that they can be fully trusted by their followers and that the ultimate purpose of prophecy, divine guidance, can be realized. As such, God says regarding the Prophets: ‘‘We chose them and guided them unto a straight path’’ (Qur’an 6:87). Muslims also believe that God’s protection of the Prophets from sin and error must remain with a Prophet his entire life, even before the Prophetic mission begins. For if one were to have led a life without probity and then claim to be a Prophet, his former acts would cause many to doubt the veracity of the message.

Although the Judeo-Christian-Islamic Prophets are the majority of those mentioned in the Qur’an, prophecy is not necessarily limited to the Abrahamic tradition alone. As the Qur’an says:

Truly, We have revealed to you [Muhammad] as We revealed to Noah and the Prophets after him. And We revealed to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, and the Patri- archs, and Jesus, Job, Jonah, Aaron, and Solomon, and We gave David the Psalms; and Messengers of whom We have told you and Messengers of whom We have not told you.

(Qur’an 4:163–164)

Only 24 Prophets are mentioned by name in the Qur’an, but a
hadith
, or saying of the Prophet Muhammad, tells us that there have been either 313 or 315 Messengers throughout human history. Thus, there are far more Messengers than those who are mentioned in the Qur’an. Though most Muslim scholars maintain a narrow and exclusivist view of revelation, others have read this Hadith account as a possible reference to the Messen- gers of non-Abrahamic traditions, such as Buddha. The vast majority of Islamic scholars maintain that only men can be Prophets, and for this they cite the following verse of the Qur’an: ‘‘We sent no one before you but men to whom We revealed [Our message], so ask the people of remem- brance if you know not’’ (Qur’an 21:7). A small minority of scholars,

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mostly in Islamic Spain, maintained that this verse should not be read as a limitation and that the Virgin Mary and Eve before her were both Prophets as well.

THE UNITY AND DIVERSITY OF PROPHECY

Because human collectivities speak different languages and face different trials, Messengers of God and their corresponding messages differ in language and in the laws they ordain. Regarding the issue of language the Qur’an says: ‘‘We have sent no Messenger save with the tongue of his people’’ (Qur’an 14:4). Regarding the difference in revealed laws, the Qur’an states:

For each [people] We have made a law and a way (
minhaj
). If God willed, He would have made you a single people, but [He made you as you are] in order to try you regarding what has come to you. So compete in good deeds. To God is your return, all of you. Then He will inform you of that wherein you differed.

(Qur’an 5:48)

There are thus different ways of understanding God and the relationship with God for different human collectivities. God has sent many laws through various Messengers. To each law corresponds a particular way—a spiritual path—and this path entails the performance of particular rites. Other passages of the Qur’an confirm that God has revealed not only different laws but also different ways of worship:

For every people (
umma
) We have made a rite that they practice with devotion. So let them not contend with you in this matter. And call unto your Lord; truly you follow straight guidance. If they dispute with you then say, ‘‘God knows best what you do. God will judge between you on the Day of Resurrection regarding that wherein you differed.’’

(Qur’an 22:67–69)

Every religion entails prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, among other obliga- tions, although the exact forms differ. One of the reasons for such differences in creed and practice is revealed in the following verse:

O Mankind! We have created you of a male and a female, and have made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another; surely the most honorable of you with God is the most pious; surely God is Knowing, Aware.

(Qur’an 49:13)

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Despite the different forms of human communities and beliefs, the funda- mental core of each message is the same. Thus, Jesus reports in the Qur’an that he was sent ‘‘to confirm the truth of the Torah that was before me, and to make lawful to you certain things that were forbidden to you before’’ (Qur’an 3:50). So too, the Qur’an proclaims the validity of all the Prophets and scriptures that have preceded it: ‘‘What We have revealed to you [Muhammad] from the Book is the Truth, confi ng what was before you’’ (Qur’an 35:31). Another verse states: ‘‘[God] has sent down upon you [Muhammad] the Book with the Truth, confirming what was before it, and He sent down the Torah and the Gospel aforetime as guidance to the people’’ (Qur’an 3:3). The Qur’an thus portrays an underlying continuity between all revelations and hence all Messengers and Prophets. As God says to the Prophet Muhammad, ‘‘Nothing has been said to you save what was said to the Messengers before you’’ (Qur’an 10:48). Regarding the Qur’an, God states: ‘‘Truly it is a revelation from the Lord of the worlds in a clear Arabic tongue, brought down by the Faithful Spirit (Gabriel) upon your heart that you may be among the warners. Truly, it is in the scriptures (
zubur
) of the ancients’’ (Qur’an 26:192–196).
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And in another verse: ‘‘Truly, this [message] is in the pages (
suhuf
) of the ancients, the pages of Abraham and Moses’’ (Qur’an 87:18–19). Reaffirming the continuous line of Prophecy, the Prophet Muhammad said, ‘‘The Prophets are half- brothers; their mothers differ but their religion (
din
) is one.’’
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In this chap- ter, I can only touch upon the most prominent figures in this noble lineage.