Prophets

In religion, a prophet is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on that entity's behalf, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the supernatural source to other people. The message that the prophet conveys is called a prophecy.

63577

Law . Prophets . Mut'a (Temporary marriage) . Qur'an

Did Mut'a exist in the law of the earlier Prophets or was it a new law introduced in the Qur'an?

Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi, Sayyed Mohammad al-Musawi is originally from Iraq and heads up the World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League in London. Other than being involved in various humanitarian projects, he frequently responds to... Answer updated 6 years ago

Temporary marriage is the solution for sexual needs of human beings who are unable to have permanent marriage . It is the way to save them from sinful acts.

As the need was existing all the times, no doubt, the prophets have guided people to the same solution.

Wassalam.

63190

Prophets . Imamah . Al-Ghaib

Is it true that the Prophets and Imams know the unseen? If so, what is the evidence for this belief?

Rebecca Masterton, Dr Rebecca Masterton graduated with a BA in Japanese Language and Literature; an MA in Comparative East Asian and African Literature and a PhD in Islamic literature of West Africa. She has been... Answered 6 years ago

The Imams have clarified that only Allah (swt) has 'ilm al-ghayb, but when they wish to know something, Allah (swt) makes it known to them, and then it is no longer classified as 'ilm al-ghayb.

In Nahj al-Balāgha, Imam ‘Alī (as) defines 'ilm al-ghayb by beginning with a prediction of the coming of the Mongol invasion of the Muslim world:

‘I can see a people whose faces are like shields covered with rough-scraped skins. They dress themselves in silken and woollen clothes and hold dear excellent horses. Their killing and bloodshed shall take place freely til the wounded shall walk over the dead and the number of runners-away shall be less than those taken prisoner.’ One of his companions said to him, ‘O Amir al-Mu’minīn, you have been given knowledge of hidden things.’ Whereupon Amir al-Mu’minīn laughed and said to the man who belonged to the tribe of Bani Kalb: ‘O brother of Kalb! This is not knowledge of hidden things (‘ilm al-ghayb). These matters have been acquired from him (namely the Prophet) who knew them. As regards knowledge of hidden things, that means knowledge of the Day of Judgment, and matters touched upon by Allah in the verse, ‘Verily, Allah is He with Whom is knowledge of the Hour’ (31:34). Therefore, Allah alone knows what is there in the wombs, whether male or female, ugly or handsome, generous or miserly, mischievous or pious, and who will be fuel for Hell and who will be in the company of the Prophets in Paradise. This is the knowledge of hidden things, which is not known by anybody except Allah. All else is that whose knowledge Allah passed on to his Prophet and he passed it on to me, and prayed for me that my chest may retain it and my ribs may hold it.’ (Sermon 127, p. 304).

This is confirmed by the verse in the Qur’an: ‘(He alone is) the Knower of the Unseen, neither does he reveal His secrets unto any (one else) save unto one of the Messengers that He chooses.’ (72:26-27)

Prophets . Imamah . Al-Ghaib

Is it true that the Prophets and Imams know the unseen? If so, what is the evidence for this belief?

Amina Inloes, Amina Inloes is originally from the US and has a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter on Shi'a hadith. She is the program leader for the MA Islamic Studies program at the... Answer updated 6 years ago

There are three types of knowledge:

* The genuine unseen. This is what Allah knows only.
* Knowledge that is restricted but not completely unknown. For instance, when the Prophet (S) went on the mi'raj, he saw things that are generally inaccessible to living human beings. Most human beings also do not directly see or hear the angel Jibra'il. Etc.
* Knowledge that is conventionally accessible. For instance, a book in a library - it can be read by anyone who can read the language and access the book.

This question seems to hinge on the second and third types of knowledge.

Shi'is have held a range of views regarding the knowledge possessed by the prophets and Imams. It is not necessary to adhere to a specific view on this in order to be a Shi'i, although a general bare minimum view for the Ithna Ashari tradition is that the prophets and Imams do not make mistakes and always offer correct guidance, especially although not only on religious matters.

However, my understanding of Ithna Ashari Shi'i texts is that the Prophet Muhammad (S), the twelve Imams (A), and Fatima al-Zahra (A) possessed or had the ability to access all the knowledge possessed by the previous prophets, and also had a comprehensive knowledge of the world and worldly matters, religious law, the true meanings of the Qur'an, metaphysical matters (as much as is possible), and knowledge of the past and future. Therefore, they would not make mistakes or misguide people or lose people's confidence by saying something wrong. This persists in their otherworldly condition, although perhaps, since Allah is infinite, their knowledge of metaphysical realities can continue to expand.

This view is based on narrations in books such as al-Kafi with respect to the discussions of their knowledge in this life as well as things such as the world of pre-creation. Of course, in the afterlife, all of our knowledge will expand because we will see new realities and will become aware of the truth of some things that were hidden from us or which we were confused about in this world.

Here is a short treatment of the subject with some narrations: https://www.al-islam.org/imamate-and-leadership-sayyid-mujtaba-musavi-lari/lesson-21-sources-imams-knowledge

However, if someone is genuinely committed to following the Imams, I think it is good for them to think this over personally rather than to just to take someone's word for it; it is good to spend time reading and pondering over what is narrated, asking Allah for guidance, and coming to their own understanding. We live in an age where these materials are readily available to us.

53470

Prophets . Bipolar Disorder

When a Prophet or Messenger of God was accused of being a Sahir or Majnun, did it have any connection with bipolar disorder?

There is no evidence that the Prophet was bipolar or ever acted in a way that could be considered as suffering from a mental disability. He shouldered tremendous responsibilities - personally, religiously, and as leader of state - and it is truly amazing how he managed to balance all of those responsibilities while at the same time maintaining an intense personal schedule of worship.

However, given that receiving revelation is said to have been a heavy thing, I can understand why one might be tempted to draw a sort of mental parallel. In many cultures, there has been a thin line between spiritual vision and insanity - not the least because, to a very mundane person with no interest or belief in the spiritual realm, someone speaking on behalf of the divine is often considered insane!

It seems reasonable to treat these terms as mostly literal. Majnun, rather than meaning "mad", likely refers to the ancient practice in the Mediterranean and other regions whereby oracles, soothsayers, and so on, used to claim to transmit information from jinn or spirits. Thus, they are accusing the Prophet of being possessed and receiving the Qur'anic text from something other than God. However, God corrects them and says that this is not the case and that the revelation is actually from God. Some of the Sunni hadith texts refer to this view held by some disbelievers. Some may also have meant it in the sense of "that's crazy", but not necessarily as an expression that he was suffering from a psychiatric condition.

Similarly, some people who did not accept Islam accused the Prophet of bewitching people to follow him, and advised people not to listen to the Prophet speak so that they would not become bewitched. One of the companions even plugged his ears so he wouldn't hear the Prophet before eventually listening and becoming a Muslim!

54299

Prophets

How many Prophets are there and what are their names in chronological order?

According to the Qur'an, Allah sent divinely appointed guides to all peoples before the time of Islam.

It is related that there were 124,000 prophets, although I am not personally sure whether this is meant to be taken literally or simply to mean "many".

The Qur'an mentions about 25 prophets, including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Shu'ayb, Lot, Solomon, Moses, Jesus, and so on. Chronology for some can be deduced when lineage is listed (e.g. Issac and Ismael are the sons of Abraham) but challenging if not much is known about a specific prophet.

The names of some other prophets are mentioned in hadith. However, the names of most of the prophets have not been mentioned in the Qur'an or hadith. Perhaps, it wouldn't have been meaningful to the people at the time of the revelation to mention prophets in faraway regions.

There is an interesting and rather lengthy book called _God's Emissaries: From Adam to Jesus_ by Shaykh Rizwan Arastu which discusses the stories of the prophets before Islam based on the Qur'an and hadith. Perhaps it might be helpful!

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Prophets . Prophet Adam . Shi'a . Infallibility ('Ismah) . Qur'an

Why do the Shi'a believe that all the Prophets (pbut) are infallible despite the fact that the Qur'an seems to suggest they were fallible, such as in the story of Prophet Adam (a)?

The meanings of Quranic verses must be taken from the Prophet himself as Allah (SWT) said in Quran وأنزلنا إليك الذكر لتبين للناس ما نزل إليهم

( We revealed on you the Thikr ( full knowledge of Quran) So that you explain to the people what was revealed for them). Al-Nahl, 44)

Verses which seem to suggest that any Prophet was fallible, are been misunderstood. Verses regarding Prophet Adam (AS) are been explained by the Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) and his Holy Progeny confirming that Adam did not commit any sin whatsoever.

Ahlul Bayt (AS) had many debates in this subject including a very well known debate between Imam Al-Redha (AS) and Al-Ma’moon al-Abbasi, the ruler of that time, in which al-Ma’moon put to the Imam ( AS) the Quranic verses which were according his understanding, showing fallibility of some prophets, and Imam Al-Redha (AS) explained the real meaning which confirms infallibility of all the Prophets.

You may see Tanzeeh al- Anbiyaa’ by al-Shaikh al- Mofeed. تنزيه الأنبياء للشيخ النفيد.

The claim of fallibility of any Prophet goes against Quran where Allah orders people to absolutely obey the prophets. Allah will never order people to obey a sinner.

Wassalam.

54311

Prophets . Sunni . Infallibility ('Ismah)

Is is true that the Ahlul Sunnah believe that the Prophets (peace be upon them) are fallible?

As a result of political reasons which made many Muslims who blindly follow governments of Saqeefa, away from the teachings of Ahlul Bayt ( AS) which are the real real teachings of the Prophet Muhammad ( SAWA), Muslim sects who went away from Ahlul Bayt, deprived themselves from the most authentic Islamic knowledge and took instead from outsiders. Thousands of Israelites have come into Muslims books, such as the claim that the prophets are fallible. Jewish literature attacks many prophets and even accuses them of committing major sins like adultery and drinking wine. These false ideas have penetrated into Muslims who were away from Ahlul Bayt (AS) and made many of them take such Israelites as part of their religious knowledge.

Many Sunni Shaikhs say that the Prophets are infallible in Tableegh only but fallible in their usual acts. This claim goes against what Allah (SWT) has said in Quran when He ordered all human beings to absolutely obey the Prophets.( We did not send any messenger but to be obeyed by order of Allah)(Al-Nisaa’, Verse 64). How such absolute obedience can be possible if any Prophet is fallible? Does Allah order us to obey a sinner even for a moment? That is impossible.

Some Quranic verses have been misunderstood or deviated from the real meaning which was explained by the Prophet (SAWA) and taken in accordance with non Muslim text supporting the false claim against the prophets.

Ahlul Bayt (AS) narrated the prophetic earnings of Quran which states that all the prophets are infallible.

Wassalam

53869

Prophets

Is it acceptable to call any of the earlier Prophets of God as Sayyiduna as we do for Prophet Muhammad (s)?

Yes, it is allowed to call any of the prophets as Sayyeduna, as all the prophets are infallible and they were been sent to guide people to Allah (SWT).

53272

Love . Prophets . Peace . Prophet Muhammad

Is it allowed to love other Prophets, peace be upon them, more than Prophet Muhammad (s)?

Zoheir Ali Esmail, Shaykh Zoheir Ali Esmail has a Bsc in Accounting and Finance from the LSE in London, and an MA in Islamic Studies from Middlesex University. He studied Arabic at Damascus University and holds a PhD... Answered 6 years ago

Bismillah

Thank you for your question. This is not a jurisprudential issue such that it would be permitted or not, but such feelings may occur in an individual based on what they have understood of different prophets (as). The truth is that all of the prophets (as) are a reflection of the Prophet (saw) who was the most complete of them and so loving any of the prophets (as) is in truth loving the Prophet (saw) himself. The dichotomy arises in our minds due to the incomplete picture that history gives us. But if one is able to understand that there is no separation between the prophets (as) and that the Prophet Muhammad (saw) comprised all of what the other prophets had, while they did not comprise all of what he had, then they will come to the understanding that the Prophet (saw) is the most loved creature in all of existence.

May you always be successful.

51969

Prophets . Paradise . Barzakh

Are the Prophets (pbut) already in paradise or in Barzakh?

The Barzakh of the prophets and Infallible Imams and their sincere followers is part of Paradise, while the Barzakh of their enemies is part of hellfire. The Hadeeth states: The grave of the believer is a garden from the gardens of the Paradise, and the grave of the non believer is a dig from the digs of Hellfire.

Wassalam

51947

Prophets . God (Allah) . Predestination

Were Prophets predestined by God to be so, or were they chosen conditional on their own merit? And has it been possible for ordinary people to reach the level of Prophets? If not, how is that fair?

Prophets were selected by Allah The Glorious, according to His Absolute Knowledge about every thing including the future of every creature. He knows who will be among all humans the most humble and who will not commit sins and who will be suitable to guide people. All Prophets were ordinary persons but Allah selected them because of the top piousness from all people to guide people. (Aal Imran: 33).

Wassalam

52134

Prophets . Man

Why were all the Prophets and Messengers men?

Abolfazl Sabouri, Abolfazl Sabouri is based in New Zealand and has an MA in Jurisprudence and Islamic Studies. He is a graduate of Elmiyeh seminary in Qom with more than 15 years of study and research where he has... Answer updated 6 years ago

When we say Prophet, if we mean that high level of humanity it was and it is possible even for women to be Prophet, to receive message from Allah at least for herself.

But Prophet as a person who receives message from Allah and send it to people :

1. It is not easy to prove that all Messengers were men, as we do not know all of them.

2. (if we accept that all of them were men) It was a hard job that according to situations of that time it was not proper for women.

3. According to understanding of some scholars from Quran, saint Mary was a Prophet! So even women could be Messengers.