Now that we’ve established the existence of God, wouldn’t it make sense for the Creator to communicate what He expects from us? This is where the role of prophets come in:
Was it an easy task to be a prophet and deliver God’s message?
No, far from it! All prophets (see the family tree chart at the bottom of this page) faced tremendous hardship and adversity while delivering God’s message. Many of them were met with rejection, violence, mockery, and hostility from their own people and communities, they all faced brutal opposition, including attempts on their lives, imprisonment, or exile and some were murdered like Prophet Zakariya and Prophet John the Baptist (Yahya). Others, like Prophet Noah faced ridicule for preaching about the coming flood, and his people rejected him, even his own son turned against him and perished. Prophet Abraham was thrown into a blazing fire by his people for rejecting idolatry, and Prophet Moses faced Pharaoh’s tyranny, enduring threats to his life and the suffering of the Israelites. Prophet Joseph, was betrayed by his own brothers and thrown into a well, abandoned to die, he was later sold into slavery in Egypt, he also endured years of hardship and imprisonment, Prophet Jesus (isa in Arabic) was opposed by the religious leaders of his time and was ultimately betrayed by one of his own disciples, leading to attempts on his life. Prophet Muhammad faced severe persecution in Makkah, including physical abuse, attempted assassination, economic boycott, exile, and the loss of loved ones, including his beloved wife Khadijah and uncle Abu Talib. Despite these immense challenges, the prophets remained steadfast, showing patience and unwavering trust in God, never abandoning their mission to guide their people to the truth. Their endurance in the face of hardship serves as a powerful example of faith and perseverance.
How many prophets were sent, and what was their main purpose?
There were many prophets as you can see below (in the family tree chart), though the exact number is unknown and only a few received scriptures. For example, David received the Psalms, Moses received the Torah, Jesus the Gospel (not to confuse with the Bible as you can read in great details in the article “ #07 – the Bible and the missing books”), and Muhammad the Qur’an. Their main purpose was to call people to worship God and embrace pure monotheism “God is one“. They were sent to help us understand God’s expectations for our lives, teaching us how to live justly, how to worship Him, how to treat others with kindness and respect, and navigate the challenges of life and what to expect in the afterlife.
Why should we believe them?
They all shared remarkable qualities, including honesty, patience, trustworthiness, humility, compassion, courage, wisdom, and unwavering devotion to God. While a few, such as Jesus and John the Baptist, were born as prophets, the majority were chosen by God and received their prophethood later in life as they become older and wiser. Though they lived in different times, places, and spoke different languages without knowing one another (except for very few), they all conveyed the same message of monotheism “God is one”.
If only one, two, or even ten people had claimed to have received such a revelation, we might question their credibility. However, despite the approximately 2000 year gap between Abraham and Jesus, and the roughly 540-600 years between Jesus and Muhammad (depending on whether we count from their birth or death), the reality is that they came from different times and regions, yet all conveyed the same message and THEY NEVER CONTRADICTED ONE ANOTHER, the message was always the same: “God is one and you will meet Him after death”. Additionally, many of them couldn’t even understand each other’s languages, which significantly strengthens the authenticity of their claims.
The final time Angel Gabriel appeared to a human was to the Prophet Muhammad, delivering the last testament, the Qur’an, over a period of 23 years. Gabriel informed Muhammad that he was the final prophet and messenger, sent to all of humanity. God promised that, unlike previous scriptures, the Qur’an would remain unchanged and uncorrupted until the end of time. This promise has held true to this day, as you can read in the article titled ” #11- What is the Qur’an.”
The Afterlife:
Another thing they all reported was an insight into the afterlife, they described what awaits us after death: the rewards of Heaven for the righteous and the consequences of Hell for those who reject God’s existence and or disobey His commands.
Above all, they emphasized God’s endless love and His readiness to forgive those who seek His mercy and repent. However, they also stressed that God demands sincere devotion through acts of worship, including prayer, fasting, kindness, and charity to the less fortunate. All acts of worship must be directed exclusively to Him, without any intermediaries or partners whether saints, idols, humans, including a son or prophets, otherwise, it will not be accepted. This highlights the importance of pure monotheism.
Islam is the only religion left that truly embodies “pure monotheism” as taught by all the prophets. You can do more research on this topic or simply watch the video in the article “ # 03 – Islam our choice” and you will quickly understand why that is.
Anyone who hears the message of Islam in a sound and correct form and rejects it, will have evidence against him. Whoever dies without having heard the message of Islam or having heard it in a distorted form has their case in the hands of God.
God, in His infinite wisdom will never treat anyone unjustly.
From: Adam –> Moses –> Judaism was formed although the message was incomplete as Moses prophesized the Messiah.
From: Adam –> Moses –> Jesus –> Christianity was formed and the message still incomplete as Jesus prophesized the one who will be sent as Mercy to Mankind as written in the rejected gospels (as per the Decratum Gelasianum).
From: Adam –> Moses –> Jesus –> Muhammad –> The message is finished, Muhammad is the seal of the Prophets confirming the Oneness of God.
The True Religion of God can not be complete if one of His Prophets is excluded (pbut).
