The Prophet’s (s.a.w.) Existence is Essential for Us

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

Shaykh ‘Utsman Nuri Tufbas wrote, in “Islam, Spirit, & Form”, the existence of prophets is essential for our well-being.  They combine many models of good personalities in one body; and they harmoniously lead the souls of human beings to their Lord.  They were Prepared, and Chosen, by Allah (s.w.t.). Thus, they have different features Endowed by Allah (s.w.t.). These features are as follows below. 

Truthfulness: Prophets always maintain the feature of righteousness.  Their actions are in complete accord with their words.  It is impossible for them to lie.  Their truthfulness was even confirmed by those who did not believe in them.  Here are a few examples of many regarding their feature of honesty. 

Heraclius, the emperor of Byzantium, in order to learn about the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.), questioned Abu Sufyan Sakhr ibn Harb, who was, at that time, without belief.  One of the questions was: “Has he ever dishonoured his word?” 

Though Abu Sufyan was then opposed to the Prophet (s.a.w.), he answered favourably regarding the Prophet (s.a.w.): “No!  He always abides by his word!” 

Ubay bin Khalaf was a zealous enemy of Islam; so much so that he, before the emigration to Madina, he used to tell the Prophet (s.a.w.), “I am breeding a strong horse, and I will one day kill you while riding that horse.” 

And the Prophet (s.a.w.) used to answer him, “I will, Allah willing, kill you!” 

During the battle of Uhud, Ubay bin Khalaf looked for the Prophet (s.a.w.), saying, “If I cannot find him today, I will be doomed!” 

When he came close to the Prophet (s.a.w.), the companions wanted to behead him.  Yet, the Prophet (s.a.w.) called to them, “Let him come to me!”  When he came near, the Prophet (s.a.w.) got a spear, from the hand of a companion, and threw it to him.  The spear glanced off Ubay’s neck, but it was enough to cause him to tumble from his horse. 

He was so shocked that he hastily ran back to the line of his army screaming, “I swear that Muhammad has killed me!” 

The idol-worshippers who looked at his injury said, “This is only a scratch!” 

Still, that did not calm him, and he said, “While in Makkah, Muhammad told me, ‘I will definitely kill you!’  I swear that I will die even if he spits at me!”  Ubay kept howling. 

Abu Sufyan told him off, saying, “You are not supposed to howl about this tiny scratch.” 

Ubay replied, “Do you know who has done this to me?  It is Muhammad.  I swear by Lat and ‘Uzza that if this scratch is distributed to the people of Hijaz, they would all perish.  Muhammad told me, in Makkah, ‘I will definitely kill you.’  I then got convinced that I would be killed by him.  As he said that, I would surely be killed by him even if he spat at me.”  Eventually, Ubay, who was an enemy to the Prophet (s.a.w.), died a day before returning to Makkah.  This event is an important object lesson.  Even an ardent idol-worshipper who knew the Prophet (s.a.w.) quite well, believed how powerful his words were. 

Trustworthiness: Prophets are the most trustworthy of humanity.  Even non-believers give credence to what they say.  Thus, even the idol-worshippers regarded Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) as worthy of confiding in; they called him, “Muhammad the Trustworthy”, and they entrusted him with their belongings more than their kinsfolk.  So much so, that the Prophet (s.a.w.) had the deposits of some idol-worshippers with him even up to the time of his migration to Madina.  Though he was in danger of his life, he asked Sayyidina ‘Ali ibn Abu Thalib (k.w.), his nephew, to stay in Makkah to hand them over to their owners. 

Intelligence: Prophets are distinguished humans in terms of intelligence and awareness.  They have strong mental faculties, good judgement, and persuasiveness.  These features are observed differently in each prophet.  Prophet Muhammad’s (s.a.w.) life has many examples of this feature. 

Before Revelation, the Ka’bah was renovated by the tribes of Makkah.  Yet, a controversy occurred about who would have the honour of placing the Black Stone in the corner of Ka’bah.  As they were about to clash, one among them suggested, “Stop fighting!  As we cannot solve this matter among us, let us appoint the first person entering the gate as a judge!”  When the person entered, a smile covered their faces because the one who entered was Muhammad, “the Trustworthy” (s.a.w.).  After the Prophet (s.a.w.) learned about the dispute, he selected a representative from each tribe.  He then spread his robe on the ground, and asked them to place the Black Stone on it and the representatives each to hold a corner of the robe.  Thus, each tribe was able to have the honour of carrying the Black Stone.  Then, he himself, placed the Black Stone in its place while they were holding the robe.  By displaying a good example of foresight and intelligence, the Prophet (s.a.w.) averted a probable fight. 

On the other hand, the wisdom that he exhibited in the battles for Islam and the foresight, particularly in the battle of Hudaybiyyah, the victory in Makkah, and Hunayn, and the way he dealt with the people of Tha’if, and the justice displayed are all lofty and beyond the reach of any human. 

Communication: Prophets convey the Divine Commandments to humans as they are ordered.  In their convenance they neither add to nor subtract from the transmission. 

Innocence, or purity: Prophets are Saved from every kind of disobedience and sin.  However, as they are to be aware that they are also weak beings and lest they claim to be a deity they sometimes make small human mistakes.  There is another aspect of wisdom in that as well.  If they were to be infallible in every respect, humans would have in their minds an excuse for not following their example by thinking that they would not be capable enough to abide by the Divine Orders and Prohibitions.  Thus, prophets are not to be thought of as from among the angels, and the Qur’an Touches on this subject in these respected verses:

سُوۡرَةُ بنیٓ اسرآئیل / الإسرَاء

قُل لَّوۡ كَانَ فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ مَلَـٰٓٮِٕڪَةٌ۬ يَمۡشُونَ مُطۡمَٮِٕنِّينَ لَنَزَّلۡنَا عَلَيۡهِم مِّنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ مَلَڪً۬ا رَّسُولاً۬ (٩٥) 

Say, “If there were settled, on earth, angels walking about in peace and quiet, We should certainly have Sent them down from the heavens an angel for a messenger.” (Surah al-Isra’:95)

سُوۡرَةُ الاٴنبیَاء

وَمَا جَعَلۡنَـٰهُمۡ جَسَدً۬ا لَّا يَأۡڪُلُونَ ٱلطَّعَامَ وَمَا كَانُواْ خَـٰلِدِينَ (٨) 

Nor did We give them bodies that ate no food, nor were they exempt from death. (Surah al-Anbiya’:8)