Fiqh [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

Fundamentals of Islam

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Roots of Religion

Tawheed

- (Oneness of Allah)
'Adl

- (Justice of Allah)
Nubuwwat

- (Prophethood)
Imamat

- (Guidance)
Qiyaamat

- (Resurrection)

Branches of Religion

Nubuwwat

Belief in the Prophets (PBUT) of God who excel all other persons for whom they are sent for. A Prophet is sinless (ma'soom). Prophet Muhammad Mustafa (PBUH) is the last of the prophets sent by God. The total number of prophets (PBUT) that were sent by God to mankind is 124,000 and every nation on earth was given guidance through them.

Nabuwwat is the belief in Prophethood.

Allah sent 124,000 prophets to guide us. The first of which was Prophet Adam (A), who was also the first man. The last of which was Prophet Muhammad (S).

Why do we need Prophets ?

Prophets are there to show us the right way, to guide us, like teachers. They are humans like us, so that we can relate to them, and they can be an example for us.

The Prophets are like a bridge between us and Allah.

Allah talks to the Prophets in one of three ways:
Directly, eg. Prophet Musa (A).
Through a dream, eg. Prophet Ibrahim (A).
Through the angel Jibrail, eg. Prophet Muhammad (S).

The Prophets then tell us what Allah has told them.

Prophets were sent to a tribe, a community, a family, whatever Allah commanded. But our Holy Prophet (S) was sent for the whole of mankind till the Day of Judgement.

One of the titles of our Holy Prophet (S) is Rahmatun Lil 'Alameen which means "mercy to the universe". This is because after the coming of our Prophet (S) Allah does not instantly punish the people for their continued disobedience, the way He did in the past.

eg. The people at Prophet Nuh's (A) time were drowned.

The people at Prophet Hud's (A) time were destroyed.

The Prophets have to have the following qualities:
be chosen by Allah,
be Ma'sum - not have committed any sin, not even by mistake.
be able to perform miracles
be the most perfect person at that time(In their Akhlaq and knowledge)

The Arabic word for a Prophet is Nabi. Amongst the Nabi are a certain few who were given new commands (set of laws, Shari'ah) for the people to follow, these are called Rasul. Thus the rank of Rasul is higher than that of a Nabi.

There are five Prophets who have an even higher rank and these are known as the Ulul Adhm Prophets (The special Prophets). These are:
Prophet Nuh (A).
Prophet Ibrahim (A).
Prophet Musa (A).
Prophet Isa (A).
Prophet Muhammad (S).

The Prophets brought the message of Allah in stages as the maturity (understanding capability) of the people developed and they were able to understand more.
eg. To try to explain a car to a child, first you will say that it is something with wheels that takes you from one place to the next. As the child gets older and more mature, and can understand more, you will explain that the car runs by means of an engine which needs petrol. As the child gets older still you will explain the way the engine works and so on and so on.

The Prophets usually had their new set of laws (Shari'ah) made into a book. These are known as Divine books.

Prophet Nuh (A) and Prophet Ibrahim (A) each had a Divine book but not much is known about either of these books.

The other Divine books that we know of are:-

Taurat was revealed to Prophet Musa (A).

Zabur was revealed to Prophet Dawud (A).

Injil was revealed to Prophet Isa (A).

Qur'an was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (S).

Islam is the first and final religion taught by all the Prophets, perfected and completed by the Holy Prophet, Muhammad Mustafa (S).

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