2. Risalat — Prophethood

رسالت

Dear friends! The second foundational principle of Islam is Risalat — Prophethood. Just as Tawheed means that God is One, Risalat means that God communicates His will to humanity through specially chosen individuals called Prophets (Ambiya). Without Prophethood, the knowledge of God's will would be inaccessible to us — for our reason alone cannot fathom the depths of divine wisdom. The Prophet is therefore the indispensable link between God and humanity.

The Need for Prophethood

Human beings are of three kinds with respect to intellectual capacity. First, there are the purely theoretical thinkers who can reason about abstract matters but are disconnected from practical life. Second, there are those who are purely practical — they know how to act but cannot give a principled account of their actions. Third, there are the rarest of all — the Prophets — who unite in their persons perfect theoretical knowledge (gnosis of God) with perfect practical conduct (obedience to God), and who thereby become a complete and living model for humanity. The station of Prophethood is the highest station possible for a human being.

Every community needs a guide who can lead them from darkness to light, from ignorance to knowledge. The Qur'an affirms that no community has been left without a Warner:

وَإِن مِّنْ أُمَّةٍ إِلَّا خَلَا فِيهَا نَذِيرٌ

"And there was no nation but that there had passed within it a warner." (Fatir, 35:24)

This shows that throughout human history, Allah has never left any people without guidance. Prophets were sent to every land and every people — though only a selection of them are mentioned by name in the Qur'an.

The Finality of Prophethood

Our Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is the Last and Seal of all the Prophets. After him, no prophet will come. This is the doctrine of Khatm-e-Nubuwwat (the Finality of Prophethood), which is an absolutely certain (qat'i) article of Islamic faith. The Qur'an declares:

مَّا كَانَ مُحَمَّدٌ أَبَا أَحَدٍ مِّن رِّجَالِكُمْ وَلَٰكِن رَّسُولَ اللَّهِ وَخَاتَمَ النَّبِيِّينَ

"Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but he is the Messenger of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets." (Al-Ahzab, 33:40)

The religion brought by the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is therefore the final, complete, and perfected religion for all of humanity until the Day of Judgment. The Qur'an which he brought is the last divine scripture. His Sunnah (practice) is the living model for all Muslims in every era.

Heraclius's Testimony Continued — The Character of the Prophet

We have already narrated how Heraclius, the Caesar of Rome, questioned Abu Sufyan about the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Heraclius asked about his lineage, his followers, whether his numbers were growing, whether any of his followers ever apostasized, whether he was trustworthy before his claim to prophethood, and what he commanded his followers. All of Abu Sufyan's answers, though given by a man who was then an enemy, were compelled by truth to be favorable to the Prophet. Heraclius concluded: "If what you say is true, he will soon come to possess even the ground beneath my feet. I knew that a prophet would arise, but I did not think it would be from among the Arabs. If I could go to him, I would go to him." This was the judgment of the greatest sovereign of the time.

Dear friends! This too is a fundamental principle of Islam.