بسم الله وحده والصلاة والسلام على من لا نبي بعده
Ālimah Siddiqa al-Fārsiyyah
Student, Takhassus Fil Hadith
Checked and Approved:
Mufti Ismail Moosa
www.ulumalhadith.com
Allah Ta’ala says in the Qur’an: {And [recall, O People of the Scripture], when Allah took the covenant of the prophets, [saying], “Whatever I give you of the Scripture and wisdom and then there comes to you a messenger confirming what is with you, you [must] believe in him and support him.” [Allah] said, “Have you acknowledged and taken upon that My commitment?”1 They said, “We have acknowledged it.” He said, “Then bear witness, and I am with you among the witnesses.”} [Qur’an 3:81]
Shaykh ‘Abdullah Siraj ad-Din (rahimahullah) brings the quotes of Sayyiduna ‘Ali and Ibn ‘Abbas (radhi Allahu ‘anhuma) that they said: “Allah Ta‘ala did not send a prophet from the prophets except that he took an oath from him that if He sends Muhammad (sal Allahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) in his lifetime, he will believe in him, follow him, and help him against his enemies. This is supported by what comes in the hadith narrated by Abu Ya’la and others, and Jabir (radhi Allahu ‘anh) that he said that the Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) said: “By Allah! If Musa (alayhissalam) was alive among you, it would not be permissible for him except to follow me.”
Muhammad (sal Allahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) is the leader of all the prophets and messengers, in this world, and in the next. This is why he was the leader of all of prophets and messengers in the prayer on the night of isra’ when they were gathered in Bayt al-Maqdis. Sayyiduna Ubayy ibn Ka’b (radhi Allahu ‘anh) narrates: “When the Day of Resurrection comes, I will be the leader of the Prophets and the one who addresses them, and the one among them who will agree to intercede, and it is no boast.” [Ibn Majah 4314]
Shaykh ‘Abdullah says: The Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said this as a way to express the blessings of Allah upon him, as Allah Ta’ala has said: {And about the bounty of your Lord, do talk.} [adh-Dhuha 93:1]
Allah Ta’ala says in the Qur’an: {Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah} Shaykh ‘Abdullah explains: “There is decisive evidence in this verse against those who reject the prophethood of Muhammad (sal Allahu ‘alaihi wa sallam), or assume that he was a sorcerer or magician, or a poet and a forger.”
Allah Ta’ala granted the prophets and messengers before Muhammad (sal Allahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) miracles to help them in convincing their nations to believe in them and accept their prophethood. It is narrated on the authority of Abu Huraira that the Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) said: “There has never been a Prophet amongst the prophets who was not bestowed with a sign amongst the signs which were bestowed (on the earlier prophets). Human beings believed in it and verily I have been conferred upon revelation (the Holy Qur’an) which Allah revealed to me. I hope that I will have the greatest following on the Day of Resurrection.} [Sahih Muslim 152].
Muhammad (sal Allahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) was given one of the greatest of miracles: the Holy Qur’an. Shaykh ‘Abdullah says: It can be said to those who reject the prophethood of the Prophet Muhammad (sal Allahu ‘alaihi wa sallam): “How can you reject his prophethood when this great miracle is in front of you, the Qur’an, with which Allah Ta’ala challenged all scholars, thinkers, and intellectuals to construct even one chapter like it, but they could not, and will never be able to. Allah Ta’ala has announced the inability of the mankind and Jin in bringing something similar to the Qur’an, even if they all came together, Allah says: {Say, “If mankind and the jinn gathered in order to produce the like of this Qur’ān, they could not produce the like of it, even if they were to each other assistants.”} [al-Isra 17:88]
Finally, unlike the other holy books, Allah Ta’ala Himself has taken the task of preserving the Qur’an. He says: {Indeed, it is We who sent down the message [i.e., the Qur’ān], and indeed, We will be its guardian.} [Hijr 15:9] In contrast to this, the task of preserving the previous holy books was given to their scholars, but they were unable to preserve it, and their books went through distortions and alterations.
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