BELIEF in the PROPHETS Risalat

1. BELIEF in the PROPHETSRisalat

2. Outline • Prophets and Prophethood • Divine Purposes for Sending the Prophets • Characteristics of the Prophets • The Essentials of Prophethood • How many Prophets have been sent to mankind? • Prophets Conveyed the Same Message • What is a ‘miracle’? • Why are Prophets human? • Were there any woman prophets?

3. Who are Prophets and What is Prophethood? • Prophethood is the institution of bringing message from God to His servants • Prophets were chosen men through whom God manifested Himself to illuminate the way of mankind so that mankind might be guided to the truth and be purified of sins “God was gracious to the believers when He raised up among them a Messenger from themselves who recites to them the verses (of His Book) and shows them His signs [in their selves and in the universe], purifies them [of their sins and their deviations of thought and belief], and instructs them in the Book and the Wisdom. They were evidently in manifest misguidance before.” [Quran, 3:164]

4. Who are Prophets • A prophet has brilliant intelligence and pure soul • Prophethood is not a position acquired through brilliance of intelligence and purity of soul. A Prophet is specially brought up by God. • Prophethood is the highest rank and a honor a man can receive from God. • No ordinary man can achieve the rank of any prophet.

5. Who are Prophets • A Prophet is protected by God against all kinds of sin, whether major or minor, because he is created for a special purpose. • The Prophets never speak as a result of whims and fancies “Nor does he speak of (his own) desire. It is no less than revelation sent down to him.” [Quran 53:3-4]

6. Important • Risalt ki gwahi ya elan-e-Risalt ki gwahi • Risalat • Hazrat Abubakkar RA • Hazrat Ali RA • Announcement • Every Muslim

7. Adam Idris (Enoch) Nuh (Noah) Hud Saleh Ibrahim (Abraham) Isma'il (Ishmael) Ishaq (Isaac) Lut (Lot) Ya'qub (Jacob) Yousef (Joseph) Shu'aib Ayyub (Job) Musa (Moses) Haroon (Aaron) Dhu'l-kifl (Ezekiel) Dawud (David) Sulaiman (Solomon) Ilias (Elias) Yunus (Jonah) Asaaihh Uzair Zakariyya (Zechariah) Yahya (John) Isa (Jesus) Prophets mentioned in the Qur’an

8. Cont… • Prophets have divine message. They are MESSENGERS of GOD. • Prophets have miracles which are done by God through them. • Prophets work for the good of mankind. • Prophets never lie. • Prophets do not ask for wages or power and status.

9. What is the Divine Purpose for Sending the Prophets? The Prophets were sent to illuminate the way of mankind     to guide people to the service of God  to teach people the meaning of creation to teach God’s laws   to be examples to establish the balance between this world and the next to be God’s witnesses

10. Some characteristics of the Prophets The Prophets  depended on revelation  were sincere in every action  were very patient in faces of adversity were very compassionate toward all living beings called people wisely and with kindness  called humankind to God’s Unity

11. The essentials of Prophethood The essentials of Prophet hood common to all of the Prophets are, according to the theologians, as follows: Truthfulness Trustworthiness   Convey the message Intellect Infallibility

12. An important point! • “I am for you a trustworthy Messenger, so serve you God, and obey you me. I ask of you no wage for this; my wage falls only upon the Lord of the Worlds.”[Quran 26:107–9, 125–7, 143–5, 162–4, 178–80]

13. How many Prophets have been sent to mankind? • No region or people has been altogether deprived of Divine enlightenment through God’s chosen servants, His prophets. • Directly or indirectly, all people of all periods have, at some time in their history, known or been aware of a prophet and of his teaching. There never was a people without a Warner having lived among them. (Quran 35:24) And We assuredly sent among every people a Messenger. (Quran 16:36) • The Qur’an mentions 26 out of 124,000 We did in times past send Messengers before you; of them there are some whose stories We have related to you, and some whose story We have not related to you. (Quran 40:78)

14. Prophets Conveyed the Same Message • All the prophets called humankind to God's unity. • In their teachings, differences might have happened in minor matters depending on the conditions of their peoples. However, all these teachings are the same in essence. E.g., stealing is evil and a sin in all; yet, the way a thief is punished might differ. For We assuredly sent amongst every people an Messenger (with the command), ‘Serve God and eschew evil.’ (Quran 16:36) • Whenever people fell into darkness after a Prophet by forgetting, changing and distorting his message, God sent another one to enlighten them again. This continued until the coming of the Last Prophet.

15. What is a ‘miracle’? • A miracle is an extraordinary event that God Almighty brings about at the hands of a Prophet to prove his Prophethood, strengthen the believers' faith, and break the unbelievers' obstinacy. • Examples: • The Staff of Moses • Healing of Jesus • The Holy Qur’an

16. Were Prophets human? • If Prophets came from angels, people would object to this saying, “We cannot be like them so we cannot follow them.” • The Prophets’ being human helps convey the message easily and in a more understandable way

17. Were there any woman prophets? • Prophets were from men. • “And before thee also the messengers We sent were but men, to whom We granted inspiration: if ye realise this not, ask of those who possess the Message.” [Qur’an 16:43]

18. Characteristics of Prophethood of Holy Prophet (PBUH) • Last Prophet (Ahzab-40) • Caused mercy for all Universes • Complete Deen • Oswa-e-Hasna (Ahzab-21) • The Book • Allah’s Work • Mukarm-e-Akhlaq • Meeraj (Bani Israil-1, najam-7-18)

19. Responsibility being Muslim • Tahauz-e-Namoos-e-Risalat • To Act Upon Oswa-e-Hasna (perfect Example) • Understanding , preaching and acting upon Shraih

20. Thank you