⌨⌨⌨⌨⌨⌨⌨⌨ *🌹Understand Islam 5️⃣8️⃣* *❓What are the Criteria for a True Prophet?* ⌨⌨⌨⌨⌨⌨⌨⌨ ✅A natural question to ask someone who believes in any prophet is: ‘What are the criteria for your belief in him?’
*Reasonable Criteria would be:* i. Evidence for his claim. ii. Consistency in his teachings (about God, afterlife, and similar issues of belief) iii. Similarity to the teachings of earlier prophets. iv. Integrity: he must be a man of high morals.
Prophet Muhammad(ﷺ) claimed unequivocally, ‘I am God’s Messenger.’ If anybody evaluates his claim on the above criteria, he will find it meets the criteria completely.
In Islamic doctrine, all prophets constitute a spiritual fraternity of brothers with a single ‘father,’ but different ‘mothers’. The ‘father’ is prophethood and unity of God, the ‘mothers’ are the different Laws they brought.
Emphasizing the spiritual fraternity of all prophets, Prophet Muhammad said: “I am the closest of all people to the son of Mary (Jesus). The prophets are paternal brothers, their mothers are different, but their religion is one” (Bukhari, Muslim)
All prophets are ‘rays’ from the same ‘Lamp’: the central message of all prophets throughout ages was to dedicate worship to God only. That’s why Islam views denying a single prophet as equivalent to denying them all. Quran described this in 4:150-152.
Denying the prophethood of Muhammad is tantamount to denying all prophets. The prophethood of Muhammad is known just like the prophethood of Moses and Jesus is known: the numerous reports of their miracles that have reached us. The Book brought by Muhammad (the Quran) is fully preserved, and His Law is complete and applicable to today’s world.
Make a table of all the prophets you believe in. Start from the first one to the last one you believe in. And answer the following questions:
-What is the evidence I believe he was a true prophet? -What was the mission of the prophet in his own words? -Did he bring a Law? Is his Law applicable today? -What scripture did he bring? How is its content and meaning? -Is the scripture preserved in the original language it was revealed in? Is it considered a literary authority, free of internal inconsistencies? -What do you know of his morals and integrity?
Compare all the prophets you have listed and then answer the same questions about Muhammad. Then ask yourself, ‘Can I honestly take Muhammad out of my list because he does not meet the criteria as other prophets?’ It will not take too much effort to discover that the evidence for Muhammad’s prophethood is stronger and more convincing.
A skeptic need consider what is so unusual about Muhammad’s claim to be a prophet? When did God declare an end to prophecy before him? Who decided that there would not be any more divine communication with human beings?
With no evidence to block divine revelation, it is natural to accept a continuity of revelation: “Indeed, We have sent you with the truth, as a bearer of glad tidings and a warner: for there never was any community but a warner has [lived and] passed away in its midst” (Quran 35:24)
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