Salman Al-Farsi
07-01-06, 01:16 AM
THE PROOF OF THE MESSENGERHOOD OF THE SEAL OF THE PROPHETS
By Hajjat al-Islam Imam Ghazali (rhA).
Allah - the Exalted - has sent Prophet Muhammad - the praise and peace be upon him - as the seal of the prophets and as an abrogator of all previous Religions before him; the religions of the Jews and the Christians and the Sabians (a Judaeo-Christian sect). He (Allah) upheld him with unmistakable miracles and wonderful signs such as the splitting of the moon, the praise of the pebbles, and causing the dumb animal to speak, as well as water flowing from between his fingers and the unmistakable sign of the Glorious Koran with which he challenged the Arabs.
The Arabs, in their struggle with the Prophet, did everything to counteract him, but despite their distinguished ability and excellence in eloquence and rhetoric, they were not able to oppose him with anything like the Quran, because it was not within the power of human beings, to combine the succinctness of the phrases of the Quran and the smoothness of its style together with wha it contained of the news of the ancient generations and the fact that the Prophet - the praise and peace be upon him - himself was unlettered having no experience with books, with the prediction of unknown future events the subsequent occurrence of which established the truthfulness of the Prophet - the praise and peace be upon him -.
Examples of this are found in the Words of Allah: "You shall certainly enter the Sacred Mosque in security if Allah wills, with hair shaven or cut short and without fear." (Quran Ch.48:27). And again, "The Romans have been defeated in a land close by; but after their defeat, in a few years they shall become the victors." (Quran.30:2-3).
The reason why a miracle attests the truthfulness of the messengers is because everything which human beings cannot do must be the work of Allah.
Whatever is linked by the Prophet with a challenge enjoys the same position as that to which Allah says, "You are right." This is like the case of the person who, standing before the king announces to the subjects that he is the king's messenger, and in order to prove that he is, he asks the king to stand upon his throne and sit down three times contrary to his usual practice. The king obliges and the subjects know, beyond the shadow of doubt, tha the king's action takes the place of his saying "You are right."Sending prophets is possible and not impossible, contrary to the Brahmans who say there is no use in sending prophets since reason renders it unnecessary.
Because reason does not guide men to deeds which lead to salvation in the Hereafter, just as it does not guide them to discover medicines which are beneficial to the health.
Therefore the need of mankind for prophets is just like their need for physicians. The integrity of the physician is known through experience while the truthfulness of the prophet is known through miracles.
Excerpt from the Chapter of 'Foundation of the Belief' from Imam Ghazali's precious work 'Ihya Ulum al-Din'.
By Hajjat al-Islam Imam Ghazali (rhA).
Allah - the Exalted - has sent Prophet Muhammad - the praise and peace be upon him - as the seal of the prophets and as an abrogator of all previous Religions before him; the religions of the Jews and the Christians and the Sabians (a Judaeo-Christian sect). He (Allah) upheld him with unmistakable miracles and wonderful signs such as the splitting of the moon, the praise of the pebbles, and causing the dumb animal to speak, as well as water flowing from between his fingers and the unmistakable sign of the Glorious Koran with which he challenged the Arabs.
The Arabs, in their struggle with the Prophet, did everything to counteract him, but despite their distinguished ability and excellence in eloquence and rhetoric, they were not able to oppose him with anything like the Quran, because it was not within the power of human beings, to combine the succinctness of the phrases of the Quran and the smoothness of its style together with wha it contained of the news of the ancient generations and the fact that the Prophet - the praise and peace be upon him - himself was unlettered having no experience with books, with the prediction of unknown future events the subsequent occurrence of which established the truthfulness of the Prophet - the praise and peace be upon him -.
Examples of this are found in the Words of Allah: "You shall certainly enter the Sacred Mosque in security if Allah wills, with hair shaven or cut short and without fear." (Quran Ch.48:27). And again, "The Romans have been defeated in a land close by; but after their defeat, in a few years they shall become the victors." (Quran.30:2-3).
The reason why a miracle attests the truthfulness of the messengers is because everything which human beings cannot do must be the work of Allah.
Whatever is linked by the Prophet with a challenge enjoys the same position as that to which Allah says, "You are right." This is like the case of the person who, standing before the king announces to the subjects that he is the king's messenger, and in order to prove that he is, he asks the king to stand upon his throne and sit down three times contrary to his usual practice. The king obliges and the subjects know, beyond the shadow of doubt, tha the king's action takes the place of his saying "You are right."Sending prophets is possible and not impossible, contrary to the Brahmans who say there is no use in sending prophets since reason renders it unnecessary.
Because reason does not guide men to deeds which lead to salvation in the Hereafter, just as it does not guide them to discover medicines which are beneficial to the health.
Therefore the need of mankind for prophets is just like their need for physicians. The integrity of the physician is known through experience while the truthfulness of the prophet is known through miracles.
Excerpt from the Chapter of 'Foundation of the Belief' from Imam Ghazali's precious work 'Ihya Ulum al-Din'.