Download Prophets of Allah

4. Messengers of Allah
LO
-Gain knowledge of the article of belief in
messengers of Allah
-Examine the theological significance of the
belief
• Name the four books of God.
Tawraat
Zaboor
Injeel
Qur’an
• Why do Muslims follow only the Qur’an, but
believe in all books of Allah?
Why do you think God
sent messengers to
human being?
Key beliefs
• Prophets bring Allah’s message so the people know how to
behave.
• Humans not angels. They receive their message from an
angel but are human themselves.
• 25 named in the Qur’an. Muslim tradition – 124, 000!
• Every nation has been sent a prophet.
• Sinless as chosen by Allah. Should be blessed when their
name is mentioned.
• All, except Isa, were married and had children.
• Each prophet given Allah’s word for their generation –
therefore each prophet brought Islam – but their words
were either ignored, forgotten or distorted so that Allah
had to send a new prophet with the original message.
Adam
• Created as God’s vice-regent
• God forbade to eat the certain
fruit, which he did.
• Expelled from the Garden of Eden
• Confessed and forgiven in Arafat, became the
first prophet , built the Ka’bah first in Makkah
• Adam and Eve had two sons,
one got murdered by the other
Ibrahim
• Born to a polytheistic family (shows how message of the
previous prophets had been distorted)
• Rejected polytheism & became a Muslim ‘Abraham was
not a Jew nor yet a Christian; but he was true in faith, and
bowed his will to God’s which is Islam’ (s3 v67)
• Had two elder sons who were also prophets – Ismail &
Is’haq
• Ismail was the elder son and born to Hagar
• When Is’haq was born, Sarah made Ibrahim take Hagar &
Ismail into Arabia. There Ibrahim rebuilt the Ka’bah with
the help of Ismail and in Mina he was tested to sacrifice his
son. Ibrahim was also tempted by the devil and threw
stones at him.
• Ibrahim had a holy book revealed to him – The Scrolls of
Ibrahim – the name of a book mentioned in the Qur’an.
Musa (Moses)
• The work of Ibrahim was forgotten and his
holy book lost so a new prophet had to be
sent.
• Musa was born a Jew but brought up by
Pharaoh’s daughter. He killed an Egyptian and
fled to Midian where Allah called him to lead
the slaves out of slavery in Egypt and into
Allah’s Promised Land.
• He was given the word of God in the Tawrat
(Torah) but the people often rejected and
distorted his message.
Dawud
• The great king of Israel made Jerusalem a holy
place for Muslims.
• Given the word of God in the Zabur (Psalms)
because of the distortion of the Tawrat, but it
was not written down until long after his death so
that it was never properly recorded. As not
written down immediately, then translated – lost
many of its original features.
• The Qur’an ‘Before this We wrote in Psalms, after
the message given to Moses: “My servants the
righteous shall inherit the earth”’ (s21 v105)
Isa
•
•
•
•
Maryam = mother. Virgin. Never had sex.
Conceived by the power of God.
Most prominent figures in Qur’an apart from Muhammad
Given the holy book Injil (Gospel) and performed many
miracles.
• Jewish authorities wanted to crucify Him but God would
not allow it to happen.
• Muslims believe Jesus did not die but was taken up by Allah
to heaven;
‘They said in boast, “We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary,
the Apostle of God”; but they killed him not, nor crucified him,
but so it was made to appear to them.’ (Qur’an s 4 v157)
• Muslim tradition asserts that Isa will return before the end
of the world and gather all true Muslims together.
• The Qur’an is clear that Isa is only a prophet.
How far do you agree with the Muslim
belief about the distortion of the
previous messages God?
What do you think it means?
Part ii
4. Belief in Messengers of Allah
LO
Explore the concept the “Muhammad is
the seal of the prophets”
Muhammad the seal of the Prophets
The Qur’an:
‘Muhammad is no more than an
Apostle: many were the apostles that
passed away before him.’ (s3 v144)
‘Muhammad is not the father of any
of your men, but He is the Apostle of
God and seal of the Prophets.’
(s33 v40)
• Been given the final message, the Qur’an – can
never be distorted. Therefore no more prophets.
• Performed miracles, died an ordinary death &
was buried.
• Given Qur’an in Arabic and immediately written
down in Arabic so there are no differences
between copies of the Qur’an.
• Islam began with Adam and completed with
Muhammad. So He restored Islam what God
wanted it to be.
Implications of Muhammad being ‘Seal of
Prophets.’
1. As Muhammad is final prophet, his example must be
the final way to live your life. That is why Sunnah and
Hadith are so important. ‘Ye have indeed in the
Apostle of God a beautiful pattern of conduct’ (s33
v21)
2. Anyone who claims to have a new message cannot be
a Muslim.
3. There can be no new beliefs other than what is in the
Qur’an. Can cause problems for re-interpreting in the
light of modern world, ie, status of women.
4. Point 1 may cause problems; Some may think that
Muhammad was more than a man, but that is shirk.
Comment on the significance of the
teachings selected in (above) for Muslims.
• Debate the features of prophecy and the significance
of this for relations with both Jews and Christians.
• Consider various key themes such as the influence of
the selected topic on issues such as Qur’anic
scholarship and distinguishing features of prophecy
especially in an Islamic context.
• Comment on some issues related to evidence as seen
in the Qur’an and issues about its interpretation such
as diachronic or synchronic views of the Qur’an.
Qur’anic name
Biblical name
Adam
•
Nuh
Ibrahim
•
Isma’il
•
Ya’qub
•
Musa
•
Daud
•
Sulayman
•
‘Isa
•
Muhammad
•
Guess Biblical
names of these
prophets.
Possible Exam Question
• Explore the key teachings about messengers
of God. (9 marks)