Belief in the Messengers of Allah

The next article of faith is belief in Allah’s Messengers. A messenger is any human who was
chosen by Allah to receive revelation from Him and who was commanded to pass that revelation
on. The first of the messengers was Noah (Nooh). Every people was sent messengers and these
messengers came with the same fundamental teaching:
َۖ ُ‫ط ٰـغ‬
٣‫وتَ ۝‬ ۟ ُ ‫ٱجتَنِب‬
َّ ‫وا ٱل‬ ۟ ‫ٱعبُد‬
ۡ ‫ُوا ٱللَّهَ َو‬ ‫لَقَ ۡد بَعَ ۡثنَا فِی ك ُِل أ ُ َّمةࣲ َّرسُ ا‬
ۡ ‫وًل أ َ ِن‬

“And verily, we have sent among every nation a Messenger proclaiming, ‘Worship Allah
[alone] and avoid all false deities’” (16:36).
The final messenger and prophet is the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Allah has said,
َ ‫َّما كَا َن ُم َح َّم ٌد أَبَا ٓ أ َ َح ٍۢد مِن ِر َجا ِلكُ ْم َولَ ٰـكِن َّرسُو َل ٱللَّ ِه َو َخات َ َم ٱلنَّ ِبيِـۧنَ ۗ َو َكانَ ٱللَّه ُ ِبك ُِل ش َْىء‬
٠٤ ‫علِي اًۭما‬
“Muhammad is not the father of any man among you, but he is the Messenger and the Seal
of the Prophets” (33:40).
People need a divine message to show them Allah’s laws and guide them to the right path.
Indeed, a divine message is the spirit, light and the very life of the world, without which the
world would certainly be lifeless and man would be plunged into the darkness of ignorance and
misguidance?
It is for this reason that Almighty Allah calls His message a spirit, for there is no life without a
spirit, as the Qur’an says,
ٰ
ۚ ‫شا ٓ ُء ِمنْ ِعبَا ِدنَا‬ ‫ٱْلي َمـٰنُ َولَ ٰـكِن َجعَ ْلنَ ٰـه ُ ن ُ ًۭ ا‬
َ َّ‫ورا نَّ ْهدِى بِِۦه َمن ن‬ ُ ‫َو َكذَ ِلكَ أ َ ْو َح ْينَا ٓ إِلَ ْيكَ ُرو ًۭ احا ِمنْ أ َ ْم ِرنَا ۚ َما كُنتَ تَد ِْرى َما ٱ ْل ِكتَـ‬
ِ ْ ‫ٰب َو ًَل‬
٢٥ ‫ستَق ٍِۢيم‬ْ ‫ِى ِإلَ ٰى ِص ٰ َر ٍۢط ُّم‬ٓ ‫َو ِإنَّكَ لَت َ ْهد‬
“We have thus revealed a Spirit to you by our command. You knew neither the Scripture
nor the faith, but we made it a light, guiding with it whomever We will of Our servants.
You are indeed guiding to the straight path.” (42:52)
Even though the intellect can generally distinguish between right and wrong, it cannot possibly
comprehend the details of such a distinction, nor carry out acts of worship in the right manner
without the dictates of revelation and the divine message.‫۔‬
Therefore, success and happiness can only be attained by following the guidance of Allah’s
messengers. Similarly, no accurate line of demarcation can be drawn between right and wrong
without following in their footsteps. Thus, whoever rejects the divine message will definitely
lead a miserable and wretched life depending on the extent of their rejection of it.
One of the Pillars of Faith:
Belief in Allah’s messengers is one of the six pillars of eemaan (faith), as the Qur’an states,
ٰ
ۚ ‫شا ٓ ُء ِمنْ ِع َبا ِدنَا‬ ‫ٱْلي َمـٰنُ َولَ ٰـكِن َجعَ ْلنَ ٰـه ُ ن ُ ًۭ ا‬
َ َّ‫ورا نَّ ْهدِى ِبِۦه َمن ن‬ ُ ‫َو َكذَ ِلكَ أ َ ْو َح ْينَا ٓ إِ َل ْيكَ ُرو ًۭ احا ِمنْ أ َ ْم ِرنَا ۚ َما كُنتَ تَد ِْرى َما ٱ ْل ِكتَـ‬
ِ ْ ‫ٰب َو ًَل‬
٢٥ ‫ستَق ٍِۢيم‬ْ ‫ِى إِلَ ٰى ِص ٰ َر ٍۢط ُّم‬ٓ ‫َوإِنَّكَ لَت َ ْهد‬
“The Messenger believes in that which has been revealed to him from his Lord and so do
the believers. Each one believes in Allah and His angels and His books and His
messengers.” (2:285)
This verse makes it abundantly clear that we must believe in all of Allah’s messengers without
making a distinction between any of them. We must not, therefore, believe in some of them and
reject some others, as did the Jews and the Christians.
Defining eemaan (faith), the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬also said in this connection, “It is to believe in
Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers and the Last Day, and to believe in the divine
decree, both good and bad.” (Sahih Muslim: 8)
It is important to note that all of these messengers and prophets were simply human beings.
They did not have any divine status or attribute. They had no knowledge of the unseen except for
that which Allah revealed to them. Their loftiest attribute is that of being a servant of Allah. Such
is Allah’s description of them in the Quran. Indeed, with respect to the Prophet Muhammad
(peace be upon him), in reference to three of the greatest events in his life, Allah refers to him as
His servant

Correct belief in the messengers comprises four aspects:

First, one must believe that the message of all of them is the truth from Allah. If a person today
denies any single one of them who is confirmed in the Quran or authentic hadith, then he is in
fact denying all of them. Allah says about the people of Noah,

َ ‫َكذَّبَتْ قَ ْو ُم نُوح ٱ ْل ُم ْر‬

‫سلِي َن‬
“The people of Noah belied the messengers” (26:105).
However, Noah was the first messenger. This implies that, in essence, if a person denies one
messenger, he is in fact denying all of them since their message is essentially one and consistent.
Hence, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “By the One in whose Hand is the soul of
Muhammad, there will be no Jew or Christian of this nation who hears of me and then dies
without believing in that with which I have been sent except that he will be one of the inhabitants
of the Hell-fire.”
This is one of the aspects that distinguishes Muslims from the earlier peoples. Muslims believe in
all of the prophets. However, the others refused some whether it be the Jews rejecting Jesus
(peace be upon him) or the Jews and Christians rejecting the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon
him) although, in reality, they had no grounds whatsoever to refuse the later prophet. Each
messenger came with clear signs and evidence. Their rejection by the people could only be based
on arrogance, ignorance or hostility to the truth.
Second, one must believe in all of the Messengers mentioned by name in the Quran or Sunnah.
As for those not mentioned, one must believe in them at a general level, knowing that Allah has
sent many messengers although not all of them are mentioned by name in the Quran or hadith.
Allah has stated in the Quran,
ۗ َ‫علَ ْيك‬ ْ ‫علَ ْيكَ َومِ ْن ُهم َّمن لَّ ْم نَ ْقص‬
َ ‫ُص‬ َ ‫صنَا‬
ْ ‫ص‬ َ ‫َولَقَ ْد أ َ ْر‬
َ َ‫سلْنَا ُرسُ ًۭ اًل مِن قَ ْب ِلكَ مِ نْ ُهم َّمن ق‬
“And indeed We have sent messengers before you. Of them, some we have related to you
their story and some We have not related to you their story” (40:78).
Third, one must believe in everything that they stated. They communicated their messages from
Allah completely and properly. They exerted themselves to propagate Allah’s message. They
strove for the sake of Allah in the most complete manner. They were most knowledgeable of
Allah and the best worshippers and servants of Allah. The messengers “have been protected from
attributing to Allah something of their own invention, judging according to their own desires,
falling into major sins, and adding to or diminishing from the religion.”
Fourth, one must submit to, accept and act in accord with the law of the messenger who has
been sent for his guidance. Allah says in the Quran,
ۚ ‫طاعَ بِ ِإذْ ِن ٱللَّ ِه‬ َ ‫َو َما ٓ أ َ ْر‬
َ ُ‫س ْلنَا مِن َّرسُول إِ ًَّل ِلي‬

“We sent no messenger but to be obeyed by Allah’s leave” (4:64).

With respect to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), Allah says in the verse after the
verse quoted above,
۟ ‫س ِل ُم‬
ْ َ ‫وا ت‬
٥٢ ‫سلِي اًۭما‬ َ ُ‫ضيْتَ َوي‬ ۟ ‫ش َج َر َب ْينَ ُه ْم ث ُ َّم ًَل َي ِجد‬
ِ ُ‫ُوا ف ِٓى أَنف‬
َ َ‫س ِه ْم َح َر ًۭ اجا ِم َّما ق‬ َ ‫فَ ًَل َو َر ِبكَ ًَل يُ ْؤ ِمنُو َن َحت َّٰى يُ َح ِك ُموكَ فِي َما‬
“But no, by your Lord, they can have no faith until they make you judge in all disputes
between them, and find in themselves no resistance against your decisions, and accept them
with full submission” (4:65).
The believer should realize that the sending of messengers for the benefit and guidance of
humankind is a great blessing from Allah. The knowledge that they conveyed is knowledge that
is beyond the grasp of the human intellect by itself since it deals with matters of the unseen.
Indeed, humankind is in more need of their guidance than they are in need of food and drink. If
they are void of food and drink for any period of time, they will die, implying loss of this life.
But if they are refusing Allah’s guidance through the messengers, they will lose the everlasting
bounties of the Hereafter.
The Meaning of Belief in the Messengers:
This means firm belief that Allah ‫ ﷻ‬sent a messenger to every nation and community, calling its
members to worship Allah alone without any partners, that all Allah’s messengers were truthful,
virtuous, trustworthy and rightly-guided servants who strove hard to guide their people to the
right path and conveyed Allah’s message to them in full, without concealing, omitting or adding
anything to it. The Qur’an says,
٥٢ ‫ٱلرسُ ِل ِإ ًَّل ٱلْبَلَ ٰـ ُغ ٱ ْل ُمبِي ُن‬ َ ‫فَ َه ْل‬
ُّ ‫علَى‬
“Therefore, the messengers’ obligation is no more than to convey the message clearly.”
(16:35)

What Does Belief in the Messengers Include?

1. To believe that their message was truly from Allah ‫ ﷻ‬and that Allah had sent them with
the same message, namely, to worship Allah alone and to avoid false gods, as the Qur’an
states,
۟ ُ‫ُوا ٱللَّهَ َوٱ ْجتَنِب‬
َّ ‫وا ٱل‬
َۖ َ‫ط ٰـغُوت‬ ۟ ‫عبُد‬ ‫َولَقَ ْد بَعَثْنَا فِى ك ُِل أ ُ َّم ٍۢة َّرسُ ا‬
ْ ‫وًل أ َ ِن ٱ‬
“We sent a messenger among every people saying: ‘Worship Allah and keep clear of all
false gods.’” (16:36)
Laws may vary as to the do’s and don’ts of the message with which prophets were sent to their
people, depending on what laws suited their people best, as the Qur’an states,
ۚ ‫ِلك ٍُۢل َج َعلْنَا ِمنكُ ْم ش ِْرع ًَۭةا َو ِمنْ َها ًۭ اجا‬
“For each [community to which a Messenger was sent with a Book] have we appointed a
law and a practice.” (5:48)
2. To believe in all the prophets and messengers. We believe in those prophets whom Allah
has named, such as Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad, may Allah’s peace
and blessings be upon all of them. As for those whom He has not named, we believe in
all of them in general. Those who disbelieve the message of one single prophet is
considered to have disbelieved in all of them.
3. To believe the authentic reports and accounts of the prophets and their miracles
mentioned in the Qur’an and in the Prophet’s traditions, such as the story of Allah’s
parting the Red Sea for Moses .
4. To act according to the dictates of the law revealed to our Prophet Muhammad , who was
the seal of the prophets and the best of all of them.
Some Characteristics of the Messengers:

1. They are human, and the only difference between us and them is that Allah had chosen
them to receive His revelation and convey His divine message, as the Qur’an says,

َ ‫َو َما ٓ أ َ ْر‬

٧ َۖ ‫س ْلنَا قَبْلَكَ إِ ًَّل ِر َج ًۭ ااًل نُّوحِ ٓى إِلَيْ ِه ْم‬
“We have only ever sent before you men to whom we revealed the message.” (21:7)
Therefore, they have no divine attributes whatsoever. They are mere human beings who attained
perfect physical appearance and enjoyed impeccable moral traits. They are also the most
honorable of people in lineage and enjoyed sound judgment and clear, persuasive speech, which
entitled them to assume the responsibility of conveying the divine message and bear the burden
of prophet hood. Almighty Allah ‫ ﷻ‬has only chosen messengers from among people so that they
can set a good example for them, and so that people can follow in their footsteps, which they can
possibly do.
2. Allah ‫ ﷻ‬has chosen them from among people so they can convey the divine message to
people, as the Qur’an states,
‫ص ٰـ ِل ًۭ احا َو ًَل يُش ِْركْ بِ ِعبَا َد ِة َربِ ِٓۦه أ َ َح ٍۢ ادا‬ ۟ ‫ش ًۭ ٌر ِمثْلُكُ ْم يُو َح ٰ ٓى إِلَ َّى أَنَّ َما ٓ إِلَ ٰـ ُهكُ ْم إِلَ ٰـ ًۭهٌ ٰ َوحِ ًۭ ٌد َۖ فَ َمن كَانَ يَ ْر ُج‬
َ ‫وا ِلقَا ٓ َء َربِِۦه فَ ْليَعْ َم ْل‬
َ ‫ع َم ًۭ اًل‬ َ َ‫قُ ْل إِنَّ َما ٓ أَنَ ۠ا ب‬
١١٤
“Say: ‘I am only a human being like you who has received revelation. Your god is One
God. So let him who hopes to meet his Lord act rightly and not associate anyone in the
worship of his Lord.” (18:110)
It is clear, therefore, that prophet hood cannot be attained as a result of spiritual purity,
intelligence or mental logic, for the task of prophet hood can only be determined by divine will,
and Allah ‫ ﷻ‬knows best whom to appoint as His messengers, as the Qur’an states,
ۗ ُ ‫سالَت َ ۥه‬ ْ َ ‫ٱللَّهُ أ‬
ُ ‫علَ ُم َحي‬
َ ‫ْث يَ ْجعَلُ ِر‬
“Allah knows best upon whom to bestow His message.” (6:124)
3. They are infallible in the sense that they do not make mistakes when conveying Allah’s
message to the people and executing what Allah has revealed to them.
4. Truthfulness: They are truthful in their words and deeds, as the Qur’an states,

َ ‫ق ٱ ْل ُم ْر‬
٢٥ ‫سلُو َن‬ َ ‫ٱلر ْح َم ٰـ ُن َو‬
َ ‫ص َد‬ َ ‫َه ٰـذَا َما َو‬
َّ ‫ع َد‬
“This is what the Most promised, and the messengers told the truth.” (36:52)
5. Patience and Perseverance: They called to Allah’s religion, bringing good news and
giving warning, and were subjected to various forms of harm and hardships, but they
patiently bore all that for the sake of making the word of Allah reign supreme, as the
Qur’an states,
 ۚ ‫ست َ ْع ِجل لَّ ُه ْم‬
ْ َ ‫س ِل َو ًَل ت‬
ُ ‫ٱلر‬ ۟ ُ ‫صبَ َر أ ُ ۟ول‬
ُّ ‫وا ٱ ْل َع ْز ِم ِم َن‬ ْ ‫فَٱ‬
َ ‫ص ِب ْر َك َما‬
“So be steadfast as the Messengers with firm resolve were also steadfast.” (46:35)

A Muslim’s Beliefs regarding Jesus:

1. He was one of the greatest of Allah’s messengers and one of those held in high esteem.
Indeed, he is one of the messengers Allah describes in the Qur’an as having ‘firm
resolve’, namely, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, may Allah’s peace and blessings be
upon all of them. About these prophets, the Qur’an states,
َ ‫سى ٱب ِْن َم ْريَ َم َۖ َوأ َ َخذْنَا مِ ْن ُهم مِيث َ ٰـقاا‬
٧ ‫َلِي ًًۭۭاا‬ ٍۢ ُّ‫َوإِذْ أ َ َخذْنَا ِم َن ٱلنَّبِيِـۧنَ مِيث َ ٰـقَ ُه ْم َومِ نكَ َومِن ن‬
َ ‫وح َوإِب ٰ َْرهِي َم َو ُمو‬
َ ‫س ٰى َوعِي‬
“We made a covenant with all the Prophets – with you and with Noah and Abraham and
Moses and Jesus son of Mary – We made a binding covenant with them.” (33:7)
2. He was a mere human being with no divine attributes whatsoever, whom Almighty Allah
sent to guide the Children of Israel and supported with a number of miracles, as the
Qur’an states,
٢٥ ‫س ٰ َٓرءِ ي َل‬
ْ ِ‫إِنْ ه َُو إِ ًَّل عَ ْب ٌد أ َ ْنعَ ْمنَا عَلَ ْي ِه َو َجعَلْنَ ٰـه ُ َمث َ ًۭ اًل ِلبَن ِٓى إ‬
“He is only a slave on whom we bestowed Our blessing and whom We made an example for
the tribe of Israel.” (43:59)
He never ordered his people to take him and his mother, Mary, as gods besides Allah; he only
told them to do as Allah commanded him to tell them:
۟ ‫عبُد‬
ۚ ‫ُوا ٱللَّهَ َربِى َو َربَّكُ ْم‬ ْ ‫َما قُ ْلتُ لَ ُه ْم إِ ًَّل َما ٓ أ َ َم ْرتَنِى بِ ِٓۦه أ َ ِن ٱ‬
“Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord.” (5:117)
3. Muslims believe that Jesus ‫ ﷺ‬was one of the greatest of Allah’s messengers, that he had
no divine attributes whatsoever and that he was neither killed, nor crucified.

4. He was the son of Mary, a chaste, pious and truthful virgin who entirely devoted herself
to the worship of Allah. She gave birth to Jesus after miraculously conceiving him
without a human father, his likeness in this being as that of Adam, as the Qur’an states,
٢٥ ‫اب ث ُ َّم قَا َل لَ ۥه ُ كُن فَ َيكُو ُن‬
ٍۢ ‫س ٰى عِن َد ٱللَّ ِه َك َمث َ ِل َءا َد َم َۖ َخلَقَ ۥه ُ مِن ت َُر‬
َ ‫ِإنَّ َمث َ َل عِي‬
“The likeness of Jesus in Allah’s sight is the same as Adam. He created him from earth and
then He said to him, ‘Be!’ and he was.” (3:59)
5. There was no prophet between him and Muhammad r. In fact, Jesus u gave the good
news of the advent of Prophet Muhammad , as the Qur’an states,
 ٍۢ ‫ول يَتْتِى‬
‫مِن بَ ْعدِى‬ ُ ‫ش ٍۢ ارا ِب َر‬
ٍۢ ‫س‬ ِ َ‫َى ِمنَ ٱلت َّْو َر ٰة ِة َو ُمب‬ َّ ‫سو ُل ٱل َّل ِه ِإلَ ْيكُم ُّمص َِد ًۭ اقا ِل َما بَ ْينَ يَد‬ ُ ‫س ٰ َٓرءِ ي َل ِإنِى َر‬ َ ‫َو ِإذْ قَا َل عِي‬
ْ ‫سى ٱ ْب ُن َم ْريَ َم يَ ٰـبَن ِٓى ِإ‬
٥ ‫س ْح ًۭ ٌر ُّمبِي ًۭ ٌن‬ َ ۟
ِ ‫ت قالُوا َه ٰـذا‬ َ َ َ
ِ ‫س ُم ٓۥهُ أ ْح َم ُد َۖ فلَ َّما َجا ٓ َءهُم بِٱ ْلبَيِنَ ٰـ‬
ْ ‫ٱ‬
“And when Jesus son of Mary said, ‘O Children of Israel, I am the Messenger of Allah to
you, confirming the Torah which came before me and giving you the good news of a
Messenger to come after me whose name is Ahmad.’ When he brought them the Clear
Signs, they said, ‘This is downright magic.’” (61:6)
6. We believe in the miracles he performed by Allah’s permission, such as his ability to heal
the lepers, bringing dead people back to life and informing his people of what they ate
and stored in their houses, all by Allah’s permission. Allah gave him the ability to
perform such miracles to prove he was a true prophet who came with a divine message
from his Lord.
7. A person will note be considered a true believer unless he believes that Jesus was Allah’s
servant and messenger and strongly rejects the false statements Jews make about him and
which Allah dismiss as untrue. He must al strongly reject the Christian beliefs about
Jesus, who have gone far astray for taking him and his mother as gods besides Allah,
claiming that he was the son of God or adopting the doctrine of the Trinity, referring to
Allah as “the third of three”. Glorified is He and High Exalted above what they say!
8. He was neither killed, nor crucified; instead, he was raised up by Allah to heaven. In fact,
Allah gave someone else Jesus’ appearance, causing everyone to believe that Jesus was
crucified. The Qur’an says about this,
۟ ُ ‫ٱختَلَف‬
‫وا فِي ِه لَفِى ش ٍَۢك‬ ْ َ‫صلَبُوهُ َولَ ٰـكِن شُبِهَ لَ ُه ْم ۚ َوإِنَّ ٱلَّذِين‬ َ ‫سى ٱ ْبنَ َم ْريَ َم َرسُو َل ٱللَّ ِه َو َما قَتَلُوهُ َو َما‬ َ ‫َوقَ ْو ِل ِه ْم إِنَّا قَت َ ْلنَا ٱلْ َمسِي َح عِي‬
(١٢١ ‫يزا َحكِي اًۭما‬ ٍۢ
‫( ) َبل َّرفَ َعه ُ ٱللَّهُ إِلَ ْي ِه ۚ َوكَانَ ٱللَّهُ ع َِز ا‬١٢٧ ‫ًۭ ِن ۚ َو َما قَتَلُو ُه َيقِيناا‬ َّ ‫ع ٱل‬ َ ‫ِم ْنهُ ۚ َما لَ ُهم ِبِۦه ِمنْ ِع ْلم ِإ ًَّل ِٱت َبا‬
َ ‫علَيْ ِه ْم‬
(‫ش ِهي ًۭ ادا‬ ِ ‫) َوإِن ِمنْ أ َ ْه ِل ٱ ْل ِكت َ ٰـ‬
َ ‫ب إِ ًَّل لَيُ ْؤ ِمنَنَّ ِبِۦه قَ ْب َل َم ْوتِِۦه َۖ َويَ ْو َم ٱ ْلقِيَ ٰـ َم ِة يَكُو ُن‬

“And their saying, ‘We killed the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah.’
They did not kill him and they did not crucify him but it was made to seem so to them.
Those who argue about him are in doubt about it. They have no real knowledge of it, just
conjecture. They did not really kill him. Allah raised him up to Himself. Allah is Almighty,
All-Wise. There is not one of the People of the Book who will not believe in him before he
dies; and on the Day of Rising he will be a witness against them.” (4:157-59)
In this way, Allah ‫ ﷻ‬protected him and raised Him to heaven. He will eventually return to earth
towards the end of the world, rule by Muhammad’s law; then he will die and be buried, and will
eventually be resurrected, like all human beings, as the Qur’an states,
٢٢ ‫َارةا أ ُ ْخ َر ٰى‬
َ ‫ِم ْن َها َخلَ ْقنَ ٰـكُ ْم َوفِي َها نُعِي ُدكُ ْم َو ِم ْن َها نُ ْخ ِر ُجكُ ْم ت‬
“From it We created you, to it We will return you, and from it We will bring you forth a
second time.” (2o:55)