Fourth: Belief in the Messengers..
The belief in prophets and messengers is the fourth pillar of faith.
Its meaning: Belief in the messengers and prophets, whom Allah Almighty named in His Book, and belief that Allah Almighty has sent messengers besides them, and prophets whose number and names are known only to Allah Almighty, who is the Most High.
Allah said:
قال جل وعلا "وَلَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا رُسُلًا مِّن قَبْلِكَ مِنْهُم مَّن قَصَصْنَا عَلَيْكَ وَمِنْهُم مَّن لَّمْ نَقْصُصْ عَلَيْكَ.." .سورة غافر / آية : 78 .
"And We have already sent messengers before you. Among them are those [whose stories] We have related to you, and among them are those [whose stories] We have not related to you. "
وقال تعالى"وَإِن مِّنْ أُمَّةٍ إِلَّا خَلَا فِيهَا نَذِيرٌ" .سورة فاطر / آية : 24
"Verily We have sent you with the truth, a bearer of glad tidings and a warner. And there never was a nation but a warner had passed among them."
The difference between the Prophet and the Messenger:
The Prophet: A male from among the children of Adam, to whom Allah Almighty revealed an order.
If he is commanded to communicate it to the people, then he is a prophet and a messenger.
And if he is not commanded to inform it, then he is a prophet, not a messenger.
Accordingly, every Messenger is a Prophet, and not every Prophet is a Messenger.
The example of the Prophet only: Joshua bin Nun, the companion of Moses and his boy- peace be upon them - was foretold by Allah Almighty, and he succeeded Moses and Haron in the Children of Israel, and he was the one who invaded and conquered the Holy House of Allah.
The example of the Prophet, the Messenger: Muhammad bin Abdullah - may God's prayers and peace be upon him and his family -.
Prophets and Messengers mentioned in the Quraan:
Twenty-five prophets and messengers are mentioned in the Noble Quraan, and they are:
Adam, Noah, Idris, Salih, Ibrahim, Hood, Lot, Yunus, Ismael, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Ayoub, Shuaib, Moses, Haron, Al-Yasa, Dhul-Kifl, Dawood, Zachariah, Solaiman, El yas, Yahya, Allah's blessings and peace be upon them all.
"وَتِلْكَ حُجَّتُنَا آتَيْنَاهَا إِبْرَاهِيمَ عَلَى قَوْمِهِ نَرْفَعُ دَرَجَاتٍ مَّن نَّشَاءُ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ حَكِيمٌ عَلِيمٌ *وَوَهَبْنَا لَهُ إِسْحَاقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ كُلًّا هَدَيْنَا وَنُوحًا هَدَيْنَا مِن قَبْلُ وَمِن ذُرِّيَّتِهِ دَاوُودَ وَسُلَيْمَانَ وَأَيُّوبَ وَيُوسُفَ وَمُوسَى وَهَارُونَ وَكَذَلِكَ نَجْزِي الْمُحْسِنِينَ*وَزَكَرِيَّا وَيَحْيَى وَعِيسَى وَإِلْيَاسَ كُلٌّ مِّنَ الصَّالِحِينَ*وَإِسْمَاعِيلَ وَالْيَسَعَ وَيُونُسَ وَلُوطًا وَكُلًّا فَضَّلْنَا عَلَى الْعَالَمِينَ " .سورة الأنعام / آية : 83 ـ 86 .
"And We gave to him [i.e., Abraham] Isaac and Jacob - all [of them] We guided. And Noah, We guided before; and among his descendants, David and Solomon and Job and Joseph and Moses and Aaron. Thus do We reward the doers of good..And Zechariah and John and Jesus and Elias - and all were of the righteous..And Ishmael and Elisha and Jonah and Lot - and all [of them] We preferred over the worlds."
قال تعالى " وَإِلَى عَادٍ أَخَاهُمْ هُودًا ..."
"And to ‘Âd (people We sent) their brother Hûd".
"And to Thamûd (people We sent) their brother Sâlih".
وقال تعالى"وَإِلَى مَدْيَنَ أَخَاهُمْ شُعَيْبًا ... "
"And to the Madyan (Midian) people (We sent) their brother Shu‘aib."
وقال تعالى " إِنَّ اللّهَ اصْطَفَى آدَمَ وَنُوحًا ... " .سورة آل عمران / آية : 33
"Indeed, Allāh chose Adam and Noah…"
وقال تعالى " وَإِسْمَاعِيلَ وَإِدْرِيسَ وَذَا الْكِفْلِ كُلٌّ مِّنَ الصَّابِرِينَ " .سورة الأنبياء / آية : 85.
"And [mention] Ishmael and Idrees and Dhul-Kifl; all were of the patient. "
وقال تعالى "مُّحَمَّدٌ رَّسُولُ اللَّهِ وَالَّذِينَ مَعَهُ أَشِدَّاءُ عَلَى الْكُفَّارِ رُحَمَاءُ بَيْنَهُمْ... " .سورة الفتح / آية : 29 .
"Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) is the Messenger of Allâh. And those who are with him are severe against disbelievers, and merciful among themselves".
There should be belief in these messengers and prophets, in their messages and their prophethood in detail, meaning that any person would not deny any prophet, or deny his message.. If one denies one messenger, or deny his message, then he is a polytheist.
As for the prophets and messengers whom the Quraan did not tell us, we have been commanded to believe in them in general.
It is not for us to narrate the message or prophecy of anyone, as long as the Quraan did not mention it among the prophets and messengers, and the prophet, peace be upon him, did not inform us of it.
Faith / pg: 47.
Messengers of strong will..
The Messengers of strong will are five, as many scholars said:
Mohammed, Ibrahim, Moses, Noah, and Eissa, peace be upon them all.
Strong will means that they are Serious and diligent.
قال تعالى "فَاصْبِرْ كَمَا صَبَرَ أُوْلُوا الْعَزْمِ مِنَ الرُّسُلِ ..." سورة الأحقاف / آية : 35 .
"Therefore be patient (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) as did the Messengers of strong will".
قال تعالى "وَإِذْ أَخَذْنَا مِنَ النَّبِيِّينَ مِيثَاقَهُمْ وَمِنكَ وَمِن نُّوحٍ وَإِبْرَاهِيمَ وَمُوسَى وَعِيسَى ابْنِ مَرْيَمَ.." .سورة الأحزاب / آية : 7 .
"And [mention, O Muḥammad], when We took from the prophets their covenant and from you and from Noah and Abraham and Moses and Jesus, the son of Mary."
We must believe that Allah has sent His messengers to the creation to bring them good tidings and warn them.. they tell them about Allah's pleasure, reward, and paradise, if they believe in Him, Glory be to Him, and His Messengers, and obey Him...They warn them of Allah's wrath if they disbelieve and disobey.
.قال عز وجل "وَمَا نُرْسِلُ الْمُرْسَلِينَ إِلَّا مُبَشِّرِينَ وَمُنذِرِينَ فَمَنْ آمَنَ وَأَصْلَحَ فَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ * وَالَّذِينَ كَذَّبُوا بِآيَاتِنَا يَمَسُّهُمُ الْعَذَابُ بِمَا كَانُوا يَفْسُقُونَ" سورة الأنعام / آية : 48 ، 49 .
"And We send not the messengers except as bringers of good tidings and warners. So whoever believes and reforms - there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve..
But those who deny Our verses - the punishment will touch them for their defiant disobedience."
We must believe that all of these messengers were sent by Allah to achieve a basic purpose, which is to “worship Allah,” the Mighty and Sublime, and to unify Him.
قال تعالى"وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا مِن قَبْلِكَ مِن رَّسُولٍ إِلَّا نُوحِي إِلَيْهِ أَنَّهُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنَا فَاعْبُدُونِ".سورة الأنبياء / آية : 25 .
"And We sent not before you any messenger except We revealed to him that, "There is no deity except Me, so worship Me. "
We must also believe that all of Allah's messengers were men.
قال تعالى "وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا مِن قَبْلِكَ إِلَّا رِجَالًا نُّوحِي إِلَيْهِمْ..." .سورة الأنبياء / آية : 7 .
"And We sent not before you, [O Muḥammad], except men to whom We revealed [the message".
We must believe that Allah, may He be glorified, did not create them with natures that differ from other human natures, rather Allah, may He be glorified, has chosen them from among the men who eat and drink, walk in the marketplaces, sleep and sit. They have husbands and offspring, and they are subjected to harm, and they are oppressed and persecution comes upon them, and that they die, and they may be killed unjustly, and that they suffer pain, disease and all other human symptoms that do not lessen their ranks among people.
As Allah said:
قوله تعالى "وَمَا مُحَمَّدٌ إِلَّا رَسُولٌ قَدْ خَلَتْ مِن قَبْلِهِ الرُّسُلُ أَفَإِن مَّاتَ أَوْ قُتِلَ انقَلَبْتُمْ عَلَى أَعْقَابِكُمْ وَمَن يَنقَلِبْ عَلَى عَقِبَيْهِ فَلَن يَضُرَّ اللَّهَ شَيْئًا وَسَيَجْزِي اللَّهُ الشَّاكِرِينَ". سورة آل عمران / آية :144 .
"Muḥammad is not but a messenger. [Other] messengers have passed on before him. So if he was to die or be killed, would you turn back on your heels [to unbelief]? And he who turns back on his heels will never harm Allāh at all; but Allāh will reward the grateful. "
"And We never sent before you (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) any of the Messengers but verily, they ate food and walked in the markets".
وقوله تعالى "وَلَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا رُسُلًا مِّن قَبْلِكَ وَجَعَلْنَا لَهُمْ أَزْوَاجًا وَذُرِّيَّةً..".سورة الرعد / آية : 38 .
"And We have already sent messengers before you and assigned to them wives and descendants."
The, prophet, peace be upon him, used to get sick and in pain, and he was afflicted by heat, cold, hunger, thirst, anger and fatigue…
We must believe that Allah supported them with dazzling miracles, and apparent verses, which indicate their sincerity in what they brought from their Allah, the Blessed and Exalted.
The miracles are: What Allah does through the hands of His Messengers and prophets from the supernatural habits that they challenge people by them.
We believe in everything that is mentioned in the Noble Quraan, and in what came in the authentic hadiths of the prophet.
We must believe that Allah preferred some messengers to others.
لقوله تعالى "تِلْكَ الرُّسُلُ فَضَّلْنَا بَعْضَهُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ مِّنْهُم مَّن كَلَّمَ اللَّهُ وَرَفَعَ بَعْضَهُمْ دَرَجَاتٍ" . سورة البقرة / آية : 253
"Those Messengers! We preferred some of them to others; to some of them Allâh spoke (directly); others He raised to degrees (of honour)."
We believe that the best of them and the best of mankind is our Prophet Muhammad bin Abdullah - peace be upon him and his family
* فعن أبي هريرة ـ رضي الله عنه ـ أن رسول الله ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم قال "أنا سَيِّدُ ولَدِ آدَمَ يَومَ القِيامَةِ، وأَوَّلُ مَن يَنْشَقُّ عنْه القَبْرُ، وأَوَّلُ شافِعٍ وأَوَّلُ مُشَفَّعٍ."
"I shall be pre-eminent amongst the descendants of Adam on the Day of Resurrection and I will be the first intercessor and the first whose intercession will be accepted (by Allah)." Moslem.
We must believe that our Messenger, peace be upon him, is the last of the prophets.
وَلَكِن رَّسُولَ اللَّهِ وَخَاتَمَ النَّبِيِّينَ.." .سورة الأحزاب / آية : 40
"but [he is] the Messenger of Allāh and seal [i.e., last] of the prophets."
وقال صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم "مَثَلِي ومَثَلُ الأنْبِياءِ مِن قَبْلِي كَمَثَلِ رَجُلٍ ابْتَنَى بُيُوتًا فأحْسَنَها وأَجْمَلَها وأَكْمَلَها، إلَّا مَوْضِعَ لَبِنَةٍ مِن زاوِيَةٍ مِن زَواياها، فَجَعَلَ النَّاسُ يَطُوفُونَ ويُعْجِبُهُمُ البُنْيانُ فيَقولونَ: ألّا وضَعْتَ هاهُنا لَبِنَةً فَيَتِمَّ بُنْيانُكَ فقالَ مُحَمَّدٌ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عليه وسلَّمَ: فَكُنْتُ أنا اللَّبِنَةَ."
Abi Hurairah narrated that the prophet said:
"My similitude in comparison with the other prophets before me, is that of a man who has built a house nicely and beautifully, except for a place of one brick in a corner. The people go about it and wonder at its beauty, but say: 'Would that this brick be put in its place!' So I am that brick, and I am the last of the Prophets
Agreed upon.
We must believe in merely following the Messenger, peace be upon him.
قال تعالى "قُلْ إِن كُنتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللَّهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللَّهُ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ..".سورة آل عمران / آية : 31 .
"Say, [O Muḥammad], "If you should love Allāh, then follow me, [so] Allāh will love you,"
وقال تعالى "فَلَا وَرَبِّكَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ حَتَّى يُحَكِّمُوكَ فِيمَا شَجَرَ بَيْنَهُمْ ثُمَّ لَا يَجِدُوا فِي أَنفُسِهِمْ حَرَجًا مِّمَّا قَضَيْتَ وَيُسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا"سورة النساء / آية : 65 .
"But no, by your Lord, they can have no Faith, until they make you (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) judge in all disputes between them, and find in themselves no resistance against your decisions, and accept (them) with full submission."
We must believe that the prophet, peace be upon him was sent for all people.
قال تعالى "وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا كَافَّةً لِّلنَّاسِ بَشِيرًا وَنَذِيرًا وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ"سورة سبأ / آية : 28
"And We have not sent you except comprehensively to mankind as a bringer of good tidings and a warner."