Praise of the Prophet and His Qualities

And recall when Allah took a covenant from the Prophets: ‘This is the Book and the Wisdom which I have given you. But should a Prophet come to you confirming that which is already with you, you shall believe in him and shall help him. So, Allah asked: ‘Do you agree and accept to take…

Written by

Dr WAQUAR ANWAR

Published on

July 23, 2024

The Qur’an describes a covenant taken by Allah from the souls of all the Prophets that if a Prophet came in another Prophet’s tenure of prophethood on earth, he was bound to accept and help that other prophet. That incumbent prophet will, however, confirm the books and the divine wisdom. So, in that case, there would be no contradiction in messages.

“And recall when Allah took a covenant from the Prophets: ‘This is the Book and the Wisdom which I have given you. But should a Prophet come to you confirming that which is already with you, you shall believe in him and shall help him. So, Allah asked: ‘Do you agree and accept to take up the burden of the covenant?’ They answered: ‘We agree,’ He said: ‘Then bear witness; and I will be with you among the witness.” (3:81)

Some experts of the Qur’anic exegesis have opined that the Prophet referred to in the expression “should a Prophet come to you confirming that which is already with you, you shall believe in him and shall help him” is Prophet Muhammad, may Allah bless and grant him peace. So, every Prophet was informed about the last prophet which information they passed onwards. A similar reference to the covenant is in the following verse of the Qur’an.

“And remember when We took a covenant from the prophets, as well as from you ‘O Prophet,’ and from Nuh, Ibrahim, Musa, and Isa, son of Maryam. We did take a solemn covenant from all of them.” (The Qur’an 33:7)

Experts have noted the distinction of the last Prophet that Allah has not called him by name, although He did so in the case of other prophets. The following verse of the Qur’an describes the chain of revelations, bearing witness of angels and, above all, Allah Himself.

We have revealed to you as We revealed to Nuh and the Prophets after him, and We revealed to Ibrahim, Ismael, Ishaq, Yaqoob and the offspring of Yaqoob, and Isa and Ayyub, and Yunus, and Haroon and Suleman, and We gave to Da’ud Zaboor. We revealed to the Messengers We have already told you of, and to the Messengers We have not told you of; and to Musa Allah spoke directly. These Messengers were sent as bearers of glad tidings and as warners so that after sending the Messengers people may have no plea against Allah. Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise. (Whether people believe or not) Allah bears witness that whatever He has revealed to you, He has revealed with His knowledge, and the angels bear witness to it too, though the witness of Allah is sufficient. (The Qur’an 4:163-166)

Hence, hell-fire would be the fate of the enemies of the Prophet where they will lament that they did not obey Allah and His Prophet. “On the Day their faces are constantly flipped in the Fire, they will cry, “Oh! If only we had obeyed Allah and obeyed the Messenger.” (The Qur’an 33:66]

Allah reaffirms in the following verse also addressing the Prophet in the person (to you) that the verses of the Qur’an recited to him are from Him and that he is His prophet. “These are the verses of Allah which We recite to you, [O Prophet], in truth. And indeed, you are from among the Messengers.” (The Qur’an 2:252)

Some experts have opined that the pronoun ‘his’ in the following verse refers to Prophet Muhammad, may Allah bless and grant him peace. It means that Ibrahim has been referred to as belonging to the same way and same party/group as Muhammad. However, a majority of experts in exegesis opine that the pronoun ‘his’ refers to Nuh, meaning that all these prophets belonged to the same chain of faith.

“And surely of his sect indeed was Ibrahim (Abraham).” (The Qur’an 37:83)