اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ بِجَمِیعِ مَحَامِدِه کُلِّهَا عَلَی جَمِیعِ نِعَمِهِ کُلِّهَا… اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ مالِکِ الْمُلْکِ مُجْرِی الْفُلْکِ مُسَخِّرِ الرِّیاحِ فالِقِ الاْصْباحِ دَیّانِ الدّینِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمینَ اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ عَلی حِلْمِهِ بَعْدَ عِلمِهِ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ عَلی عَفْوِهِ بَعْدَ قُدْرَتِهِ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ عَلی طُولِ اَناتِهِ فی غَضَبِهِ وَهُوَ قادِرٌ عَلی ما یُریدُ
Praise is to God with all his praises, for all his blessings. . . Praise is to God, the owner of the property, the operator of the orbit, the bender of the wind, the glory of the morning, the religion of the beliefs, lord of the worlds; praise is to God for his dream after his knowledge and thank God for forgiveness after his power, and praise be to God for his long patience in his wrath and he is capable to do what he wills
و نشهد أن لا اله الا الله وحده لا شریک له، و أَنَّ محمداً عبده و رسوله ارسله بالهدی و دین الحق لیظهره علی الدین کله و لو کره المشرکون اوصیکم عبادالله و نفسی بتقوی الله و اتباع امره و نهیه، و اخوفکم من عقابه
And we bear witness that there is no god but God alone, without partner, and that Muhammad is his servant and messenger, he sent him with guidance and the religion of truth, that he might proclaim it over all religion, even if the polytheists hated it.
Common principles in the life of the prophets
Principle 3: The cultural balance and understanding of the prophets with the people
The divine prophets were human beings, because there must be harmony between the prophets and the people from whom they receive the message of God, so those divine messages might be more effective. The holy Qur’an says:
وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا مِنْ قَبْلِكَ إِلَّا رِجَالًا نُوحِي إِلَيْهِمْ فَاسْأَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ؛
We did not send [any apostles] before you except as men to whom We revealed. Ask the People of the Reminder if you do not know. (Nahl: 43)
وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا مِنْ قَبْلِكَ إِلَّا رِجَالًا نُوحِي إِلَيْهِمْ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْقُرَى…
We did not send [any apostles] before you except as men from among the people of the towns, to whom We revealed. (Yousef: 109)
This proportion is so important that God in the holy Qur’an, in response to those who objected to why the prophet of God is not an angel, says that if we wanted to send angels as prophets to the people of the world, we would bring them in the form of human beings:
وَقَالُوا لَوْلَا أُنْزِلَ عَلَيْهِ مَلَكٌ وَلَوْ أَنْزَلْنَا مَلَكًا لَقُضِيَ الْأَمْرُ ثُمَّ لَا يُنْظَرُونَ؛ وَلَوْ جَعَلْنَاهُ مَلَكًا لَجَعَلْنَاهُ رَجُلًا وَلَلَبَسْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ مَا يَلْبِسُونَ؛
They say, ‘Why has not an angel been sent down to him?’ Were We to send down an angel, the matter would surely be decided, and then they would not be granted any respite. Had We made him an angel, We would have surely made him a man, and We would have surely confounded them just as they confound [the truth now]. (An’am: 8-9)
And the great emphasis of the prophets on their humanity is also understandable in this regard, that the people who are addressed the mission of the prophets, know them as their own kind, to accept their words and follow their personality. The holy Qur’an says from the words of the prophets:
قَالَتْ لَهُمْ رُسُلُهُمْ إِنْ نَحْنُ إِلَّا بَشَرٌ مِثْلُكُمْ وَلَكِنَّ اللَّهَ يَمُنُّ عَلَى مَنْ يَشَاءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ…
Their apostles said to them, ‘Indeed we are just human beings like yourselves; but Allah favours whomever of His servants that He wishes. (Ebrahim: 11)
And it says from the words of the Prophet of Islam:
قُلْ إِنَّمَا أَنَا بَشَرٌ مِثْلُكُمْ يُوحَى إِلَيَّ أَنَّمَا إِلَهُكُمْ إِلَهٌ وَاحِدٌ …
Say, ‘I am just a human being like you. It has been revealed to me that your God is the One God… (Kahf: 110)
Since God’s aim of sending messengers is to convey the message of happiness to human beings, there must naturally be a cultural understanding between the prophets and their people. So the holy Qur’an refers to the language of the prophets with their people and says:
وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا مِنْ رَسُولٍ إِلَّا بِلِسَانِ قَوْمِهِ لِيُبَيِّنَ لَهُمْ؛
We did not send any apostle except with the language of his people, so that he might make [Our messages] clear to them. (Ebrahim: 4)
This is because the common language in conveying the divine message is one of the essential cultural understandings between the Prophet and the people.
And God instructs the holy Prophet to remind his people of this cultural acquaintance and understanding by reminding them of his years of life among the people before he was chosen as a prophet, and to say:
فَقَدْ لَبِثْتُ فِيكُمْ عُمُرًا مِنْ قَبْلِهِ أَفَلَا تَعْقِلُونَ؛
For I have dwelled among you for a lifetime before it. Do you not exercise your reason?’ (Yoones: 16)
Principle 4: The common legal personality of the prophets
Although the prophets had their own true personality are differed from each other in this respect; however all prophets have a common goal and message and have a common legal personality. It refers to the true personality of the prophets that the Qur’an speaks of the superiority of some over others and says:
تِلْكَ الرُّسُلُ فَضَّلْنَا بَعْضَهُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ مِنْهُمْ مَنْ كَلَّمَ اللَّهُ وَرَفَعَ بَعْضَهُمْ دَرَجَاتٍ وَآتَيْنَا عِيسَى ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ الْبَيِّنَاتِ وَأَيَّدْنَاهُ بِرُوحِ الْقُدُسِ …
These are the apostles, some of whom We gave an advantage over others: of them are those to whom Allah spoke and some of them He raised in rank, and We gave Jesus, son of Mary, manifest proofs and strengthened him with the Holy Spirit. (Baghare: 253)
However when the holy Qur’an speaks of the legal personality of the prophets, believing in all of them is one of the necessary beliefs for people of faith and says:
وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ كُلٌّ آمَنَ بِاللَّهِ وَمَلَائِكَتِهِ وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ لَا نُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ أَحَدٍ مِنْ رُسُلِهِ؛
The Apostle and the faithful have faith in what has been sent down to him from his Lord. Each [of them] has faith in Allah, His angels, His scriptures and His apostles. [They declare,] ‘We make no distinction between any of His apostles.’ And they say, ‘We hear and obey. Our Lord, forgive us, and toward You is the return.’ (Baghare: 285)
And the almighty God commands all people, along with faith in God and the holy Prophet of Islam, to believe in all the prophets and messengers and says:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا آمِنُوا بِاللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَالْكِتَابِ الَّذِي نَزَّلَ عَلَى رَسُولِهِ وَالْكِتَابِ الَّذِي أَنْزَلَ مِنْ قَبْلُ وَمَنْ يَكْفُرْ بِاللَّهِ وَمَلَائِكَتِهِ وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ فَقَدْ ضَلَّ ضَلَالاً بَعِيداً.
O you who have faith! Have faith in Allah and His Apostle and the Book that He has sent down to His Apostle and the Book He had sent down earlier. Whoever disbelieves in Allah and His angels, His Books and His apostles and the Last Day, has certainly strayed into far error. (Nesa: 136)
And because of this common legal personality, the denial of each of the prophets is considered equivalent to the denial of all the prophets. Regarding the tribes who denied their prophet, the holy Qur’an enumerates it as denying all the prophets and says:
كَذَّبَ أَصْحَابُ الْأَيْكَةِ الْمُرْسَلِينَ؛
The inhabitants of Aykah impugned the apostles, (Sho’ara: 176)
كَذَّبَتْ قَوْمُ لُوطٍ الْمُرْسَلِينَ؛
The people of Lot impugned the apostles; (Sho’ara: 160)
كَذَّبَتْ ثَمُودُ الْمُرْسَلِينَ؛
[The people of] Thamud impugned the apostles; (Sho’ara: 141)
كَذَّبَتْ عَادٌ الْمُرْسَلِينَ؛
[The people of] ‘Ad impugned the apostles, (Sho’ara: 123)
كَذَّبَتْ قَوْمُ نُوحٍ الْمُرْسَلِينَ؛
The people of Noah impugned the apostles; (Sho’ara: 105)