The Prophet, An Example for Humanity

Mankind was one community, and Allah sent Prophets as bearers of glad tidings and as warners, and revealed with them the scripture with the truth, to judge between people concerning that wherein they differed. (2:213)

Allah designated certain persons as His prophets, to be living repositories of direct knowledge from Him. As Allah’s representatives on earth, the prophets (peace be upon them all) were obliged to consistently affirm the reality of the all-embracing dominion of Allah. They were sent as warners to people whose customs deviated from divinely prescribed behavior, in order to reinforce a sanctified relationship between God and mankind. The main vehicle for this sacred connection was the covenant, the ageless pact wherein human beings acknowledge the sovereignty of their Lord, who in turn reciprocates with His promise of divine guidance and protection. Allah established this spiritual contract in human society with Adam (saws), whom He appointed as His first prophet. The divine covenant was subsequently renewed under the leadership of the prophets who succeeded Adam (saws) throughout the course of human spiritual development.

Prophet Muhammad
Muhammad is not the father of any man among you, but he is the Messenger of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets; and Allah has knowledge of all things. (Qur'an 33:40)

The last prophet Allah sent to humankind was Muhammad of Arabia (saws). He lived among a people taken to worshipping a variety of idol-deities, having fallen away from their original ancestors’ faith in Allah. In his native Mecca, the Kaaba had been built centuries earlier by Abraham (saws) and his son, Prophet Ismail (saws), as a sanctified destination for anyone who wished to venerate their Lord. By Muhammad’s (saws) time, it was being used as a center for pagan worship and pilgrimage. Social mores had likewise degenerated since Ismail’s (saws) time. Reversion to polytheism had its counterpoint in the fragmentation of the tribal Arabian culture. Interfamilial rivalry had become the norm, and loathsome practices such as female infanticide were common.

Muhammad (saws) never ascribed to the polytheistic beliefs of the majority of his people, and led a simple, meditative life. At the age of forty he received the call from Allah to be the last of His prophets on earth. For the first three years of his ministry he had a handful of followers, after which he received the command to spread Allah’s light beyond his circle of family and friends. At the conclusion of his ministry the Kaaba had been restored to its original purpose, civil and moral standards based on Allah’s prescriptions were in place, and the message he brought radiated throughout the Arabian Peninsula.
The spiritual energy housed in the person of Muhammad (saws) continues to abide in the world, more than a thousand years after he physically passed from this earth. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, Islam is the fastest growing religion in the United States and has more followers than any other single faith in the history of the human race.

All of the prophets attained high degrees of virtuous traits commensurate with the needs of their people. As Allah revealed more of His wisdom, those who carried the news received an increased capacity to bear it, because the knowledge they transmitted was designed to be reflected in their living example. The station of prophethood reached maturity in Muhammad (saws). The spiritual and social cohesion brought about through his work provided favorable circumstances for the keeping of permanent, unadulterated records. Therefore, the latest Scripture bestowed upon mankind, the Holy Qur'an, was duly recorded and compiled. Unlike the earlier Scriptures, the Qur'an has never been altered since it issued forth from the mouth of Muhammad (saws).

The perfect rendering of Allah’s knowledge in the Qur'an finds its living correspondent in the last Prophet (saws), who exemplifies the ideal inner and outer reality of the human being. Muhammad (saws) fully actualizes the outer form and the inner content of the knowledge of Himself which Allah chose to impart to man. All of the virtuous traits which Allah encourages humans to strive to attain are contained within his being. In other words, Muhammad (saws) is the Qur'an. His reality is the synthesis of Ilm-al-Yaqin, knowledge through communication, Ayn-al-Yaqin, knowledge through experience, and Haqq-al-Yaqin, knowledge through direct communion with Allah. The complete scope of Allah’s greatest favor to us, which is insight into the ultimate truth.

This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion. (Qur'an 5:3)

In Muhammad (saws), the circle of human development is completed. From His face, His essence, Allah created the Light of Muhammad, which is the spiritual essence of all believers. Allah reinforced the earthly manifestation of His light continuously throughout the history of mankind by sending a succession of prophets to help secure the truth within the hearts of believers. The light-circuit was clinched with the arrival of Muhammad (saws) in physical form on the earth, as he was the material manifestation of the primordial energy with which Allah chose to grace the human being. Muhammad (saws) exemplifies the spiritual knowledge and demeanor of insan-i-kamil, the perfected human being. He is both the prototype and the ultimate actualization of the human model which Allah had in mind at the outset of creation.

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