By: Sadruddin Noorani, Chicago, USA
The lives of some of the best men that ever lived. These were men sent by GOD. Why were they sent, whom were they sent to, and what lessons we can learn from their lives. They are the Prophets. The first of them is Adam (peace be upon him) and the last of them is Muhammad (peace be upon him)
Indeed, in their stories are instructions for people of intelligence. This is not a narration which has been invented, but confirmation of all that came before, a clarification of everything, and a guidance and a mercy for people of faith. (The Noble Quran, Surah Yusuf: 111)
In Islam Prophets are individuals who are believed to have spread God’s message on Earth and to serve as models of ideal human behavior. Some prophets are categorized as messengers (rasūl), those who transmit divine revelations, most of them through interaction with an angel. Muslims believe that many prophets have existed, including several that are not mentioned in the Quran. The Quran states:
“And for every community or a nation, there is a Messenger; when their messenger comes, the matter will be judged between them with justice, and they will not be wronged” (10:47).
The first prophet was also the first human being, Adam. Many of the revelations delivered by the 48 prophets in Judaism and many prophets of Christianity are mentioned in the Quran but usually with Arabic versions of their names. For example, the Jewish “Noah” is referred to as Nuh, “Abraham” is called Ibrahim, “Elisha” is called Alyasa, “Job” is Ayyub, “Jesus” is Issa, etc. The Torah, given to Moses (Musa) is called Tawrat, the Psalms given to David (Dawud) is the Zabur, the Gospel given to Jesus is Injil. The revelation given to Muhammad is called Qur’an. The life of Muhammad (pbuh) is a whole subject in and of itself.
From amongst all of these Prophets of Allah, twenty-five are mentioned in the Quran in multiple chapters as Prophets of great determination.
Islamic name and Biblical name of Prophets:
Ādam (Adam), Idrīs (Enoch), Nūḥ (Noah), Hūd (Eber), Ṣāliḥ (Selah), Ibrāhīm (Abraham), Lūṭ (Lot), Ismāʿīl (Ishmael), Isḥāq (Isaac), Yaʿqūb (Jacob), Yūsuf (Joseph), Ayūb (Job), Shuʿayb (Jethro), Mūsā (Moses), Hārūn (Aaron), Dhu al-Kifl (Ezekiel), Dāūd (David), Sulaymān (Solomon), Yūnus (Jonah), Ilyās (Elijah), Alyasa (Elisha), Zakarīya (Zechariah), Yaḥyā (John), Īssā (Jesus) and Muḥammad (Muhammad) (peace be upon them all).
In the beginning there was only Allah. There was no one with Him and no one before Him. There was no earth spread wide or sky raised high. There was no night or day, no stars, sun or moon.
There were no rivers cutting through the valleys or waves crashing on the shores. There were no rocks rolling down the mountains or trees full of fruits. There were no fishes swimming in the seas or birds gliding in the air. There were no animals to be seen anywhere. So where did it all come from?
Bible Jeremiah 27:5 says:
“With my great power and outstretched arm, I made the earth and its people and the animals that are on it.”
Allah made everything that we see, feel, and hear. He made all that we smell, touch, and taste. He made the Angels so kind and pure and the Jinns were made from fire. God has made many things that we cannot see or hear, but they are out there somewhere. What about us (humans)? It was God who made us too. God made the first man and named him Adam whom He gave wisdom and the ability to think logically as well as the role of khalifah (successor/ruler/leader), who served to prosper the earth and guide mankind towards the right path.
Then God said:
“Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” (Genesis 1:26).
God gathered dust and soil from all over the earth. Some were fine and soft, but some were not. Some were black, some were white, some were pale and some were in between. The soil was mixed with water to make sticky clay into the shape of a man and then God breathed a soul into it. The first thing Adam did was to sneeze into life. Now he was alive, and so his first words were “Praise be to God, (Al-hamdu-lillah).”
“May God bestow His Mercy on you” (Yar-hamu-kallah), said Allah. God cared for Adam from the moment he was made. He bestowed Adam with the intellect and knowledge of the names of everything that makes him able to learn, observe, and understand things.
God showed Adam to the Angels and he greeted them by saying “As-salaam-u-‘Alaykum.” (Peace be upon you).
“Wa-‘alay-kas-salaam-wa-rahmatullah,” (And upon you be peace and the mercy of God), replied the Angels.
The Angels liked Adam, but there was an arrogant one amongst them too. He was known as “Iblees” (Devil/Satan).
Allah told the Angels to prostrate to Adam. It was to show respect and obedience to His command. The Angels did as they were told. But Iblees did not. He was proud and arrogant, who did not do as God commanded, and thus committed the sin of disobedience/misdeed.
“I am better than him,” said the Devil to God.
“You made me from fire and You made him from clay.”
The Devil was then removed from the ranks of angels and he became God’s biggest enemy to remain till the Day of Judgment.
The Devil made plans to stop Adam from doing what God wished. He promised not to rest until he gets what he wants. So God told Adam to be aware of him.
Allah placed Adam in a wonderful garden called Heaven/Paradise (Jannah). It had rivers flowing with water, milk, honey, and pure wine. Heaven is a place where your every wish comes true. Heaven lasts forever. God created a wife for Adam in Heaven to accompany him and become his lifelong partner and friend. Her name was “Hawwa” (Eve) (peace be upon her).
The Qur’an makes it clear that a “mate” was created for Adam, from the same soul.
“It is He Who created you from a single person, and made his mate of like nature, in order that he might dwell with her in love” (Quran 7:189)
In Heaven there was a tree. Allah warned Adam and Eve not to go near it. It was just one tree. There were so many other trees too. This was the moment the Devil was waiting to pursue them to eat from that forbidden tree. He managed to do it when God had such clear orders not to go near it. It seems quite obvious that the Devil tried to make Adam and Eve eat from the forbidden tree.
The Devil crept up to Adam and Eve and said “Shall I show you a tree that will make you live forever?” he whispered. It was a lie, but the Devil did not care. He kept on whispering and never gave up. After lying and lying, the Devil finally got what he wanted, and Adam and Eve ate from that tree.
It was a big mistake. Adam and Eve disobeyed God, repented, felt sorry and asked for forgiveness and God forgave them. But they had to suffer the consequences of their actions by living a mortal life on earth, but their relationship with God was never changed. God always remained accessible to them but sent them to live on Earth. The Devil was sent there too. The battle with him was not over yet. It had only just begun.
Adam and Eve had many children, they were the parents of the entire human race. The Devil continued to trick them but could not always win. Adam was the first Prophet. He reminded his children of God.
Allah sent many Prophets after Adam, guiding people to the truth and warning them about falling for Devil’s tricks. The Prophets were the best of men, their stories and characters were exemplary for mankind. There is so much we can learn from them. All their stories are true and fascinating.
Pride and arrogance always result in loss and destruction. See the Devil who was deprived of his position as the leader of all angels and expelled by God from heaven with curses that will attach to him until the Day of Judgment because of his arrogance and his pride as he refused to prostrate before Adam despite being commanded by his Lord.
Ismailimail 