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Challenge: THERE WAS NO "RASUL (Messenger)" WHO WAS NOT ALSO A "NABY (Prophet)"
By: Abdul Haleem
Rashad Khalifa’s "19" theology is based on the proposition that a person who is NOT a "naby"/prophet can, nevertheless, be a "rasul"/messenger.
Even Khalifa admits that Muhammad (pbuh) was the last NABY/"prophet"!
[33:40] Muhammad was not the father of any man among you. He was a messenger of GOD and the final prophet. GOD is fully aware of all things.
This is Khalifa’s translation of 33:40. http://www.submission.org/suras/sura33.html
In his famous commentary, Ibn Kathir declared:
"This Ayah clearly states that there will be no Prophet after him. IF THERE WILL BE NO PROPHET AFTER HIM THEN THERE WILL SURELY BE NO MESSENGER AFTER HIM EITHER, . . . , for every Messenger is a Prophet . . . ."
Tasfir Ibn Kathir, Vol. 7, pp. 701-712 (Darusallam Publishers, Riyadh, 2000), emphasis added.
Ibn Kathir clearly was not a guided person and could not have correct understanding of the Quran. The verse itself suggests no such thing. He is reading more into it than is there. Furthermore, other clear verses in the Quran prophecies a messenger to come after all the prophets have come. Muhammad was part of the covenant that God made with the prophets about this messenger (3:81, 33:7).
Furhtermore, the following verse shows that as long as there are "children of Adam", i.e. people, on this earth, there will be messengers.
[7:35] O children of Adam, when messengers come to you from among you, and recite My revelations to you, those who take heed and lead a righteous life, will have nothing to fear, nor will they grieve.
A careful reading of the Quran CONFIRMS Ibn Kathir's position:
EVERY PERSON identified in the Quran as a "rasul" was ALSO a "naby"!
The Arabic Prophets Hud, Salih, and Shuaib are each expressly called "rasul" in the Quran. Quran 7;65 (Hud); 7:75, 26:143 (Salih); 26: 178 (Shuaib).
You are making things up! Is this what you call careful study of the Quran!?
[47:24] Why do they not study the Quran carefully? Do they have locks on their minds?
Hud, Saleh and Shuaíb are never called Prophets (Nabi's in Arabic) in the Quran. The verses you are citing refers to them as Messengers (Rasul's in Arabic) or does not refer to them as either in the verses you've listed. Here the verses are in transliterated form for the benefit of the reader.
- 7:65. Wa-ila AAadin akhahum hoodan qala ya qawmi oAAbudoo Allaha ma lakum min ilahin ghayruhu afala tattaqoona
- 7:75. Qala almalao allatheena istakbaroo min qawmihi lillatheena istudAAifoo liman amana minhum ataAAlamoona anna salihan mursalun min rabbihi qaloo inna bima orsila bihi mu/minoona
- 26: 143. Innee lakum rasoolun ameenun
- 26: 178. Innee lakum rasoolun ameenun
Ibrahim, Lut, Nuh, Idris, Ismail, Jonah, Elijah, Jesus, and Muhammad are each expressly called "rasul". Quran 7:104 (Ibrahim); 26:162, 37:133 (Lut); 7:61, 26:105 (Nuh); 19:56 (Idris); 19:54 (Ismail); 37:139 (Jonah); 37:123 (Eljiah); 61:6 (Jesus); 7:157, 33:40 (Muhammad).
Those nine prophets, plus Ishaq, Jacob, Job, David, Aaron, Solomon, Elisha, Zakariya, and John the Baptist are explicitly referred to as "naby". Quran 6:83-90 (Ibrahim, Lut, Nuh, Ismail, Jonah, Elijah, Jesus, Muhammad, Ishaq, Jacob, Job, David, Aaron, Solomon, Elisha, Zakariya, and John the Baptist); see also 19:51-56 (naming Musa, Aaron, Ismail, and Idris as "naby").
As you here correctly point out, the Quran actually gives us all the names of the prophets. In verse 6:89 we read, "Those were the ones to whom we have given the scripture, wisdom, and prophethood." This tells us 1) that prophethood involves being given a scripture, and 2) that the names listed in the preceeding verses, from verse 6:74, specifies those who were given prophethood. Eighteen names are mentioned:
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Noah, David, Solomon, Job, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, Zachariah, John, Jesus, Elias, Ismail, Elisha, Jonah, and Lot. Beyond those 18 names we must add Idris (19:56) and Muhammad, the final prophet (33:40).
Thus, we find that the total number of prophets in the Quran is 20. Moses and Aaron however received the same scripture (37:117 & 21:48). This makes the Quran the 19th and final scripture. Do you think this is a coincidence, considering that the miracle of the Quran is also based on the number 19?
So, if these were the prophets, i.e. messengers that were given scripture, what where Adam, Hud, Saleh, Shu'aib, Zal-Kifl and Luqman, since they did not recieve any scripture? The Quran tells us that they were messengers (26:125, 143, 178 for example).
If each messenger was a prophet, then there would be lots of scriptures that God never told us about. That, as we've seen in the verses above, is not the case. Furthermore it seems kind of futile to send a prophet revealing new revelations and then not inform people about it. There are however lots of messengers God never told us about:
[4:164] Messengers we have told you about, and messengers we never told you about. And GOD spoke to Moses directly.
The following verse also points out that there is such a thing as messengers and such a thing as prophets.
[22:52] We did not send before you any messenger, nor a prophet, without having the devil interfere in his wishes. GOD then nullifies what the devil has done. GOD perfects His revelations. GOD is Omniscient, Most Wise.
As it turns out every single prophet is a messenger, but not every messenger is a prophet. Each person who is sent by God to speak on His behalf IS a messenger of God. What good would a prophet be if he kept the revelations given to him to himself? He has to speak to the people to convey the news, thus, he has to function as a messenger as well. A messenger who is not a prophet is sent to prove and confirm what God has already sent to us (2:101, 3:81).
Messengership = the act of conveying a message from God. This means there is always a messenger involved when God conveys a message to us. Once the message is conveyed, EVERYONE is required to follow that message. Prophethood is not a person, it is an act and function. Messengership is not a person, it is an act and function.
Every prophet has 3 functions - 1) recieving new scripture (prophethood), 2) conveying the information (messengership), and obeying it himself (being righteous).
So, prophethood is about receiving new scripture, not conveying it. This is why every prophet must also be a messenger, but not every messenger is a prophet.
You could see messengers as 'those who make the information from God known to us.' Once the information is known to us we are all required to obey that information. The categories that WILL obey the messenger are the prophets, saints, martyrs and righteous.
Prophets, saints and martyrs are always righteous, but not all righteous people are prophets, saints and martyrs. This shows the brilliance of the verse in covering all people blessed by God, and at the same time make clear that all those blessed by God follows the actual caller, even when they themselves have been commissioned to do the calling.
[3:193] "Our Lord, we have heard a caller calling to faith and proclaiming: `You shall believe in your Lord,' and we have believed. Our Lord, forgive us our transgressions, remit our sins, and let us die as righteous believers.
Many people fail to understand that God's prophets and God 's messengers are required, like everyone else, to believe in and follow the information that comes through them.
So when a prophets recieves new scripture he acts as a prophet. When he conveyes it he acts as a messenger. He is then required to believing in it and follow it as a righteous person, possibly even rising to the status of being a martyr or saint. Two prophets are mentioned as saints in the Quran.
[19:41] Mention in the scripture Abraham; he was a saint, a prophet.
[19:56] And mention in the scripture Idris. He was a saint, a prophet.
And God says that 'some' he blesses with martyrdom, not all.[3:140] If you suffer hardship, the enemy also suffers the same hardship. We alternate the days of victory and defeat among the people. GOD thus distinguishes the true believers, and blesses some of you with martyrdom. GOD dislikes injustice.
We know the verse in which God says that "they strictly follow His commands" in reference to the messengers.
[21:27] They never speak on their own, and they strictly follow His commands.
We know, from the Quran, that the part "strictly follow His commands" is in relation to the act of conveying whatever they are to convey. They are simple tools used to transfer the information to our dimension.
'Strictly follow His commands' does not mean they do everything perfectly. We have several examples of incidents in the Quran where God let's us know that in their capactiy of men, God's prophets and messengers make mistakes, misunderstand and misjudge situations, and even try to abandon their responsibilities (11:45-46, 88; 12:42; 33:37; 80:1; 21:87; 18:65-78).
Further citations supporting the position that the status of "rasul" is inseparabel from that of "naby" can be found in the following execllent articles at Brother Zlatan’s website:
http://www.crosswinds.net/~the19deceit/
See following articles at that site:
Who is the messenger in 3:81?
Messenger/prophet-GET RID of unquranic definitions (A must read)
Rasul/Nebiy in comparision to Nadheer/Basheer
Since the Quran makes status as a "naby" PREQUISITE to being a "rasul," Rashad Kahlifa could not possibly have been a "naby: Muhammad's position as the FINAL "naby" precludes such claim.
Quran 33:40.
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All Muslims would do well to heed the warning of Ibn Kathir concerning false claims of messengership such as Rashad Khalifa has advanced:
"Allah has told us in His Book, and His Messenger has told us in the Mutawatir Sunnah, that THERE WILL BE NO PROPHET AFTER HIM, SO THAT IT MAY BE KNOWN THAT EVERYONE WHO CLAIMS THIS STATUS AFTER HIM IS A LIAR AND FABRICATOR WHO IS MISGUIDED AND IS MISGUIDING OTHERS. EVEN IF HE TWISTS MEANINGS, COMES UP WITH FALSE CLAIMS AND USES TRICKS AND VAGARIES, ALL OF THIS IS FALSE AND MISGUIDANCE AS WILL BE CLEAR TO THOSE WHO HAVE UNDERSTANDING.
The Quran clearly states that Muhammad was the last prophet. We know however that he could not have been the last messenger, as he himself was part of the convenant pledging to support the messenger to come after him.
[33:40] Muhammad was not the father of any man among you. He was a messenger
of GOD and the final prophet. GOD is fully aware of all things.Note that it says "a messenger of God AND the final prophet", it does not say the final messenger and final prophet.
In verse 3:81 in the Quran we read about a messenger to come after all the prophets have come:
[3:81] GOD took a covenant from the prophets, saying, "I will give you the scripture and wisdom. Afterwards, a messenger will come to confirm all existing scriptures. You shall believe in him and support him." He said, "Do you agree with this, and pledge to fulfill this covenant?"
They said, "We agree." He said, "You have thus borne witness, and I bear witness along with you."We know from verse 33:7 that this covenant included Muhammad:
[33:7] Recall that we took from the prophets their covenant, including you (O Muhammad), Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus the son of Mary. We took from them a solemn pledge.
"This is what Allah caused to happen in the case of Al-Aswad Al-'Ansi in the Yemen and Musaylimah the Liar in Al-Yamamah, whose false miracles and nonsensical words showed everyone who was possessed of understanding that they were liars who were leading people astray; may the curse of Allah be upon them both. This is the case with every false prophet until the Day of Resurrection, until they end with Al-Masih Ad-Dajjal (the Antichrist). EACH OF THESE LIARS IS GIVEN BY ALLAH SIGNS WHICH SHOW THE PEOPLE OF KNOWLEDGE AND THE BELIEVERS THAT HIS MESSAGE IS FALSE - WHICH IS PART OF THE PERFECT KINDNESS OF ALLAH TOWARDS HIS CREATION. These liars do not enjoin what is good, nor forbid what is evil, unless they do so by coincidence or because it serves an ulterior purpose.
So they are given signs to show that those who believe that we should worship God alone and uphold the Quran alone are following a false message? This was in fact the message confirmed and preached by Rashad Khalifa, thus this must be your conclusion.
What is good is listed in the Quran. What is evil is listed in the Quran. The scripture God calls fully detailed. This is what we believe in. This is what we strive to follow. May God continue to support us in our strivings to do so.
Thank God for exposing your nonsense. No wonder people in the world today are confused about the true nature of the religion of Islam. When people brings facts and reminders from the Quran they are attacked, or killed, as was the case with Rashad Khalifa.
They are the utmost in falsehood and immorality, in all that they say and do, as Allah says:
<Shall I inform you [O people] upon whom the Shaytin descend? They descend on every lying, sinful person.>
[Quran 26:221-222]"
Tasfir Ibn Kathir, Vol. 7, pp. 706-707 (Darusallam Publishers, Riyadh, 2000), emphasis added
This, dear reader, is what the traditional Muslims call people who recite the Quran today, "lying, sinful persons." That will give you an idea of how severely corrupted the original version of Islam has been by these traditionalists, who are struggling to maintain ignorance in the minds of people about the Quran's true message.
Just ask any traditional Muslim today how they make their declaration of faith, their Shahaadah, and how they make their Wudu. They will most certainly add Muhammad's name next to God Almighty's name. They will say that Muhammad IS a messenger of God, although God says that he is dead (39:30), and they will most certainly add steps to the ablution (Quran5:6) and to everything else they practice in the name of religion.
Extra steps suggested by 'someone who said that their great grandfather who was a very trustworthy person, who heard his great grandfather say tha he once hear that the prophet had said/done..." All a bunch of nonsense which have abolutely nothing to do with the original message!!
This is why they call certain parts of the practices "Fard" obligatory, and other parts they consider 'extra.' The question is WHO gave them those 'extra steps? Since it was not God, then (by definition) it was someone else besides God that gave them these steps. THAT someone they are obeying besides God in religious matters, are thus attributed importance and authority besides God, which is equivalent to idol worship, the only unforgivable offense, if maintained until death! It is sending the message 'God alone is not enough for me'. May God protect us from such ignorance.