Why the need for more than one prophet?

[doodlebug]

I was thinking last night....(which isn't always the wisest thing for me to do.. ).....

Jesus, according to Islam was a prophet that came after Moses, right? (please correct me if I'm wrong)

Well Moses was a loooong time before Jesus, wasn't he?

Why did Muhammed have to appear so quickly after Jesus had come?

If Allah is the one who sent Jesus, and Allah is perfect, wouldn't it make sense that He would get it right the first time and not have to resend yet another messenger to clear things up?

 

[Ansar Al-'Adl]

Hello doodlebug,

Thank you for your message. If you have not already done so, I would suggest that you read this thread about the purpose of this section. Please bear in mind that questions asked in this section will not be discussed or debated - they will simply be answered to explain the Islamic perspective.

Let me first answer the question in the title of this thread. God has designed humanity as a creation that exists in successive generations. As such, He continues to send prophets to mankind to call people back to the way of God whenever they happen to deviate from the message of the previous prophet. This is out of His Mercy for humanity and to give everyone the opportunity to follow the truth. God will not punish someone for their deviation without sending a Messenger to warn them and call them to the truth.

Jesus, according to Islam was a prophet that came after Moses, right? (please correct me if I'm wrong)

Yes. But he was not the first Prophet to come after Mûsa (Moses) - there were many Prophets sent to the Children of Israel after Moses and before Prophet Jesus pbuh. Yûsha' bin Nûn, Hizqîl, Ilyâs, Al-Yas'a, Shi'ya, Shamwîl, Dawûd, Sulayman, 'Uzayr, Zakariyyah, and Yahya [peace be upon them all] are the names of some of the Prophets who came between Mûsa and 'Îsa.

Well Moses was a loooong time before Jesus, wasn't he?

Yes.

Why did Muhammed have to appear so quickly after Jesus had come?

Depends on which standard you use to call 600 years 'quickly'. Look at the timespan between the two precedeing prophets: Prophet 'Îsa (Jesus) came during the lifetime of Prophet Yahya (John the Baptist) - surely that was much more 'quickly'!

If Allah is the one who sent Jesus, and Allah is perfect, wouldn't it make sense that He would get it right the first time and not have to resend yet another messenger to clear things up?

Get what right? Every message was already 'right'. The Prophets are sent to guide back the people to the true message after they deviated. Prophet Muhammad pbuh called people back to the same message preached by Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus, pbut.

Regards

 

[doodlebug]

Hello doodlebug,

Thank you for your message. If you have not already done so, I would suggest that you read this thread about the purpose of this section. Please bear in mind that questions asked in this section will not be discussed or debated - they will simply be answered to explain the Islamic perspective.

Understood.

Let me first answer the question in the title of this thread. God has designed humanity as a creation that exists in successive generations. As such, He continues to send prophets to mankind to call people back to the way of God whenever they happen to deviate from the message of the previous prophet. This is out of His Mercy for humanity and to give everyone the opportunity to follow the truth. God will not punish someone for their deviation without sending a Messenger to warn them and call them to the truth.

Oh that makes sense. But I guess that begs another question, if you don't mind too much, why then haven't there been more Messengers after Muhammed? I mean with all due respect, it looks like a few things could use clearing up now a days and wouldn't it be wonderful if God could send someone new down to do the job? I've always wondered about this even in my own religion....why He doesn't come down and give us clarity now.:?

Yes. But he was not the first Prophet to come after Mûsa (Moses) - there were many Prophets sent to the Children of Israel after Moses and before Prophet Jesus pbuh. Yûsha' bin Nûn, Hizqîl, Ilyâs, Al-Yas'a, Shi'ya, Shamwîl, Dawûd, Sulayman, 'Uzayr, Zakariyyah, and Yahya [peace be upon them all] are the names of some of the Prophets who came between Mûsa and 'Îsa.

Ok I guess this is where I show my ignorance. :-[ I had no idea there were so many other Prophets. I thought it was just Adam, Moses, Jesus and Muhammed.

Depends on which standard you use to call 600 years 'quickly'. Look at the timespan between the two precedeing prophets: Prophet 'Îsa (Jesus) came during the lifetime of Prophet Yahya (John the Baptist) - surely that was much more 'quickly'!

Oh right. Sorry!!

Get what right? Every message was already 'right'. The Prophets are sent to guide back the people to the true message after they deviated. Prophet Muhammad pbuh called people back to the same message preached by Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus, pbut.

I guess I meant...why would He send a message that we would deviate from.

Thanks for your patience and understanding.

 

[Jayda]

I guess I meant...why would He send a message that we would deviate from.

Thanks for your patience and understanding.

i thought about that question too... if muslims believe people deviated or changed the messages of all the other prophets, so God created a prophet and a book that you cant change... why didnt he do that in the first place? i dont understand why mohammed is needed... (please dont take that as an insult, im just curious...)

 

[Mohammed H Kahn]

But I guess that begs another question, if you don't mind too much, why then haven't there been more Messengers after Muhammed?

Allah will one day destruct all creations. Then He will resurrect all humans and jiins to try. So we may presume that the process of sending prophets needed an end. But the real truth is with Allah alone why He has sealed off sending prophets after Mohammed (pbuh), as we are unable to compass anything of Allah's knowledge except that He has made un known.
kay:

 

[Ansar Al-'Adl]

Hello Doodlebug,

Oh that makes sense. But I guess that begs another question, if you don't mind too much, why then haven't there been more Messengers after Muhammed? I mean with all due respect, it looks like a few things could use clearing up now a days and wouldn't it be wonderful if God could send someone new down to do the job? I've always wondered about this even in my own religion....why He doesn't come down and give us clarity now.:?

Humanity has not been intended to dwell on earth forever. There will be a Day of Resurrection when every human being will be judged by God. If humanity's time on earth is limited, then it means that the chain of Prophets sent also has an end, and there must be a "last and final Prophet". God has chosen Muhammad (peace be upon him) to be that final Prophet before the coming Day of Resurrection. Since there will be no future prophets to come and bring new revelation to 'clear things up', God has protected the Muslim religious sources - the Qur'an (word of God revealed to Muhammad) and Sunnah (Prophetic teachings) - from any alteration. They have been preserved and so anyone who wishes is easily able to follow the truth.

Ok I guess this is where I show my ignorance. :-[ I had no idea there were so many other Prophets. I thought it was just Adam, Moses, Jesus and Muhammed.

The Prophet Muhammad once said: 'The cure for ignorance is to question.' (Sunan Abî Dawûd). Islam encourages people to ask questions and learn

You can read about the Prophets by checking the biographies section of this forum.

I guess I meant...why would He send a message that we would deviate from.

People deviate from the message because they have free choice to do so, not because there is some inherent deficiency in the message itself. People succumb to their worldly desires and refuse to accept the truth and live according to the way of life ordained by God which is actually for humanity's own good. Following the truth brings about inner-peace and tranquility in one's life.

Hi Jayda,

i thought about that question too... if muslims believe people deviated or changed the messages of all the other prophets, so God created a prophet and a book that you cant change... why didnt he do that in the first place? i dont understand why mohammed is needed... (please dont take that as an insult, im just curious...)

It is true that the revelation to Muhammad pbuh was divinely protected from alteration unlike the previous revelations. It is not true that this was done to prevent people from deviating because even today we still see people deviating from the Qur'an and the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad pbuh and failing to apply it in their lives. People are still deviating from the truth. "So what was the purpose of protecting the revelation to Muhammad from alteration?", one may ask.

The Qur'an and Sunnah has been protected from alteration because as Muhammad pbuh is the last Prophet, there will be no prophet to come after him and bring new revelation to correct people's ideas. Thus, it is imperative that the last revelation be preserved so later generations may implement and understand it with the same clarity and precision as the earlier generations.

Remember also that previous revelations were specific to the nation for which they were sent, hence the test for the people was to preserve the text. For the Qur'an, its message is universal, so insteading of being tested with preserving the text, Muslims have the test of propagating the message to the world, while God preserves the text. So everyone was tested, just in different ways. See also:
http://www.islamicboard.com/basics-islam/27140-preservation-quran.html

If I have overlooked anything that you would like answered, feel free to point it out.

Peace

 

[Janissary]

Jayda,

Another answer would be that Muhammed's mission was to bring perfection of religion (5:3), finalize the work of the line of prophets. Thus he was not only a correcter of earlier errors, and would have a role to fulfil even if the earlier revelations would not have strayed.

Other than that I agree with Ansar. The duty to preserve the earlier revelations was a test for those who went before. However, with the Quran being the final and full revelation, letting it go lost could simply not be allowed by God.