Part 59

He was a Prophet (Nabiyy) since there came to him the Saying of Allaah, the Most High, "Recite, O Muhammad, mentioning the name of your Lord who created. He who created mankind from a clot of blood. Recite, O Muhammad, and your Lord is the Most Generous. He who taught the creation to write and taught them that which they did not know." [Soorahal-’Alaq (96): 1-5] He became a Messenger (Rasool) when there came to him the Saying of Allaah, the Most High, "O you (Muhammad) wrapped in garments! Arise and warn your people who worship others besides Allaah of Allaah's punishment; and venerate and worship your Lord, making your worship for Him alone; and purify your self, your garment and your deeds; and shun the idols; and do not give anything in order to receive something more in return; and patiently persevere for the sake of your Lord in the face of any harm you encounter." [surah al-Muddaththir (74): 1-7] So he arose and warned and established what Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, had commanded him to do. Then concerning the difference between a Messenger (Rasool) and a Prophet {Nabiyy) the scholars say: A Prophet is one who had a Revealed Way sent to him by Revelation and was not commanded to propagate it, whereas a Messenger is one who had a Revealed way sent down to him by Allaah and was ordered to propagate and act upon it. So every Messenger was a Prophet, but not every Prophet was a Messenger. (v) What was the message he was sent with, and why was he sent? So he was sent to call to the tawhid of Allaah, the Most High, and His Revealed Law - which comprised doing whatever He ordered and avoiding whatever He forbade. He was sent as a mercy to all the creation to bring them out of the oppressive darkness of shirk (worship of anything besides Him), kufr (unbelief) and ignorance, and to bring them to the light of knowledge, true belief (eemaan), and tawhid (the pure worship of Allaah alone) - so that they should thereby gain the forgiveness and Pleasure of Allaah, and thus be saved from His punishment and Anger. He lived for sixty-three years: forty years before prophethood, and twenty-three years as a prophet and a messenger. He was sent as a prophet with ‘iqra' [i.e. the beginning of surah al-'Alaq], and as a messenger with [surah] Muddaththir. His land was Makkah and he performed hijrah (prescribed migration) to al-Madeenah. Allaah sent him to warn against shirk and to call to tawhid. [135] ________________________________________________________ i.e. to warn them against shirk, and to call them to the tawhid of Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, in His Lordship (ar-Ruboobiyyah), His right to be worshipped alone {al-Uloohiyyah), and His names and attributes (al-Asmaa was-Sifaat). The proof is the Saying of Allaah, the Most High, "O you (Muhammad wrapped in garments! Arise and warn your people; and venerate and worship your Lord, and purify your self, your garments and your deeds; and shun the idols; and do not give anything in order to receive something more in return; and patiently persevere for the sake of your Lord in the face of any harm you encounter" [surah al-Mudaththir (74): 1-7]. The meaning of "Arise and warn your people" is that he was to warn against shirk and to call to tawhid. "Venerate and worship your Lord" means honour and venerate Him with tawhid. "Purify yourself, your garments, and your deeds" means purify your actions from any shirk. "Shun the idols", ar-rujz means the idols, and hajr of them means shunning them, and freeing and disassociating oneself from them and their people. He carried out this duty for ten years, calling to tawhid, [136] and after ten years he was taken up through the heavens [i.e. the mi'raaj]; [137] and the five Prayers were obligated upon him, and he prayed in Makkah for three years, [138] and then he was commanded to perform hijrah (prescribed migration) to al-Madeenah. [139] ________________________________________________________ Meaning that the Prophet (3H) remained for ten years calling to the tawhid of Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, and for the people to single Him out with all of their worship. al-'Urooj - which means ascent, as occurs in the Saying of Allaah, the Most High, "The Angels and Jibreel ascend (ta’ruj) to Allaah." [surah al-Ma'aarij (70):4] The Night Ascension (Mi'raaj) was one of the very great blessings bestowed by Allaah upon the Prophet (5||) in particular, before he migrated from Makkah. So whilst he was sleeping in the detached part of the Ka'bah (al-Hijr) someone came to him and cut open his body between his throat and his lower abdomen. Then he took out his heart and filled it up with wisdom and eemaan in preparation for what was about to occur with him. Then a white animal - named al-Buraaq - smaller than a mule and bigger than a donkey was brought to him. Its pace was the distance the eye could see. So he mounted it and he was escorted by Jibreel - The Trustworthy. So he came to Jerusalem and prayed along with the prophets, leading all of the prophets and messengers in the Prayer, with them praying behind him. This manifested the pre-eminence of Allaah's Messenger and his nobility and that he is the imaam to be followed.