Prophets are Human Beings

Prophets are human beings. Thus they come in this world, eat, drink, sleep, walk about, marry and die just as all human beings do. None of them was God, His incarnation, a deity or an angel. The Quran has clarified at a number of places that there is no difference between them and other human beings as far as their genre is concerned. The Quran has cited the demand of the addressees of Muhammad (sws) that if he is a prophet of God, he should make for them houses of gold, generate for them canals and rivers, make the season of spring descend in their deserts, plant for them orchards of grapes and dates, release on them pieces of the heavens, bring God and the angels face to face with them, go to the heavens and bring back a written document for them. Though none of these demands was impossible for God to fulfill but He directed Muhammad (sws) to clearly tell his addressees that he was a human being and not a super human that such demands be made from him:

قُلْ سُبْحَانَ رَبِّيْ هَلْ كُنْتُ إَلاَّ بَشَرًا رَّسُولاً وَمَا مَنَعَ النَّاسَ أَن يُؤْمِنُواْ إِذْ جَاءهُمُ الْهُدَى إِلاَّ أَنْ قَالُواْ أَبَعَثَ اللّهُ بَشَرًا رَّسُولاً قُلْ لَّوْ كَانَ فِي الأَرْضِ مَلآئِكَةٌ يَمْشُوْنَ مُطْمَئِنِّيْنَ لَنَزَّلْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ مِّنَ السَّمَآء مَلَكًا رَّسُوْلاً (١٧: ٩٣-٩٥)

Say: “Glory be to my Lord! Am I not but messenger who is a human being?” And nothing prevents men from professing faith when guidance is revealed to them but the excuse: “Can it be that God has sent a human being as a messenger?” Tell [them]: “Had the angels been walking about comfortably in the earth, We would have sent down to them an angel from heavens as a messenger.” (17:93-95)

However, this does not mean that as far as their knowledge and personality, character and spirituality and qualities of head and heart are concerned, they are similar to common people. Certainly not! A study of their life and times shows that they are the cream of their nation, have exemplary qualities and epitomize human attributes. The Qur’ān has told us that if their Lord pleases, He blesses them with knowledge and power of judgement for this purpose:

About John (sws), the Quran has said:

يَا يَحْيَى خُذِ الْكِتَابَ بِقُوَّةٍ وَآتَيْنَاهُ الْحُكْمَ صَبِيًّا وَحَنَانًا مِّنْ لَّدُنَّا وَزَكَاةً وَكَانَ تَقِيًّا وَبَرًّا بِوَالِدَيْهِ وَلَمْ يَكُن جَبَّارًا عَصِيًّا (١٩: ١٢-١٤)

“O John! Hold steadfast to the Book of God.” And in His childhood We granted him the ability to make judgements and bestowed on him kindliness and purity, and he was a pious person and one who honoured the rights of his parents; he was neither arrogant nor rebellious. (19:12-14)

About Moses (sws), the Quran has said:

وَلَمَّا بَلَغَ أَشُدَّهُ وَاسْتَوَى آتَيْنَاهُ حُكْمًا وَعِلْمًا وَكَذَلِكَ نَجْزِي الْمُحْسِنِينَ (١٤:٢٨)

And when he had reached maturity and grown to manhood, We bestowed on him knowledge and the ability to make judgments. [This was a reward of his qualities]; thus do We reward the righteous. (28:14)

Not only this, the prophets of God are also blessed with the light of innate guidance – the light which every person has been blessed with – in its most ultimate form. They always keep its flame fully alight and shield it from the storms that arise within man’s inner-self. Thus before they are blessed with divine revelation from God, their heart and mind are very pure and the truth is already evident to them to a great extent. The Quran calls this state of their inner enlightenment as بَيِّنَةٌ (bayyinah). It is evident from various incidents from the lives of the prophets that they present divine revelation as an evidence for this inner enlightenment and the vision they possess:

About Noah (sws), the Quran has said:

قَالَ يَا قَوْمِ أَرَأَيْتُمْ إِن كُنْتُ عَلَى بَيِّنَةٍ مِّنْ رَّبِّيَ وَآتَانِيْ رَحْمَةً مِّنْ عِنْدِهِ فَعُمِّيَتْ عَلَيْكُمْ أَنُلْزِمُكُمُوْهَا وَأَنتُمْ لَهَا كَارِهُونَ (٢٨:١١)

He said: “O my people! [tell me] if I am on a clear evidence from my Lord and He has bestowed upon me a blessing of His own and you have not been able to see it, can we forcibly stick it on you while you are fed-up with it? (11:28)

About Salih (sws), the Quran has said:

قَالَ يَا قَوْمِ أَرَأَيْتُمْ إِن كُنْتُ عَلَى بَيِّنَةً مِّنْ رَّبِّيْ وَآتَانِيْ مِنْهُ رَحْمَةً فَمَنْ يَنْصُرُنِيْ مِنَ اللّهِ إِنْ عَصَيْتُهُ (٦٣:١١)

He said: “O my people! Have you ever thought that if I am on a clear evidence from my Lord and then He has also bestowed on me His grace, then who would protect me from God if I disobeyed Him?” (11:63)

About Shuayb (sws), the Quran has said:

قَالَ يَا قَوْمِ أَرَأَيْتُمْ إِن كُنْتُ عَلَىَ بَيِّنَةٍ مِّنْ رَّبِّيْ وَرَزَقَنِيْ مِنْهُ رِزْقًا حَسَنًا وَمَا أُرِيْدُ أَنْ أُخَالِفَكُمْ إِلَى مَا أَنْهَاكُمْ عَنْهُ (٨٨:١١)

He said: “O my people! [Tell me] if am on a clear evidence from my Lord and then He has also bestowed on me the gracious gift of wahī, [then what should I call you to except this?] and I do not wish to oppose you [and thus] do what I forbid you.” (11:88)

A Prophet’s Nature

A prophet stands at the zenith of human nature. It is evident from what is mentioned about their lives in divine scriptures that both anger and mercy are found in them. Anxiety and apprehension, grief and distress also touch them and they also experience longing and sorrow. They feel sad too and if they commit some mistake they also feel remorse. Like humble servants of God they too express repentance before Him and at times engage in emphatic debate and discussion with Him. They are equipped with such emotions in order to create harmony between them and their addressees before whom they proclaim the truth to the extent that they are left with no excuse to deny it and in order that these addressees are influenced by them. If, like the angels, they were devoid of such emotions, their message would not have influenced anyone.

Not only this, besides being exemplary human beings, they are the most perfect individuals among their people. A study of their lives reveals that they each prophet is the most outstanding person of his nation, a guardian of its cultural traditions and an embodiment of all its virtues.

No doubt, he is devoid of all the vices of his nation; however, as far as its traits and characteristics are concerned, he is such a complete embodiment of them that both he and his people are like mirrors for each other: they can see themselves in each other. For this very reason, the Quran has said that if the Almighty had made the angels as prophets and messengers, He would have them human beings because without this there would have been no effective channel and means of communication between prophets and their people:

وَلَوْ جَعَلْنَاهُ مَلَكًا لَّجَعَلْنَاهُ رَجُلاً وَلَلَبَسْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ مَّا يَلْبِسُوْنَ (٩:٦)

And if We had made a prophet an angel, We would gave given him the semblance of a human and in this manner would have put them in doubt in which they now are in. (6:9)

However, the matter of prophets – who only come to deliver the truth to the degree that no one among their people would be left with an excuse to deny it – is different to some extent. One example of this is John (sws) and Jesus (sws). By nature, they seemed more akin to angels; thus little did their people benefit from them.

(Javed Ahmed Ghamidi)

(Translated by Dr. Shehzad Saleem)