The Prophetic Mission

What was the goal or mission of the Prophet of Islam? This is indeed a very important question. To determine it academically requires a thorough study of the Quran and Sunnah, the sources of Islam. First of all, the basic guiding principles must be laid down for such a study.

The first principle is that the correct answer to this question could only be one which is derived directly from the holy scriptures, that is, the Quran. No argument of an inferential nature would be at all useful. An inferential, or indirect argument is useful only in matters of a partial or relative nature. But so far as the determining of the mission or goal is concerned (relating to basic issues), inferential argument cannot be employed. For instance, if one argued that the mission of the Prophet of Islam was to establish an Islamic state and in support of this, he quoted the following verse of the Quran, he would be making a serious error:

We sent Our messengers with evidence and, with them, We sent down the Book and the Scales of Justice, so that men might act in all fairness. We sent down iron with its great inherent strength and its many benefits for mankind, so that God might know who would stand up for God, though unseen, and His messengers. God is powerful, and almighty. (The Quran, 57:25)

Suppose someone were to pick out the words ‘scales of justice’ (or ‘balance’ as it would be expressed in Arabic) and link it with ‘iron’ to support his argument that the Islamic mission was to establish justice by using the power of iron (i.e. weaponry), he would not be right in his contention.

This argument is not valid from the academic point of view, for the word ‘balance’ in the first part of the verse is used to enjoin people to mould their lives to the standard of justice, to be just in their dealings, and to adopt the ways of justice in their own lives; it is not asking them to impose their concept of justice on others.

Thus, if someone, by citing this verse, put forward an argument for coercing others, his argument would be academically untenable, because it would be totally illogical.

The second principle is that any concept of the Prophet’s mission should be determined on the basis of the fundamental teachings of the Prophet, rather than of later Islamic history. For basic teachings are eternal in their nature, whereas history shapes itself around social or human circumstances.

For instance, there are certain people who hold that the order of the prophetic action is—dawah, hijrat, jihad, then the establishment of the state. This amounts to deriving the mission from history. For, at no point, do the Quran and Hadith mention that the eternal order of the Prophetic mission would be to first perform dawah, then undertake migration, then perform jihad in the sense of doing battle, and then in the fourth stage establish the Islamic state. This order has been derived from a historical sequence of events as they unfolded, rather than from the fundamental teachings of the Quran and Hadith.

Contrary to this, the Quran tells us that the Prophet’s mission could have been brought to its completion even if he had passed away or had been killed before the establishment of the state (3:144). It would not be wrong to say in the light of this verse that, even if the Prophet had left the world before the establishment of the State, his prophetic mission would be treated as accomplished. For no prophet is taken away from the world before the completion of his mission.

Another important point is that such series of events are never repeated in history. That is why the above-mentioned four-fold order has neither occurred in the case of any of the Prophet’s predecessors nor has it been repeated by any subsequent reformer or revivalist.

If this order were to enjoy the position of being inherent in and inseparable from the prophetic mission, Islam would become a temporary religion, relevant only to a particular period of time. For instance, under present-day national governments, mass exodus is not at all possible. In that case how could the act of migration be carried out? Similarly, today jihad, in the sense of offensive war, is not in practice possible, for now, the whole world has come under the umbrella of the United Nations. All the countries under the United Nations, including Muslim countries, have agreed that no country will attack another. According to accepted international standards, now only one form of war is considered lawful and possible and that is of a defensive nature.

Owing to various factors, it has, in practice, become impossible to follow the above-mentioned course. Holding a chronological order to be an eternal order is possible only if we admit that the practical manifestation of the Islamic mission was possible only once in human history and that, now repeating the same order for a second or third time is not a possibility.

Another quite basic requirement is to define the mission of the Prophet of Islam as being exactly the same as that of previous prophets. Any interpretation of his mission which does not tally with the history of his predecessors must stand rejected without discussion. For all the prophets, including the Prophet of Islam, were sent to the world to fulfill one and the same mission.

Chapter 42 of the Quran tells us that He (God) has ordained for you the faith which He enjoined on Nuh (Noah) and which We have revealed to you, and which We enjoined on Ibrahim (Abraham), Musa (Moses), and Isa (Jesus) (saying):

so that you should remain steadfast in religion and not become divided in it. What you call upon the polytheists to do is hard for them; God chooses for Himself whoever He pleases and guides towards Himself those who turn to Him. (The Quran, 42:13)

In this verse, which refers to some steadfast prophets of the past, the Prophet of Islam has been enjoined by God to follow the same single religion and strictly refrain from following a different path, for it is the same religion, which has been given to all the Prophets, including Muhammad. At another place, the Quran, mentioning a number of Prophets, who came at various places and in different periods states:

Those were the men whom God guided. Follow then their guidance. (The Quran, 6:91)

According to this verse, all the prophets were guided in the same way as the prophet of Islam. That is why the prophet of Islam was to discharge the duties of his mission just as the other Prophets had done.

According to Quranic observations, only that concept of Prophet Muhammad’s mission could be appropriate which is fully in accordance with the mission of the other prophets. For all the prophets had been sent to fulfill the same mission. Granted this, any interpretation of his mission, which presents it as being different from that of the other prophets can never be right.

For instance, if anyone were to say that, for the fulfillment of the prophet’s mission, fighting and war were essential, this statement would not be correct. For the element of fighting is absent in the history of most of the prophets mentioned in the Quran. Similarly, if it were said that the Prophet of Islam did not accept any office under a non-Muslim political system, because accepting such an offer would have been an un-prophetic action, such a statement would not be right. For it is established by the Quran that Prophet Yusuf did accept an office under an idolatrous king-an office which in today’s jargon would be that of a minister of agriculture.

It may also be established from a study of the Quran that all the prophets were given the same religion. Yet their respective histories shaped themselves differently, for history has always depended on the prevailing sets of circumstances. As such, a correct appraisal of the teachings of the Prophet would be that they have the status of the basics of religion, whereas the history that unfolds, as compared to the fundamental teachings of the religion, has the status of only a relative part.

When we study the Quran, in order to understand the prophetic mission, the clearest picture we have is one that occurs at four places in the Quran. At one place it is in the form of Abraham’s prayer (The Quran, 2:129), and at other places it is found in general terms. While stating the purpose of sending the Prophet to the world, the Quran has this to say:

It is He who has raised among the unlettered people a messenger from among themselves who recites His revelations to them, and purifies them, and teaches them the Book and wisdom, for they had formerly been clearly misguided. (The Quran, 62:2).

This verse fully explains the duty of the Prophet in this world as God’s Messenger. A prophet has, essentially, four tasks as described in this verse. All other things that we find in the life of a prophet are incidental. The four things mentioned in the verse are relevant to the very mission of the Prophet, while all the other things besides these four relate to the historical circumstances in which the Prophet found himself. And it is a known fact that the reason for sending a prophet is in principle always the same, but in the course of his discharging this responsibility, the history that unfolds is never uniform; for it always varies according to circumstances.

The first step is the recitation of the verses, to the madu. This means the general communication of God’s religion. The first and foremost duty assigned to a prophet was to convey God’s message to people, all the while observing every form of etiquette in demonstrating wisdom and well-wishing for the madu. He was to bring people abreast of the creation plan of God, which in the Quran is referred to as ‘bringing them from darkness to the light.’ (The Quran, 5:16)

But the recitation of the verses did not mean that the Prophet had to recite the entire Quran to the people. For although this task began at the outset of his prophethood, at that time the whole Quran did not exist in the compiled form as it does today. What the recitation of verses meant was the communication of the basics of religion—that is monotheism, prophethood and shariah. The action of dawah is, in actual fact, a means of keeping people abreast of the basics of religion, whereas the detailed commands of the shariah are addressed to those who are already initiates, and not to those who have not yet entered the fold of Islam.

Another part of the prophetic mission was that which in this verse is called ‘tazkia’ (purification). The act of purification meant the same as what is called instruction in present times. That is, man’s thinking and feelings should be so reformed that he should be enabled to follow the path of God whole-heartedly and with total concentration.

The goal of the dayee in reciting the scriptures is to make people realize their ignorance and to convince them of the veracity of his message by putting forward cogent arguments. The goal of the Prophet in purifying people was to translate their thinking into action (those who had accepted the teachings of Islam were enabled to act accordingly) to awaken their spiritual feelings and to inculcate in them the real spirit of moral elevation.

The third part of the prophetic mission is described in the Quran in terms of teaching the divine book to the people. The instruction of the divine book meant an explanation of the commands and laws of the shariah. For instance, in the first stage people were asked to say: “God is one and He alone deserves being worshipped.” In the second stage an attempt was made to inculcate the true spirit of worship. Later they were told what the practical form of worship was and how the etiquette of worship had to be observed.

The instruction of the book is also an education in fiqh (law). What is known as Islamic jurisprudence began with the Prophet himself. When people accepted Islam, they asked the Prophet to explain the commands of Islam on different matters. When the Prophet answered their queries, he was actually training them in law. This task of instruction in fiqh continued during the period of the Prophet’s companions and the companion’s companions. But it was not until the reign of the Abbasids that all the material on Islamic jurisprudence was properly compiled.

The fourth part of the prophetic mission is that which is described in the Quran as instructing in wisdom.

According to a tradition, the Prophet of Islam said, “Every verse of the Quran has a deeper level as well as a surface level.”

What is called the deeper level of the Quran in this Hadith refers to the wisdom enshrined in the verses of the Quran. The wording of a verse or Hadith tells us only the apparent or superficial meaning. The deeper meanings are hidden behind the words, not in the words. These hidden meanings can be learnt only by deep reflection upon the verses. One task of the Prophet, therefore, was to initiate proper intellectual training, so that they might not only learn the apparent meaning of religious teachings but also understand the wisdom behind them.

The ability to exercise ijtihad on religious matters is also the result of this instruction in wisdom.

Those who are endowed with this deep insight are able to lead their lives on a high level of faith on the one hand, and on the other, they are able to discharge the responsibilities of the leadership of the ummah. Their mental faculties are so developed that they are able to make a proper interpretation of religion in the changing sets of circumstances.

In the above-mentioned verses we have been told that there are four aspects of the prophetic mission. Apparently, this does not include certain parts of his life, such as hijrah, war, victory, the implementation of commands, etc. What is the reason for this? Why are these elements not included in the verses quoted above?

The reason is that the mission of the Prophet and the history of the Prophet are not identical. All those things which are not included in these verses form part of the history of the Prophet rather than of his actual mission. His mission was only one and the Prophet had always to fulfill it at all costs. No prophet could ever leave the world without fulfilling his mission. So far as the history of any prophet is concerned, this keeps, changing according to circumstances. Various factors are responsible for changes in circumstances. That is why the history of each prophet is differently shaped despite all of them having had one and the same mission.

The actual status of the Prophet of Islam was that of a dayee. The Quran repeatedly presents him in this capacity:

‘O Prophet, We have sent forth you as a witness, as a bearer of good news and a warner. As one who calls people to God by His leave, and guides them like a shining light.’ (The Quran, 33:45-46)

These verses go to prove that the mission of the Prophet of Islam, far from being the establishment of political rule, was essentially dawah. It is true no doubt that in his life there were components other than dawah, but only that explanation of these other parts would be correct which did not affect his status as a dayee. Therefore, it would be right and proper to say that the Prophet of Islam was in actual fact a dayee. Other constituents of his life were not direct goals, but rather became integral to his life due to extraneous factors.