[9] Prophethood - The Goal of Prophethood

A series of discussions on the teachings of Imam Sadiq (sixth Imam of the Muslims), from the book Misbah ash-Sharia (The Lantern of the Path)

In His Name, the Most High

This is part nine of an ongoing series of discussions on the book by Imam as-Sadiq titled ‘Misbah ash-Sharia’ (the Lantern of the Path).

It is strongly recommended that the previous parts are read, before proceeding with this one; to avoid any confusion or misunderstanding within the subject matter.

The nature of the subject matter, and the style of discourse requires that each part build upon those that came before it, so once more, I strongly recommend that the reader, read the previous parts, and then continue with this one.

The previous parts, can be found here:

The Lantern of the Path - Index

Video of the Majlis (Sermon/Lecture)

This write up is a companion to the video majlis (sermon/lecture) found below:

Contents

• Majlis - Misbah ash-Sharia - Servitude - Part 9

• Nasheed: Salutations to Imam Kadhem and Imam Jawad - Guardians of Kadhimiyyeh

• Ziyarah: Ziyarat Aal-i-Yaseen

Recap

In the previous sessions - we continued our journey of discovery regarding the subject of Prophethood. We had previously discussed the philosophy of prophethood, the mission of the prophets, and in the last session we discussed the prophetic resurrection of society.

We had learned that the transformation that the person of the prophet goes through when he is appointed for his mission by the Lord of the Universes, he, then is - one might say - compelled to deliver to his society, to the people.

We learned that a prophet stands up to a system rooted in ignorance (jahiliyyah), and works to raise a society to the system which is tawheed-oriented, that is God-centric.

To illustrate this example, we used the part of the story of Pharaoh and Moses as narrated in the Quran by God:

إِنَّ فِرْعَوْنَ عَلَا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَجَعَلَ أَهْلَهَا شِيَعًا يَسْتَضْعِفُ طَائِفَةً مِّنْهُمْ يُذَبِّحُ أَبْنَاءَهُمْ وَيَسْتَحْيِي نِسَاءَهُمْ ۚ إِنَّهُ كَانَ مِنَ الْمُفْسِدِينَ
وَنُرِيدُ أَن نَّمُنَّ عَلَى الَّذِينَ اسْتُضْعِفُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَنَجْعَلَهُمْ أَئِمَّةً وَنَجْعَلَهُمُ الْوَارِثِينَ
وَنُمَكِّنَ لَهُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَنُرِيَ فِرْعَوْنَ وَهَامَانَ وَجُنُودَهُمَا مِنْهُم مَّا كَانُوا يَحْذَرُونَ

Indeed Pharaoh tyrannised over the land, reducing it’s people to factions, abasing one group of them. Slaughtering their sons, and sparing their women. Indeed he was one of the agents of corruption.
But we desire to show favour to those who were abased in the land, and to make them leaders and to make them heirs.
And to establish them in the land; and to show Pharaoh, Hamaan, and their hosts, from them, that of which they were apprehensive.

- Quran, Surah al-Qasas (the Chapter of the Narrations) #28, Verses 4 to 6

We discussed these verses; and understood how Pharaoh was abasing a portion of the society; and more importantly we learned that since God has used the 'present tense’ when declaring that ‘we desire’ - this means that this help from God to those who are abased in the land, is not just fixed for a particular time, but that rather this is always in place, and that God is always the one who desires to support and lift up those who are abased in the land. Who are oppressed in the land.

This is a very important point; and should be reflected on, in and of itself.

What is the purpose of causing this change within society? What is the goal of the prophets? This is what we will be discussing in our session today, as we had hinted to in the previous session.

With ourselves filled with great purpose, to learn and understand this subject of Prophethood; let us all in unison, call out to the Lord of all Knowledge, that perchance we can understand this subject clearly; and let us begin our discussion with His most beautiful of names:

Nubuwwah (Prophethood) - Part 4

Introduction

لَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا رُسُلَنَا بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ وَأَنزَلْنَا مَعَهُمُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْمِيزَانَ لِيَقُومَ النَّاسُ بِالْقِسْطِ ۖ وَأَنزَلْنَا الْحَدِيدَ فِيهِ بَأْسٌ شَدِيدٌ وَمَنَافِعُ لِلنَّاسِ وَلِيَعْلَمَ اللَّهُ مَن يَنصُرُهُ وَرُسُلَهُ بِالْغَيْبِ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ قَوِيٌّ عَزِيزٌ

Certainly, We sent Our prophets with manifest proofs, and We sent down with them the Book and the Balance, so that humanity may maintain justice; and We sent down iron, in which there is great might, and uses for humanity, and so that God may know those who help Him and His messengers in [their] absence. Indeed God is all-strong, all-mighty

- Quran, Surah al-Hadid (the Chapter of the Iron) #57, Verse 25

Previously, we had learned that the prophet initially undergoes a transformation within himself, following which he brings a transformation within the fabric of society. A transformation that is a reflection of his own inner transformation.

He causes a profound change in the social structure.

In the session today, we will attempt to understand what the purpose of causing this change is. We will examine the question in the general sense that it encompasses the mission of all the prophets of God.

This subject is not only entirely relevant to our overall subject from a number of perspectives, but rather, it is essential to it.

1. What mission does a prophet follow?

2. What goal does he pursue?

3. What does he want to achieve?

The Primary Goal of a Prophet

The primary goal of any prophet is one thing, and one thing alone. However, the path that leads to that goal comprises a number of intermediate goals, that must be achieved in order for the primary goal to be achieved.

The primary goal of all of God’s messengers can be summed up in a few words:

The prophet came to this world in order to guide humanity upwards and towards perfection for which they were created.

As a creature, the human being is endowed with numerous latent potentialities, he has countless abilities and energies, all of which enable him to become something higher, nobler and greater than what he is in appearance.

The Journey of Human Potential

From the moment a person is born, from the moment that a world exists for him, he is on a journey towards perfection, and forever in a state of growth and development.

This is clearly visible with regard to the physical existence of their body.

A new-born baby lacks many of the physical features possessed by an adult.

For example, a new-born baby lacks teeth, a strong jaw, a firm grip, the ability to walk, even it’s internal organs - such as those of the digestive tract - are not fully mature when it comes into the world. All of this means it cannot immediately live like an ordinary adult human being.

It’s brain and nervous system are still developing. However, after some time, the child begins to develop all these facilities. Nothing is added from the outside that is not already there.

The baby’s little jaw gets stronger, it’s tiny hands learn to grip things tightly, those little legs which could not carry it’s own weight become stronger and steadier, it’s nervous system develops, and it’s brain, which at one point could not hold even the most basic of thoughts, now becomes able to understand the most important and complex questions of it’s existence.

Nothing is added to this child from the outside.

This all comes from within. These are all the child’s latent potential and unrealised abilities which, with the passage of time and the fulfilment of the necessary conditions, blossom in this child and become visible.

A child has the potential to speak, and later acquires the ability to do so.

A child has the potential to think, to understand and to learn, and will grow to do all of these things.

Therefore, from the moment he comes into this world, the human being is forever growing and moving towards perfection.

Things which were not, but came to be, could not, but then became able, which had no intellect, but then came to acquire one, lacked experience, but later gained it - they all belong in this category.

In matters of the human body, as we have all understood now, we find that the human being is always growing. In other words, he is always increasing what he has and gaining things which he previously did not.

But this is also true of matters pertaining to the moral and spiritual life of the human being. There is a whole world of potential which is hidden deep within the human being.

We could compare the human being to a rich mine buried deep below the ground, which, when mined is seen to contain wonders, but as long as it remains buried, it is naught but dirt and dust.

The Mosaic of Humanity

The human being is like a mosaic painting. When they want to make a mosaic, they first have to create the template on which they lay the tiles. They spread everything out to make a flat surface.

Now, if you were to see this flat surface, before any of the tiles were put in place; you would see no trace of finery or art or beauty in that surface.

However, once the tiles are put in to place; when the polishing starts to happen, that is when you see dark matter, become bright and clear and many things start to appear that were previously hidden - by the dirt and such.

As the polishing processes exposes the mosaic tiles to friction; you see things in this previously dark matter, which you had no idea even existed. As they continue to polish the outer layer, you see that this contains beautiful stones of many hues and colours, intricate patterns and bright colours.

All of these that were hidden earlier in the dark matter that brings all of them together. Indeed, as a casual observer you may not even have realised that such beauty existed therein.

Finally, once the surface has been polished, washed and scrubbed clean, you see something beautiful; beautiful stones, beautiful colours, beautiful patterns and geometric shapes and so much more that this mosaic contains. You can see beautiful sections of this mosaic - the beauty that was previously hidden.

The great potential that lays hidden within the human soul is very much like this mosaic, and the stones found within the dark matter of the mosaic, before it is scrubbed, polished and washed to reveal its beauty.

The human being that you see, is like an uncut, unpolished stone you can find at a gemstone store or in a mine shop.

That small child that cannot speak has nothing special for anyone - except naturally for the parents. But, as we can see, there is a wealth of treasure buried within this child’s soul. He has deep reserves of special qualities. There is a beauty there, that is waiting to be discovered. There are potentialities that are there, waiting to be unlocked.

As the Iranian poet - Sa’adi once said:

“Just as a bird takes flight, you must leave behind
The fetters of desire and soar with wings of humanity”

- Golestan (The Rose Garden ) of Sa’adi of Shiraz

This is a truth that has been expressed in speech and verse by mystics and poets alike since long ago. They say that the human being is a resplendent being, humanity is higher than the angels even.

The human being contains an overflowing spring of goodness, beauty and potential that needs only to be brought forth into the world.

You could say that each human being is ready to flourish and grow and to ascend towards perfection, and the real goal of the prophets is to guide humanity on this journey.

This is what we find described in the Quran with words such as ‘tazkiyeh’ (تزكية) which means refinement and also ‘ta’lim’ (تعليم) which means education.

The prophets came to expunge the negative traits from human beings, to lead them away from following their desires, to save them from a way of living that was merely animal.

Indeed, as Rumi remarked:

ای دریده پوستین یوسفان
گرگ برخیزی از این خواب گران

Oh you wolves who tear at the shirts of Josephs,
Awaken from this heavy slumber!

- Rumi, Masnavi, Book 4, Lines 3662-3663

Those who have the appearance of humans, while having the character of wolves, those who give pleasant smiles, while acting like monsters, those people cannot be called ‘human’.

A person who enjoys shedding blood, a person who delights in inflicting death and destruction on others, who is not saddened by seeing the ordeals of his fellow men, who remains unmoved by the suffering of others, this person is not a human being, regardless of appearances indicating the contrary.

Is he very smart? Is he very wealthy? Is he very powerful? Is he very well presented? He could be all of these, but none of these add up to a human being.

Knowledge, wealth, power, presentation - humanity is something else entirely.

The prophets came to purify humanity. You will find no traces of animal behaviour in the preaching of the prophets. You will find no sign of animal level existence in the lifestyle of the prophets. All you will find there is the pure light of humanity. And this is one of their greatest miracles.

The Prophet’s Greatest Miracle

When people think of prophetic miracles, they imagine displays of supernatural power and demonstrations of impossible acts. They imagine prophets causing walls to crumble or trees to grow.

Granted, the prophets certainly performed miracles comparable to these; there is no doubt in this regard; however, the greatest miracle of the prophets, was something else entirely.

It was the creation of a virtuous human being. In all sincerity, what miracle could be greater than this?

There might be someone who may be committing every criminal and immoral act imaginable. But upon being polished, by the message of Islam - that is - by that tool that the prophet uses, to polish the human soul, this man is suddenly and utterly transformed. The same person who yesterday would not hesitate to do wrong and whom no one would expect to become a paragon of virtue, can become such.

What kind of person was Abu Dhar before Islam? Abu Dhar was a rough desert nomad who had no regard for humanity whatsoever. He was the sort of person that one would not care if he were killed in an earthquake.

He was a man who did not understand, and who did not want to understand.

There was not a grain of compassion in his persona. There was not a shred of interest in virtue.

He was a wild looking figure who had grown up in the harshest landscape of the Arabian desert.

If you saw him, would you have any sympathy for him?

If a great moral teacher saw him, would he have hope that such a man could change?

People who call themselves teachers or reformers tend not to have much concern for men like Abu Dhar, rather they prefer to work with people who recognise their importance, and harken to their words - people who are already educated, and thinking.

However, the Prophet of Islam, Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, his pure family and righteous companions, was able to take this rough, unpolished stone - that was Abu Dhar - and through the polish of revelation and preaching, make a human being.

Furthermore, not just any human being - a human being who displayed every possible moral virtue available to humanity!

This is the Prophet’s greatest miracle. To make a man who puts aside all ego and selfishness - which is the axis around which most men’s lives turn - and is willing to sacrifice everything for the cause of truth.

Could you find such a person under normal circumstances? We want everything for ourselves and the things connected to ourselves: our businesses, our titles, our children, our names and of course our own persons.

Abu Dhar sacrificed everything he had - everything that went back to his own self - for the sake of God and for the sake of the Prophet, to walk the path that was laid out before him.

This is what it means to be human.

A human being with those qualities is transformed to a human being of this type. What is capable of effecting such a change? The revelation and preaching of the Prophet. From this dull stone, the Prophet made a glistening jewel.

This is the purpose of prophethood - to transform humanity.

A Higher Goal Beyond Materialism

Yes, it is of the utmost importance to set up the proper social order. It is essential to have a system that brings freedom and prosperity to all.

However, when discussing this, we must also ask that, once we have a society in which there is freedom and prosperity combined with social justice and class differences have been eradicated, and people are living and growing up in such a society.

What comes next? What goal do materialist philosophies assign the human being who lives in an ideal society? What is the purpose of humanity? Human beings struggle and sacrifice in order to create a free society, but once they have it, what comes after?

What do we do with this freedom now that we have it?

For instance, when you build a mosque - a masjed, there must be a purpose for this mosque after it has been built, so that when construction finishes, the people will come to the mosque and pray, or to listen to sermons, or to worship, or many such things.

It is meaningless for us to build a mosque, with all the money, time and effort that goes into this, only for the mosque to remain unused!

Why did we build this mosque?

What do we do now that it is finished?

Would we say: “Nothing, we just wanted to build a mosque!”

That would be absurd and ridiculous, not to mention hideously wasteful!

And yet, this is exactly what materialist philosophies say about the creation of a just and fair society.

Materialist philosophies say that we should develop the world, eliminate poverty, uproot ignorance, and build a better society - a human society. A society in which there are no class divisions, in which there is no division or exploitation.

Wonderful. But once we have such a society, what are the human beings supposed to do with it? What are they supposed to do in it?

Materialist philosophies do not have an answer to this. What is to become of humanity in such a society? They have no answer.

Are people meant to just eat, drink and sleep?

Are they just meant to have an ‘easy life’ and that’s it?

Are we to struggle and sacrifice just for people to have an ‘easy life’, meaning to eat, drink and sleep with ease? Is that all we want?

That is where materialist ideologies ultimately fail.

Theistic philosophies, on the other hand, say that there is a further goal to be achieved. There is a higher goal for which the creation of a just social order is a prerequisite.

This higher goal is to elevate the human being. In fact, it is to make men into human beings.

A man is not the same thing as a human. A man is a creature that walks on two legs, but a human is something more. Much more.

To become a human, a person must realise their latent potential and acquire virtue.

Now, a question might come to mind: Then what?

To which this answer is: There is no ‘then’ because a human being is limitless and God is limitless, and so the journey is never-ending.

إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ

“To God we belong and to Him we return”

- Quran, Surah al-Baqarah (the Chapter of the Cow) #2, Verse 156

When the human being sets out upon the path of perfection, there is no end to this road. This is the idea that lies at the core of monotheism and all the world’s great religious traditions.

The human being is, forever ascending onwards and upwards.

The human being is, forever climbing to new heights. There is no end. And it is for this ideal that the prophets were sent.

The prophets came to save mankind from vice, degeneracy and ignorance, from allowing their latent potentialities remain hidden. They came to make real human beings.

This is the primary goal of the prophets.

The Mission of the Prophets

This is what the Quran tells us on numerous occasions, as we have seen in the verse:

لَقَدْ مَنَّ اللَّهُ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ إِذْ بَعَثَ فِيهِمْ رَسُولًا مِّنْ أَنفُسِهِمْ يَتْلُو عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتِهِ وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَإِن كَانُوا مِن قَبْلُ لَفِي ضَلَالٍ مُّبِينٍ

God certainly favoured the faithful, when He raised up among them an apostle from among themselves to recite to them His signs and to purify them, and to teach them, such that before they were in manifest error

- Quran, Surah Aal-i-Imraan (the Chapter of the Family of Imraan) #3, Verse 164

So the prophets came to enhance the human being, to adorn him with virtue, and to purify him from vice. This is the goal of the prophets. That is why our own Prophet is narrated to have said - and this has been at the core of our discussions here on the Lantern of the Path:

إِنَّمَا بُعِثْتُ لِأُتَمِّمَ مَكَارِمَ الأَخْلاَقِ

Indeed, I was sent to complete the noble character.

- Musnad of Imam Ahmad, al-Muwatta of Imam Malik, Usul al-Kafi, Bihar al-Anwar

This is the first.

But there is an even more important point to consider.

Many a time we have heard this point, that the mission of the prophet is always one of moral refinement and development. To this a person could say:

”We know where to go, and we’ve understood what we must do, so stop stirring up trouble and give up fighting. Instead let’s go to a monastery and live as monks.

We will spend all our time purifying ourselves and becoming better people, and we will save ourselves.

Then, if someone comes to us and is receptive, we can teach him how to do the same, and we’ll make him a better person too!”

This attitude is often used as an excuse for being lazy, quiescent, saving ones own skin and choosing the path of least resistance. Because it can be used to excuse these traits, we find it repeated often.

Such words please people, they please rulers, and they please people who bear the responsibility of educating and guiding the people.

Moral refinement is something straightforward and easy to preach. It does not bring you into conflict with others. You just need to gather a few people, tell them some nice stories, make them a little less selfish, and say that you’ve helped them on the path to spirituality and moral refinement.

It is also easy for people, or at least it looks easy for them - when in reality it is not.

That is why, what I have said thus far is uncontroversial and reasonably well-known.

Reflections on the Role of the Prophets

However, the question is this:

How did the prophets elevate people and inspire them to virtue? What did they do? Did they go and speak to people one by one, take them by the hand and lead them to a corner, a mosque or a school in order to teach them and educate them?

Did the prophets sit in a hermitage and wait for people to come to them, like the ascetics and mystics of the world? Did people look at their spiritual state and decide to become just like them?

Or, were the prophets like the philosophers of the world - did they open a school, set up a blackboard (or whiteboard) and call people to come and learn from them?

Is this how the prophets were? Or not?

The prophets did not believe in educating only the individual. They did not believe in making people into real human beings one at a time, like you might imagine Socrates or Plato did.

Do you think that Ibrahim (Abraham), Musa (Moses), Isa (Jesus) or our Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon them all, and his pure family and righteous companions, sat in a school and waited for people to come to them?

They were not like this, and neither were the Prophet’s successors. It is an error, a mistake to imagine, as some people do, that Imam as-Sadiq - the sixth Imam of the Muslims - just sat atop a pulpit and preached to his four thousand students, as some people unthinkingly suppose.

Just because someone (Ibn Uqdah - Abu al-‘Abbas Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Sa‘id al-Kufi - the prominent Islamic Scholar and genealogist and hadeeth transmitter) counted some four thousand individuals as students of, and narrators of traditions from him. Some suppose that these four thousand people came and sat at his feet while he narrated traditions, answered legal questions and delivered moral exhortations from the pulpit!

But this was not the case for Imam as-Sadiq, nor for his grandfather, the Prophet Muhammad, nor for any of the prophets that came before him. This was not their way.

It is not the job of the prophets to open schools, deliver sermons or educate individuals.

The prophets have just one answer to the question:

How to make a human being?

How to educate a person in accordance with the proper divine paradigm?

They have one answer:

By creating an environment that is conducive to his, a healthy environment, an environment in which people can grow and learn. That is all. They say that it is not possible to do this on an individual basis, one person at a time. Instead, you must make a factory.

If you want to change a whole society one person at a time, you will die before you accomplish this. Instead , you must change society, in order to change it’s people. There must be a system, an assembly line that makes people in the desired fashion. That is all.

Creating a Tawheed-Oriented Society

The prophets say that the human being is like a fruit tree - let us say an orange tree, or perhaps a date palm. These fruit trees grow and give fruit in certain specific conditions that are appropriate for them - such as a warm climate.

Date palms, typically grow in places like the South of Iran, or the Persian Gulf region as well as in some Arab countries. They produce a sweet and delicious fruit in these climates.

Why?

Because these fruit trees thrive best in an environment that has a certain range of temperature, humidity and precipitation, as well as a soil that has a certain mineral composition.

There are other conditions also, and these conditions are best fulfilled somewhere like the South of Iran. These conditions are not met in the suburbs of London!

Now, if you were to bring a thousand date palms, and plant them in a suburb of London, where neither the air, nor the water, nor the soil is conducive to their growth, what will happen?

Indeed, if you actually wanted to grow dates in a suburb of London, you would have to bring your date palm (or orange tree), and plant it in a greenhouse in your garden, then keep a very close watch on it. You would have to fertilise and water the soil it grows in, ensure the temperature and humidity is very carefully controlled.

This is a lot of very hard work, and after a while - if you are fortunate - it will yield perhaps one or two unripe dates.

Now, you could do this, but why would you? If you wanted to grow dates, you would be best placed to do so in an environment that was conducive to the date palm, where you didn’t have to constantly monitor the temperature, humidity, soil quality and mineral content and so on, in order to ensure that the palm is healthy.

Where you would not have to expend all that effort for just one or two dates.

Is it not then, more reasonable to, instead of growing date palms one by one in an inappropriate climate, to rather grow them in the right climate? Would it not be better if you could create an environment wherein the date palms would flourish by themselves?

Clearly, if you wanted to make the right environment, this too would be a lot of work and effort before you could reap your rewards. It would certainly require more effort than to grow a single date palm, but consider the results that this effort would yield.

Here you are expending all this effort for a single person, for an individual, whereas there, you are expending that effort for a society, for a system, which will affect potentially millions - perhaps billions - of people and their descendants also.

This is the work of the prophets.

Understanding this point properly is crucial, if we are to be true followers of the prophet’s path.

This is something we need to reflect deeply on, as it is not always straightforward or easy to grasp. To that end, we must refer to verses of the Quran, to the lives of the prophets, to the traditions (hadeeth/narrations) we have on the subject of prophethood.

We must study these sources in detail and reflect deeply.

Do not accept this hastily. Do not reject this hastily. A topic of this importance deserves and requires time and consideration.

Some people, may object to what has been said herein. Some will not understand that the prophets wanted to create an environment that was conducive to spiritual growth, preferring to imagine that they went to people one by one in order to guide them, even though this sort of work is beneath the lofty status of God’s messengers on earth.

When we look at the Quran, we can understand how the prophets answered this question of how to make a human being. Meaning how to elevate and nurture a human being. Their answer to this question was that we need to create a godly society, a tawheed-oriented society, an appropriate environment in which to produce true human beings.

Not just one, or ten, or even a thousand human beings individually, but rather in groups, in throngs, and within the guiding light of Islamic teachings.

إِذَا جَاءَ نَصْرُ اللَّهِ وَالْفَتْحُ
وَرَأَيْتَ النَّاسَ يَدْخُلُونَ فِي دِينِ اللَّهِ أَفْوَاجًا

When God’s help comes with victory,
And you see people entering God’s religion in throngs.

- Quran, Surah an-Nasr (the Chapter of the Help) #110, Verses 1 to 2

Now, in the polytheistic environment of Makkah, the Prophet Muhammad was forced to guide people one at a time. This is because, in order to create a better society, or a system of guiding others, there must be a number of close disciples, a vanguard, who were handpicked by the Prophet.

There is no contradiction between this and the general scheme of the prophets. In order to lay the foundation for a new kind of society he hoped to create, the Prophet had no choice but to preach to people one by one.

One of these was Abu Dhar, another was Abdullah ibn Masoud (another prominent companion of the Prophet) and so on and so forth.

In this way, he guided one to two hundred people in Makkah. These would be the foundations of the new society - a society built on tawheed and submission to God.

What a monumental effort it was for the Prophet to guide all these individual people, what a struggle, and what sacrifices it demanded from him!

Fathers forbade their sons from listening to him and those sons who had worldly ambitions did not follow him or heed his words. Anyone who inclined towards him in the slightest, was harassed, persecuted and tortured by the polytheists of Makkah.

This is what the Prophet was up against in his home city.

However, this all changed when he took his mission to Madinah. There, he was able to create a godly and tawheed-oriented society, with himself at its head, governing by the laws and commands of God.

It was at this time, God told him:

In summary, the prophets had two major goals. Their fundamental goal was to make people into human beings, to save people from their vices. This was their highest goal.

However, there was another goal which was a preliminary to achieving this one, namely, to create a tawheed-oriented society that is governed by a godly system of government and ruled by God’s laws.

This also was the goal of all the prophets. If anyone imagines that God’s messengers did not have this goal, they need to pay closer attention when studying the Quran, the traditions (ahadeeth, narrations) and the lives of the prophets.

Key Quranic Verses on Prophethood

We will now discuss two sets of verses of Quran, firstly from Surah al-Hadid (the Chapter of Iron):

لَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا رُسُلَنَا بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ وَأَنزَلْنَا مَعَهُمُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْمِيزَانَ لِيَقُومَ النَّاسُ بِالْقِسْطِ ۖ وَأَنزَلْنَا الْحَدِيدَ فِيهِ بَأْسٌ شَدِيدٌ وَمَنَافِعُ لِلنَّاسِ وَلِيَعْلَمَ اللَّهُ مَن يَنصُرُهُ وَرُسُلَهُ بِالْغَيْبِ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ قَوِيٌّ عَزِيزٌ

Certainly, We sent Our prophets with manifest proofs, and We sent down with them the Book and the Balance, so that humanity may maintain justice; and We sent down iron, in which there is great might, and uses for humanity, and so that God may know those who help Him and His messengers in [their] absence. Indeed God is all-strong, all-mighty

- Quran, Surah al-Hadid (the Chapter of the Iron) #57, Verse 25

“Certainly, We sent Our prophets with manifest proofs” - the words of the prophets and the evidence they bring is extremely clear. It is something that anyone capable of thinking or reflecting will be able to understand.

“And We sent down with them the Book” - what is the Book? (al-kitab - الكتاب)?

According to Imam Khamenei and many others from the senior scholars, the Book, is the totality of teachings and ordinances that constitute the very foundations of the religion. The lessons and doctrines of the religion. This is the Book.

It encompasses the full ideology of the religion. If we want to sum up the meaning of ‘the Book’ using a single term that is widely used by contemporary thinkers and schools of thought, we would say that it means ‘ideology’, meaning the fundamental principles of the religion, the pillars of it’s thought, and the basis for its practical doctrines, that have a tangible and foundational role in it’s constitution.

In addition to the Book, God also sent down ‘the Balance’ (al-mizan - الميزان). What is the Balance?

A measure? A scale? Does it mean that every prophet who came brought a measure with him, under his robes? Of course not!

The Balance refers to the means by which balance and harmony can be reached in society. This is the meaning of the Balance in the Quran. It is the means by which justice can be brought about in society.

If the Prophet was not supposed to lead a community or create a new society, why would he need a balance? Why would he need something that is a means of instituting fairness and equality?

What is this means that the Prophet was given for creating a just social order?

The tools of divine judgement - this is one - the laws governing judgement and settling disputes in society, the means to implement the laws, a guarantor of their implementation - all of these are things that ‘the Balance’ could denote.

There are laws, a guarantor that these laws will be implemented, and a witness to see them being implemented.

Just as we see in democratic nations today, we see that the state implements the laws of the society. In nations where there is a state, a parliament, a legislature, and implementer of them, this implementor of laws is the executive that supervises society as a whole.

According to Imam Khamenei, it is possible that ‘the Balance’ refers to this executive power.

When we look at traditions concerning these verses, we see one of the interpretations given to the term ‘the Balance’ is that of the Imam - this is found in Tafsir Nur ath-Thaqalayn (Light of the Two Weighty Things) of al-Huwayzi - a comprehensive exegesis of the Quran by the 12th Century Iranian Scholar.

Imam Khamenei fully supports this notion that ‘the Balance’ refers to the Imam, because the Imam is the one who separates truth from falsehood in society. It is he who must make the lines clear. It is he who must bring about justice and equality in society.

Why?

Because he is the ruler of society.

The Imam is the Balance. He is the criterion. Good and evil are measured according to him. The proper ways are applied with him. In addition to this, it is he who oversees society to ensure that people do not overstep the boundaries of justice and equality, and he supervises the implementation of divine law.

This is what the narration emphasises.

Therefore, the Balance is the means by which justice and equality can be realised in society. This is one of the things that the Prophet was sent with.

The Role of Justice and Iron

So, the question now arises, why do we need this? What does the Book need the prophet for? Why did we need the Prophet at all, if there is a book? Why does there need to be a balance? Why does there need to be a book?

The Quran answers:

“So that humanity may maintain justice” - so that people can live, just lives, in an environment of justice. So that people can establish a just way of living. This is one meaning.

However, there is another meaning also.

So that the human being will stand on the basis of justice and live according to the principle of equality.

These two meanings sound very similar, but if close attention is paid, you will see they are subtly different.

“So that humanity may maintain justice”, so that people can live in an environment of justice, in a just society governed by a just system. This is why the Prophet was sent.

So, why did God send messengers? To set up a just system of government. They came to make the world a place of fairness and justice. They came to make society and government just and fair. This is why the Prophet came, because it is only within a just society and a just social order that the human being can find the opportunity to grow and flourish.

Then God adds:

“And We sent down iron”. Very interesting don’t you think? Through speaking and preaching, people set up a just society. Is that it? Is that all? Let us assume that they manage to do this, do you then think that the devils, wolves and thieves will leave this just society alone?

That is why God sent iron - so that people could defend their most dearly-held values. When we look at the traditions, we see that when the Imam reads the phrase “And We sent down iron”, he said: “It means weapons”.

So, you see, God mentions weapons alongside the preaching of His prophets. As well as the Prophet’s mission to teach people, as well as the idea to create a tawheed-oriented and God-oriented society, God mentions weapons. and the power to overcome one’s foes.

“In which there is great might, and uses for humanity, so that God may know”. It goes without saying that God does know.

When the Quran says “so that God may know”, this means “so that it may be known”.

“Those who help Him and His messengers in [their] absence”, those who help Him and His messengers in the unseen, with faith in the unseen, or without seeing it, they have not seen God, and some have not seen the Prophet, but they believe in Him, and they help the Prophet.

“Indeed God is all-strong, all-mighty”. Let us look at the endings of these and many other verses; look at how meaningful they are: “Indeed God is all-hearing, all-knowing”, “Indeed God is all-strong, all-mighty”, “Indeed God is all-forgiving, all-merciful”.

This choice of words is not by chance nor is it a coincidence.

They have not been chosen purely because they rhyme - as they might have been in plain poetry. These ends to the verses are each chosen according to the meaning of the verse which they follow, and which they are supposed to complement.

Look at the current verse: “Indeed God is all-strong, all-mighty”. So do not think that the prophets came but were not able to create these societies that we sketch out, that they cannot establish justice amongst the people, no, God, the One who sent them, is all-mighty. Do not fear those who fight against God’s messengers and prophets, for God is ‘all-mighty’ and cannot be defeated.

That is the meaning of ‘all-mighty’ (عَزِيزٌ) - the one who defeats, but cannot be defeated by others.

An idiomatic translation of this term might be ‘unconquerable’ or ‘triumphant’, so “God is all-strong, and unconquerable”.

The Unlettered Prophet and His Mission

For the second set of verses we want to discuss, these are from Surah al-A’raaf (the Chapter of the Heights), which is the 7th Chapter of the Quran:

وَاكْتُبْ لَنَا فِي هَٰذِهِ الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ إِنَّا هُدْنَا إِلَيْكَ ۚ قَالَ عَذَابِي أُصِيبُ بِهِ مَنْ أَشَاءُ ۖ وَرَحْمَتِي وَسِعَتْ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ ۚ فَسَأَكْتُبُهَا لِلَّذِينَ يَتَّقُونَ وَيُؤْتُونَ الزَّكَاةَ وَالَّذِينَ هُم بِآيَاتِنَا يُؤْمِنُونَ
الَّذِينَ يَتَّبِعُونَ الرَّسُولَ النَّبِيَّ الْأُمِّيَّ الَّذِي يَجِدُونَهُ مَكْتُوبًا عِندَهُمْ فِي التَّوْرَاةِ وَالْإِنجِيلِ يَأْمُرُهُم بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَاهُمْ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ وَيُحِلُّ لَهُمُ الطَّيِّبَاتِ وَيُحَرِّمُ عَلَيْهِمُ الْخَبَائِثَ وَيَضَعُ عَنْهُمْ إِصْرَهُمْ وَالْأَغْلَالَ الَّتِي كَانَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ ۚ فَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِهِ وَعَزَّرُوهُ وَنَصَرُوهُ وَاتَّبَعُوا النُّورَ الَّذِي أُنزِلَ مَعَهُ ۙ أُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ

“And appoint goodness for us in this world, and in the Hereafter, for indeed we have come back to You.” He said, “I visit my punishment on whomever I wish, but My mercy encompasses all things. Soon, I will appoint for those who are God-weary, and who give zakaat (the poor-due) and those who believe in Our signs.
Those who follow the Messenger, the Unlettered Prophet, whom they find mentioned in the Torah and the Gospel in their possession. He directs them to righteousness, and deters them from evil, and allows for them all good things, and prohibits for them wickedness, and unloads the burdens and the shackles that are upon them. Those who believe in him, and respect him, and support him, and follow the light that came down with him—these are the successful.”

- Quran, Surah al-A’raaf (the Chapter of the Heights) #7, Verses 156 to 157

We want to focus on these verses so as to make clear what we have been discussing, God willing.

These verses are the speech of a believer or a group of believers with God. What do they say?

We should pay close attention to this verse: “And appoint goodness for us in this world, and in the Hereafter, for indeed we have come back to You.” God responds to them: “I visit my punishment on whomever I wish”.

However, God’s will, is not something arbitrary or pointless. He does not decide to punish someone for no reason. No, the will of God follows standards and criteria that He has laid out.

God punishes sinners and evil people: “I visit my punishment on whomever I wish, but My mercy encompasses all things. Soon, I will appoint for those who are God-weary, and who give zakaat (the poor-due) and those who believe in Our signs.”. Who are they?

“Those who follow the Messenger, the Unlettered Prophet”.

There is disagreement about the meaning of ‘unlettered’ (ummi - أُمِّي) in the ‘unlettered prophet’ (an-nabi al-ummi - النَّبِيَّ الْأُمِّيَّ). Some say that ‘unlettered’ means someone who was illiterate, while others say it means someone who was from the masses, or someone who is only connected to his mother (umm - أم) who has not been influenced by any particular culture. Some say that ‘ummi’ means someone from the Mother of Towns (umm al-qura - أم القرى) meaning Makkah.

In any case, this is not our concern, as our concern is not with these interpretations of the word ‘ummi’, only that the people God is talking about are those who follow this unlettered Prophet “whom they find mentioned in the Torah and the Gospel in their possession”.

These two scriptures foretold the coming of the Prophet. How did they describe him in their predictions? “He directs them to righteousness”, to those virtues which are known by human reason (aql - عقل) and nature (fitrah - فطرة). “And deters them from evil”. Those things which are alien to human reason and nature.

“Allows for them all good things”, because every good thing is found in the religion - “and prohibits for them wickedness” - meaning He withholds unclean things from them; this is how an Islamic society should be.

In an Islamic society, everything that is good for the human being, whether for his mind, heart, spirit or body, should be readily available to all.

Knowledge, education, piety, wealth - whatever is beneficial for the human being - should be there for him.

Conversely, whatever is bad for the human being should not be available to anyone.

“And prohibits for them wickedness”, whether by keeping it out of their hands, or by implementing laws that do so.

“And unloads the burdens”. One of the qualities of the Prophet is that he unburdens the people from the burden of ignorance, the burden of false traditions, the burden of inhuman systems, and social orders, the burden of tyranny, dictatorship and exploitation.

Whatever the burden, he lifts it from their shoulders. “And the shackles that are upon them.”. What shackles are these?

Were there literal shackles on the feet of the Makkans when the Prophet came to them?

Were there collars and chains around their necks?

Were they all prisoners?

Clearly, these are not the literal metal shackles or chains. So, what were they? We should reflect on this; and to the the audience, I invite you to reflect on this and work out what they were for yourself, and feel free to share it in the comments or the discussion.

What were the fetters that bound the Makkans? What were they enthralled to?

To cruel traditions, ignorant superstitions and man-made customs.

It is they who will reach their destination as human beings.

Conclusion

We have now covered the idea of the goal of the prophets; and in addition to the previous three sessions on prophethood; we have a sensible and, God willing, clearer understanding of the subject of prophethood. A subject that is critical to our ideology; and that is a clear manifestation of the Mercy of God, the Justice of God.

In the next session, we will attempt to cover and understand the Starting Point of the Prophetic Call. This will build upon what we have learned here, and in the previous sessions.

These points are all extremely important elements of the ideology of the true Islam of Muhammad, the School of Thought of Resistance; the Islam delivered by all the prophets of God, and that Islam that is key to the liberation of all of humanity from the shackles of the lowest of the low; so that humanity can soar and regain its rightful place as the best of the best.

And from Him alone is all ability and He has authority over all things.

To He, Who binds the hearts of the believers

To He, Who is the recourse of the heartbroken

To He, Who is the one who builds love between the believers.

To He, Who removes the veils and reveals the Truth

To He, Who is the Lord of the Universes

To He, Who removes the chains and shackles

To He, Who lifts the burdens

To He, Who enlivens the hearts of the believers

To He, Who opens the path for a manifest victory

To He, Who is always on the watchtower

To He, Who is the cure to all ailments

Oh Lord, hasten the return of our master, and alleviate our suffering

Oh Lord, protect your Wali, the Wali of your Wali, the Leader, and take from us to extend his.

Amen, Oh Lord Sustainer of the Universes.