The philosophy of the mission of the Messengers and Prophets in Islamic tradition.

We have already read about the aims and causes of the mission of the apostles of God in the above verses and they are also mentioned in the Islamic traditions with various explanations not bereft of benefits. We also have the examples that tell us that they have more than one aim.

The traditions tell us that when the Messenger of Islam began his mission some elders of Quraysh came to Hazrat Abu Talib and said, “O Abu Talib! Your nephew accuses us of decadence and curses our gods; he creates unrest among the youth and sows the seeds of division amongst us. If he so desires then we will make him the richest person among the Quraysh and if he desires then we will declare him to be our Ameer. Abu Talib came to the Messenger and informed him about what these elders had said. The Messenger replied, “If they put the sun on my right hand and the moon on the left then even I will not go back on my words. The Arabs will rule with the help of the signs and words that I bring and the non-Arabs will develop because of them and be the rulers in Paradise.”

When Abu Talib reported what the Messenger had said, they said, “Yes, and what are the ten words ?’ (1) The Messenger answered, “You will stand witness that there is no god but God and I’m His Messenger.”

This hadith tells us that accepting the initiation of the apostles is actually helping one self in both the worlds and leads to respect and freedom for both God and the people are in agreement.

1. In another hadith Hisham bin Alhakam quotes Imam Sadiq to have said in reply to a disbeliever’s objection about the mission of the apostles, “We would never have been steadfast if We did not have a great and mighty creator. He is without partners in His work and so has no rivals. He cannot be touched. Yes, He entrusts His apostles with His messages and they in turn give to the people and present a conclusive argument for them. So it is proves that His ambassadors or apostles have introduced God to the people and they have presented the proofs for their betterment. Refuting the messages has lead to destruction. (2)

2. There is a very beautiful statement in the Nahjul Balagha by Amirul Muminin about the philosophy of the mission of the apostles. He said, “So God appointed His Messengers among them and sent Prophets for them so that they may remind them about the covenant they had made with Him. They would remind them about His bounties and present the conclusive argument through their preaching foretelling them about the treasures of human mind and intellect.”(3)

3. The Messenger is reported to have said in one hadith: Indeed I have been commissioned to spread perfect the moral behavior of mankind (4) in another hadith he is reported to have said that “I have been commissioned to perfect the social behavior of mankind.”(5)

4. Furu Kafi records that Imam Ali said, “ Indeed God has commissioned Mohammad with the truth the restrains the people through His appointee from worshipping men amongst them to those with piety, and to take them away from the covenant they had made with such people to those that obeyed God, and towards his own goodness and betterment.

He was ordained to do so by God’s permission and he was like a beacon of light. (6)

1. Tafsir Nurus Saqlain vol.4 page 442 hadith 7, and translation of Ali         Ibn Ibrahim vol.2 ;page 228

2. Usul Kafi vol.1 page 168

3. Nahjul Balagha Sermon 1

4. Tabaqat Ibn Saad vol.1 page 192 (Beirut)

5. Kanzul Ammaal vol.11 page 42 hadith 31969

6. Furu’ Alkafi vol.8 page 386 hadith 586