Emergence of the Final Prophet

Emergence of the Final Prophet We find the answer in the Quran: “It may well be that your Lord will raise you to a station of praise and glory.” (17:79) In this verse of the Quran, ‘the station of praise and glory’ is no mysterious station. It instead means the station of a historically acknowledged prophet. The prophetic guidance of all who preceded the Prophet of Islam was primarily confined to the period of their physical presence in this world. Therefore, belief in them after their death required historical authentication. But their lives were not recorded in the annals of history. As such, for later generations, their title to prophethood lacked historical credibility. When someone no longer exists, historical proof is required to support belief in him. Because of this, these prophets, from a purely historical viewpoint, no longer remained an authentic source of guidance for later generations. For instance, on the subject of Jesus Christ, Bertrand Russell (d. 1970), the well-known British philosopher, writes in his book, Why I Am Not a Christian: “Historically, it is quite doubtful whether Christ ever existed at all.” (p. 12) To place the Prophet of Islam in a position of praise and glory means that he was supported with factors