The Personality of the Prophet of Islam

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