Distinguishing between the Messengers and Who Is the Best of Them?

The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta

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The sixth question of Fatwa No. ( 1000 ):
Q6: I would like to inquire about distinguishing between the Messengers of Allah, and which of them holds the highest status?
A6: It is obligatory to believe in the message of every one whose messengership is established by the Qur'an or the authentic Sunnah. Whoever believes in some of them and disbelieves in others has committed disbelief; for Allah the Exalted said:

The Messenger has believed in what was revealed to him from his Lord, and [so have] the believers. All of them have believed in Allah and His angels and His books and His messengers, [saying], "We make no distinction between any of His messengers."

آمَنَ الرَّسُولُ بِمَا أُنْـزِلَ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ رَبِّهِ وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ كُلٌّ آمَنَ بِاللَّهِ وَمَلائِكَتِهِ وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ لاَ نُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ أَحَدٍ مِنْ رُسُلِهِ

[Al-Baqarah 2:285]

, in Surat
al-Baqarah, and He said:

⁽¹⁵⁰⁾ Indeed, those who disbelieve in Allah and His messengers and wish to discriminate between Allah and His messengers and say, "We believe in some and disbelieve in others," and wish to adopt a way in between - ⁽¹⁵¹⁾ Those are the disbelievers, truly. And We have prepared for the disbelievers a humiliating punishment. ⁽¹⁵²⁾ But they who believe in Allah and His messengers and do not discriminate between any of them - to those He is going to give their rewards. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful.

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَكْفُرُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَرُسُلِهِ وَيُرِيدُونَ أَنْ يُفَرِّقُوا بَيْنَ اللَّهِ وَرُسُلِهِ وَيَقُولُونَ نُؤْمِنُ بِبَعْضٍ وَنَكْفُرُ بِبَعْضٍ وَيُرِيدُونَ أَنْ يَتَّخِذُوا بَيْنَ ذَلِكَ سَبِيلا (150) أُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْكَافِرُونَ حَقًّا وَأَعْتَدْنَا لِلْكَافِرِينَ عَذَابًا مُهِينًا (151) وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِاللَّهِ وَرُسُلِهِ وَلَمْ يُفَرِّقُوا بَيْنَ أَحَدٍ مِنْهُمْ أُولَئِكَ سَوْفَ يُؤْتِيهِمْ أُجُورَهُمْ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ غَفُورًا رَحِيمًا

[An-Nisa 4:150-152]

. As for the difference between the Messengers in status and rank, and the variation among them in virtue and degree, this is correct and is supported by explicit scriptural texts. Allah the Exalted said:

Those messengers - some of them We caused to exceed others. Among them were those to whom Allah spoke, and He raised some of them in degree

تِلْكَ الرُّسُلُ فَضَّلْنَا بَعْضَهُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ مِنْهُمْ مَنْ كَلَّمَ اللَّهُ وَرَفَعَ بَعْضَهُمْ دَرَجَاتٍ

[Al-Baqarah 2:253]

. The best of them are the Ulul 'Azm (those of firm resolve), namely: Nuh, Ibrahim, Musa, 'Isa, and Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon them). The best of these five are the two Khalil (close friends of Allah): Ibrahim and Muhammad, due to their exclusive possession of the Khalah (intimacy), which is the perfection of love, (peace and blessings be upon them). The best of the Messengers absolutely is the Seal of the Prophets, Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), based on the hadith:

I shall be pre-eminent amongst the descendants of Adam on the Day of Resurrection and I will be the first intercessor and the first whose intercession will be accepted (by Allah).

أنا سيد ولد آدم يوم القيامة وأول من ينشق عنه القبر، وأول شافع وأول مشفع

Sahih Muslim 2278

narrated by Muslim in his Sahih and by Abu Dawud in his Sunan, and the hadith:

I am the leader (qa'id) of the messengers, and this is no boast; I am the seal of the prophets, and this is no boast

أنا قائد المرسلين ولا فخر، وأنا خاتم النبيين ولا فخر...

Mishkat al-Masabih 5764

This hadith was narrated by al-Darimi in his Sunan, and the hadith

Amongst the apostles I would have the largest following on the Day of Resurrec tion, and I would be the first to knock at the door of Paradise.

أنا أكثر الأنبياء تبعًا يوم القيامة، وأنا أول من يقرع باب الجنة

Sahih Muslim 196b

narrated by Muslim in his Sahih, and the hadiths regarding his exclusive right to the Great Intercession and his stepping forward to it after the Prophets excused themselves from it, and his saving people from the terror of the Standing by his intercession for them, and other hadiths that were transmitted regarding his preference, and the consensus of the Ummah on this. However, it is befitting for the Muslim to be polite with the Prophets and not to engage in comparing their merits except in the context of teaching and guidance or the like, for fear that it may lead to argumentation and boasting, and become a means to belittling some of them. Indeed, al-Bukhari and Muslim narrated from Abu Hurayrah that he said:

A man from the Muslims and a man from the Jews quarreled, and the Jew said in an oath he was taking: By the One who chose Musa over all the worlds. So the Muslim raised his hand and slapped the face of the Jew, and the Jew said: O wicked one, and what about Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)? So the Jew came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and complained about the Muslim, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Do not prefer me over the Prophets...

استب رجل من المسلمين ورجل من اليهود، فقال اليهودي في قسم يقسمه: والذي اصطفى موسى على العالمين فرفع المسلم يده فلطم وجه اليهودي، فقال: أي خبيث وعلى محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم، فجاء اليهودي إلى النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فاشتكى المسلم، فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: لا تفضلوني على الأنبياء...

This hadith prohibits entering into the comparison between him and the Prophets in such a situation; for fear that it may lead to consequences that are not praiseworthy, even though the preference of some of them over others is established in the Qur'an and the Sunnah, and the specification of who is the best is also established by explicit text. And success is from Allah. And may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.

Source www.alifta.gov.sa

The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.

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