Exegesis of the saying of Allah the Exalted: “We make no distinction between any of His messengers”
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Question:
We do not differ regarding the status of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) or his great rank, which surpasses that of all the prophets, messengers, and all of creation. However, I find myself pausing at the saying of Allah the Exalted: “We make no distinction between any of His messengers” [Surat al-Baqarah: 285]. What is the interpretation of this verse? And what is its intended meaning?
Answer:
It is obligatory to believe in all the messengers (peace and blessings be upon them), from the first to the last, and it is obligatory to love them, revere them, honor them, and respect them; for they are the best of creation, and because they brought the message from Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) to guide creation. Allah saved by them whom He willed of His servants from the Fire and guided them to the straight path. Thus, belief in all the messengers, along with loving, revering, and respecting them, is obligatory, and it is a pillar of faith. As the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Faith is that you believe in Allah, His angels, His books, and His messengers” [Narrated by Imam Muslim in his Sahih (1/36, 37, 38) from the hadith of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, and it is part of the hadith]. As for making a distinction between the messengers, it means believing in some of them and disbelieving in others, as the Jews did and as the Christians did. The Jews’ position regarding the messengers was that they believed in some and disbelieved in others; they disbelieved in 'Isa and Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon them both), and they killed some of the other messengers. As Allah the Exalted said: “Do you then reject every messenger who comes to you with what your souls do not desire? So you used to be arrogant toward some, and you used to kill others” [Surat al-Baqarah: 87]. This is the Jews’ position regarding the messengers; they made a distinction between them, disbelieving in some and killing some. Even those among them who believed in them did not believe in them with correct faith; for they did not believe except in what agreed with their desires from what they brought, and they disbelieved in and abandoned what contradicted their desires. The Christians also disbelieved in Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him); so they made a distinction between the messengers. As for the people of correct faith, they believed in all the messengers, from the first to the last: “The Messenger has believed in what was revealed to him from his Lord, and the believers, all of them have believed in Allah and His angels and His books and His messengers. They make no distinction between any of His messengers” [Surat al-Baqarah: 285]. The one who disbelieves in some and believes in some is a disbeliever in all of them; for the one in whom he disbelieves has with him evidence, argument, and proof of his prophethood just as the messengers in whom he believes have. So his disbelief in him is disbelief in the rest of them. Likewise, making a distinction between the messengers means preferring some of them over others in the sense of boasting and diminishing the right of the other prophets; this is also not permissible, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade it when he said: “Do not prefer one prophet over another” [Narrated by Imam Muslim in his Sahih (4/1843, 1844) from the hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) with the wording: “Do not prefer the prophets of Allah over one another”], meaning: Do not prefer them over one another in a way that involves boasting and diminishing the one who is considered lesser. As for mentioning that some of them are better than others without boasting and without diminishing the other prophets, there is nothing wrong with that. Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) said: “Those are the messengers; We have given preference to some of them over others” [Surat al-Baqarah: 253]. So there is no doubt that the messengers differ in rank, and this is a favor from Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). So making a distinction between the messengers means two things: First: believing in some of them and disbelieving in others, as the Jews and Christians did. Second: preferring some of them over others in the sense of boasting and diminishing the one who is considered lesser. And Allah knows best.
We do not differ regarding the status of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) or his great rank, which surpasses that of all the prophets, messengers, and all of creation. However, I find myself pausing at the saying of Allah the Exalted: “We make no distinction between any of His messengers” [Surat al-Baqarah: 285]. What is the interpretation of this verse? And what is its intended meaning?
Answer:
It is obligatory to believe in all the messengers (peace and blessings be upon them), from the first to the last, and it is obligatory to love them, revere them, honor them, and respect them; for they are the best of creation, and because they brought the message from Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) to guide creation. Allah saved by them whom He willed of His servants from the Fire and guided them to the straight path. Thus, belief in all the messengers, along with loving, revering, and respecting them, is obligatory, and it is a pillar of faith. As the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Faith is that you believe in Allah, His angels, His books, and His messengers” [Narrated by Imam Muslim in his Sahih (1/36, 37, 38) from the hadith of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, and it is part of the hadith]. As for making a distinction between the messengers, it means believing in some of them and disbelieving in others, as the Jews did and as the Christians did. The Jews’ position regarding the messengers was that they believed in some and disbelieved in others; they disbelieved in 'Isa and Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon them both), and they killed some of the other messengers. As Allah the Exalted said: “Do you then reject every messenger who comes to you with what your souls do not desire? So you used to be arrogant toward some, and you used to kill others” [Surat al-Baqarah: 87]. This is the Jews’ position regarding the messengers; they made a distinction between them, disbelieving in some and killing some. Even those among them who believed in them did not believe in them with correct faith; for they did not believe except in what agreed with their desires from what they brought, and they disbelieved in and abandoned what contradicted their desires. The Christians also disbelieved in Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him); so they made a distinction between the messengers. As for the people of correct faith, they believed in all the messengers, from the first to the last: “The Messenger has believed in what was revealed to him from his Lord, and the believers, all of them have believed in Allah and His angels and His books and His messengers. They make no distinction between any of His messengers” [Surat al-Baqarah: 285]. The one who disbelieves in some and believes in some is a disbeliever in all of them; for the one in whom he disbelieves has with him evidence, argument, and proof of his prophethood just as the messengers in whom he believes have. So his disbelief in him is disbelief in the rest of them. Likewise, making a distinction between the messengers means preferring some of them over others in the sense of boasting and diminishing the right of the other prophets; this is also not permissible, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade it when he said: “Do not prefer one prophet over another” [Narrated by Imam Muslim in his Sahih (4/1843, 1844) from the hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) with the wording: “Do not prefer the prophets of Allah over one another”], meaning: Do not prefer them over one another in a way that involves boasting and diminishing the one who is considered lesser. As for mentioning that some of them are better than others without boasting and without diminishing the other prophets, there is nothing wrong with that. Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) said: “Those are the messengers; We have given preference to some of them over others” [Surat al-Baqarah: 253]. So there is no doubt that the messengers differ in rank, and this is a favor from Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). So making a distinction between the messengers means two things: First: believing in some of them and disbelieving in others, as the Jews and Christians did. Second: preferring some of them over others in the sense of boasting and diminishing the one who is considered lesser. And Allah knows best.
Source
www.alfawzan.af.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.