Prophethood is not unknown to divinely revealed religions, such as Judaism and Christianity. In Islam, however, it has a special status and significance.

According to Islam, God (Allah) created man for a noble purpose: to worship Him and lead a virtuous life based on His teachings and guidance. How would man know his role and the purpose of his existence unless he received clear and practical instructions of what God (Allah) wants him to do? Here comes the need for prophethood. Thus God (Allah) chose from every nation one or more prophets to convey His Message to mankind.

One might ask: How were the prophets (pbut) chosen and who were entitled to this great honor?

Prophethood is God's (Allah's) blessing and favor that He bestows on whom He wills. Surveying the various messengers (pbut) throughout history, three features of a prophet may be recognized:

1.  He is the best in his community, morally and intellectually. This is necessary because the prophet's life serves as a model for his followers. His personality should attract people to accept his message rather than drive them away by his imperfect character. After receiving the message he is infallible. That is, he would not commit any sin. He might commit some minor mistakes which are usually corrected by revelation.

2.  He is supported by miracles that prove he is not an impostor. The miracles are granted by God (Allah) and are recognized as superior as they exceed the most treasured talents of the people. We might illustrate this by quoting the major miracles of the three prophets (pbut) of the major world religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Moses' contemporaries were excellent in magic, so his major miracle was to defeat the best magicians of Egypt of his days. Jesus's contemporaries were recognized as skillful physicians. Therefore his miracles were to raise the dead and cure the incurable diseases. The Arabs, the contemporaries of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), were known for their eloquence and magnificent poetry. Thus the Prophet Muhammad's (pbuh) major miracle was the Qur'an, the equivalent of which the whole legion of the Arabs and orators could not produce despite the repeated challenge from the Qur'an itself. Again, Muhammad's (pbuh) miracle has something special about it. All previous miracles were limited by time and place, i.e., they were shown to specific people at a specific time. The Qura'nic miracle of Muhammad (pbuh) was out forever. It is a universal and everlasting miracle. Previous generations witnessed it and future generations will witness its miraculous nature in terms of its style, content and spiritual uplifting. These qualities can still be tested and will thereby prove the divine origin of the Qur'an.

3.  Every prophet states clearly that what he receives is not from himself but from God (Allah) for the well-being of mankind. He also confirms what was revealed before him and what may be revealed after him. A prophet does this to show that he is simply conveying the message which is entrusted to him by the One True God (Allah) for people of all ages. Hence the message is one in essence and achieves the same purpose. Therefore, it should not deviate from what was revealed before him or what might come after him.

Prophets are necessary for conveying God's (Allah's) instructions and guidance to mankind. We have no way of knowing why were we created. What will happen to us after death? Is there any life after death? Are we accountable for our actions? And how can we distinguish between good and evil? In other words, is there any reward or punishment for our deeds in this life? These and so many other questions about God (Allah): angels, paradise, hell, etc., cannot be answered without direct revelation from the Creator and Knower of the unseen. Those answers must be authentic and must be brought by individuals whom we trust and respect. That is why messengers (pbut) are the select of their societies in terms of moral conduct and intellectual ability.

Therefore, the slanderous Biblical stories about some of the great prophets (pbut) are not accepted by Muslims. For example, Lot is reported to have committed fornication while drunk, with his daughters, and David supposedly sent one of his leaders to death to marry his wife! To Muslims, prophets are greater than what these stories indicate. These stories cannot be true from the Islamic point of view.

The prophets (pbut) are also miraculously supported by God (Allah) and instructed by Him to affirm the continuity of the message.

The content of the prophets' (pbut) message to mankind can be summarized as follows:

a)  A clear concept about God (Allah): His attributes, His creation, what should and should not be ascribed to Him.

b)  A clear idea about the unseen world, the Angels, the Jinn, Paradise, and Hell.

c)  Answers to the questions: Why has God (Allah) created us? What does He want from us? and What is the reward or punishment for obeying or disobeying Him?

d)  Clear instructions and laws that indicate how to run our societies according to His will that, when applied correctly and honestly, result in a happy and ideal society.

It is clear from the above discussion that there is no substitute for prophets (pbut). Even now-a-days, with the advancement of science, the only authentic source of information about the supernatural world is revelation. Guidance cannot be obtained either from science or from mystic experience. The first is too materialistic and too limited; the second is too subjective and frequently too misleading.

Now one might ask: How may prophets (pbut) has God (Allah) sent to humanity? We have to answer that we do not know for sure. Some Muslim scholars have suggested 240 thousand prophets (pbut). We are only sure of what is clearly mentioned in the Qur'an, that is, God (Allah) has sent a messenger (or more) to every nation. This is because it is one of God's (Allah's) principles that He will never call people to account unless He has made clear to them what to do and what not to do. The Qur'an mentions the names of 25 prophets (pbut) and indicates that there have been others who were not mentioned. These 25 include Noah, the man of the Ark, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad (pbut). These five are considered the greatest among God's (Allah's) messengers (pbut). They are called “the resolute' prophets (pbut).”

An outstanding aspect of the Islamic belief in prophethood is that Muslims believe in and respect all the messengers (pbut) of God (Allah), with no exceptions. Since all the prophets (pbut) came from the same God (Allah) for the same purpose‹to lead mankind to God (Allah)‹belief in them all is essential and logical. (Accepting some and rejecting others has to be based on misconceptions of the prophets' (pbut) role or on racial bias.) The Muslims are the only people in the world who consider the belief in all the prophets (pbut) of God (Allah) an article of faith. Thus the Jews reject Jesus Christ and Muhammad (pbut); the Christians reject Muhammad (pbuh) and in reality reject Moses because they do not abide by his laws. Muslims accept them all as messengers (pbut) of God (Allah) who brought guidance to mankind. However, the revelation which those prophets (pbut) brought from God (Allah) has been tampered with in one way or the other. The belief in all the messengers (pbut) of God (Allah) is enjoined on the Muslims by the Qur'an :

Say ye: “We believe in God (Allah), and the revelation given to us and to Abraham, Isma'il, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes, and that given to Moses and Jesus (pbut) and that given to (all) prophets (pbut) from their Lord: We make no distinction between one and other of them: and we bow to Allah (God) (in Islam).”
(Qur'an 2 : 136)