[Derived from the contents of Javed Ahmed Ghamidi’s compositions Al-Bayan and Mizan]
The task assigned to the Prophets of Allah, as per the terminology of the Qur’an, is warning and giving good tidings. This means that they receive revelation from the heavens to inform people of the truth, delivering glad tidings of a good outcome in the Hereafter to those who believe, and warning those who deny about the consequences of a bad outcome. It has been stated:
فَبَعَثَ اللّٰهُ النَّبِيّٖنَ مُبَشِّرِيۡنَ وَمُنۡذِرِيۡنَ. كَانَ النَّاسُ اُمَّةً وَّاحِدَةً
Mankind was just a single community. Then [differences arose between them. So,] God sent forth prophets as bearers of glad tidings and as warners, (2:213)
Adam, Idris, Ismail, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Elias, David, Solomon, Zachariah, and John, peace be upon them, are counted among these prophets.
Among the prophets, certain individuals are appointed by Allah Almighty to the position of Messengers. Their role is not limited to warning and giving glad tidings; rather, they go beyond this by establishing the dominance of truth in practice. It is as if they come as the court of God, executing the judgment of reward and punishment upon their addressees in this world before departing. It is stated in Surah Yunus:
يُظۡلَمُوۡنَ.
[His law is that] for every nation there is a messenger. Then, when their messenger comes their fate is justly decided and no injustice is done to them. (10:47)
In Surah Al-Mujadila, it is stated:
اِنَّ الَّذِيۡنَ يُحَآدُّوۡنَ اللّٰهَ وَرَسُوۡلَهٗۤ اُولٰٓٮِٕكَ فِى الۡاَذَلِّيۡنَ كَتَبَ اللّٰهُ لَاَغۡلِبَنَّ اَنَا وَرُسُلِىۡؕ اِنَّ اللّٰهَ قَوِىٌّ عَزِيۡزٌ
[You should know that] those who show enmity to God and His Messenger, it is they who shall be humiliated the most. This is because God has decreed: “I and My Messengers are destined to be dominant.” In reality, God is extremely Powerful and very Mighty. (58:20-21)
Noah, Hud, Salih, Abraham, Lut, Yunus, Shu’ayb, Moses, and Jesus, peace be upon them, are included in the category of messengers. The Prophet of the end of times, Muhammad (PBUH), was also vested with the office of messenger. Thus, Allah expressed his designated duty in these words:
هُوَ الَّذِىۡۤ اَرۡسَلَ رَسُوۡلَهٗ بِالۡهُدٰى وَدِيۡنِ الۡحَـقِّ لِيُظۡهِرَهٗ عَلَى الدِّيۡنِ كُلِّهٖۙ وَلَوۡ كَرِهَ الۡمُشۡرِكُوۡنَ.
It is He who has sent forth His Messenger with guidance and the true religion so that He may make it prevail over all religions [of this land], however much these Idolaters may dislike it. (61:9)
In the chapter on Messengers, how the implementation of this Sunnah of Allah occurs, has been explained in detail by my esteemed teacher in his book Meezan:
The form it takes is that Allah Almighty selects these Messengers for the manifestation of His judgment, and then, before the Day of Judgment, a minor judgment is established in this very world through them. They are informed that if they remain steadfast on their covenant with God, they will be rewarded, and if they deviate, they will face punishment in this world itself. As a result, their existence becomes a sign of God for the people, and it is as if they see God walking and judging on earth with them. Along with this, they are commanded to preach the truth they have witnessed with their own eyes and to convey God’s guidance to the people with complete fidelity and decisiveness. According to the terminology of the Qur’an, this is ‘witnessing.’ Once this is established, it becomes the basis for God’s judgment in both this world and the Hereafter. Consequently, Allah grants dominance to these Messengers and inflicts His punishment upon the deniers of their message. The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is called ‘shahid’ (witness) and ‘shaheed’ (one who bears witness) in the Qur’an for this very reason. It is stated:
شَاهِدًا عَلَيۡكُمۡ كَمَاۤ اَرۡسَلۡنَاۤ اِلٰى فِرۡعَوۡنَ اِنَّاۤ اَرۡسَلۡنَاۤ اِلَيۡكُمۡ رَسُوۡلًا ۙ رَسُوۡلًا ؕ
To you [O Quraysh of Makkah!] We have sent forth a Messenger as a witness to you just as We had sent a Messenger to the Pharaoh. (73:15)
(Meezan 73-72)
The responsibility of bearing witness upon the messengers of Allah necessitates certain specific stages of invitation. These stages also have some inevitable outcomes, which invariably emanate from Allah. There are a total of five stages. A brief description of these is as follows.
The first stage is warning (inzar). This means warning people about their fate. Prophets of God only warn of the punishment of the Day of Judgment, but Messengers of God also alert to the punishment that descends in this world upon those who persist in rebellion against their call. In the words of the esteemed teacher:
They inform their nation that they have been sent to bring about a minor judgement day on earth. When God’s proof is fulfilled through their call, their nation will inevitably witness the consequences of their rebellion in this very world. (Meezan 536)
The second stage is ‘Public Warning’. This is a continuation of the first stage. The only difference is that in this stage, the Messenger of Allah is commanded to advance his message from private gatherings to openly and publicly present it before the entire nation.
The third stage is ‘Completion of Argument’ (itmam-e-hujjat). This refers to the point at which the continuous invitation of the Messenger and the manifestation of divine signs make the presented truths as clear as daylight. The addressees no longer have any excuse, response, evidence, or argument for denying them. This is the moment which is termed “completion of argument“ in the terminology. This means:
What is being presented should become so clear that nothing but stubbornness, obstinacy, or animosity could lead a person to its denial. In this, it is evident that with God’s judgment, the style, reasoning, discourse, and the personality, attributes, knowledge, and actions of the Messenger, everything becomes effective, to the extent that the matter becomes as bright as the sun shining in the open sky. Hence, at this point, the prophet also makes the fate of his audience quite clear and adopts a tone of final warning in the invitation. (Meezan 540)
The fourth stage is ‘Migration and Exoneration.’ When the evidence is fully presented to the addressees of the Messenger, this stage arrives. In this stage, the Messenger announces the indictment for the denial to his people and declares his disassociation from them. Following this, depending on the circumstances, it is conveyed from Allah that the period of respite for the people has ended and the time for their reward and punishment has arrived. If the people are determined in their denial, the Prophet is commanded to migrate.
The fifth and final stage is ‘Reward and Punishment.’ In this stage, reward is given to the believers and punishment is enforced on the disbelievers. This reward and punishment is from Allah, and it is given according to His command and at the time specified by Him. Regarding its nature and its various forms, the esteemed teacher has written:
In this, the court of the heavens is established on earth, manifesting God’s judgment, and a minor day of judgement occurs for the nation of the Messenger. The history of the warnings of the prophets, as stated in the Qur’an, indicates that generally, two scenarios arise at this juncture: one is that the Messenger’s companions are very few in number, and he does not have any place of migration available. The second scenario is that he departs with a considerable number of his companions, and before his departure, Allah provides him with a land where he can live and settle with freedom and stability. In both scenarios, the divine practice related to the Messengers, as mentioned in the Qur’an, inevitably comes into effect:
وَلِكُلِّ اُمَّةٍ رَّسُوۡلٌ ۚ فَاِذَا جَآءَ رَسُوۡلُهُمۡ قُضِىَ بَيۡنَهُمۡ بِالۡقِسۡطِ وَهُمۡ لَا يُظۡلَمُوۡنَ
[His law is that] for every nation there is a messenger. Then, when their messenger comes their fate is justly decided and no injustice is done to them. (47:10)
In the first scenario, after the Messenger departs from his people—whether through death or migration—a decree is issued in such a manner that the armies of the heavens descend, storms of devastation arise, and the forces of clouds and winds attack the nation so thoroughly that none of the Messenger’s adversaries remain on the earth. However, this matter is specific to those whom the Qur’an describes with the term mushrikeen (polytheists). As for those who are inherently connected to monotheism, this dealing does not occur with them. The principle regarding them is that instead of their annihilation, a punishment of humiliation and subjugation is imposed upon them. It is thus known that this was the case with the Israelites, whereas the people of Noah, the people of Hud, the people of Salih, the people of Lot, the people of Shu‘ayb, and some other similar nations were exterminated from the earth.
The same law applies to the second scenario, but in this instance, the decision for punishment is implemented by the swords of the Messenger and his companions. In this case, it is evident that the nation is given some respite. During this period, the Messenger completes the conclusive argumentation with the people in place of migration, trains and purifies those who have believed in him, organizes them for this battle between truth and falsehood, and consolidates his authority in the abode of migration to such an extent that with its support he can accomplish the eradication of the deniers and the victory of the people of truth. (Mizan 543-544)