The Prophet : Not Offending and Not Being Offended
The Quran refers to the kindness of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) towards all creatures and his compassion and grace for humans: "There had come unto you a Messenger, one of yourselves, unto whom whatever that you are overburdened is grievous, full of concern for you, for the believers full of pity, merciful." (1) In this verse, Allah gives the names Rauf (very compassionate) and Raheem (very merciful...

Servitude of Prophet Muhammad
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) performed his religious acts in the most perfect manner and taught people how to perform these acts. When we look at the Holy Quran in terms of the religious acts and worship of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), we find the following issues: 1. The most important issue that the Holy Quran emphasizes about the worship of Prophet Muhammad(pbuh) is sincerity: Sincerity in servitude is...

Religious Practices of Prophet Muhammad
Even though the basis of piety is faith, the presence of faith within the heart can only be solidified by acts of religious practices. Man was essentially created to worship Allah. As it is known, another source of Islamic rulings is the religious practices of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Apart from his acts of worshipping in different levels of fard (duty), vacib (obligatory) and sunnah (practices o...

The Sunna as the Basis of Islamic Ethical Teaching
One of the most important reasons for anarchy and depression, two of the greatest problems in today’s societies, is undoubtedly moral degeneration. In the past prophets were sent to nations which were morally degenerated. As a matter of fact, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) states that he was sent to complete moral virtues (Muvatta, "Husn al-Huluq" 8; Ahmed ibn Hanbal, Musnad, II, 381). We learn from the...

The Ideal Human Type in a Society of Ignorance: Muhammad Al-Amin
After Prophet Muhammad became an active member of the society where he passed his childhood, he began to be uncertain about everything in the society. These doubts prevented him from accepting all the customs and behavior in that society which had been passed down from generation to generation and applying them in his own life. In this situation Muhammad adopted an attitude of organizing his life...

Muhammad as a Model of Virtue
Our Prophet's being an example of virtue necessitates his being a model for living and applying moral values. By personally living these values as a human being and by demonstrating them in a tangible way, he became a model for us. In addition to religion, values are determined by intelligence, emotions and senses - in other words, by man. Value theories determined outside of religion are tied to...

Prophet Jesus in the Quran
According to the Quran, Prophet Jesus (Isa) was one of the five ulu'l azm prophets, that is the greatest prophets. His name, or an attributive reference to him, appears in 15 chapters and 93 verses; the most frequent references to Prophet Jesus are made in the Al-i Imran, Maida and Meryem surahs, with information being given about the glad tidings of his birth, his coming to the world, the re...

Prophet Moses
Moses was a major prophet and a leader who freed the Israelites from the oppression of the Pharaoh; he is not only referred in Judaism and Christianity, but also in Islam. There is information about Prophet Moses in the Quran as well as in the Old and the New Testament. The Old Testament is almost completely concerned with the history of Prophet Moses and the people he led, the Israelites. Moses...

Prophet Adam
As the father of mankind, Adam is known in Islamic sources as abu al-bashar, and since he is among the people whom Allah deemed elite, he is identified as safiyullah.  Muslim linguists have debated over the language from which the word Adam stemmed and the root from which it was derived (1) Most of the linguists argue that this word is of Arabic origin and is derived from the root...

'Seal of Prophethood' in Islamic Intellectual History
"The Seal of Prophethood" is a title to indicate that prophethood came to an end with Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and that no other prophet is to follow. In Arabic, this phrase means "to complete a task, to put a seal at the end of something and to seal a writing or document". The term "prophets," within this phrase, denotes "the conveyance by means of revelation of divine wills and messages to some...

The Institution of Prophethood
CONCEPTS RELATED TO PROPHETHOOD Belief in the prophets is an important principle in Islam and in other Abrahamic religions. In order to understand the information related to this issue, one must understand various concepts concerning prophethood. Among these are concepts such as nubuwwat (prophethood), revelation, nabi (prophet) and rasul (messenger prophet). Prophethood ...

Ulu'l-Azm Prophets and their Common Characteristics
Perseverance means persistence in any undertaken project and continued pursuit or prosecution of any business. Perseverance has been used in hadiths (sayings of the Prophet) in similar meanings. The Prophet said: “None of you should say: 'O God! Forgive me if You wish,' or 'Bestow Your Mercy on me if You wish,' or 'Provide me with means of subsistence if You wish,' but he should be firm in his re...