From: Tyagi@HouseOfKaos.Abyss.com
Subject: Re: Islam6:Prophets
Date: Fri,  7 Jan 94 15:37:01 PST

940107

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
Assalam alaikum, my kin.

This is part 6 in a continuing series on Islam and Sufism.

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On Islamic prophets, Robert E. Hume writes:

"Twenty-eight...are named in the Koran.  Twenty-two of them are from the
_Old Testament_, including Adam, Enoch, Methusaleh, Noah, Abraham, Lot,
Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, Solomon, Elijah, Elisha, and Jonah.
There are three from the _New Testament_ - Zechariah, John the Baptist,
and Jesus.  Among the Islamic prophets outside the _Bible_ is
Alexander the Great.  Mohammed is the last and greatest of the prophets.
He has been prepared for, and attested by, all the preceding prophets."

_The World's Living Religions_, 1959, Charles Scribner and Sons,
 (originally written in 1924); page 234.

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On the prophets, John Alden Williams writes:

"[The Qur'an] is seen as the final stage in a long series of divine
communications conducted through the prophets.  It began with Adam,
the first man, who was also the first prophet, because he was the
first to whom God revealed Himself.

"After Adam, God continued to address men through the prophets, to
warn them that their happiness lay in worshiping Him and submitting
themselves to Him, and to tell them of the terrible consequences of
disobedience.  In each case, however, the message was changed and
deformed by perverse men.  Finally, in his Mercy, God sent down His
final revelation through the seal of His prophets, Muhammad, in a
definitive form which would not be lost."

_Islam_, 1961, published by George Braziller, Inc.; page 15.


"The story of the Garden of Eden is similar to that contained in
Genesis; however, the doctrine of the Original Sin is not accepted
in Islam.  Adam's fall is not seen as a sin, but an error in
judgement, and has not tainted the human race with its consequences.
>From the Creation, man has made a contract to serve God."

Ibid, page 20.


"Abraham: The Patriarch Abraham, ancestor of the Semites, is seen in the
Qur'an as the prototype of the Muslim; it is implied that he arrived at
monotheism by pure reason before the revelation came.  With his first-
born, Ishmael, he built the Temple of the Ka'ba at Bekka, or Mecca,
and instituted the rites of pilgrimage.  While he has been claimed
by both the Jews and the Christians, he did not belong to either of
these religions, it is said; he was simply a man who submitted himself
to God: a Muslim."

Ibid, page 26.


"Moses: Moses is one of the most frequently mentioned of the prophets;
he was sent to rescue the children of Ishmael's nephew Israel from
Egypt.  However, the Children of Israel became proud and disobeyed
God; they regarded themselves as a Chosen People and wronged their
brethren, and when God sent prophets to warn them, they refused to
listen and put His messengers to death.  They are People of the Book,
since God gave them the scriptures, but they have perverted their
revelation."

Ibid, page 28.


"Jesus: John and Jesus are seen as members of the righteous family
of 'Imran, among the Children of Israel.  Jesus holds a place among
the prophets of Islam.  He is born of a virgin 'purified above all
women,' he is the promised Messiah, 'The Word of God and a Spirit
from Him,' an almost superhuman figure who spoke from the cradle
and worked great wonders by the power of God; but the central
doctrines of Christianity are set aside.  The idea that he is the
Son of God is sternly rejected, the doctrine of the Trinity is
held to contradict God's Oneness, and since Jesus did not die on
the cross and there was no collective guilt of man for which he
could atone, there was no Atonement and no Resurrection.  While
also People of the Book, the early Christians are held to have
deliberately falsified the scripture he brought, and to have
worshipped the Messiah blasphemously.  Later generations have
been perhaps sincere, but certainly misguided, so that a new
revelation became necessary.  As for Jesus, God took him to
Himself when the Jews rejected him, and will justify him before
the end of the world."

Ibid, pages 31-32.


"Muhammad: Muhammad is the chosen instrument by which God sent
the Eternal Message in its definitive form, 'the prophet'
par excellence.  The Qur'an addresses him directly, to assure
him that he is not insane, and to encourage him against men's
doubts; it solemnly confirms as true the visions he has seen.
Finally, it is suggested that the truth of his message may
be seen from the faith of the Muslims."

Ibid, page 36.

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Part 6 in a continuing series.


Assalam alaikum, my kin.
Love is the law, love under will.

Haramullah (Woman of Allah)
Tyagi@HouseofKaos.Abyss.com