Appearance
Prophethood
This page gathers what Āyatullāh Jawādī Āmulī teaches about the prophets across al-Tasnim: why God’s guidance must reach people, what all prophets share and why some excel others, how a prophet is recognised and what miracles prove, the trials of the prophets, who was and was not a prophet, and the Prophet’s own role. What revelation is, and the infallibility of the prophets, are answered in the themes on the Qur’an and Infallibility. Each answer is a short summary of his words, with links that open the passage in al-Tasnim.
Why prophets are needed
Why must guidance come from God?
Because the true purpose of human beings is nearness to God, the Absolute Perfection, whatever serves that path must come from Him. Anything not from God is mere desire, not guidance: reasoning that does not speak of God or call people to Him is desire, and so is a report that does not come from the divine source. That is why God says guidance from Me (2:38).
Read in al-Tasnim: Verse 2:38–39 · The Necessity of Divine Guidance Reaching Humanity
Is a proof binding on people before it reaches them?
No. For divine guidance to be God’s complete proof, it is not enough that it exists or is established among scholars; it must actually be conveyed to people. Signs set up or arguments presented that never reach those who are responsible are not yet a divine proof, and leaving or opposing them out of ignorance, forgetfulness or unawareness brings no punishment, as the words when guidance comes to you indicate. The messenger does not have to reach each person himself, but the message must reach them.
Read in al-Tasnim: Verse 2:38–39 · The Necessity of Divine Guidance Reaching Humanity
If people have intellect, why do they also need revelation?
Because once Adam and Eve had come down to earth and Satan’s enmity was plain, human beings could not reach their purpose without guidance. The inner guide is the intellect and the outer guide is revelation. And since people are free to accept or reject revelation, the Qur’an warns them: whoever follows God’s guidance will have no fear or grief, and whoever denies it will face the Fire.
Read in al-Tasnim: Verse 2:38–39 · Subtleties and Allusions
What the prophets share and how they differ
Can one believe in some prophets and not others?
No. Believers make no distinction between any of them (2:136) in general prophethood: whatever the number of prophets, books and miracles, all are accepted. Differentiating between them can be internal, accepting only part of a prophet’s book, as with those who altered the Torah and the Gospel, or external, rejecting some prophets altogether; the Jews and Christians fell into both. Since all prophets are messengers of the one God, one who differentiates between them has in reality differentiated between God and His messengers, which the Qur’an calls disbelief in God (4:150–151).
Read in al-Tasnim: Verse 2:136 · The Lack of Difference Among Prophets in General Prophethood · Verse 2:136 · The Lack of Difference Among Prophets in General Prophethood
Why does the Qur’an stress believing in every prophet?
To remind the People of the Book that they accepted only a prophet from their own tribe: they were self-centred, not truth-centred, and even where they accepted, their criterion was tribe, not prophethood. Some accept a prophet’s message only when it matches their desires and deny him when it does not: whenever there came to you a messenger with what your souls did not desire, you grew arrogant (2:87). For them desire is the principle and revelation secondary.
Read in al-Tasnim: Verse 2:136 · The Reason for Emphasizing Believers’ Faith in General Prophethood
If prophets are not to be distinguished, why do some excel others?
All prophets share the general features of prophethood, yet some of them We caused to excel others (2:253). Through special trials they come to know the secret of reaching higher stations, since not all prophets hold the same rank. Of Adam God says We did not find in him resolve (20:115), so he was not among the prophets of great resolve; and the Prophet (s.a.w.) was told Do not be like the companion of the fish (68:48).
Read in al-Tasnim: Verse 2:124 · The Trials of the Prophets
Is every prophet also God’s vicegerent?
Every prophet is a vicegerent of God and enjoys divine guardianship (wilāyah), but the two titles are distinct. Prophethood and messengership carry the duties of law, propagation, and teaching the Book, wisdom and purification; vicegerency and guardianship also carry a creative (takwīnī) dimension. Both can come together in the perfect human being, and each has degrees. The creative side is always the foundation of the legislative: the inner reality of the sharīʿah is guardianship.
Read in al-Tasnim: Verse 2:30 · Subtleties and Allusions
How a prophet is recognised
What is a miracle for?
To prove messengership. A miracle is not the first pillar of a messenger’s mission: that is his status before God and his call. The miracle is the proof of his claim. So Jesus says I have certainly brought you a sign from your Lord, and then gives his message, Indeed God is my Lord and your Lord; so worship Him (3:49, 51): the claim is messengership, the miracle is its proof, and the message is the call to worship.
Read in al-Tasnim: Verse 3:48–49 · Miracles to Prove Messengership
Whose act is a prophet’s miracle?
God’s. Jesus’ telling the people what they ate and stored in their houses is not followed by “by God’s leave”, as his other miracles are; but it is understood, both from the context and from the verse it is not for a messenger to bring a sign except by God’s leave (13:38). The very word “sign” (āyah) shows that it was not from Jesus himself: each miracle is a sign from God, not from Christ.
Read in al-Tasnim: Verse 3:48–49 · The Qualification “by God’s permission” Regarding All Miracles
Did Jesus actually perform his miracles, or was he only able to?
He performed them. The author of al-Manār claimed the verses speak only of Jesus’ power, not of the miracles taking place, and read other miracles in Sūrat al-Baqarah the same way. Āyatullāh Jawādī Āmulī calls this imposing a prior view on the apparent meaning of the verses, and exegesis by personal opinion (tafsīr bi-l-raʾy). Nor can the miracles be put off to Jesus’ return at the time of the Imam of the Age: the Qur’an describes him with them as the messenger to the Children of Israel, while at his return he will be among the community of the Imam of the Age.
Read in al-Tasnim: Verse 3:48–49 · The Occurrence and Realization of Jesus’s Miracles (a.s.) · Verse 3:48–49 · The Occurrence and Realization of Jesus’s Miracles (a.s.)
Can a miracle come through prayer?
Yes, both for benefit and for harm. Jesus prayed for a table to come down from the sky as a sign; the opponents of the Prophet prayed for stones to rain on them if the message was true. In the mubāhalah too a miracle was sought from God through prayer: to benefit the people of truth and bring punishment on the liars.
Read in al-Tasnim: Verse 3:61 · Miracle Through Prayer
Who was, and was not, a prophet
Was Khiḍr a prophet?
He was either a prophet or one of God’s friends (awliyāʾ): certainly no ordinary man. The Qur’an says We had bestowed upon him mercy from Us, a special mercy, of the kind that in its highest form is prophethood, messengership, imāmah or guardianship; We had taught him knowledge from Our presence, a knowledge higher still; and Moses himself asked to follow him to learn. Khiḍr’s certain foretelling, you will never be able to have patience with me, also shows his elevated status.
Read in al-Tasnim: Verse 18:64–65 · Evidence for the Prophethood or Divine Authority (wilāya) of Khiḍr
Were Jesus’ disciples prophets?
ʿAllāmah Ṭabāṭabāʾī took When I inspired the Disciples (5:111) to mean they received revelation and were prophets. Āyatullāh Jawādī Āmulī does not accept this: revelation is not limited to prophets (Mary and Moses’ mother received it too), and the “inspiration” here may be God’s creative permission to accept the truth. The Qur’an’s account of the disciples, asking for a table from the sky so that their hearts might be at rest, does not fit with their being prophets.
Read in al-Tasnim: Verse 3:52–53 · Critique of the Theory of the Disciples Being Prophets · Verse 3:52–53 · Critique of the Theory of the Disciples Being Prophets
The trials of the prophets
Are the prophets tested like others?
Yes. People are constantly tested, and in the realm of religious duty the prophets are obligated like everyone else. Their special trials are how they reach higher stations: the lofty ranks of the prophets and saints come from enduring and overcoming hard trials. The essence of prophethood, messengership and imāmah cannot be acquired, but preparing the ground for them and rising from one level to the next can. Even the angels, in the matter of divine vicegerency, were tested, with the names.
Read in al-Tasnim: Verse 2:124 · The Trials of the Prophets · Verse 2:124 · The Trials of the Prophets
What made Abraham’s trial so great?
The selection of the great prophets shows in the purifying of the intellect, the refining of the spirit, and the sacrifice of the self and what is most dear. Abraham’s test is called words (kalimāt), a term the Qur’an keeps for momentous matters, and the verse turns from speaking of him to addressing him directly. Before the tests he was as if absent from the divine audience; having passed them, he was worthy to be addressed in person: I am making you the Imam of mankind (2:124).
Read in al-Tasnim: Verse 2:124 · The Greatness of Abraham’s (a.s.) Trial · Verse 2:124 · The Greatness of Abraham’s (a.s.) Trial
Why was Abraham chosen?
Because he accepted the religion God chose. God has chosen the best of religions and commended it to us: Indeed God has chosen for you the religion (2:132). Whoever accepts what God has chosen and holds to it becomes chosen by God, and that is the secret of Abraham’s selection.
Read in al-Tasnim: Verse 2:130 · The Secret of Prophet Abraham’s Selection
Can Satan harm a prophet?
Not in his spirit, and not so as to lead him into sin; but he can harm the body. Prophets are protected from whatever leads to disobeying God, not from every harassment of Satan that has nothing to do with sin. The Qur’an itself reports Job saying Satan has afflicted me with hardship and torment (38:41). Satan had no effect on Moses, one of the prophets of great resolve; when Joshua said none but Satan made me forget it (18:63), it concerned his servant, and in a matter that was not a sin.
Read in al-Tasnim: Verse 18:63 · Satan’s Influence on the Bodies of Prophets
The Prophet (s.a.w.)
Why is the Prophet told “do not be among the skeptics”?
Being infallible does not mean being free of religious obligations. Like others, the Prophet is addressed with commands and prohibitions, Establish prayer, Do not be among the heedless, and he carries them out knowingly and by choice. The difference is that he never does wrong, deliberately or through forgetfulness. Because he is joined to God and lives in His presence, the verse says, with the particle of consequence, So do not be among the skeptics: doubt has no place in him.
Read in al-Tasnim: Verse 3:60 · The Prophet’s (s.a.w.) Freedom from Doubt
How does the Prophet purify people?
Purification (tazkiyah) is different from teaching. Explaining the laws, verses and ethics is teaching the Book and wisdom; drawing the soul away from attachment and cleansing society of vices is purification. When the Prophet takes zakāt from the wealthy, he purifies them of attachment to wealth: Take charity from their wealth, to cleanse them and purify them by it (9:103). The wealth itself is not impure; the attachment to it is.
Read in al-Tasnim: Verse 2:129 · The Prophet, Purifier of People · Verse 2:129 · The Prophet, Purifier of People
See also: The Qur’an: Its Revelation and Understanding · Infallibility · Imāmah