Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

Chapter 11: Causes of human sufferings and natural disasters

Everyday when we read the newspaper or watch TV, we come to know about many different kinds of human miseries and mishaps. We also see people around us miserably suffering with chronic diseases, hunger, and poverty. We also hear about many catastrophic natural disasters such as ear thquake, floods, hurricanes, tornado, cyclone, storms and droughts killing millions of people and leaving millions of widows, orphans, and handicaps.

A question arises that when God is All-mighty i.e. capable of controlling anything and everything and God is also all-knowing i.e., He knows everything that happens anywhere in the universe, then why such dreadful events occur.

This is a very important question. Many atheists use this question as a valid reason to deny the existence of God. This question also disturbs many ignorant Muslims. It is therefore essential for all Muslim students to have a satisfactory answer to this question.

This question does not have one simple answer as there are many different causes of human suffering and afflictions.

Some of the major causes of calamities and sufferings are as follows:

G Reaction of our action and Divine punishment.

G Warning and reminder to turn back to God.

G To energize and stimulate human spirit and to intensify his efforts.

G Examination.

G Divine system.

Reaction of our action.

The major cause of our all sufferings and miseries is our deeds. i.e., in most of the cases we suffer because of our wrong doings. Quran has disclosed this law of God. "Then it shall be said to the wrongdoers: Taste the everlasting torment;Shall you be rewarded except according to your deeds" (10:52)

i.e.,You receive the payment of what you earn. This law of God has also been discovered by Isaac Newton in Nature which we teach in Physics. i.e., every action has an equal reaction. If we sincerely study and analyze our sufferings and miseries we will really know that in most of the cases our sufferings are the outcome of our own actions or attitude. Let us see this categorically.

Hunger and poverty

The most common kind of suffering and infliction are hunger, poverty and diseases. Let's analyze the causes ofthese infliction one by one.

Poverty is the lack of enough income and resources to live comfor tably. It is one of the world's main social problems. In both developing and developed countries, millions of people are suffering because of pover ty. Poverty is the most common social disease.

Many of the poor people in the world cannot buy the food, shelter, clothing, and medical care that they need. This creates frustration, hopelessness and lack of interest in life. In the late 1980's, it was estimated that I billion people, about a fifth of the world's population, were so poor that their health and lives were endangered.

But what is the cause of poverty and who should be held responsible for all thatsuffering ? Man orGod ?

Poverty has variety of causes. Some of them are being mentioned here.

a- Lack of education, skills and aptitude to do work. Many people don't want to do work. They suffer due to their laziness or less interest in work. Some people think that Allah Subhanahu taala is our sustainer and He has taken the responsibility of our basic needs. It is true, but still a lot of effor ts are needed to take our share from the Divine warehouse. So in many cases poverty is due to the under utilization of human potential and natural resources.

b- Inflation also significantly contributes to pover ty. Inflation means increasing the price of goods which affects a certain group of the society. We experience this problem now and then. This is a man-made cause in which human selfish nature works to get as much as possible without considering anything.

c- Some countries are poor because of lack of exper tise and equipment needed to produce adequate food supplies for most of their people. It is also due to the lack of involvement in science and technology.

d- Many women become poor after they are divorced or separated from their husbands. It is also a personal reason.

e - In some cases poverty also results from natural disasters such as floods, droughts or poor harvests. This can also be the indirect cause of our wrongdoing which we shall discuss later.

Thus in most of the cases we find that the hunger and pover ty are mainly either due to the improper distribution of amenities or under utilization of natural abilities and resources Divine Punishments It is important to know more about the Divine punishments. Quran has described the Divine punishments in detail. However, it is not easy for an ordinary person to identify the Divine punishment and more importantly its actual cause.

Diseases and epidemics

Disease is also a major cause of sufferings. It is said that diseases have killed or disabled more people then all the wars ever fought. Each year, tens of millions of people die from different kinds of diseases. In the United States alone, diseases kill nearly 2 million people each year and leave many people permanently disabled.

Apparently it seems that God is solely responsible for all kinds of diseases as He has created the viruses, bacteria which cause many different kinds of diseases. But this is nottr ue. Medical experts say that almost all diseases are caused by ignoring the standard laws of nature.i.e., our life-style, habits, living conditions and physical environment nur ture diseases. Let's take malaria, the most common disease of the third world countries.

Malaria is caused by protozoan called plasmodia and is transmitted by the bite of the female anopheles mosquito. It is true that Allah Subhanahu taala has created the mosquito and plasmodia which infect us with malaria. But Allah has also instructed mosquitoes to live in dir ty water and filthy environment.thus , by creating a dir ty environment, we invite mosquitoes, houseflies, rats, and other germs carriers in our home to deliver diseases.

Similarly AIDS, the most dangerous and incurable disease, which has killed millions of peoples, is a disease sponsored by criminals. The cause of AIDS is HIV virus, undoubtedly created by Allah, but who transfer it into the humanbody ? Allah or the patient himself /herself. At least in this particular disease doctors have honestly acknowledged that the only source of this disease is the patient himself / herself as he or she is the one who has acquired it. That is why they have named it Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.

Even those innocent people who get this disease from blood transfusion or blades are due to the human negligence.

Thus in most of the cases, the sufferings due to the chronic disease that makes the life miserable, are the result of our own deeds.Black Death.

As mentioned above, not always but in most of the cases, the cause of the disease is one's bad deed or negligence of Divine orders. Sometimes the whole nation is punished by epidemics. Scientists say they don't yet know, how all of sudden a particular epidemic disease grows and spreads widely killing millions of people and then goes away itself without any human efforts. For example, outbreaks of plague have been repor ted in different periods of history that have killed hundreds of millions of people.

In 542 AD an epidemic of plague struck Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey) and killed half of the population.

In 1347, one of the most disastrousplague burst out in Europe which killed 40,000,000 people - about a fourth of the European population at that time. This pandemic plague is called Black Death in history.

In 1800's a third epidemic appeared suddenly in China and spread like a fire. It killed more than 20 million people.

Scientists have tried to guess some of the probable causes of these epidemics but are puzzled by their mystified origin. For instance, they can not answer such questions, how a particular cause develops that spreads plague, and why it has developed at some par ticular time and not at any other time, and how it stops itself without any apparent reason.

To cite an instance, consider the apparent known cause of the second epidemic - Black Death, which killed 40 million people in Europe. It is said that the source of this epidemic were Black Rats which carry a particular species of flies called Xenopsylla Cheopsis. But the origin from where all these ratswho arrived to spread the epidemic is still a riddle. More surprisingly, why the same rats did not spread the disease where they were living before.

Further to their surprise, it was found that the Brown Rats, which are rare in Europe, came from China and killed the Black Rats which were spreading the disease.

Those who do not believe in God and in His planning, such epidemics will remain a myster y. But those who read Quran can understand, why the Black Rats brought the disease in Europe and who sent the Brown rats to stop the epidemic.

Natural Disasters

The natural disasters such as ear thquakes, storms, floods, and droughts, which bring different kinds of miseries are also sometimes due to our bad deeds. Quran has described in details that how these many kinds of natural disasters have wiped out many nations in the past when they disobeyed Allah and crossed the Divine limits.

Quran mentions different kinds of natural disasters which were caused by the wrath of Allah Taala.

"Each one of themWe seized for his crime. Of them, against some We sent a violent tornado: some were caught by a (mid-night) blast, some We caused the earth to swallow up( powerful earthquake or major volcano eruption), and some We drowned (in water).

It was not Allah Who injured (or destroyed) them: they injured (destroyed) themselves."(29:40)In surah HUD, it is mentioned with all details that how the nations of the following prophets were punished one after the other because of their sins and rebellious nature.

1 - Prophet Nuh (as) - FLOOD

His whole nation except his companions was perished by a great flood. Hugeflow of water welled out from the earth and from the sky and all were drowned except few believers. (11:21-49)

2 - Prophet Hud (as) - A DREADFUL EXPLOSION His whole nation, named Aad was destroyed by a horrible natural disaster except those who obeyed him. (11:49-59)

3 - Prophet Saleh (as) - A MIGHTY BL AST His whole nation, named Thamud, except his true followers, was smashed by a dreadful explosion that rang along with a powerful storm. (11:61-67)

4 - Prophet Lut (as) - A MOST POWERFUL EARTHQUAKE His whole nation, except his true followers were destroyed by turning the whole town upside down, followed by a rain of baked clay layer on layer. (11:77-82)

5 - Prophet Shu'ayb (as) - A POWERFUL BL AST His whole nation, named Madyan, except his few followers, was killed by a powerful Explosion (Earthquake). (11:84-94), (29:36)

6 - Prophet Moosa (as) -THROWN INTO THE SEA Pharaoh, his Chiefs and the whole army were drowned into the River Nile.

After giving all details of crimes and punishments, Quran very clearly tells the cause of such dreadful natural disasters in the following verse.

"These are some of the stories of communities which we have told you --- It was not WE that wronged them: They wronged their own souls". (11:100) Thus, these verses of the Holy Quran have explained that one of the majorcause of natural disasters is Divine punishment. However, we can not say for sure that each and every natural disaster is a Divine punishment. But the naturaldisaster do occur as in the past with hor rible results. Hundreds of natural disasters of high intensity have been recorded in the histor y. Here, we present just few of these many natural disasters that terribly hit various nations in last one thousand year.

The Holy Quran has identified the root cause of many of such kinds of natural disasters, as mentioned above, in the following verse; "Verily, Allah does not deal unjustly with man in any way: it is man that does unjust to his own soul." (10:44)

Divine warnings to turn back to our Lord

If we study carefully the painful incidents of our life that occurred in some specific circumstances and judge them in context of our behavior, we can realize that most of these painful events were the milestone of our progress. Many times it has happened that a sudden shock or blow in our life becomes the turning point. These mild punishments are just to discipline us in order to save us from severe punishments.

Those who are mindful they take the advantage of such occurrence and change their behaviors, but those who are not watchful they just cry and complain and finally meet even more severe consequences of their heedless attitude.

We find many people who have very smooth and comfortable life forget their Lord and a sudden undesirable event wakes them up from their deep sleep. A plain and easy living is just like driving on smooth highways in a pleasant night. If the driver is not warned in time by a slash, he will certainly face a dreadful accident. This is why in modern highways engineers fix artificial light barriers at regular short distances just to prevent sleeping during the long driving. Thus ups and downs and hardships in life also serve the same purpose and keep us attentive to escape deadly events.

The Holy Quran rejects such heedless people who do not take lessons from their sufferings.

"We afflicted them with calamities and misfortunes so that they might humble themselves, but their hearts were hardened (6:43)

Thus hardships and painful events can have many different causes and it is not fair to consider them punishment without proper identification. Moreover in most of the cases there are many blessings of Allah in our sufferings as they energize and stimulate our spirit and intensify our efforts.

Even the natural disasters such as ear thquakes, droughts, floods, wars bring many significant changes in our physical world and society.

A poisonous snake seems to be a very dangerous enemy of mankind, but its poison which can kill a careless person, is used as a medicine to save the lives of thousands of people.

Chapter 12: Nabuwwat - Prophethood

The third basic belief in Islam is prophethood.

It means that Allah Subhanahu taala has sent His messengers to teach mankind about the purpose of their creation.

The Divine scheme of sending the prophets was that no one should be left out without Divine teachings. For this reason the first man on the earth i.e. Hazrat Adam himself was a prophet. Then Allah Subhanahu taala sent prophets to all nations and all communities to preach.

Definition of Prophethood

Prophethood has been defined by a great Alim, Allama Hilli, as" the Prophet is the person who reports from Allah Taala without any human mediation."

What is the meaning of Nabi andRasul ?

In Islamic terminology two different words are used for messenger of Allah Taala.

1 - Prophet [Nabi]

2 - Apostle [Rasul]

A Messenger of Allah can be a Nabi [Prophet] or a Rasul [Apostle] or both Nabi and Rasul at a time.

Nabi [Prophet]

Nabi is an Arabic word, which has been derived from the word, Naba, meaning, True News of great importance. In Arabic language, the word naba is not used for ordinary news (Khabar), but is applied to a news which is absolutely true (confirmed truth) and a news of great value. Thus, the word Naba refers toa great and true news.

Now we can easily explain the meaning of Nabi which is as follows; The Nabi [Prophet] is a truth-speaking person who receives the truthful news of high value from Allah Taala and conveys it to people.

Thus, we can say that the Nabi is an exalted and high-ranking person who has an assignment from Allah Subhanahu taala to communicate with His servants on His behalf.

Rasul [Apostle]

Rasul is also an Arabic word which is derived from the word, Risalat, meaning, to send. Thus, the meaning of Rasul is, one who is sent from Allah. In Islamic terminology, both Nabi and Rasul are the most high-ranking people chosen by Allah Subhanahu taala to guide the mankind.

What is the difference between Rasool andNabi ?

After knowing the terminological meanings of Rasul and Nabi, it is also impor tant to understand the difference of these two great positions. The Quran has used both the words, Nabi and Rasul, which shows that there were two kinds of messengers.

1 - Some of the messengers were Nabi only.

2 - Some messengers were both Nabi and Rasool.

The difference between Rasul and Nabi is that,

1- A Rasul was a messenger of Allah who was given a new Shariat (codes of law) from Him. And a Nabi was also the messenger of Allah, but he was not given any new Shariat and followed the shariat of earlier Rasul.

Sheikh Mufid, a great scholar of Islam writes in his book, Awa'il al-Maqalat, "every messenger is a prophet [Nabi], but not every Prophet is a Rasul [Apostle]. All Rasules were Nabi but all Nabis were not Rasuls.

2- A Prophet is always a Nabi by birth, but a prophet become Rasul when he officially receives the post and declares it. For example, our Prophet Muhammad (sws) was Nabi by birth, but became Rasul when he officially got and delivered the message of Risalat at the age of 40.

3- The Rasul [Apostle] receives the message from Allah Taala in many different manners such as, vision during sleep, direct communication with angels when he is awake. i.e., he can see and speak to the angels during communication of Divine message.

But the Nabi [prophet] differs from the Rasul in that he does not see the angels when awake but sees during sleep.

4- The Rasul is higher in rank than a Nabi.

Out of 25 Prophets mentioned in the Holy Quran, or among 124000 Nabis, Five were Rasul, and are called Ulu l-azm prophets, meaning those who possess a quality of determination and firmness. The five Rasuls and Ulul-azm Prophets are:

ProphetNooh( as) was given a Shari'ah which was followed by other prophets up to the time of Hazrat Ibrahim(as). ProphetIbrahim( as) was given a Shari'ah which remained in force up to the time of Hazrat Musa. i.e., Hazrat Yaqub, Hazrat Lut, Hazrat Yousuf (as) etc. followed the Shariat of Ibrahim.

ProphetMusa( as) was given a new Shari'ah which was followed by all the prophets of Bani Israel until the time of Hazrat Isa (as). Prophet Isa (as) was given a new Shariat which remained in force upto the time of the Holy Prophet.

Prophet Muhammad (sws) was given the last and the most perfect Shariat which will remain in force up to the last working day of the world. The Shariat -e- Muhammadi can never be changed as Prophet Muhammed (sws) is the last prophet and no prophet will come after him.

Our Prophet, Hazrat Muhammad (sws) has the highest position and rank among all the Prophets.

What was the special work ofProphets ?

The Holy Quran precisely tells the responsibility of the Prophet towards his nation. "It is He Who sent forth among the unlettered an apostle of their own to recite to them His revelations, to purify them, and to instruct them in the scriptures and wisdom, - (62:2) From this verse of the Holy Quran, we arrive at a conclusion that there were four main assignments of the prophet. No other person except a Divine agent is capable to do these works.

1 - To guide the mankind to the right path.

2 - To inform the people about the unseen and hidden realities which they can never know or perceive by themselves.

3 - To purify their souls and to develop their morals of Divine standard.

4 - To certify the actions of people on theday of judgment .

1st assignment of the Prophet - to guide the people. This was the first and the main duty of all the prophets. To do this work efficiently and adequately, Allah Taala gave the prophets, both theoretical book [core concepts] and Practical book[ Shariah - complete codes of ideal life].

All actions and activities of the Prophets were totally according to the Divine Will. In this way the life of the Prophet itself was an open book.

All Prophets taught their respective nations all essential things that are necessar y for a meaningful life in this world and for the ultimate success of the eternal world.2nd assignment - To inform the people about the hidden and unseen realities.

This was the second important work of the Prophets. There are many facts and truths which are totally beyond the human reach. Man can never know them unless a reliable person from God tells and explains these facts.

3rd assignment - to purify the souls and to develop high morals. This is the third important duty of the Prophets. Quran declares the prophethood as a great favor of Allah Taala to mankind and a source of His unlimited mercy.

"O mankind: there has come to you a direction from your Lord for the (to cure disease) heart - and for those who believe, a guidance and a mercy."(10:57) 4th assignment - to certify the actions of the people on the Day of Judgment.

Quran informs us that on theday of Judgment, the Prophets and their true successors, Imam, will be asked to give full reports of their nation. "One dayWe shall call together all human beings with their (respective) Imams: those who are given their record in their right hand will read it (with pleasure), and they will not be dealt with unjustly in the least."(17:71) Characteristic features of Prophets.

Apart from many other characteristic features, all prophets have five things in common.

1 - All prophets were appointed by Allah Subhanahu taala and none of them was self- appointed or appointed by the public.

2 - All prophets were infallible and perfect human beings. No angel was sent as Nabi or Rasul. All prophets were males. No woman was appointed by Allah as a Nabi or Rasul.

3 - All Prophets were endowed with some kinds of distinct signs.

4 - All prophets taught the basic beliefs of Islam, i.e., There is no god but Allah who has no partner (Tawhid ) and that there is a day of Judgment when each person will get reward according to his/her deeds.

5 - All prophets successfully completed their task.

Let's discuss the characteristics of the Prophets in the light of the Holy Quran.Appointment of the Prophet. All prophets were appointed by the Allah Subhanahu Taala, and none out of the 124000 messengers, was a self-appointed or public's nominee.

Why Allah should appoint the Prophet is a self-explanatory fact. The nature of Prophet's work clearly demands that he should be appointed by Allah and not by the public or by himself. This rule will also apply on the successor of the Prophet.

The Prophets are the chosen people who are capable of receiving Divine guidance from the invisible world and communicating it to the people living in the physical world. They are the most trustworthy, selfless and unchanging people. It is Allah alone who can judge who is fit to do this job and, hence, fit to be a Prophet.

Quran attests this rule; "Allah knows best whom to entrust with His message." (6:124) "He is taught by one who is mighty in power, and vigorous."(53:5) Thus, no ordinary person, be he a very intelligent and knowledgeable, can qualify this criterion except the one who is appointed by Allah, Who is Almighty.

The infallibility of the Prophets - [Ismat ul-anmbiya]Another distinguishing feature of the Prophets of Allah is that they were all infallible and perfect human beings.

The Arabic word to express this unique quality is, Ismat, meaning, immunity from committing a sin or making a mistake. Thus, every action of the Prophet is always accurately correct and can not be questioned for verification.

Quran has ascertained that prophets never do anything out of their own desire or under any pressure. They always strictly follow Allah's Commandments, whether they do anything in private or in public.

"He does not speak out of his own desire." (53:3)Another strong proof of infallibility of the Prophet is that Allah Taala has asked all mankind to follow the footsteps of the Holy Prophet (sws) without any reservation. This Divine command in itself is a valid proof that His prophets always do the right things, and there is no chance of any kind of error.

"Say: if you do love Allah, follow me. Allah will love you." (3:31) Thus, from the Quran and also by common sense, the Prophet is totally free from all kinds of indecencies and human errors.

What is a difference between Prophet and a commonman. In physical appearance, all prophets (Nabis, Rasuls and Imams) were like common human beings. They all have the same body as we have, same needs as we have, i.e., they used to eat food, they used to drink water, they used to sleep and rest, they married, they had children, they died after certain age etc.

But despite these many common characteristics, all Prophets were highly elevated souls with special signs and extraordinary characters. Quran has described this unique combination of similarity and difference of the Prophet's personality.

"Say: I am only a man like you, (but) it is revealed unto me that your God is but one God." (18:110)From this verse of the Holy Quran, we can infer two impor tant facts of their personality. G that in general physical appearance, Prophet is not different from common human beings, but he is wholly like them.

G but with all this bodily resemblance, he also receives Divine revelations. This additional and exceptional quality of the Prophet, i.e., capability of communicating with God (there is no god but Allah Taala), which no ordinary human being can do, makes him indescribably higher than all human beings. This difference is beyond any imagination.

This exceptional quality of the prophet, i.e., prominently like a common man but remarkably different from man, is not a mystery or unusual. We can explain it rationally and scientifically with the following few examples.

Similarity and dissimilarity of diamond and charcoal.

Every student of chemistry knows this fact very well that pure carbon occurs in nature in four entirely different forms - diamond, graphite, carbon black (amorphous carbon) and fullerenes. This means that as far as the chemical composition of carbon black (charcoal) and diamond is concerned, they both are utterly the same. Diamond is made up of almost entirely of carbon. And blackcharcoal (common wood charcoal) consist of mainly carbon.

So, there is no dispute or argument when we say that diamond and wood charcoal are basically the same (pure carbon), but remarkably different in value and worth . This is a scientific fact which no one can deny. But, can we exchange diamond withcoal ? Can we present a wedding ring made up of black charcoals to our newly married wife telling her that basically it is the same as diamond?

Despite the basic similarity of origin (i.e., both are basically carbon), diamond and charcoal are totally different.

Diamond is extremely costly and charcoal is petty cheap. Diamond is the hardest and most lasting substance while charcoal is easily breakable and powdery. Exactly in the same way, we can understand the similarity and difference of the prophets, Imams, and common people. They all are basically the same - humans, but remarkably different in character and values.

If anyone quotes the above verse of the Quran and say that Prophets and Imams are just like us, than they are not acting sensibly and lacking the knowledge about the facts on the prophets and Imams.

Apart from this pure scientific argument, we can also show great differences among the people living around us. Some are highly educated, intelligent and extremely rich while others are uneducated, dull, and badly poor. Basically, they all are the same, but in actuality, there is a world of difference.

Why Prophets were human beings and not the angels?

This question was asked by the people of many Prophets. Quran has given a very rational explanation to this argument. "Nothing prevents men from having faith when guidance is revealed to them but the excuse: Why Allah has sent human being as anapostle ?

Say: Had the earth been safe place for angels to dwell in,We would have sent forth to them an angel from heaven as an apostle." (17:94)The answer is very simple and clear. A beautiful explanation of this queston has been given by M.J. Chirri in his monumentle book 'Inquiries about Islam', which says;

A prophet is an example to mankind. He should share with them the same nature, the same ability, and the same limitation. An attractive example to the prophet must be obtainable. It must have the capability of including the people to follow it. Should the prophet be from a different nature, people will not attempt to follow hisexample. A relative per fection shown by a prophet should be possible for his followers. Should a human being show me a high degree of virtuous life, I may be tempted to try to attain that degree. He and I are humans.

What is possible for him is possible for me. But if an angel shows me a high degree of morality, I may not attempt to follow his example. What is possible for him may be impossible foe me; he is not from the same nature.

There is another reason to believe that mankind should receive human prophets: We have advanced that a prophet is expected to substantiate his truthfulness by showing people unusual performance. By doing so, people would know that he is empowered by God because what he does is beyond his natural ability. This will not work if the prophet is not human, let us say an Angel. A human prophet may, for example, show his truthfulness by taking an unaided flight. Should an angel do the same, it will not demonstrate his natural ability, since he may not be affected naturally by gravitation.

"Indeed (there) is for you in the Apostle of Allah (Muhammad sws) an excellent pattern (of conduct).

Miracles - visible sign of prophethood.

When a person makes a claim, it is his duty to give a satisfactory proof in support of his claim. For example, when the ambassador, who is the nation's highest-ranking diplomat in the country, arrives to take charge of his office, he first delivers authentic papers cer tifying his position. The government of that country will never entertain any person in that capacity unless he shows valid credentials as an evidence of his candidacy for that position. The same rule applies for prophethood.

Thus, if a person claims that he is the Prophet of God, it is his religious duty to show satisfactory evidence in support of his statement. In Islamic terminology, suchan evidence is known as miracle or Ayat, meaning sign of prophethood.

Quran confirms that, every Prophet sent by Allah Taala was endowed with some kind of supernatural power by means of which he was able to demonstrate one or more miracles to prove his prophethood.

What is the difference between Prophet and a scientistThere is a sharp difference between a scientist and the Prophet. In fact, there is no comparison. However, for the sake of understanding the unparalleled position of the Prophet, few basic differences are being mentioned here.

1- A Prophet demonstrates miracles to prove his prophethood. A miracle is a cer tain act which can puzzle the people and that act can not be done by anyone else.

A scientist can also demonstrate something which can puzzle the people, but that act can be performed by many other scientists of his caliber. No scientist has ever shown anything which was impossible by other scientist to perform.

2- The Prophet tells about the future or about the unseen which has never been proved wrong.

Scientists also tell many things about future on the basis of cer tain knowledge and experiments, but many of their repor ts have been proved wrong by other scientists.

3- Scientists have extraordinary talent, sharp memory, and incredible thinking faculties. They have designed Electron microscope of tremendous magnifying power to see an object as small as 1/ 250,000,000 inch. They have also designed high power telescope to see extremely distant objects.Scientists can see with these powerful tools of penetrating eyes, inside the invisible atom and the outermost galaxy.

But despite these powerful instruments at their disposal, they can not see what happens inside the grave, and what will happen after the death.

Whereas, the Prophets have a quite different power - that is of receiving the absolutely accurate news from a totally invisible world - a world which will always remain outside the range of highly sophisticated telescope or microscope.

All great prophets were given some kind of miracle to establish their authority over the people of their nation. Thesemiracle were in accordance with the specialization of their time. For example, Hazrat Musa was given the miracle of serpent to beat themagician who were specialist in camouflaging the ropes as snakes. Hazrat Isa was bestowed with a miracle of giving life to the dead people, and curing the born blinds. In his time, the Greek medicine was at its peak.

The miracle of the Holy Prophet (sws) - The Quran - is a miracle for all nations that will emerge from time to time until the Doomsday. Thus, Quran will remain a challenge in every field of study and every sphere of specialization. Thus, the scientists can do a lot of useful work if they wholehear tedly recognize the Prophets as their teachers.

Basic message of all Prophets - awhid and Day of Judgment.T Quran has confirmed that the basic message of all the Prophets was the same. This shows that there has been only one single religion, Islam, from the beginning.

Those to whomWe have given the Book rejoice at what hath been revealed unto thee:

but there are among the clans those who reject a part thereof. Say: "I am commanded to worship Allah, and not to join partners with Him. Unto Him do I call, and unto Him is my return. (13:36)

HazratNooh( as) taught his nation about Tawhid and the Day of Judgment. "We sent Nooh to hispeople( with a mission), I have come to you with a warning: that you serve none but Allah. Verily I do fear for you the penalty of a grievous day." (11:26) Prophet Ibrahim (as) conveyed the message of Tauhid to his people. "And Ibrahim said to his people: serve Allah and fear Him: that will be best for you if you understand." (29:16)

ProphetHud gave the same message to his nation. "To the Ad people (we sent)Hud , one of their brethren, He said: " O my people!worship Allah!you have no other god but Him". (11:50)

Hazrat Saleh reminded the same message of Tawhid to his people." " To the Thamud People (We sent) Salih, one of their own brethren. He said: "O my people! Worship Allah: ye have no other god but Him. It is He Who hath produced you from the earth and settled you therein: then ask forgiveness of Him, and turn to Him (in repentance): for my Lord is (always) near, ready to answer." (11:61)

Hazrat Shu'ayb revised the same lesson of Tawhid during his time. "To the Madyan people (we sent) Shu'ayb, one of their brethen: he said: O my people!worship Allah: You have no other god but Him."(11:84)

Hazrat Yusuf reminded the same message of Tawhid. "I don't follow the ways of people who don't believe in Allah and deny the Day of Judgment. I follow the ways of my fathers - Ibrahim, Ishaq, and Yaqoob. We must never serve any beside Allah." (12:37,38 )

"The command is for none but Allah: He has commanded that you worship none but Him: that is the right religion, but most men don't understand" (13:40) Hazrat Musa was given the same message to deliver to his nation. "We gave Musa the Book, and made it a guide to the children of Israel (commanding)" Take not other thanMe as your Lord" Hazrat Sulaiman said:

"Allah! there is no god but He - Lord of the throne supreme" (27:26) Thus, the core content and the basic message of all Prophets was one and the same - Tawhid and the Day of Judgment. This is also the fundamental message of the Holy Prophet (sws) and the basic teaching of Islam.

All Prophets have successfully completed their mission of conveying this great message and no one from the nation of any prophet can give any excuse of committing any kind of Shirk. BlasphemyAny acts, utterances, and writings showing slightests disrespect of the Holy Prophet or Imams.

Total Number ofThe Messengers.

The exact number and names of all prophets is not known, but according to one famous hadith, there were 124,000 prophets. Out of all these prophets, the names of 25 prophets have been mentioned in the Holy Quran. They are as follows.

1 - Hazrat Adam

2 - Hazrat Idris (Enoch)

3 - Hazrat Nuh (Noah)

4- Hazrat Hud

5 - Hazrat Saleh

6 - Hazrat Ibrahim (Abraham)

7 - Hazrat Ismail (Ishmael)

8 - Hazrat Ishaq (Isaac)

9 - Hazrat Lut (Lot)

10-Hazrat Yaqub (Jacob)

11- Hazrat Yusuf (Joseph)

12- Hazrat Shuaib

13- Hazrat Ayub (Job)

14- Hazrat Musa (Moses)

15- Hazrat Harun (Aaron)

16- Hazrat Dhul-Kifl (Ezekiel)

17-Hazrat Dawud (David)

18- Hazrat Suleiman (Solmon)

19- Hazrat Ilyas (Elias)

20- Hazrat Al-Yasa (Elisha)

21- Hazrat Yunus (Jonah)

22- Hazrat Zakariya (Zachariah)

23- Hazrat Yahya (John the Baptist)

24- Hazrat Isa (Jesus)

25- Hazrat Muhammad (s.a.w)

There are names of 13 prophets in one verse of the Quran. "We gave him Ishaq (Isaac) and Yaqub (Jacob): allWe guided. And before himWe guided Nuh, and among his progeny, Dawood (David), Sulaiman (Solomon), Ayoub (Job), Yousuf (Joseph) Musa (Moses), and Haroon (Aaron). Thus doWe reward those who do good. And Zakariya and Yayha (John), and Isa (Jesus), and Elias: all in the ranks of the righteous." (6:84)