messengers of Allah. Peace be upon both of them. Muslims will not
belittle any of God's prophets or reject their message. The Qur'an
tells us to declare our faith in all of the prophets including
Abraham, Moses,and Jesus, and that we should make no distinction among
them (see Qur'an 2:136; 3:84; 2:285). This means that since each of
them preached the true message of God, it would be wrong to say we
believe in some but not inothers.
The prophets themselves were humble servants of God. They did not try
to prove themselves superior to others. It would be wrong for their
followers to argue over who is superior. Once a Muslim and a Jew were
arguing. The Muslim said that Muhammad is superior over all the
people. The Jew said that Moses is superior over all the people. When
this was related to the prophet Muhammad, on whom be peace, he said:
Do not give me superiority over Moses (This is recorded in Sahih
al-Bukhari, vol.4, p.410, Arabic- English edition).
He also said "None shouldsay that I am better than Jonah, son of
Matta" (ibid, p.413).
He also instructed,"Do notgive superiority to any prophet among
Allah's prophets" (ibid, p.414).
Once the prophet was asked, "Who is the most honorable among the
people?" He replied, "The most God-fearing". When he was asked to name
a specific individual, he replied:
The most honorable person is Joseph (i.e. the son of Jacob) (ibid, p.390).
This humility was shared by other prophets too. The prophet Jesus, on
whom be peace, is reported to have said:
I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen
anyone greater thanJohn the Baptist (Matthew11:11).
But John the Baptist was also humble. He did not claim that greatness
for himself. He spoke of a greater one who was to come after him. He
is quoted as saying:
After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose
sandals Iam not worthy to stoop down and untie (Mark 1:7).
When God sent the angel Gabriel to take the prophet Muhammad to the
Aqsa Mosque one night, the prophet, on whom be peace, led the prayers
there, and the other prophets followed his lead. He also related the
truth that on the Day of Judgement he will lead the banner of Praise
under which will be all the other prophets. But the prophet Muhammad
did not boast about this. He instructed Muslims that they should not
praise him as the people praised Jesus, son of Mary.He said:
Call me a slave of Allah and His Messenger (Bukhari, vol.4, p.435).
What is important is not to try and prove one prophet superior over
another, but to believe in both of them. The prophet Muhammad, on whom
be peace, said:
If a man believes in Jesus and then believes in me, he will get a
double reward (ibid. p.435).
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