All muslims know that there were many messengers sent by God. But if we rank them, who would be number one ? Will it be Muhammad ? Moses ? Jesus ? Who is the greatest messenger of Allah ?
Before we find the answer to that, I must tell you that even to rank them yourself, you would need to know their hearts. Ofcourse, I do not know what is in their heart, so I can't judge them. But I am pretty sure that your favourite mullah/sheikh/scholar/imam already informed you about the answer to this question. Since we know that God is the best scholar, let us look into His Book, Al-Qur'an, and find out what did Allah tell us about the topic.
Say: "We believe in God and in what was sent down to us and what was sent down to Abraham, and Ishmael, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the Patriarchs, and what was given to Moses and Jesus, and what was given to the prophets from their Lord; we do not make a distinction between any of them and to Him we submit."
[ Qur'an 2:136]
So, according to Allah, as He inspired the messenger to "Say", we believe in all his messengers/prophets and what was given to them and ofcourse we believe in what was given to us. AND WE DO NOT MAKE DISTINCTION BETWEEN ANY OF THEM.
Let us look at the Qur'an further and see if we can find similar statements.
The messenger believes in what was sent down to him from his Lord; and the believers, all who believe in God, and His angels, and His Books, and His messengers: "We do not make a distinction between any of His messengers;" and they said: "We hear and obey, forgive us our Lord, and to you is our destiny."
[ Qur'an 2:285]
So once more we see that we are not supposed to make distinctions between any of Allah's messengers. Let us look for more ayaats :
Say: "We believe in God and what was sent down to us and what was sent down to Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the Patriarchs, and what was given to Moses and Jesus and the prophets from their Lord. We do not make a distinction between any of them, and to Him we submit."
[ Qur'an 3:84]
And those who believe in God and His messengers and do not make a distinction between any of them, We will give them their recompense. And God is Forgiving, Merciful.
[ Qur'an 4:152]
Chapter 3 verse 84 says the same thing, we should not make distinction between God's messengers. In chapter 4 verse 152, we learn that those who do not make distinctions between messengers of God will get rewards from God. So, not making distinction is a good act in the sight of God.
Having looked into Qur'an, we are now crystal clear on the issue. A righteous person will not make distinction between ANY of HIS messengers. So, based on the question "Who is the greatest messenger ?" ranking the messengers as 1st 2nd 3rd can only lead you away from the straight path of Allah.
So the next time your favourite sheikh/alim/mullah/imam/scholar tries to rank them (messengers) and declare any one of them as superior or inferior to the other, remember that you are have been shown these ayaats. Truth is clear to you, if you still believe your sheikhs more than God's words that He preserved for you, did you not take them as partner beside God ? Actually, the case is worse, you are then rejecting God's words to accept your scholar's words.
Feel free to comment , criticize and share your views down in the comment section.
Peace
--------------- Student of Allah
