Prophecy and revelation in Islam

Overview

Recall questions on nubuwwa and wahy, the angel of revelation, nabi and rasul, Ibrahim, Musa and Isa, the Prophet Muhammad as seal of the prophets, tahrif, the inimitability of the Qur'an, revelation in ritual and festivals, and Islam's relationship to Judaism and Christianity.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   What do Muslims mean by nubuwwa, and how is it different from wahy?

   Model answer

   Nubuwwa is prophethood: God's selection of particular human beings to carry His guidance to a people. Wahy is the revelation itself, the communication God sends down to the one He has chosen. Muslims hold that prophethood is a divine appointment rather than a human achievement, that prophets remain human and are never divine, and that what they deliver is not their own invention. The two ideas are linked, because a prophet is defined by receiving wahy and passing it on faithfully.

2. 2

   Which angel do Muslims believe carried revelation to the prophets, and why does that matter?

   Model answer

   Jibril, known in English as Gabriel. Muslims believe Jibril is the medium through whom God's words reached the human recipient, so scripture is not the prophet's own composition. Muslims hold that Jibril brought the Qur'an to Muhammad in instalments across roughly twenty-three years. Because an angel mediates, Muslims can affirm at once that God is utterly beyond creation and that He has genuinely spoken to humanity.

3. 3

   What is the difference between a nabi and a rasul in Muslim thought?

   Model answer

   Both terms name prophets, but most Muslim scholars distinguish them. A rasul, a messenger, is sent with a revealed book and a dispensation for a community. A nabi conveys God's guidance without bringing a new sacred law, usually confirming what an earlier messenger delivered. On this account every messenger is also a prophet, but not every prophet is a messenger. Ibrahim, Musa, Isa and Muhammad are all counted among the messengers.

4. 4

   Why is Ibrahim (Abraham) significant in Muslim belief and practice?

   Model answer

   Muslims regard Ibrahim as the pattern of unmixed monotheism, a hanif who broke with idolatry and gave himself wholly to God, and the Qur'an presents him as belonging to no later community but simply submitting to God. He is a founding figure shared with Jews and Christians, and Muslim tradition credits him and his son Isma'il with raising the sanctuary at Mecca. His readiness to surrender his son is recalled each year at Eid al-Adha, which makes him a moral exemplar as much as a link in the chain of revelation.

5. 5

   Why is Musa (Moses) significant in Muslim belief and practice?

   Model answer

   Musa is the prophet named most often in the Qur'an. Muslims hold that he received the Tawrat, spoke directly with God, confronted Pharaoh and led the Israelites out of bondage, which makes him both a bearer of revealed law and a model of courage before tyranny. Muslim commentators treat his story as the great scriptural case of God siding with the oppressed. His fasting is also linked to the voluntary fast of Ashura, so his example enters Muslim practice as well as belief.

6. 6

   How do Muslims understand Isa (Jesus), and where does this differ from Christian teaching?

   Model answer

   Muslims honour Isa as one of the greatest messengers, born of the virgin Maryam, given the Injil, and empowered by God to heal and to raise the dead. Muslim teaching holds that these were signs granted by God rather than evidence of divinity. Islam therefore rejects the claims that Isa is the son of God, that he is part of a Trinity, and, on the mainstream reading, that he died on the cross, holding instead that God raised him. Many Muslims also expect his return before the end of time.

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