The term "Risalat" literally means to convey message and the person who brings the message is known as 'Messenger'. According to Shariah, Allah Almighty sends a chosen and selected servant to His creation to preach His message to mankind, is called "Risalat". The person whom Allah Almighty sends to His creatures for preaching the message is known as Rasool.
i. Necessity and Importance
In the beliefs of Islam, after Tauheed comes the belief of Prophethood. Prophets , are a link between Allah Almighty and His creation. They serve as ambassadors. Allah has arranged for the guidance of human beings since the beginning. This guidance was provided through the Prophets of Allah, Prophets are pure and extremely good people of their society. Allah reveals His commandments to them through revelation. This chain of Prophethood started with Hazrat Adam and ended at Hazrat Muhammad. The mission of all the Prophets was to reform the morals of humans and to teach them the ways of worshipping Allah. All nations that Allah created, He sent Prophets and Messengers to all of them, so that they could convey the message of guidance from Allah to these nations and lead the way.
Allah Almighty says in the Holy Quran:
إِنَّا أَرْسَلْنَكَ بِالْحَقِّ بَشِيرًا وَنَذِيرًا وَإِنْ مِنْ أُمَّةٍ إِلَّا خَلَا فِيهَا نَذِيرُ
Translation:
"Surely We have sent you with truth as a bearer of good news and as a warner, and there was no community without a warner having passed among them." (Surah Fatir: 24)
ii. Qualities of the Prophets
Allah bestowed many qualities to the Prophets . They are blessed with knowledge and wisdom in the form of revelation from Allah Almighty, and there is no example of them among the common people. Although the Prophets and the Messengers are human beings, but they hold a superior status as compared to the common people due to their status, intellect and understanding.
Prophets are innocent and no sin is committed by them. Prophethood and Nabuwat of Prophets is god gifted, the position of prophethood cannot be achieved through any special action or effort. It is a special gift by Allah Almighty which is bestowed by Allah's grace.
Obedience to the Prophets is obligatory. Allah has ordered the obedience to His Messengers along with His obedience. Allah Almighty says in the Holy Quran:
يَأْيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُوا الرَّسُولَ وَلا تُبْطِلُوا أَعْمَالَكُمْ :
Translation:
"Believers, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and do not cause your works to be nullified." (Surah Muhammad: 33)
In relation to the Prophets , the Prophet Muhammad had the distinction that the qualities which were bestowed separately to all Prophets, they were collectively bestowed upon the Holy Prophet. The Holy Prophet was also blessed with many qualities that no prophet before him had possessed. The most important character traits of the Holy Prophet were as follows:
The distinction of Holy Prophet is that he has been sent as a Prophet to all mankind until the Day of Resurrection whereas the Prophets who came before him were sent for a certain nation or tribe.
The Holy Prophet (s) had the distinction that after his Prophethood, all the previous shariahs were annulled. Only the Shariah of the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad was to be followed.
The religion of Allah was completed on the Holy Prophet.
Allah says:
الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ الإسْلامَ دِيناً
Translation:
"Today, I have perfected your religion for you, and have completed My blessing upon you, and chosen Islam as Din (religion and a way of life) for you." (Surah Al-Maidah: 3)
The books or booklets which the previous Prophets had been bestowed with, either their teachings were totally called off or they are not present in their original form but the Holy Quran, that was bestowed upon the Holy Prophet (s), is still present in its Lifte oghe adigon original form.
iii. End of Prophethood (Khatm-e-Nabuwat))
It was also necessary to preserve the Holy Quran because Allah Almighty had ended the chain of Prophethood on Hazrat Muhammad (s). No other prophet or messenger will come until the Day of Judgment, so it is necessary and obligatory to follow the Holy Quran and Sunnah of the Prophet (s) until the Day of Judgment. The meaning of the end of Prophethood is that Hazrat Muhammad (s) is the last Prophet and Messenger of Allah. Allah Almighty says in the Holy Quran:
ما كَانَ مُحَمَّدٌ أَبَا أَحَدٍ مِّن رِّجَالِكُمْ وَلكِن رَّسُولَ اللهِ وَخَاتَمَ النَّبيّن
Translation:
"Muhammad is not a father of any of your men, but he is a messenger of Allah and the last of the prophets." (Surah Al-Ahzab: 40)
In many blessed hadiths, the Prophet declared his Prophethood to be divine and told the Ummah that now there will be no Prophet after him. It is his saying:
"I am the last prophet, there will be no prophet after me." (Jami at-Tirmidhi: 2219)
In the light of verses and hadiths, the Companions of the Holy Prophet (déssel) and the Muslim Ummah after them have agreed that from now until the Day of Resurrection there will be no other prophet. No person will become a true Muslim unless he has a complete faith in the finality of Prophethood. That is why the people who claimed false Prophethood during the caliphate of Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq he performed jihad against all such false prophets.
