made obligatory on the followers of all the prophets that had passed away before him. As prophets had been sent, according to the teachings of the Holy Qur’ān, to every nation, the conclusion is obvious that the followers of every prophet are required to believe in this, the final prophet. The distinguishing feature of the world-prophet as mentioned here is that he will “verify that which is with you,” in other words, that he will bear testimony to the truth of all the prophets of the world. One may turn the pages of all the sacred books and search the sacred history of every nation, and it would be found that there was but one prophet who verified the scriptures of all religions and bore testimony to the truth of the prophets of every nation. In fact, no one could aspire to the dignity of world-prophet who did not treat the whole of humanity as one; and Muḥammad is the only man who did so by declaring that prophets of God had appeared in every nation and that every one who believed in him must also believe in all the prophets of the world. Hence it is that the verse requiring a belief in all the prophets of God — a belief in Abraham, in Ishmael, in Isaac, in Jacob, in Moses, in Jesus, and finally and comprehensively in the prophets, — which occurs several times in the Holy Qur’ān, is repeated here again, and followed by the clear statement that Islām, or belief in all the prophets of God, is the only religion with God, and whosoever desires a religion other than Islām — a belief only in one prophet while rejecting all others — it shall not be accepted from him, because belief in one prophet is, after all, only acceptance of partial truth, and tantamount to the rejection of the whole truth, to wit, that there have been prophets in every nation.
Muḥammad (peace be on him), therefore, does not only claim to have been sent to the whole world, to be a warner to all peoples and a mercy to all nations but lays the foundations of a world-religion, by making a belief in the prophet of every nation the basic principle of his faith. It is the only principle on which the whole of humanity can agree, the only basis of equal treatment for all nations. The idea of a world-prophet is not a stray idea met with in the Holy Qur’ān; it is not based simply on one or two passages, stating that he had been raised for the regeneration of all nations; but the idea is here developed at length, and all the principles which can form the basis of a world-religion are fully enunciated. The whole of humanity is