disobedient (19:12-14), or that he was “honourable and chaste” (3:39). It is the gravest mistake to think that the high qualities attributed to one prophet may be wanting in others. The prophets are all one community; they were all raised for one purpose; the teachings of all were essentially the same; they were all truthful, all faithful, all worthy of regard; all were made near to God, all were pure, all of them guarded against evil, all were honourable and chaste, and none of them was insolent or disobedient to God.19

Why prophets are raised

The prophets are raised for the uplift of humanity and for freeing men from the bondage of sin. It has been shown in the last chapter that Divine revelation was needed to enable man to subdue the devil, who would, otherwise, be a great hindrance in his moral and spiritual progress. Man was commanded to live in a spiritual paradise, but since he was unable to withstand the temptations of the devil, the Divine revelation came to his aid; and a rule for all time was laid down for the guidance of all men: “There will come to you a guidance from Me, then whoever follows My guidance, no fear shall come upon them, nor shall they grieve” (2:38). The negation of fear refers to the fear of the devil’s temptation, as a remedy against which Divine revelation was first granted to man. Again, every prophet brings the message of the Unity of God, and the significance underlying this message has already been shown (in ch.2) to be the all-round advancement of man, physical as well as spiritual and moral. And every prophet is called giver of good news (mubashshir) and warner (mundhir) (2:213); the good news relating to his advancement and elevation, the warning to the retarding of or interference with his progress. The four works entrusted to the Holy Prophet, as mentioned several times in the Holy Qur’ān, are stated thus: “We have sent a Messenger to you from among you who recites to you Our messages and purifies you and teaches you the Book and the Wisdom” (2:151, etc). The Arabic word for purifying is yuzakkī which is derived from zakā, originally meaning, according to Rāghib, the progress attained by Divine blessing (i.e. by the development of the faculties placed by God within man), and relates to the affairs of this world as well as the Hereafter, that is to say, to man’s physical as well as spiritual