which in fact was unnecessary, a Muslim may accept the great luminaries who are accepted by other nations as having brought light to them, as the prophets of those nations.

A Muslim must believe in all the prophets

The Holy Qur’ān, however, not only establishes the theory that prophets have appeared in all nations; it goes further and renders it necessary that a Muslim should believe in all those prophets. In the very beginning we are told that a Muslim must “believe in that which has been revealed to thee and that which was revealed before thee” (2:4); and a little further on: “We believe in Allāh and in that which has been revealed to us and in that which was revealed to Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the tribes, and in that which was given to Moses and Jesus, and in that which was given to the prophets from their Lord; we do not make any distinction between any of them” (2:136), where the word prophets clearly refers to the prophets of other nations. And again, the Holy Qur’ān speaks of Muslims as believing in all the prophets of God and not in Holy Prophet Muḥammad alone: “Righteous is the one who believes in Allāh and the Last Day, and the angels and the Book7 and the prophets” (2:177); “The Messenger believes in what has been revealed to him from his Lord, and so do the believers; they all believe in Allāh and His angels and His Books and His messengers; we make no distinction between any of His messengers” (2:285). In fact, to believe in some prophets and reject others is condemned as unbelief (kufr); “Those who disbelieve in Allāh and His messengers, and desire to make a distinction between Allāh and His messengers and say: We believe in some and disbelieve in others, and desire to take a course in between — these are truly disbelievers” (4:150, 151). A belief in all the prophets of the world is thus an essential principle of the religion of Islām, and though the faith of Islām is summed up in two brief sentences, there is no god but Allāh and Muḥammad is His apostle, yet the man who confesses belief in Holy Prophet Muḥammad, in so doing, accepts all the prophets of the world, whether their names are mentioned in the Holy Qur’ān or not. Islām claims a universality to which no other religion can aspire, and lays the foundation of a brotherhood as vast as humanity itself.