Risalah
(Prophethood)
Module 1 – Circle 6
What is Risalah?
Risalah is the channel of communication between
Allah swt and His creation.
Allah swt communicates to His creation through
His Messengers (Prophets), His Books, and His
Angels (who deliver the message).
Module 1 – Circle 6
Who was the First Prophet of
Islam?
The First Prophet of Islam was Adam (as).
Allah swt says in the Qur'an, "We said: "Get down
all of you from this place (Paradise), then
whenever there comes to you Guidance from Me,
and whoever follows My guidance, there shall be
no fear on them, nor shall they grieve." (Surah Al
Baqara 2:38)
Module 1 – Circle 6
What did Adam (as) teach?
Adam (as) was taught knowledge by Allah swt.
"And he taught Adam all the names, then presented them to
the angels; then He said: Tell me the names of those if you
are right. (Surah 2:31)
Adam (as) and all of the prophets that followed him came
with the same message; calling the people to turn from the
worship of false dieties, to the worship of Allah alone, and
establishing piety on the earth.
Module 1 – Circle 6
How many Prophets were sent to
mankind?
Approximately 124,000 Prophets were sent to
mankind.
Allah swt says in the Quran:
And We certainly sent into every nation a
messenger [saying], “Worship God and avoid
taghut.” And among them were those on whom
God guided, and among them were those upon
whom error was [deservedly] decreed. So proceed
[i.e., travel] through the earth and observe how was
the end of the deniers. (Qur'an 16:36)
Module 1 – Circle 6
Are all of these Prophets mentioned
in the Quran?
The Quran mentions 25 Prophets by name. These are:
Adam –Adam, Idris – Enoch, Nuh – Noah, Hud- Eber,
Saleh –Shelah, Ibrahim-Abraham, Lut –Lot, Ismail –
Ishmael, Is'haq –Isaac, Yaqub-Jacob, Yusuf –Joseph,
Ayub – Job, Shoaib- Jethro, Musa – Moses, Harun –Aaron,
Dhul-Kifl –Ezekiel, Daud –David, Sulayman –Solomon,
Ilyas –Elijah, Al-Yasa –Elisha, Yunus –Jonah, ZakariyaZacharias, Yahya-John, Isa-Jesus, Muhammad-Mohammed
(May the Peace and Blessings of Allah swt be upon them
all)
Module 1 – Circle 6
What is the difference between a
Nabi and a Rasul?
Some Messengers were Nabis only. However, some
Messengers were Nabis and Rasuls.
A Rasul was a messenger of Allah who was given a new
Shariah (codes of law) from Him. And a Nabi was also the
messenger of Allah, but he was not given any new Shariah
and followed the shariah of an earlier Rasul.
Module 1 – Circle 6
How many Rasuls were there?
There were 5 Rasuls mentioned in the Quran.
•Prophet Nooh (as) was given a Shari’ah which was followed by
other prophets up to the time of Hazrat Ibrahim(as).
•Prophet Ibrahim (as) was given a Shari’ah which remained in
force up to the time of Hazrat Musa. i.e., Hazrat Yaqub, Hazrat
Lut, Hazrat Yousuf (as) etc. followed the Shariat of Ibrahim.
•Prophet Musa (as) was given a new Shari’ah which was
followed by all the prophets of Bani Israel until the time of Hazrat
Isa (as).
•Prophet Isa (as) was given a new Shariat which remained in
force upto the time of the Holy Prophet.
•Prophet Muhammad (saw) was given the last and the most
perfect Shariah which will remain in force up to the last day of the
world.
Module 1 – Circle 6
Which Revelations were revealed to
each Rasul?
The Tawrat (Torah) was revealed to Musa (as)
The Zabur was revealed to Dawood (as)
The lnjil (Bible) was revealed to lsa (as)
There was also a Revelation given to Ibrahim (as) known as
the Suhuf-e-lbrahim (Scrolls of Ibrahim)
The Quran was revealed to Muhammed (pbuh)
Module 1 – Circle 6
Should Muslims still follow the
Revelations prior to the Quran?
Only the Quran exists in its original form, unchanged. The
other divine books are not available in their original
language and form. Even their original texts do not exist.
The Zabur, Tawrat and lnjil were compiled by their followers
many years after the death of the prophets to whom they
were revealed. Their compilers have modified, changed and
distorted Allah's words. They mixed their words with Allah's
words. Even if they were available, the Quran supersedes
all of the older revelations.
Module 1 – Circle 6
How does a Rasul receive
Revelation?
The Rasul [Apostle] receives the message from
Allah Taala in many different manners such as,
vision during sleep, direct communication with
angels when he is awake. i.e., he can see and
speak to the angels during communication of
Divine message. But the Nabi [prophet] differs
from the Rasul in that he does not see the
angels when awake but sees during sleep.
Module 1 – Circle 6
Who is the main Angel who delivers
the Message to the Prophets?
Allah maintains His kingdom in the most superb
way. The angels are his most obedient and loyal
servants. They carry out his commandments. They
help man in the use of free will. Their duty is to
glorify and praise Allah. They never get tired. They
do not eat or sleep. They do not have free will.
They can take any suitable form to do their duties.
They have been created from divine light (Nur).
The most prominent among the angels are Jibrail.
He brought the revelations from Allah to all the
Prophets.
Module 1 – Circle 6
Did the Prophets know why Allah swt
had created us?
Truly, man has been created for a noble and great purpose
- that he may worship Allah alone, without any partners.
Allah has said in the Quran:
“And I have only created jinn and mankind to worship
Me”.(Surah Al-Dhaariyaat 51:56)
Module 1 – Circle 6
Will there be any further Revelations from
Allah swt to guide us in the future?
There will be no further Revelations from Allah swt until the Day of
Judgement.
Allah swt also makes clear in the Quran that the Religion of Islam is
complete:
“This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My Favor
upon you, and have chosen for you Islâm as your religion.” (Surah AlMa’idah, 5: 3)
The Prophet pbuh said in his last sermon:
“O People! No Prophet or Apostle Will Come after Me and No New Faith
Will Be Born. Reason well, therefore, O People! and understand words
which I convey to you. I leave behind me two things, the QUR’AN and
my SUNNAH (i.e., sayings, deeds, and approvals) and if you follow
these you will never go astray.”
Module 1 – Circle 6