History of the Prophets. Maulana Muhammad Ali
Lot — Lut
Magog — Ma’juj
Mary — Maryam
Michael — Mikal
Moses — Musa
Noah — Nuh
Pharaoh — Fir‘aun
Saul — Talut
Sheba — Saba’
Soloman — Sulaiman
Torah — Taurat
Zacharias — Zakariyya
Members of the Ahmadiyyah Anjuman Isha‘at Islam (Lahore) believe that:
After the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him), God has barred the appearance of any prophet, new or old.
Angel Gabriel cannot bring ‘prophetic revelation’ to any person as this would contradict the two complementary verses: “This day have I perfected for you your religion” (5:3); “Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah and the Seal of the prophets” (33:40). It would otherwise violate the sanctity of finality of prophethood in Islam.
All the Companions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (ashab) and all the spiritual leaders (imams) are venerable.
It is incumbent to believe in the missions of all reformers (mujaddids).
He who believes that “there is no God but Allah and Muhammad is His Prophet” (kalimah) cannot be regarded an unbeliever or infidel (kafir).
No verse of the holy Quran has been, or shall ever be, abrogated.
Preface
In this treatise I have dealt with the lives of the prophets as they are given in the Holy Qur’an. My chief object in presenting it to the public is to remove the prevailing misconception that the Holy Qur’an takes its narratives from the Bible or Jewish and Christian traditions. For this purpose I have contrasted these narratives as met with in the Holy Qur’an with their versions as met with in the Bible or Jewish and Christian traditions. It will be found that wherever previous record has cast a slur on the character of a prophet, the Holy Qur’an has invariably vindicated it. The Holy Book has further brought out facts which enhance the moral value of these narratives and removed defects and contradictions which have found way into sacred history due to manipulation of facts or carelessness in recording them. This affords the clearest evidence that Divine Inspiration and not any previous record or tradition was the source from which the Prophet obtained information. By doing away with the profanity of sacred history, the Holy Qur’an has rendered immense service to the Bible itself. This is in accordance with its claim.
MUHAMMAD ‘ALÍ
About the author
Born in 1874 in the Punjab (India) Maulana Muhammad Ali had a distinguished academic record, obtaining degrees in English and Law by 1899. As he stood on the threshold of a lucrative career in law, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmed, the reformer (mujaddid) of the 14th century Hijra and the promised messiah, called on him to devote his life to the service of Islam. He forthwith abandoned his worldly plans and joined the great reformer in Qadian. Here he learned those gems of Islamic truth uncovered in this age by Hazrat Mirza Sahib through which Islam was now destined to attract people all over the world. He became the secretary of the organization and was appointed by Hazrat Mirza Sahib as the editor of the Review of Religions, one of the first Islamic journals in English. Under his editorship this journal presented the pristine beautiful face of Islam to a world which had seen only an ugly image of it.
When the successor of Hazrat Mirza Sahib, Maulana Nuruddin Sahib, died in 1914 certain elements in the organization led by the founder’s son gained control of the movement, turning it into an exclusive intolerant sect ruled by a spiritual autocracy. They distorted and misrepresented Hazrat Mirza Sahib’s views by asserting that he had claimed prophethood. These circumstances compelled Maulana Muhammad Ali to leave Qadian, and he along with his associates established the Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha’at Islam in Lahore to continue Hazrat Mirza Sahib’s real mission. From that date until his death in 1951 he led this society, organized its worldwide missionary activities, and produced a vast amount of invaluable scholarly literature in English and Urdu. His major works include: translations of the Holy Quran with detailed commentaries in both English and Urdu, The Religion of Islam, A Manual of Hadith, Fazl-i-Bari an exhaustive commentary on the Sahih Bukhari in Urdu, Muhammad the Prophet, The New World Order, the Early Caliphate, and the Living Thoughts of the Prophet Muhammad. This unique collection of books presents a picture of Islam restored to its original purity—a religion of peace, tolerance, and spirituality. The Maulana’s contribution to Islamic literature and revival of Islam has been highly acclaimed by eminent Muslims all over the world. A famous British Muslim scholar and translator of the Holy Quran, Marmaduke Pickthall, while reviewing the Maulana’s monumental work the Religion of Islam, wrote in 1936 “Probably no living man has done longer or more valuable service for the cause of Islamic revival than Maulana Muhammad Ali of Lahore…”
Introduction
An essential difference between the histories of the prophets as they are narrated in the Holy Qur’an and the Bible may be pointed out at the very outset. The Bible contains a record of genealogies and some personal history while the Holy Qur’an deals only with the life-work of a prophet relating to the grand object of reformation and as to how he succeeded in establishing the truth and uprooting evil.
The Arabic word for prophet is nabi, which is derived from naba’, meaning an announcement of great utility, also a prophecy which gives information concerning the future. The word nabi in its literal significance is applicable to anyone to whom prophecies about the future are revealed, but in the technical language of Islam it is applicable only to a man who is chosen by God to deliver His message to mankind. Such a person is also called a rasul (messenger), which literally means one sent. The two words, nabi and rasul, are interchangeable, but rasul literally carries a wider significance, for the angels are also called rusul (messengers) (35:1).
The prophet, according to the Holy Qur’an must be a human being, and hence it does not accept the doctrine of incarnation, or God in flesh. The reformation of man is entrusted to men to whom Divine will is revealed, because only a man could serve as a model for men; even an angel could not have served that purpose. How could God in flesh serve as a model for frail human beings who have to meet hundreds of temptations, whereas for God there exists no possible temptation? Hence the Holy Qur’an has affirmed in the clearest words that only prophets, or men to whom God revealed His will, could be sent as reformers:
“Say: Had there been in the earth angels walking about secure, We would have sent down to them from the heaven an angel as messenger.” (17:95)
“And We sent not before thee any but men to whom We sent revelation… Nor did We give them bodies not eating food, nor did they abide.” (21:7,8)
To every prophet was given a book for the guidance of his people:
“So Allah raised prophets as bearers of good news and as warners, and He revealed with them the Book with truth, that it might judge between people concerning that in which they differed.” (2:213)
“Certainly We sent Our messengers with clear arguments, and sent down with them the Book and the measure.” (57:25)
The prophets were all sinless, both their words and their deeds being in accordance with Divine commandments:
“And We sent no messenger before thee but We revealed to him that there is no God but Me, so serve Me. And they say: The Beneficent has taken to Himself a son. Glory be to Him! Nay, they are honoured servants – They speak not before He speaks, and according to His command they act.” (21:25–27)
“And it is not for a prophet to act dishonestly.” (3:161)
Prophets, according to the Holy Qur’an, were needed to enable man to rise to higher stages of life. In accordance with this Divine scheme, revelation