​


Honor of Prophethood
​
Prophet Adam (alaihi salaam) was not only the first man but also the first Muslim and prophet and first recipient of Allah’s divine revelation and guidance on earth. The process of revelation and guidance initiated with Adam (a.s) and completed with the revelation of the Quran to humankind through Allah’s final prophet and messenger Muhammad ﷺ. However, what is most important to mention here is that even though Prophet Muhammad ﷺ appeared as the final messenger in the long line of prophets, yet he was the first one to be honored with prophethood from that line and this is a special honor given only to him. The declaration of his prophethood was made while Adam  (a.s) was in the process of being created.

According to the Quran, the blessed words of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and many from amongst his companions and salaf (early generations of Muslims) we find that his prophethood was declared by Allah ﷻ in the heavens before humankind existed on earth. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: “Verily I was written in Allah's Presence as the Seal of Prophets while verily Adam was still kneaded in his clay.”[1] In another prophetic hadith we are informed: “I was a Prophet while Adam was still between the spirit and the body.”[2] Allah ﷻ also confirms the declaration of his prophethood in the heavens before any prophet was sent on earth: “And (remember), when Allah took the covenant of the prophets, [saying], ‘Whatever I give you of the Scripture and wisdom and then there comes to you a messenger confirming what is with you, you [must] believe in him and support him.’ [Allah] said, ‘Have you acknowledged and taken upon that My commitment?’ They said, ‘We have acknowledged it.’ He said, ‘Then bear witness, and I am with you among the witnesses.’”[3] This covenant was made with all the prophets in their primordial existence in the world of souls. Commenting on this verse, Prophet’s cousin and son in law Hazrat Ali Ibn Abi Talib (a.s) and his cousin Hazrat Abdullah Ibn Abbas (radiAllahu anhu), the two most knowledgeable ones said: “Allah never sent a Prophet but after taking his pledge that if Muhammad were sent in his lifetime, he would believe in and support him.”[4]

This prophetic covenant is similar to the covenant Allah ﷻ took from souls of entire humankind about His Tawhid (Oneness) of Lordship and Divinity, which He always reminded by sending Prophets: “[remind them O Prophet], when your Lord took out the offspring from the loins of the Children of Adam and made them bear witness about themselves, He said, ‘Am I not your Lord?’ and they replied, ‘Yes, we bear witness.’ So you cannot say on the Day of Resurrection, ‘We were not aware of this,’”[5] Allah ﷻ made these two covenants, one with the entire humankind about His Tawhid (Oneness) and one with souls of all Prophets about the prophethood of his last and greatest messenger Muhammad ﷺ. This is one of the primary reasons why many holy books such as Hindu scriptures, Buddhist and Zoroastrian scriptures as well as Bible (Old and New Testament) contain traces of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ such as his characteristics and teachings, the region of his arrival and description of his family, companions and followers etc.

References:
[1] Narrated by Ibn Hibban in his Sahih, and al-Hakim in his Mustadrak - Haddad, Various Questions Answered by Shaykh Gibril Haddad 2007
[2] Tirmidhi narrated it and said it hasan sahih, and it is authenticated by al-Hakim 2:609 as sahih, and also narrated by Ibn Abi Shayba in his Musannaf 14:292, and al-Bukhari in his Tarikh 7:374 - Haddad, Various Questions Answered by Shaykh Gibril Haddad 2007
[3] Al Quran 3:81
[4] Taking a Pledge From the Prophets to Believe in Our Prophet, Muhammad - I. i. Kathir n.d.
[5] Al Quran 7:172

The message of Quran is as ancient as humankind

The message of the Quran and its content has been stressed by Allah ﷻ in all the books of guidance delivered to prophets and messengers that have ever lived throughout the humankind history. Allah ﷻ reminds us of this fact: “And, verily, [the essence of) this [revelation] is indeed found in the ancient books of divine wisdom [as well]. Is it not evidence enough for them that [so many] learned men from among the children of Israel have recognized this [as true]?”[1] In this verse Muhammad Asad translates the term zabur  as "ancient books of divine wisdom". The core principles enunciated in the Quran are still found in many scriptures of ancient civilizations such as those of Hindus and Magians (Zoroastrians) especially books of Bible, despite the fact that these books underwent considerable changes, additions and omissions throughout history. The core principles found in previous scriptures and taught by the Quran may be summed up as following:

Allah ﷻ is one and there is none worthy of worship except Him. The Quran condemns idolatry and associationism of any being or of any sort with worship and obedience due only to Allah ﷻ. It also condemns sinful way of life and encourages the performance of good deeds and righteous way of life. All the prophets were humble servants of Allah ﷻ and none of them was proud to refer themselves as being divine or claimed to be god. Everything in the entire universe comes from Allah ﷻ, the Creator, including everything and ourselves will perish with time. There is a resurrection day and judgment and accountability of how humans spend their temporary existence on earth. There is a belief in angels, of paradise for the blessed and those who submitted to Allah’s guidance, hell for the evil and those who rejected Allah’s revelations.

Any person who has read their previous scriptures without bias towards Islam, regardless of whichever non-Muslim denomination they belong to, would agree that all the above have been clearly emphasized in their own ancient books. This informs us that none of these fundamentals are new that Quran teaches. Since the content of the Quran’s message was proclaimed by all prophets to have ever lived before it, therefore it would be correct to say that the essence of Quran's message was taught by all prophets and messengers.

References:
[1] Al Quran 26:196–197 – Asad Translation.

Accepting all and rejecting none

In Islam we have been commanded to believe in all prophets and messengers that have lived prior to Prophet Muhammad’s arrival. The Quran teaches this as being essential part of our faith: “The Messenger believes in what has been sent down to him from his Lord, as do the believers. They all believe in God, His angels, His scriptures, and His messengers.”[1] Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: “From Adam to me, Allah sent a hundred and twenty-four thousand Prophets, of whom three hundred and fifteen were Messengers (i.e. entrusted with a book).”[2] We have not been given the name of each and every prophet and messenger therefore we cannot confirm if every renown and pious historical personality that lived prior to Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was actually a prophet or no. Allah ﷻ says in the Quran: “There are messengers whose stories We have told you already and others We have not.”[3] Nevertheless, generally we accept all prophets including those mentioned in the bible and ones that are not, as long as the Quran and prophetic hadith confirms them, we consider their importance and continue to derive moral and ethical lessons from their stories. 

References:
[1] Al Quran 2:286
[2] Musnad Ahmad Hadith # 21257
[3] Al Quran 4:164

​







Khattimin Nabiyyeen - Seal (or Last) of the Prophets

Any claimants to prophethood after the departure of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ are clearly rejected by Islam. The prophetic hadith refers to such individuals as liars and false prophets. The process of revelation initiated with Adam (alaihi salaam) has come to its completion with the arrival of final messenger of Allah ﷻ and at the beginning of the Quran this has been clearly mentioned as a defining characteristic of a believer’s faith: “who believe in what has been revealed to you, [O Muhammad], and what was revealed before you, and of the Hereafter they are certain [in faith].”[1] The Quran never mentions anything without a reason, please note the sequence in the wording “what has been revealed to you, [O Muhammad], and what was revealed before you”, which teaches us that we are supposed to believe in what was sent before us, which comprises of revelations sent to prophets before Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, and also in what was sent to him. The Quran is silent about any revelations after Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Had there been anything after him the same verse would have clearly mentioned wordings such as “AND what was sent after you [Muhammad]”, but nothing of this sort is mentioned in the entire Quran. 

Therefore, we believe in what is revealed to Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and what was revealed before him but anything or anyone claiming to receive after him will never be accepted because Quran is the final revelation for humankind before Day of Judgment. The fact that there is no revelation after Quran is further corroborated in another verse of Quran which refers to Prophet Muhammad ﷺ as Khattimin Nabiyyeen generally translated by scholars as "Seal of the Prophets" or "Last of the Prophets" as in the following words: “Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but he is the Messenger of Allah and the seal (or last) of the Prophets (Khattimin Nabiyyeen). Allah has full knowledge of everything.”[2] The seal refers to completion in the process of revelation which started with Prophet Adam (a.s) and completed with the arrival of final messenger of Allah, Muhammad ﷺ. There is not going to be new revelation nor any new prophet or a messenger afterwards and this has been finalized. Unfortunately, it is also a fact that many claimants to prophethood have emerged among Muslims and non-Muslim communities in the past several centuries. According to Islam, such individuals are considered as false prophets and, in fact, we had already been warned by the Prophet ﷺ about the emergence of such pseudo prophets: “What I fear most for my nation is misguiding leaders. Some tribes among my nation will worship idols and some tribes among my nation will join the idolaters. There will be among my Ummah (nation) thirty great liars each of them asserting that he is (Allah's) prophet, where as I am the seal of the Prophets after whom (me) there will be no prophet ; and a section of my people will continue to hold to the truth and will not be injured by those who oppose them, till Allah's command comes (Day of Judgment).”[3]

References:
[1] Al Quran 2:03
[2] Al Quran 33:40
[3] Sunan Ibn Majah 3952

Messengers have greater responsibility than Prophets

A messenger (rasool) is the one to whom prophethood was gifted and he also received a new law and a book from Allah ﷻ. However, a prophet (nabi) is someone gifted with prophethood but did not receive a new law and a book. In many instances a prophet is also, someone who confirms and teaches the law previously revealed to a messenger. For example, Prophet Musa (Moses) (alaihi salaam) was a messenger (rasool), a prophet (nabi) but Prophet Haroon (Aaron) (alaihi salaam) was only a prophet (nabi) and that is because the former was revealed a book (Torah) in addition to prophethood while latter only received the title of a prophet and he confirmed and taught the book revealed to Prophet Musa (a.s). This informs us that every messenger is a prophet but not every prophet is a messenger.
​
Additionally Quran brings another very important difference to our attention. As per Islamic scholars, a messenger is someone whom Allah ﷻ divinely protects until he has not completely delivered the message as opposed to a prophet whom even though Allah ﷻ has sent as a warner and guide, does not provide such protection: (Al Quran 37:171-173) Our Word has already gone forth to Our servants, the messengers, that they would surely be helped, and that Our forces will certainly prevail - For instance the case of Prophet Yahya (John the Baptist) (alaihi salaam) and Prophet Zakariyya  (Zacharias) (alaihi salaam), both were prophets and their enemies among the Jews succeeded in killing them. Prophet Isa ibn Maryam (Jesus son of Mary) (alaihi salaam) was a messenger, who delivered the Injeel (Gospel) and while they tried to kill him as well, Allah ﷻ saved him by raising him alive: (Al Quran 4:157-158) and (the Jews) said, “We have killed the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, the Messenger of God.’ They did not kill him, nor did they crucify him, though it was made to appear like that to them; those that disagreed about him are full of doubt, with no knowledge to follow, only supposition: they certainly did not kill him. God raised him up to Himself. God is almighty and wise.”[1] It is essential part of Islamic faith that Isa ibn Maryam (a.s) has not died and in fact will return to earth as a follower of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and fight and kill the false messiah called AntiChrist (Masih Al Dajjal). Hence, his mission remains unfulfilled. Moreover, not only does Allah ﷻ provide divine protection to a messenger until he has delivered the message, in fact, in the case of a nations persistent disobedience, the warning of a punishment also comes to fulfillment against them either during the lifetime of that messenger or after his passing away: (Al Quran 10:47) Now every community has had a messenger; and only after their messenger has appeared [an delivered his message] is judgment passed on them, in all equity; and never are they wronged.”[2] After Allah ﷻ had raised Prophet Isa (a.s) alive, the children of Israel were attacked in 70 CE by Roman army under General Titus who entered Jerusalem and put thousands of Jews to death. The event is called the Second Temple in Jewish history and resulted in their complete banishment from the holy land for almost 2000 years. This was a divine punishment they experienced as a result of continuous disobedience to Allah ﷻ, murdering his prophets and disbelieving and attempt to murder messenger Isa ibn Maryam (a.s). This very important difference between a Prophet and a Messenger is quite evident because a messenger has greater responsibility to fulfill for which he is divinely assisted until he has not completed his mission.

References:
[1] Al Quran 4:157 – 158
[2] Al Quran 10:47 – Asad Translation.

They made errors but not sins
​
It is correct that according to Islam all prophets of Allah ﷻ were without sins including Prophet Adam (alaihi salaam). These holy personalities committed errors and mistakes and while their errors apparently seem to be sins, yet, in the light of Quran they are not the same as sins of common people. This is because in their case their acts were not the same as someone who desires and intends to sin and commits due to love and addiction of it.

Sin of Adam (alaihi salaam)

Prophet Adam (a.s) did not deliberately sin, in fact it was an act predestined by Allah ﷻ because it served a larger purpose of humankind’s existence. After all Prophet Adam (a.s) was not created to remain in the heavens with Hawwa (Eve) (alaihi salaam), they were created to live on earth so that their future generations may be tested which is the main purpose of our existence here on earth. This is correct as per Quran where Allah ﷻ had already informed the angels of His plan before He was going to create Adam : “And Your Sustainer said to the angels: "Behold, I am about to establish upon earth one who shall inherit it.”[1] Prophet Muhammad ﷺ narrated to us a discussion that once took place between Prophet Adam (a.s) and Prophet Musa (Moses) (a.s) which inform us about the predestination of this act: “Adam and Musa met, and Musa said, ‘You are the one who made things difficult for mankind and you caused them to be evicted from Paradise.’ Adam said, ‘Are you the one whom Allah chose for His Message, and He selected you for Himself and He revealed the Tawrah to you'’ Musa replied, ‘Yes.’ Then Adam said, ‘Did you find that it was preordained upon me before He (Allah) created me'’ Musa replied, ‘Yes.’ Therefore, Adam defeated Musa's argument.”[2] Unlike earth, the development stages for humans as they mature naturally was not in place in the heavens. It seems as Prophet Adam (a.s) nature at that moment was in a dormant state, a state of innocence where his mind was not fully developed to retract from a wrong decision he had already made. Just as a child is warned not to approach a hot stove or cup of hot coffee but they in their ignorance touch it and once they feel the burn they withdraw and cry. Thus what Prophet Adam (a.s) did was an act of disobedience which is defined as a sin because he crossed the boundary of Allah ﷻ i.e. “The Tree”, but it was not considered at the same level as that of a mature person who completely understands right from wrong. Just like the saying that an error of a person is as big as his intellect because such a person’s error is weighed against the maturity of their intellect. The heavenly environment of Prophet Adam (a.s) was not suitable for the complete development of his intellect faculty and thus his sin is not the same as that of any adult person who knowingly commits sins.

Understanding the so called sins of other Prophets

All other Prophets mentioned in the Quran, many of whom are also mentioned in bible, never committed a sin for the sake of it, though they made errors and mistakes, which was natural due to their human nature. These errors were mainly of two types:

1.       Errors made during early part of their lives before prophethood, which were committed without the intention to commit disobedience, but they happened due to their human nature. Nevertheless, they immediately repented as a result which they were forgiven.

2.      Errors made when practicing ijtihad (reasoning) which they made use of to arrive at a better decision during their preaching. At such a moment, they were immediately corrected by revelation from Allah ﷻ and provided a better solution.
 
Prophet Muhammad ﷺ error while preaching

For instance in Surah Abasa (Chapter 80 of the Quran) Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was corrected in regards to his decision when he preached the influential Makkan chiefs and overlooked a poor blind man named Ibn Umm Maktum: “He frowned and turned away because the blind man approached him! Yet for all you did know, [O Muhammad,] he might perhaps have grown in purity, or have been reminded [of the truth], and helped by this reminder.”[3] The Prophet ﷺ was immediately corrected in regards to his decision and after this incident became cautious in his approach of dawah (preaching). He then preached umm Maktum who accepted Islam and became one of the greatest companions.

Prophet Suleiman (Solomon) (alaihi salaam) judges better than Prophet Dawud (David) (alaihi salaam)

Then we have the case of Prophet Dawud (David) (alaihi salaam) who once made a decision in regards to a case brought to him by two persons, one whose sheep destroyed the crops of the other. Prophet Dawud (a.s)  gave the judgment that the sheep roughly had the same value as that of destroyed crops so the crop owner should get all the sheep. On the other hand, his son Prophet Sulaiman (Solomon) (alaihi salaam) suggested giving the sheep to the crop owner temporarily until his crops grow back meanwhile, he can use the sheep for his use (of milk, wool, new born lambs etc.). Once the crops grow back he should return the sheep to its owner and this way both will be compensated. Prophet David (a.s) judgment was good but Prophet Sulaiman (a.s) judgment was better: “and [remember] David and Solomon - [how it was] when both of them gave judgment concerning the field into which some people's sheep had strayed by night and pastured therein, and [how] We bore witness to their judgment.”[4]

Prophet Yunus (Jonah) (alaihi salaam) error in judgment

Consider the case of Prophet Yunus (Jonah) (a.s) after facing much opposition from his people warned them and made the decision to abandon them even though Allah ﷻ had not yet revealed to him to make such decision: “and [remember] him of the great fish - when he went off in wrath, thinking that We had no power over him!”[5] After abandoning them, his people realized their error and sought forgiveness and Allah ﷻ guided them. But Prophet Yunus (a.s) committed an act of disobedience towards Allah ﷻ by not being patient enough for his people to become responsive. In this case the error in decision making was of a severe nature from a prophetic perspective. When people of Sodom and Gomorrah were going be punished Prophet Lut (Lot) (alaihi salaam) did not abandon them till he was specifically instructed by Allah ﷻ to do so: “(O Lot) Go, then with your household while it is yet night, with yourself following them in the rear;”[6] Similar was the case of Prophet Nuh (Noah) (alaihi salaam) as well as Prophet Musa (Moses) (alaihi salaam) who decided to leave their people or land only after Allah ﷻ commanded them to so and not before. Mind you that the disobedience of Prophet Yunus (a.s) was not against Allah’s religious commandments and prohibitions of a divine law given to common people, it was against a prophetic law, which does not apply to commoners. Nevertheless, it was a disobedience against a prophetic law for which he repented and was forgiven: “but then he cried out in the deep darkness, ‘There is no God but You, glory be to You, I was wrong.’ We answered him and saved him from distress: this is how We save the faithful.”[7]

Prophet Musa (Moses) (alaihi salaam) unintentionally kills an Egyptian

Let’s take another case where Prophet Musa (a.s) hit an Egyptian and killed him with the first strike. Please note this happened before prophethood was given to him, as confirmed in the Quran: “I committed it while I was still going astray.”[8] In the scenario the intention was not to kill, the intention was to hurt the apparent wrongdoer while actual wrongdoer was the Israeli man. Under the influence of sympathetic emotions for the Israeli, Prophet Musa (a.s) overlooked the fact who real culprit was and hit the Egyptian who died. Over here, even though it was an act of killing yet the intention was never to murder, the intention was to scare him away: “whereupon Moses struck him down with his fist, and [thus] brought about his end. [But then] he said [to himself]: "This is of Satan's doing! Verily, he is an open foe, leading [man] astray!" [And] he prayed: O my Sustainer! Verily, I have sinned against myself! Grant me, then, Your forgiveness!" And He forgave him - for, verily, He alone is truly forgiving, a dispenser of grace.”[9] As per prophetic hadith ‘Actions will be judged according to intentions’ and this is a universal law for all humanity. Since the intention was not murder therefore Prophet Musa (a.s) committed this act of error under human emotions and prophets are not immune from such emotions.

Prophet Dawud (David) (alaihi salaam) was corrected

There is another scenario pertaining to Prophet Dawud (David) (a.s)  in which he admired the beauty of his general’s only wife and intended to marry her despite the fact that himself had several beautiful wives. Right at that moment Allah ﷻ presented for him a case to decide that immediately gave him the consciousness that he was being tested: “…This is my brother. He had ninety-nine sheep and I just the one, and he said, “Let me take charge of her,” and overpowered me with his words.’ David said, ‘He has done you wrong by demanding to add your (only) sheep to his flock. Many partners treat each other unfairly. Those who sincerely believe and do good deeds do not do this, but these are very few.’ [Then] David realized that We had been testing him, so he asked his Lord for forgiveness, fell down on his knees, and repented.”[10] This happened when Prophet Dawud (a.s) was ruling as a king and preaching as a prophet. This incident informs us that despite the fact when revelation descended on a prophet yet they are not immune from weakness of human nature. When they are influenced by such emotions during prophetic mission then they are immediately corrected by Allah ﷻ so they realize and correct their inner selves. Prophet Dawud (a.s) was corrected, he repented before Allah ﷻ for such a thought and it was accepted. Unlike Bible the Quran opposes the allegation that he committed an act of adultery with his general’s wife. Somewhat similar applied to the instance of Prophet Yusuf  (Joseph) (alaihi salaam) when the wife of his Egyptian master tried seducing him and due to his manly emotions he too was inclined towards her but held himself back and Allah ﷻ had mercy on him which protected him from an act of sin: “And, indeed, she desired him, and he desired her; [and he would have succumbed] had he not seen [in this temptation] an evidence of his Sustainer's truth.”[11] As opposed to Prophet Dawud (a.s) who carried inclination towards the beautiful wife of his army general, Prophet Yusuf  was completely innocent, it was the woman who attempted to seduce him yet he did not overrule the inclination of his own desires. Both these cases prove that human emotions were prevalent within both prophets.
​
These scenarios inform us that the prophets never committed major sins like common people, Allah ﷻ had protected them against it. They committed errors and mistakes, which may be defined as minor sins but these too, were not committed with the intention to disobey, they were committed due to their ignorance or under emotions.

References:
[1] Al Quran 2:30 – Asad Translation
[2] Al-Bukhari and Muslim - Surah 20. Ta-ha, Ayaat 40 To 44 - I. I. Kathir 2003
[3] Al Quran 80:1–4 – Asad Translation.
[4] Al Quran 21:78 – Asad Translation
[5] Al Quran 21:87 – Asad Translation
[6] Al Quran 15:65 – Asad Translation
[7] Al Quran 21:87-88
[8] Al Quran 26:20
[9] Al Quran 26:15 – Asad Translation
[10] Al Quran 38:22–24
[11] Al Quran 12:24 – Asad Translation

Comparing human intelligence with prophetic intelligence to understand a prophets supernatural ability

The standards for testing a prophet’s intelligence is not a cognitive process like ours. The metaphysical truths cannot be tested and discernible except through metaphysical sources. One needs to have metaphysical understanding and tools to figure the depth of intelligence that is being carried by a prophet or a messenger of Allah ﷻ. Even though many spiritual personalities in Islam such as Imams and Saints do carry the tools to measure the ability of a prophetic personality yet their own spiritual comprehension remains short of comprehending the complete status of a prophet or a messenger. Due to their own spiritual stations they are able to realize the ocean of prophetic knowledge yet they are unable to fully comprehend its depth and instead live their entire lives in submission to them and studying these oceans in amazement.

What I’ve mentioned above may be better understood using a good example given by Imam Ghazzali (r.a) who said in his Ihya (Revival) that just like a child cannot comprehend a young boys level of intelligence but that boy may very well understands the intelligence level of a child through observation. Similarly an adult may understand the young boys level of intelligence but the latter cannot comprehend the level of the adult because he is short of experience and age to comprehend the adults potential. The same would apply when doing comparison between a normal adult and an intelligent adult when communicating with each other the intelligent one will be able to discern the capacity of the normal adult and his intellectual situation. The intelligent one in this case comprehends the regular adult better simply to due the fact that he has passed that stage when he himself was not very intelligent and therefore understands better those lesser than himself. Comparing the intelligent adult with a genius adult would also make the genius outrun the former due to the fact that the latter’s experience, knowledge and mental capacity is much more stronger. This genius adult can pretty much comprehend the intelligence levels of all; a child, youth, adults, intelligent adults at their individual levels while they would not be able to fully realize his potential unless they reach his level.
Having said that a prophet is someone who leaves a genius behind at such a great distance that the latter always remains amazed and astonished at the former’s actions. He is never able to comprehend a Prophet’s abilities and intelligence due to the lack of spirituality or spiritual tools required to measure a prophet’s abilities. Therefore, the end result is that he either opposes this holy personality and becomes his enemy or humbles himself and becomes his follower and learns spiritual knowledge. Take the example of Labid ibn Rabiyah the greatest poet in the entire Arabian Peninsula at the time when poetry among Arabs was at its peak. After hearing the Quran from Prophet Muhammad ﷺ he was so shocked in amazement that he immediately gave up poetry and became a Muslim. Its said he never recited any poetry after that. At the same time the very smart Jews of Madinah who carried deep knowledge of religion knew the Prophet’s description in their scripture and amazed at the proofs of prophet hood displayed by him could not defeat him by opposition and so resorted to conspiring and magical arts to harm him!

A person who may score highest in the most difficult IQ test may be referred to as a genius. Over here its important to mention where does the word ‘genius’ comes from. The word genie or genii comes from the Arabic Jinn because as in the West it was understood after exposure to Islamic literature that these spirit beings had supernatural abilities to perform miraculous feats. Thus the term became synonymous for anyone who did amazing acts not done by common people. In this sense a prophet or a messenger is indeed a true genius when it comes to miraculous and supernatural performance and this is why there is no person higher than a him who can test and fully measure his abilities with something called an IQ test. If such is the case of a single prophet then what about that individual who is the leader of all prophets and messengers? Allah says in the Quran: "And they ask you about the ruh (spirit). Say: The ruh (spirit) is one of the commands of my Lord, and you are not given any knowledge of it but a little."[1] The supreme intelligence lies in the ruh or spirit that Allah ﷻ blew in Adam (a.s) carried by all humans. The supreme intelligence is of a spiritual nature and gives the ability to discern what the mind cannot discern. It is due to this reason why Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said the following: “Beware from Firasah (spiritual insight) of a Mumin (believer) when he sees he sees with the Nur (Light) of Allah.”[2] The complete nature of this ruh or spirit cannot be understood by worldly and material resources of gaining knowledge. It can only be realized by those who are closer to the divine in their living. Only a prophet or a messenger of Allah ﷻ makes full use of this ruh to gain supreme intelligence and it is this ruh inside a prophet which becomes the focal point of receiving divine inspiration (wahi) which causes him to perform supernatural acts, miracles and receive revelation at the command of Allah ﷻ which boggles the mind of even a genius. Hence to comprehend divine inspiration and the abilities of ruh one has to be at the level of a prophet and his experience as such cannot be described in words. Even if there were sufficient words to express yet it would cause much confusion to the common or general public who have very little or almost no understanding of what is prophethood.

References:
[1] Al Quran 17:85
[2] Jami Tirmidhi - Vol. 5, Book 44, Hadith 3127