The index ayah is the last segment of a long ayah from Surah Al-Baqara which is one of the earliest to be revealed soon after the migration of the Prophet Muĥammad and his companions from Makkah to

Madinah in 622 CE:

تِلكَ الرُّسُلُ فَضَّلنا بَعضَهُم عَلىٰ بَعضٍ ۘ مِنهُم مَن كَلَّمَ اللَّهُ ۖ وَرَفَعَ بَعضَهُم دَرَجاتٍ ۚ وَآتَينا عيسَى ابنَ مَريَمَ البَيِّناتِ وَأَيَّدناهُ بِروحِ القُدُسِ ۗ وَلَو شاءَ اللَّهُ مَا اقتَتَلَ الَّذينَ مِن بَعدِهِم مِن بَعدِ ما جاءَتهُمُ البَيِّناتُ
 وَلٰكِنِ اختَلَفوا فَمِنهُم مَن آمَنَ وَمِنهُم مَن كَفَرَ ۚ وَلَو شاءَ اللَّهُ مَا اقتَتَلوا

““These are the apostles, some of whom We gave an advantage over others: of them are those to whom Allah spoke, and some of them He raised in rank, and We gave Jesus, son of Mary, manifest proofs and strengthened him with the Holy Spirit. Had Allah wished, those who succeeded them would not have fought each other after the manifest proofs had come to them. But they differed. So there were among them those who had faith and there were among them those who were faithless, and had Allah wished, they would not have fought one another”

 Al-Baqaara is the longest sūrah in the Qur’ān. It describes direct ranks for the  prophets.

Apparently this ayah forms the basis of one of the common misunderstandings of Islamic teachings viz negation of any personal responsibility for one’s action because it says “…..but Allah does whatever He desires.” Hence, it is so argued that the individual is powerless and impotent. This is the logic behind the concept of determinism. In fact though, this is not the meaning here at all as will be borne out by the discussion that follows.

Over time, God’s Messengers have arrived intermittently to train their people; each had a different style and mode of operation. This ayah provides examples of three Messengers with different modus operandi.

Starts with Moses, who had a direct conversation with God Almighty. He led his community for forty years through the wilderness, mainly fighting against the unbelief of his own people. He succeeded in persuading his people to rise up for Palestine; after him this mission was completed by Joshua. David, a shepherd boy chosen by God “overthrew the greatest warrior of his time, became a king, and waged successful wars, being also a prophet, a poet, and musician”. Lastly, Jesus who was “strengthened with the Holy Spirit” had a mission of a limited character. Moḥammad’s mission was on a larger scale. He ruled from Medina and gave the Quran which has a vaster scope than the Psalms of David.

The mention of David and Jesus in particular has a special significance according to Maulana Mohammed Ali in his tafseer “English Translation of the Holy Quran with commentary by Maulana Mohammed  Ali”. These two prophets represented “ two different aspects of the advancement of the Israelite nation”. David stood for their worldly prosperity and Jesus for their spiritual growth. Yet both of them eulogized and commended Holy Prophet Mohammad and both prophesied his advent as the last Messenger. “This fact (the ayah) highlights the role and status of the Qur’ān as the unchallenged, immutable and incontrovertible authoritative reference for the religious, ethical and legislative principles and systems of Islam. It further affirms the unique property of the Qur’ānic text as being ever fresh and responsive to the inevitable changes that come with the perpetuation and progress of human life. With these qualities, the Qur’ān remains the eternal guiding light for Muslims, despite the difficulties and hardships they have to suffer or the animosity and hostility they have to face. This, in itself, is an aspect of the inimitability and unsurpassed veracity and beauty of every verse in the Qur’ān”.

During the lifetime of Prophet Mohammad, the nature and status of Jesus was hotly debated in the culture and folklore of the time. His birth, sonship and dual divine-human nature were up for discussion and dialogue. “Christian churches and councils of the Byzantine, and the Roman, empires were immersed in endless doctrinal disputes, some of which turned to bloody conflict, over the nature and status of Jesus.” The Quran always stresses the human nature of Jesus and therefore refers to his mother Mary. In the Quran again the “holy spirit”usually  refers to the Archangel Gabriel (Jibrīl), who conveyed God’s revelations to human messengers. He would inform them of their responsibilities and in a way act as assistant to the messengers in their terrible task. “He would, as in the case of Jesus, provide them with reassurances and encouragement”.

“The relative elevation of God’s messengers is determined by the environment, the nature and the scope of their respective missions. Some messengers were sent to single tribes, some to larger nations, some to single generations, and some to all nations and all generations. It also relates to the various distinctions they had received or brought to their people” asserts Sayyid Qutb in his memorable tafseer “Fee Dhilalul Quran.

This verse speaks of God’s messengers, as a distinct group of human beings and summarizes the essence of their mission. It asserts that God has placed some of the messengers higher than others, pointing out “some of the reasons for, and signs of, doing so. It refers to the dissension and disagreement among their followers and successors, which in some cases escalated to fighting, confirming that some of those successors believed while others did not” state Nasr et al in their modern tafseer “The study Quran”. Later the authors make a very controversial statement: “It points out that the fighting was part of God’s scheme in order to establish the truth and defeat evil”

This distinction  among the prophets refers to the messages that they conveyed.and “not to their individual spiritual perfections”. All prophets are considered as “ma’sum” ie protected from sin but their earthly influence and authority are diversified. Prophet Solomon had a great kingdom and even commanded the winds; the miracle of Prophet Moses’ staff is well known. Each prophet was sent to different segments of society. As per Muslim scholarship, Prophet Mohammad was sent to all people whereas the others were designated for their own.

According to Dr. Mohammed Asad in his popular tafseer “The Message of Islam” the phrase “Some of these apostles have We endowed more highly than others” probably refers to Prophet Mohammed “in as much as he was the Last Prophet and the bearer of a universal message applicable to all people and to all times”. While the phrase “such as were spoken to by God [Himself]” clearly pertains to Prophet Moses.

There is a hadith which prohibits discriminating among the  prophets. Here, the the Holy Prophet said:

Do not seek preference among”prophets

Do not give me precedence over Musa.

I cannot say if anybody is better than Younus Ibn Batta

The index ayah says the contrary and this is the prevailing view unless there is a clear statement in the Quran or Hadith to that effect.

The hadith also says “I cannot say if anybody is better than Younus Ibn Batta and Do not give me precedence over Musa”. Mufti Mohammed Shafi makes a controversial statement in response to this hadith in his popular tafseer “Ma’aarif-ul-Quran: “ …… this is related to the time when he was not given the knowledge that he has precedence over all other prophets. This was disclosed to him later on through revelation and he did tell the noble Companions about it.” This is an example of hero worshipping by Muslims when it comes to referring to the great stature of our Holy Prophet.

Please note that Prophet Jesus is mentioned with his first name to emphasize that he is a prophet and thus negate any reference to deify him. It is against reason and revelation to call him God or son of God. In addition to the manner of his birth, he produced various miracles. But the reason for his spiritual greatness as a Prophet are different. God called him to this position when HE declared وَأَيَّدناهُ بِروحِ القُدُسِ ie “ we strengthened him with the holy spirit.”

In the Quran, the Holy Spirit is variously recognised as the Spirit God breathed into human beings, the Archangel Gabriel, or the Gospel itself. The common string between these is “the quality of being life-giving, whether it is bodily quickening or the nourishment of the heart and intelligence”. The word القُدُسِ apart from meaning holy or sacred can also mean “pure”.

The index ayah refers to the division among humans about their faith as inevitable. “In other words, it is the will of God that their way to the truth should be marked by conflicts and trial by error” claims Dr. Mohammed Asad in his popular taster “The Message of Islam”. It should not be said the people differed in their beliefs because God could not persuade them on a single path. The Sunnat-ul-Allah is that HE did not choose the path of compulsion in the matter of guidance and non-guidance. If Allah so willed there would have been only a single path. But God Almighty decided otherwise because HE has designed this world to check and assess the conduct of humans. HE provided with clear signs and arguments for the right path before giving them full liberty to chalk out their own course. Embarking on the right path or descending on the slippery slope is their choice. If they choose the path of faith, they will receive rewards, and if they select the path of disbelief, they will face consequences. HIS intention cannot be altered by our desires. Sunnat-ul-Allah is very clear viz. HE has decided not to use compulsion in the matter of guidance and profanity. People are free to choose faith or disbelief.

Messengers have been given different degrees and ranks. But their messages are identical in the basic principles. However, the followers decided to choose one and reject the others. This has resulted in isolated communities, following one prophet and deprived of the blessings of other prophets. If they had adopted the correct approach, then every messenger would have been considered their own, and every guidance would have been their guidance. They would have also benefited from those aspects of guidance that are now presented in the form of the final guidance in the Noble Quran.

The words  بِروحِ القُدُسِ “ruh al-qudus”  means literally “the spirit of holiness”. The Qur’an frequently uses the term ruh in the sense of “divine inspiration”. Hence وَأَيَّدناهُ بِروحِ القُدُسِ may be translated as “and strengthened him with holy inspiration.”

مِنهُم مَن كَلَّمَ اللَّهُ ۖ  “Among them there is he whom Allah spoke to” obviously refers to Prophet Musa’s conversation with God Almighty. Mufti Mohammed Shafi draws attention to a fine point. This conversation was perhaps without an angel as intermediary. But it was certainly with a hijaab  (obstruction of view). This practice is confirmed else where in the Quran:

(42/51) 
وَما كانَ لِبَشَرٍ أَن يُكَلِّمَهُ اللَّهُ إِلّا وَحيًا أَو مِن وَراءِ حِجابٍ أَو يُرسِلَ رَسولًا فَيوحِيَ بِإِذنِهِ ما يَشاءُ ۚ إِنَّهُ عَلِيٌّ حَكيمٌ

“And it is not given to mortal man that God should speak unto him otherwise than through sudden inspiration, or (by a voice, as it were) from behind a veil, or by sending an apostle to reveal, by HIS leave, whatever HE wills [to reveal]: for, verily, He is exalted, wise.”

The Mufti adds “ However, post-death conversation without hijab is possible.”

Thus, an individual is not powerless in his endeavors but in full control according to the Quran, various God’s Messengers have different footing and status based on the environment, the nature and the scope of their respective missions and not on their individual personalities, the basic teachings of all the prophets is identical, there were inevitable dissension and disagreement among the followers and successors of the prophets which in some cases escalated to fighting and lastly it is the Sunnat-ul-Allah that HE did not choose the path of compulsion in the matter of guidance and non-guidance.

……..and Allah knows best.

May Allah Ta’aala bless us with true understanding–“fahm”–of our Deen, Aameen.

Dr. Khalid Mitha

October 31, 2023