But men of that day...

But men of that day, even though they were eloquent and spoke the purest Arabic and were outstanding poets and masters of rhetoric could not meet these challenges and in the end fought the Prophet since they could not produce even the like of the smallest sura, al-Kawthar [no. 108], which says: “In the Name of God, the most Merciful, the most Compassionate. Verily, we have granted you [Oh Muhammad] al-kawthar. Therefore turn in prayer to your Lord and sacrifice [to Him].

For he who makes you angry will be cut off.” Question: What are the special attributes of the prophets? Answer: Prophets, Imams and angels all share the same quality, namely they are free from error and every transgression or sin.

Throughout their entire life they never disobey God Almighty or commit a sin, since they are aware of the majesty of God Almighty, and at the same time are also utterly aware of the detestable nature of disobedience: both these factors prevent them from committing any transgression. Similarly the Prophets and the Imams possess the finest of virtues like courage, generosity, sense of honour, noble-mindedness and so on and they are free from every ignoble trait.

They have to be absolutely the best of the people of their time and therefore it is incumbent upon people to follow them. Question: Do Prophets and Imams possess some degree of divinity just as Christians have claimed regarding Christ? Answer: Absolutely not, for Prophets and Imams are human. However they receive guidance from God Almighty and possess the quality of freedom from error and from every transgression and sin as well as possessing all the other virtues.

Christ too was nothing but a human being: Almighty God created him from his mother without a father, just as God Almighty created Adam and Hawa without father or mother. RESURRECTION Question: What is the third fundamental from among the Islamic fundamental beliefs?

Answer: The third fundamental belief of Islam is resurrection: this means that after the destruction of the world, and after the death of everything alive, God Almighty will again bring people to life, so that He may give them the recompense for what they did in this life - one who has believed and done good deeds, his recompense will be paradise, and as to one who did not believe or was disobedient, hell shall be his end.