“And for every people (was sent) an apostle...

“And for every people (was sent) an apostle; and when came their apostle, the matter between them was decided with equity and they shall not (in the least) be done (any) injustice.” This text of the Qur’an notes that the justice of God requires Him to reveal His will to all humankind. Therefore He has sent prophets to all nations. Islam requires belief in all true prophets, both the prophet mentioned in the Bible and those mentioned in the Qur’an.

Muhammad (as) is the last of the prophets sent by God. Thus Qur’an 33:40 says “Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but an Apostle of God and the last of the prophets: And God is of all things ever the Knower.” In the Christian Scriptures we find the same principles. In Amos 3:7 it says “Surely the Lord will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.” The question arises whether or not Muhammad (as) is mentioned in the Bible.

Many texts might be applied to him, but several mention him by name. One of the most important of these is Psalm 106:24, which says “They despise the land of Muhammad (Hebrew Hamda), they believe not his word.” This is a Biblical prophecy indicating that when Muhammad (as) should come, many would find an excuse not to believe in him because of his country of origin. Indeed, we find this to be the case. Divine Guidance The fourth great principle of Islamic faith is divine guidance.

It is also a logical deduction from the principle of the unity of God. The unity of God implies His justice. God’s justice implies verbal revelation of His will, otherwise He would be unjust in holding people accountable for their actions. But verbal revelation, the word of the prophets, implies further guidance, guidance in action, guidance in flesh and blood. A good illustration of this is an assembly kit.

When you buy something that needs to be assembled, there is always a printed instruction manual. Most of us have experienced how confusing such manuals can be. If there is someone who has done it before to show us how, we find the task much easier. The divine guide is one appointed by God to show us how to implement the revealed will of God. In any practical situation, there are matters about which we might have questions that recourse to the Scriptures is insufficient.

Even after reading the Bible and the Qur’an, we are unsure what to do. The role of the divine guide is to show us what to do.