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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Theological Instructions LESSON TWENTY-NINE: CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PROPHET The plurality of the prophets So far, three fundamental issues related to prophecy and the recognition of leaders have been discussed.

Moreover, it was realised that due to the deficiencies of human wisdom in acquiring the information necessary for the welfare of this world and the hereafter, it is necessary for Divine wisdom to select a Prophet or prophets to teach them the necessary facts. These prophets will in turn, present those facts to others in the most perfect and intact form. Furthermore, it is necessary (for Divine wisdom) to introduce the prophets to the public so that no excuse remains (for the unbelievers).

The most general way to accomplish this is the presentation of miracles. I used intellectual evidence to prove the above point; however, such pieces of evidence do not deal with the necessity of the plurality of the prophets, their Books or Divine religions.

Therefore, if for instance the conditions of man’s life were so, that one Prophet could cater for all of humanity’s needs up until the end of time, and every individual or group of people throughout history could find his/their responsibilities, by referring to what the same Prophet had proposed, no contradiction would then evolve with the requisites of those pieces of (intellectual) evidence.

However, first we know that every human being, including the prophets, have a limited life and Divine wisdom has not found it necessary to keep the first Prophet alive for all time. Secondly, the conditions of people’s lives in different places and at different times are not the same; such differences and specifically the gradual complications of social relationships can influence the quality as well as the quantity of social rules and regulations.

Furthermore, in some cases new regulations should be issued and if such regulations are advertised by a Prophet who had been appointed thousands of years ago, it would make no sense; similarly, the protection of those regulations and handling of them with specific cases would be very difficult. Thirdly, in ancient times, it was not possible to advertise the invitations of the prophets and for the entire world to be informed of their message would be impossible.