Theological Instructions

LESSON TWENTY-ONE: THE ISSUES CONCERNING PROPHETHOOD

Introduction

We know that the most fundamental issues to be solved by every intellectual individual in order for him to live an intelligent life are:

  1. Where did the existence of man and the universe originate? Who manages this creation?

  2. What is the end and where lie’s the purpose of man?

  3. By focusing upon the required needs for the realisation of a true path of felicity, what are the means to accomplish such perfection and with whom does it lie?

The proper answer for these questions would be the three principles:

oneness of God, resurrection, (ma’ād), and prophethood (nubuwwah). These are considered as the fundamental beliefs in all the monotheistic religions.

In the beginning of this book we have provided investigations concerning the issues of theology and arrived upon the result that all creation is created by One being, and all are under the decree of His wisdom and none can in any dimension be ever independent from Him.

This subject has been proven by intellectual arguments and we have explained that these types of issue can only be resolved by the intellect. The arguments and proofs from religious texts can only be accepted when one has proven the existence of God and their authenticity. The establishment of the sayings of the Prophet (s) and Imams (a) is dependent upon the establishment of prophethood and leadership, which necessitates the traditions being reliable and authentic. Hence intellectual reasoning must first prove the principle of prophethood, and then later the legitimacy of the Noble Qur’an can be used and applied for proving specific issues. The details and the specifics of resurrection must be proven from revelation; nevertheless intellectual reasoning can also be used to prove this principle.

Therefore for the explanation of the issues of prophethood and resurrection one must first establish the principle of prophethood and resurrection through the intellect.

Once the reliability of the Noble Qur’an and the legitimacy of the Prophet of Islam (s) are confirmed then the specifics of these two sections can be proven in the peripheries of the Book and traditions.

By focusing upon the pattern of learning, it is preferable and likeable that we distinguish between these two issues. We will initially discuss the issues concerning prophethood and then explain the topic of resurrection.

  1. The purpose of discussing this section

The initial purpose of this discussion is to prove for this subject, that for the realisation of the realities of being, and a true path for living life, there are means other than that of sense perception and intellect, which are accurate (or cannot make any mistake). These are known as revelation, and are types of Divine teaching, which are specified for the special servants of God. The majority of people are unaware of this reality because they do not

see an example of it within themselves. However through the effects and signs they can arrive upon and confirm the proclamations of the Divine prophets and messengers (a). Accordingly, once the confirmation of the revelation upon a person is established then others are obliged to accept and act upon it with out any confrontation. None will be excused except those who have a message especially for them as a group or an individual in a particular time.

Therefore, the fundamental elements of this section are as follows: the necessity of prophethood and the requirement of revelation being immune from any form of domination or personal initiation, until the crux of the matter reaches the people. In other words the necessity of the infallibility of the prophets and the above requirement is needed in order to prove the prophethood of the Prophet of Islam (s).

After the issues concerning prophethood and revelation through the intellect are established, other issues arise such as the number of prophets, Books, Divine laws and the determination of the last Book, its Prophet and his successors. However the establishment of all these topics with intellectual reasoning is not possible, therefore the religious text must be given as a proof for these topics.

a. The method of investigation in theology

By focusing upon what has been said, the essential difference between philosophy and theology becomes clear. Philosophy discusses only those issues that are established by intellectual reasoning and theology includes those topics that are only proved through devotion and narration (or religious texts).

In other words:

The relationship between philosophy and theology is of generality and peculiarity in some respect. This means that philosophy and theology share common issues, which are established by the intellect, and uncommon (specific) issues.

However for philosophy the basis of establishment is the intellect. In theology it is narration and devotion for the uncommon issues. In other words the method of investigation in theology is through the combination of the intellect and that of devotion.

It is to be concluded that there are two basic differences between philosophy and theology:

The first one is that even after sharing common topics (such as the issues of knowing God), they have specific issues that are not discussed outside the specific radius of their own.

Secondly, the method of investigation in all of the philosophical issues is the method of intellectual reasoning, which is opposite to that of theology. In some of the issues of theology, which are in common with that of philosophy, intellectual reasoning is used, but in certain issues narrations are utilised (such as the discussions concerning Imamah). In some issues both (intellectual reasoning and narration) are used (such as in the topic of resurrection).

It is necessary to indicate that specific issues in theology, which are established through narration and devotion, are not on one level. However a

group of them can be considered so with regards to reliability and the authenticity of the actions and traditions of the Noble Prophet (s), which are directly established by the means of the noble verses of the Qur’an. Then other issues such as the determination of the successor of the Prophet of Islam and the reliability of the words of the infallible imams are established upon the basis of the exegesis of the Noble Prophet (s).

It is self-evident that the results received from the narration establishments will only be accepted when the chain of transmission of narration is certain.

Questions

  1. Why are theological issues, which deal with the understanding of God, determined through intellectual reasoning?

  2. What are the fundamental issues of prophethood?

  3. Is it possible to establish prophethood and resurrection through narration and devotion? Why?

  4. Which issues amongst the theological issues can be established through narration?

  5. What is the reason for discussing prophethood prior to resurrection?

  6. What are the differences between philosophy and theology?

  7. Explain the distribution of the issues of theology.