The Need for Prophets and Messengers:

Beliefs & Creeds » Prophethood & Imamate

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What you are about to read is an argument for prooving the neccessity of sending the prophets for the purpose of guiding mankind, which is based on four premises:

1. The Purpose of Life

Man has not been created aimlessly and without a reason and there certainly is a purpose behind his creation which is to achieve perfection in his individual, social and spiritual dimensions (the first premise):

Did you suppose that We created you aimlessly, and that you will not be brought back to Us?’ [23:115]

Man's life and existence comprises of three dimensions: 1. Individual material dimension. 2. Social dimension. 3. Spiritual dimension. And for him to be successful, each and every one of these dimensions must be taken into consideration. But sadly, a large number of people regard only man's material aspect and neglect the other side of the coin, because they have not understood the profundity of the nature of man or because they have not correctly evaluated it. Arnold Toynbee, the famous British historian, in a long interview with Life magazine, said that man had submitted himself to materialism and that from that point of view we do not lack anything. However, he said, we have become bankrupt on the spiritual side of things. There is still time, he said, to address this problem and return to religion.

Arnold Toynbee, the famous British historian, in a long interview with Life magazine, said that man had submitted himself to materialism and that from that point of view we do not lack anything. However, he said, we have become bankrupt on the spiritual side of things. There is still time, he said, to address this problem and return to religion.

2. Human Conscience

Most people would agree that within the depth of man's nature, there is a power which can distinguish good from bad. This power is known as human conscience. Now tha question is can conscience alone guide us to perfection through the three dimensions of life? Conscience by itself cannot guide man completely—it needs training. Human conscience is like minerals in the earth which must be extracted and refined. Otherwise, it may be perverted and rendered useless under the influence of a corrupt social environment. Every person is familiar with the situations where he himself or a fellow human being has suppressed the voice of his conscience and given in to his evil desires. so we can conclude that human conscience alone is not enough to guide man to perfection (the second premise).

3. Human Intelligence

From the early stages of history, man has been putting forward many ideas for the improvement of human society. But to this day, he has failed to present a plan which would satisfy all requirements of human nature. This is due to the finite nature of our knowledge about the material as well as the spiritual world.

Even when man has put forward a good idea, there is no guarantee that it will be implemented properly. On the individual level, for example, many intelligent and knowledgeable people know the harm of alcoholism, gambling and crime, but nevertheless they fall victims to such practices. On the social and collective level, we have the example of the United Nations Organization with over 150 member countries. But it is a weak world body whose resolutions generally remain merely in the minutes and only on paper. This shows clearly that human intelligence and knowledge are no guarantee for action. Thus, human intelligence alone also does not satisfactorily guide man to formulate a plan to achieve the purpose of life (the third premise).

4. The Divine Guidance

The Divine guidance comes from the unlimited source of knowledge which has no room for error, and its implementation is comparatively more guaranteed because of the dire consequences in the hereafter from which no one can escape.

Conscience and intelligence, with confirmation from the Divine guidance, can help man to reach felicity without danger of corruption or diversion. Imam ‘Ali (a.s.) said,

Then God sent His messengers and prophets to mankind to make them fulfill the pledges of His creation, to recall to them His bounties, to exhort them by preaching, to unveil before them the hidden virtues of wisdom and show them the signs of His Omnipotence.

prophets and messengers have been sent to guide human beings to fulfill the purpose of life on this earth by nurturing their conscience and intellectual power, and also by providing a more stronger guarantor of implementing the Divine plan. The Divine guidance is not concerned with one dimension of life only. God sent messengers and prophets to guide people in order to reach perfection in the material as well as the spiritual dimensions of life. The prophets and messengers have guided us in spiritual plan as well as in politics, in justice as well as in economy, in personal problems as well as in social responsibilities. (the fourth premise).

Through these four points, we discover that the prophets are necessary for the perfection of mankind, and that they were sent to inform human beings of what they require in the way of perfection so that they may tread the path of happiness. One cannot imagine that the Wise God could leave man without instructions and laws, or that He could leave them without guidance so that they may become victims of human desires and be prevented from reaching perfection.

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