God Arises
Affirmation of Prophethood
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life is fast deteriorating and without it, there can be
no improvement. Yet there appears to be no solving
of this great mystery. It is the most urgent need of
the hour, but it is something which we cannot
achieve on our own. Is this state of affairs not proof
enough that man is badly in need of revelation?
The indispensability of the knowledge of the reality
of
life,
and
this
knowledge
remaining
undiscoverable, are clear indications that it must be
provided from an external source, just as heat and
light in the form of the sun’s rays are provided by
nature. Once we accept both the possibility and the
necessity of divine revelation, we have to ascertain
whether or not the person who claims prophethood
is a true recipient of God’s word. We do believe that
innumerable prophets have been raised up by God.
In the present chapter, however, we shall deal only
with the claim of Muhammad, may peace be upon
him, to definitive prophethood. An affirmation of
his prophethood implies an affirmation of all the
prophets who came before him, because the
Prophet Muhammad, instead of denying the claims
of his predecessors, testifies to the bonafides of all
true prophets, being the last in the long series of