Principles of Islam
40. Prophethood
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being. A prophet in the Islamic sense is a man, just
like any other human being: his uniqueness resides
solely in his also being a messenger of God.
A messenger is not an ‘inspired’ person in the
simple sense of the word. By Islamic tenets,
prophethood is dependent not on inspiration, but
on divine revelation. Inspiration is a common
psychological phenomenon, of the kind experienced
by a poet, whereas revelation is a true and direct
divine communication. It was consciously sent and
also consciously received by the Prophet. The
Qur’an is a collection of these divine revelations;
which the Prophet received over a period of 23
years.
According to Islam, prophethood is not acquired
but God-given. That is, it is not possible to engage
in spiritual exercises and then, as a result, be
elevated to prophethood. Not even the Prophet had
any say in this matter of selection. The choice
depends upon God alone.
The Prophet’s responsibility was to communicate
the divine message to humanity. In doing so, if he
received a negative response from the people, or
