The permissible, obligatory and impossible characteristics of Prophets and Messengers

30-3-2006 | IslamWeb

Question:

What are the permissible, obligatory and impossible characteristics of Prophets and Messengers, may Allaah exalt their mention?
Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. We ask Allaah to exalt his mention as well as that of his family and all his companions.

 

The obligatory characteristics of Prophets and Messengers, may Allaah exalt their mention, that we have to believe in are: They told the truth, they were trustworthy and did not cheat, and they were sagacious, and that they conveyed the massage of Allaah. According to the view of the majority of the scholars may Allaah have mercy upon them the Prophets, may Allaah exalt their mention, were not obliged to convey a (new) message.

The characteristics that are impossible in the Messengers, may Allaah exalt their mention, are the exact opposite of the obligatory ones: Lying, cheating, stupidity and concealing the truth.

As regards the permissible characteristics of the Prophets and the Messengers, may Allaah exalt their mention, are any characteristic which they could have as humans like other humans have or do, like marriage for example. They are also subjected to symptoms that affect all humans, like usual diseases, and this was limited by some scholars to the diseases that are not disgusting. This classification or categorization is mentioned by some scholars of creed may Allaah have mercy upon them and it is a correct classification as it does not contradict evidence from text nor does it contradict reason. 

Allaah Knows best.

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