Benefits from Ittihāf Al-Uqūl [4]: The Difference between a Prophet & a Messenger

Benefit [4] from Ittihāf Al-Uqūl (A Gift to the Intellects) – An Explanation of “The Three Fundamental Principles” by Al-‘Allāmah ‘Ubayd al-Jābirī (رحمه الله)

[The Difference between a Prophet (Nabiyy) and a Messenger (Rasūl)]

Al-‘Allāmah ‘Ubayd Ibn ‘Abdullāh Al-Jābirī (رحمه الله) stated:

“And that which is correct — by Allāh’s Permission — is what I previously affirmed: that a Nabiyy (Prophet) is a man from the descendants of Ādam to whom Allāh revealed a new Sharī‘ah (Islamic Legislation) and commanded him to convey it, or a man who came to revive a previous Sharī‘ah (of a Messenger before him). Examples include the Ulū al-‘Azm¹, Ṣāliḥ, Shu‘ayb, and Hūd.²

Or, [a Nabiyy (Prophet) is a man from the descendants of Ādam] who came only to revive a previous Sharī‘ah (of a Messenger before him) — such as the Prophets of the Children of Israel between Mūsā and ‘Īsā — for they came to uphold and revive the Sharī‘ah of Mūsā, like Yūsha‘ (Joshua) ibn Nūn (صلى الله عليه وسلم).

And the proof that a Nabiyy (Prophet) is also sent to convey revelation, just like a Rasūl (Messenger), is the saying of The Truth (Al-Haqq), The Exalted:

{وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا مِن قَبْلِكَ مِن رَّسُولٍ وَلَا نَبِيٍّ إِلَّا إِذَا تَمَنَّىٰ أَلْقَى الشَّيْطَانُ فِي أُمْنِيَّتِهِ}

{Never did We send a Messenger (Rasūl) or a Prophet (Nabiyy) before you, but when he recited the revelation or narrated or spoke, Shayṭān (Satan) throws (some falsehood) in it…} [al-Ḥajj 22:52]

Thus, this verse is an explicit text indicating that a Prophet is sent (to convey a Sharī’ah) just as a Messenger is.”

Source: Ittihāf al-‘Uqūl bi Sharḥ al-Thalāthah al-Uṣūl, Dār al-Mīrāth al-Nabawiyy, pp. 36–37.

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¹ Ulū al-‘Azm are those Messengers of firm will and resolution — they are Muḥammad, Nūḥ, Ibrāhīm, Mūsā, and ‘Īsā (عليهم السلام).
² This indicates that every Rasūl (Messenger) is a Nabiyy (Prophet), but not every Nabiyy is a Rasūl.

Translated by Abu ‘Umar ‘Abdul-Hakeem.

قال العلامة الشيخ عبيد بن عبدالله الجابري – رحمه الله:ـ

والصواب – إن شاء الله – ما قررته آنفا: رجل من بني آدم أوحى الله إليه بشرع، وأمره بتبليغه، أو جاء بتقرير شريعة سابقة. مثل أولي العزم، صالح، وشعيب، وهود. أو جاء بتقرير شريعة سابقة: كأنبياء بني إسرائيل بين موسى وعيسى، فإنهم جاءوا بتقرير شريعة
موسى، مثل يوشع بن نون صلى الله عليه وسلم.ـ

والدليل على أن النبي مرسل مثل الرسول: قول الحق جل جلاله {وما أرسلنا من قبلك من رسول ولا نبي إلا إذا تمنى ألقى الشيطان في أمنيته} فالآية نصٌّ على أن النبي مرسل مثل الرسول.ـ

المصدر: اتحاف العقول بشرح ثلاثة الأصول، دار الميراث النبوي، صـ 36 – 37