What are Prophets?

As we discussed in previous post, being a Muslim means living your life according to God's will, but we were left with the question, how can we know what God wants from us? Well, at the very least everyone is born with what we call fitra, sort of like your conscience or an innate morality. We all have a natural sense of right and wrong and an inclination towards the divine, but that alone isn't enough to provide sound, comprehensive guidance for every aspect of our lives. That's where prophets come in. So what exactly is a prophet? It's a valid question. Even those who have an understanding of religion are often fuzzy on exactly what it means to be a prophet. Thankfully, Islam provides the necessary clarification. Simply put, prophets are people chosen by God to communicate with humanity on His behalf. Prophets teach us how to live the way God wants us to live and call us back to God's path when we have gone astray. God communicates with his Prophets through divine revelation. Since the beginning of humanity, every society on earth has received prophets who delivered the message of submission to God, and throughout history there have been thousands upon thousands prophets, including many well known prophets mentioned in the Bible, such as Abraham, Moses, and Jesus, peace be upon them. Among the Prophets there are a some who have the special title of Messenger. Messengers are the prophets who bring new revealed scriptures. While the basic message of Islam is always the same, each new messenger brings a divinely updated version of the message tailored to the time and the place. Prophets who are not messengers simply remind us to follow what we have already been sent and correct us where necessary, which leads us into another question: If God sent all of these prophets always teaching the same way of life, why are there so many religions? You'll just have to wait until next time to find out inshaAllah. For this time, thanks for reading. Peace be upon you. Assalaamu alaikum.