Islam's Response to Contemporary Issues — Page 11
Inter-Religious Peace 11 All Prophets Are Equal The question arises that if there are so many Prophets of God sent to all peoples of the world, in different parts of the world and in different ages, do they have the same Divine authority? According to the Holy Quran, all Prophets belong to God, and as such, insofar as their Divine authority is concerned, they exercise such authority with equal force and strength. No one has a right to discriminate between one Prophet and another. As far as the authenticity of their message is concerned, all Prophets must be equal. This attitude of Islam towards other religions and their Founders as well as minor Prophets, can work as a very important uniting and cementing factor between various religions. The principle that the authenticity of each Prophet’s revelation enjoys the same status can be used as a very powerful unifying force, bringing various religions together. This transforms the attitude of hostility towards the revelation of Prophets of other religions to that of respect and reverence. This, again, is the clear and logical position taken by the Holy Quran: This Messenger (the Holy Founder sa of Islam) believes in that which was revealed to him from his Lord, and so do the believers; all of them believe in Allah; and in His angels, and in His Books, and in His Messengers saying, ‘We make no distinction between any of His Messengers. ’ And they say, ‘We have heard and we are obedient. . . . ’ 4