Muhammad The Great Exemplar — Page 22
Hazrat Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmud Ahmad 22 Say, ‘If the ocean became ink for the words of my Lord, surely, the ocean would be exhausted before the words of my Lord came to an end, even though We brought the like thereof as further help. ’ Thus prophethood is an endlessly vast subject, how- ever, with due regard to circumstance, some part of it can be taken up for consideration. THE ESSENTIAL TASKS OF A PROPHET As recorded in the Holy Qur’an, the prophets of God are given four primary tasks which are identified in the following prayer of Abraham as : ُ ُعَلِّمُهُم ی ٰتِكَ وَ ی عَلَيِْمْ اٰ َتْلُوْا ی ْ وَابْعَثْ فِيِْمْ رَسُوْلً مِّنُْم رَبَّنَا 13 ُ ْم ی ِ الْكِتٰبَ وَالِْكْمَةَ وَيَُكِّيِْمْ اِنَّكَ اَنْتَ الْعَزِيُْ الَْك And, our Lord, raise up among them a Messenger from among themselves, who may recite to them Thy Signs and teach them the Book and Wisdom and may purify them; surely, Thou art the Mighty, the Wise. A simple reading [of this supplication] is sufficient to 13 Surah Al-Baqarah , 2:130 [Publishers]