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Risalah (The Message)
The word Risalah is defined as 'message'. But here we use it for the whole process of God's chosen messengers coming forth, one after another, under Allah's Divine Guidance.
From the beginning of Mankind, prophets have come to their respective peoples. Their mission was to exhort them to worship none but Allah and to lead a life of virtue. The first man Adam (pbuh) was a prophet, as were Abraham, David, Moses and Jesus (peace be upon them all). We read in the Islamic tradition that over a hundred thousand prophets have preached the Religion of God here. The Holy Qur'an says that there has never been a people to whom a prophet has not come and that all those prophets taught their people the same message. The essence of that message is: Worship Allah alone and do good. The distinction of Muhammad (pbuh) among these prophets is simply that he was the Last Prophet, through whom the Divine Guidance was completed and perfected.
One important point for Muslims to remember is that they should respect all the prophets of God alike; that they should not discriminate between God's prophets. In the Holy Qur'an, Allah says to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh): "Nothing is said to you that was not said to the messengers before you…" (41: 43). This means that all the prophets preached basically the same religion. This fact underscores the idea of the continuity of the Divine Message. Hence it is evident that Islam is not a new religion, but it is the Religion of Abraham, Moses, Jesus and all the prophets who came to all the peoples of the world at several stages in human history.
But at the same time, it should be emphasized here that Islam, as taught by Muhammad, is its latest and most complete form of the message. For this reason, we have to study and follow it from the model life of the Last Prophet, Muhammad (pbuh). It is also worthy of note that the events and incidents in the life of Muhammad (pbuh) have been so faithfully recorded by his companions in such detail that there is no other life that can bear comparison to it. This is important because Muslims must be able to get the guidelines they require from the life of the Prophet.
By the declaration of the second part of the Muslim shahada (witness), which is
"ash-hadu anna Muhammad rasool Allah" (Muhammad is the messenger of Allah), a Muslim vows to accept Muhammad (pbuh) as his role model in life. If the Qur'an is the Word of God, the model life led by Muhammad is its practical expression. That means a Muslim has to actualize the commands and prohibitions of God given in the Qur'an by following in all the areas of life, Allah's Messenger, Muhammad (pbuh).
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