I was wondering about if Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was best of all prophets (A.S)?
I hear it from almost every scholar that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was best of all prophets (A.S); But I want to confirm it so please provide a Quranic Verse or Sahih Hadith to support this view.
Thanks.
Yes, Muhammad ﷺ is superior to all other creation, and this includes the prophets. The higher status of some prophets above others is proven from the Quran:
تلك الرسل فضلنا بعضهم على بعض
Those messengers - some of them We caused to exceed others.
ولقد فضلنا بعض النبيين على بعض
And We have made some of the prophets exceed others
And it is also proven that Muhammad ﷺ had honors that no one else had. For example he was sent to the entire mankind whereas the other prophets were only sent to their nations (34:28). He is the seal of the prophets (33:40). His nation is the best of mankind (3:110). He is given al-Kawthar (109:1) and Maqam al-Mahmud (17:79) etc.
It is also evident from ahadith, such as:
فضلت على الأنبياء بست أعطيت جوامع الكلم ونصرت بالرعب وأحلت لي الغنائم وجعلت لي الأرض طهورا ومسجدا وأرسلت إلى الخلق كافة وختم بي النبيون
I have been given superiority over the other prophets in six respects: I have been given words which are concise but comprehensive in meaning; I have been helped by terror (in the hearts of enemies): spoils have been made lawful to me: the earth has been made for me clean and a place of worship; I have been sent to all mankind and the line of prophets is closed with me.
— Muslim
أنا سيد ولد آدم
I am the leader of the sons of Adam
فقال له جبريل أبمحمد تفعل هذا فما ركبك أحد أكرم على الله منه
Gabriel said to him (Buraq): "Is it from Muhammad that you do this? By your Lord! There is no one more honorable to your Lord than him."
— Jami at-Tirmidhi - classed as Sahih by al-Albani and al-Arnaa’oot etc.
ثم أقوم عن يمين العرش ليس أحد من الخلائق يقوم ذلك المقام غيري
I will stand at the right of the Throne. No one from the creation will in that place other than I.
إذا كان يوم القيامة كنت إمام النبيين وخطيبهم وصاحب شفاعتهم غير فخر
Upon the Day of Judgement I will be the leader of the Prophets and their spokesman, and the bearer of their intercession
وما من نبي يومئذ آدم فمن سواه إلا تحت لوائي
There will not be a Prophet on that day, not Adam nor anyone other than him, except that he will be under my banner.
Further it is established by Ijma':
أجمعت الأمة على أن الأنبياء أفضل الخليقة، وأن نبينا صلى الله عليه وسلم أفضلهم
The Ummah unanimously agrees that the prophets are the best of creation and that our prophet Muhammad ﷺ is the best among them
Sometimes laymen argue against this aqeedah and cite verses of the Quran that forbid making a distinction between the prophets (such as 2:136 or 2:285), However this verse is not relevant to the topic but rather it is talking about disbelief in some prophets while believing in others. And this is clear if one reads the whole verse and also if one studies other similar verses such as 4:150-152.
There are also ahadith which forbid us from declaring some prophets superior to others such as Bukhari 3412, Bukhari 6916, Bukhari 3414, Bukhari 3408. They are explained as follows:
Ref: Tafsir al-Qurtubi and Al-Shifaa bi Ta'reef Huqooq al-Mustafaa
Was Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) better than all the Prophets (pbuh)? It should be said that the prophets, because they are the model and guide of humanity, should be above all. They cannot even be equal to others because that is the rule of the pattern, otherwise it is against the rule of reason. But among all the prophets, the Prophet of Islam is above all. The first sign of the superiority of the Prophet of Islam over all the prophets is the description of Sadr. It is stated in Surah Taha, verse 25 that Moses said to God "My Lord said, expand my chest for me"That means God! Give me Sadr's description. But the problem is that what Moses asked of God was already given to the Prophet of Islam.
The second sign that can be mentioned as the superiority of the Prophet of Islam over all the prophets is God's defense of the Holy Prophet. All the prophets themselves defended the position of mission against the denial of their ummahs, but God defends them against the ummah's misfortunes with the Holy Prophet. In verses 66 and 67 of Surah Hood, it is stated that: "I Kfrva fireproof al Alzyn Qvmh Anna Lnrak per foolishness Wana Lnznk I Alkazbyn, fireproof or people of foolishness licking my messenger Vlkny Lord of the Worlds." That is, "the nobles of his people, who were disbelievers, said: 'We see that you are afflicted with foolishness, and we think that you are one of the liars.' God said to Mr. Hood: "Tell them: O people! "I am not ignorant, I am a messenger from the Lord of the worlds." But when the Prophet of Islam was denied by his nation and he was called a poet and a madman, God defended the Prophet in verse 69 of Surah Yasin and said: “And we did not teach him poetry, and it is not necessary for him that it is nothing but a remembrance and a clear Qur’an.” That is, what we have taught him is not poetry, but the Qur'an. (1) The third sign is the finality of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him.
One of the benefits of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him, is his finality. The Holy Qur'an says in this regard: “Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but the Messenger of God and the Seal of the Prophets.” The Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him, has all the common benefits, and the individual benefits of the prophets, and some special characteristics that the previous prophets lacked, but another point is used that no one is better than the Prophet until the Day of Judgment. Islam will not come, because the Messenger of God is a perfect man, and no matter how many millions of years pass, he will not come more perfect. One of the most prominent scientific benefits of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him, is that God Almighty taught him the Qur'an and instilled the truth in his pure heart, so when can we evaluate the scientific life of the Holy Prophet? To know the truth of the Qur'an. Every prophet invites people to the truth as much as his book, and everything that is the editorial verse of his book is realized in the blessed existence of that prophet, as the editorial verse and objective existence. (2)
(1)Ref: https://www.yjc.news/fa/news/6723523 (2)Ref: https://www.isna.ir/news/93093017203/
Yes he was. He was given the most miracles by Allah Subhana Wa Ta'ala, and he is the GREATEST in Allah's Creation. He lead every Prophet in the namaz in Masjid Al Aqsa. Every Prophet agreed that our Prophet should lead the prayer. After that, the scholars said that our Prophet's knowledge was one BIG reason why he was the one who lead the prayer. So that kind of tells you that our Prophet was the best, even the other Prophets knew it. There are alot of other clear and logical proofs why he's the best, like how he was sent to the WHOLE WORLD and not just one particular area, but I dont wanna write a book here.
In the name of God, the Beneficent, Most Merciful
All praise is due to God (ﷻ), the Lord of the Worlds. The Beneficent, the Merciful. Master of the Day of Judgement, and God’s Peace and Blessings be upon Muhammad (ﷺ), his family, his noble Companions, and all those who follow them.
Your question: Was prophet Muhammad best of all prophets?
Answer: First of all, you cannot say like this because it is not nice at all. Ask yourself “how will the Prophet respond to this? How will Moses or other prophets respond you this?” I don’t think they’d like to hear this from you, why? Because all of them are important to us all and we cannot say that this prophet is better than this or that, no. That will go against Quran, because God Said:
”Say: We have believed in God and what has been revealed to us and what has been revealed to Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the Descendants and what was given to Moses and Jesus and what was given to the prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and we are Muslims in submission to Him.” (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:136)
This is the general rule regarding our attitude towards the Prophets and Messengers, and our Prophet specifically forbade us from saying that he is better than some other prophets. Even Muhammad forbid us to say that he is better than others, remember this:
”Whoever says that I am better than Jonah son of Mata has told a lie.”
This what Muhammad said in Quran. The only thing that we must believe is, that all the prophets and messengers are the best of the best. God Said:
“Say (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم): ‘I am only a man like you. It has been revealed to me that your Ilâh (God) is One Ilaah (God __ i.e. God). So whoever hopes for the Meeting with his Lord, let him work righteousness and associate none as a partner in the worship of his Lord’” [al-Kahf 18:110]
Abu Hurayrah, narrated that the Messenger of God ﷺ said:
”I will be the leader of the sons of Adam on the Day of Resurrection, and the first one for whom the grave will be opened, and the first to intercede, and the first whose intercession will be accepted.’”
CONCLUSION: We only say what God tells us, if He were to tell us that Muhammad is the best of all prophets than yes, it would be permissible but as long as He didn’t Said this, then no it is not permitted at all. And we should say that all the prophets and messengers are the best of the best.
Kind regards
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