Ulul Azmi

Literally, Ulul 'azmi means the chiefs, or people who have stout/strong hearts. The meaning in our context is the five prophets who are accorded the highest reverence for their perseverance and unusually strong commitment to God in the face of great suffering. There were five prophets who had divine books and independent teachings. These five are Nuh (Noah), Ibrahim (Abraham), Musa (Moses), Isa (Jesus) and Muhammad S.A.W.

"He has made plain to you of the religion what He enjoined upon Nuh and that which We have revealed to you, and that which We enjoined upon Ibrahim and Musa and 'Isa that keep to obedience and be not divided therein... (42:13)."

These five prophets, who have books and divine religious laws, are called the Ulul'azm Anbiya' (arch-prophets). The messengers of Allah, however, were not limited to these five prophets, rather each ummah(people) had a messenger. Many prophets were sent by Allah to lead the people, of whom only the names of less than twenty have been mentioned in the Holy Qur'an.

The Almighty Allah states:

"... There are some of them that We have mentioned to you and there are others whom We have not mentioned to you...(40:78)."

He also states:

"And every ummah had a messenger...(10:47)."

Allah states:

"...And (there is) a guide for every people (13:7)."

Yes, prophets, who came after each of the Ulul'azm Anbiya' invited people to follow the divine religious laws of the same prophets. Thus, prophetic mission and the call continued until Allah appointed the Prophet Muhammad (S) ibn Abdillah to bring the previous prophetic missions to perfection and to communicate the latest orders and the most complete divine religious laws. His divine book became the last book and consequently, the religion of Prophet Muhammad (S) will remain valid until Qiyamah (Resurrection) and his religious laws will remain everlasting.

(1) Prophet Nuh (as)

Nuh (as) (Prophet Noah) was the first prophet appointed to prophetic mission and sent towards mankind as bearer of divine religious laws and a divine book by Allah, the Merciful.

Nuh (as) invited the people of those days to monotheism and belief in the Oneness of Allah and asked them to refrain from polytheism and idolatry. As evident from his stories in the Holy Qur'an, Nuh (as) seriously struggled to settle class distinctions and to eradicate injustice and cruelty. He notified the people of his teachings by way of reasoning which was something new to the people of those days.

After a long period of suffering with ignorant, stubborn, and unruly people, Nuh (as) guided only a small group of people. Thus, by means of Nuh's(as) Deluge, the Almighty Allah annihilated unbelievers and cleansed the earth of their defiled entity. Nuh (as) and a group of his followers who were saved laid the cornerstone of a religious society over again.

This Holy Prophet (S) is the founder of the religious laws of monotheism and the first divine representative who struggled against cruelty, injustice, and rebellion. Owing to his valuable services rendered to the divine religion, he is allotted a praise and greeting by Allah, a praise which will remain alive and perpetual as long as mankind exists.

"Peace and salutation to Nuh among the nations (37:79)."

(2) Prophet Ibrahim (as)

A long time elapsed after Nuh. (as). Although many prophets, such as Hud, Salih, and others also led the people towards Allah and righteousness, the polytheism and idolatry flourished day by day and finally became universal. By His sublime wisdom, the Almighty Allah appointed Ibrahim (as) (Prophet Abraham) as a prophet.

Ibrahim (as) was a perfect example of a man with innate disposition who searched for truth with his pure and immaculate nature. He found out the oneness of Allah and struggled against polytheism and injustice all his life.

As revealed by the Holy Qur'an and confirmed by the ahadith of the Imams of Ahl al-Bayt (Members of the Household of the Prophet Muhammad [SA]), Ibrahim (as) spent his childhood in a cave away from the clamours of people and the tumultuous urban life. He only saw his mother who carried food and water for him from time to time.

One day he came out of his cave and followed his mother to town and paid a visit to his uncle, Adhar, but everything seemed new and interesting to him. Amidst thousands of bewilderments and wonders and with utmost impatience and calmness, his immaculate nature focused on the creation of things that he saw, trying to find out the secret of their existence and the cause of their creation. He saw idols which Adhar and others carved and worshipped. Ibrahim (as) asked about their identity, but the explanation he got about their divinity was not convincing. He saw a group of people who worshipped Venus, others who worshipped the moon, and yet another group who worshipped the sun. Their divinity was unbelievable to Ibrahim (as) because each one of them set after a few hours.

After these incidents, Ibrahim (as), fearlessly, announced his worshipping of the Almighty Allah and his disgust of polytheism and idolatry. He thought of nothing but struggle against idolatry and polytheism. He struggled against idol-worshippers tirelessly and relentlessly and invited them towards monotheism.

Finally, he found a way to the idol-temple and broke the idols. Because of this deed, which people regarded as the greatest crime, Ibrahim (as) was put to trial. After completion of the formalities, Ibrahim (as) was thrown into the fire, but Allah saved him and he came out of the fire unharmed.

After a while, Ibrahim (as) emigrated from his original birthplace, Babylon, to Syria and Palestine and continued his invitation of monotheism there.

In the last days of his life, he was blessed with two children: Ishaq (as) (Prophet Isaac), the father of Isra'il (as) and Isma'il (as) (Prophet Ishmael), the father of 'Arab Mudar. By the order of Allah, Isma'il (as), in infancy, and his mother were taken to Hijaz by Ibrahim (as). They settled around Mount Tuhamah in an arid and barren land without inhabitants. In this manner, Ibrahim (as) invited the nomadic Arabs to monotheism. Then he built Ka'bah and described the rites of Hajj (pilgrimage to Makkah) which remained prevalent among the Arabs until the advent of Islam and the call of Prophet Muhammad (S).

Ibrahim (as) was endowed with the innate religion. According to the explicit wording of the Holy Qur'an, he had a divine book. He was the first person to call the divine religion as "Islam" and it's followers as "Muslims". Indeed, the religions of the world advocating monotheism, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam terminate at Ibrahim (as), because Musa (as), 'Isa (as), and Prophet Muhammad (S), the leaders of the aforementioned three religions, were all the descendants of Ibrahim (as) and had followed his path of call and invitation to monotheism.

(3) Prophet Musa (as)

Musa (as) (Prophet Moses) ibn 'Imran is the third of the Ulul'azm Anbiya'and is bestowed with a book andshari'ah (divine religious laws). He was a descendant of Isra'il (as) or Y'aqub (as) (Prophet Jacob).

Musa (as) had a tumultuous life. He was born at a time when the Israelites were living in Egypt among Gipsies in a state of abjectness and servitude and when their sons were beheaded by the order of Fir'awn (Pharaoh1).

The mother of Musa (as), according to the order given to her while asleep, placed Musa (as), in a wooden box and left him in the Nile River. The water carried the box directly to the castle of Fir'awn.

By the order of Fir'awn, the box was picked up. When they opened it, they found a baby inside.

Because of the insistence of the queen, Fir'awn dispensed with killing the child. Since they did not have a son, they adopted him as their own son and put him under the care of a nurse (who was incidentally his own mother)

Up to the early stages of his youth, Musa (as) lived in the palace of Fir'awn. Then, after an accidental murder, fearing Fir'awn, he ran away from Egypt. He went to Madyan and met Prophet Shu'ayb (Jethro) (as). He married one of Shu'ayb's daughters and grazed his sheep for a few years. After a few years, he reminisced about his birthplace, took his wife with him, and set out for Egypt, carrying his belongings along.

On his way, when he reached Mount Sinai at night, he was assigned to prophetic mission by the Almighty Allah. He was chosen by Allah to invite Fir'awn to the religion of Tawhid, to liberate the Israelites from the yoke of the Gipsies, and to designate his brother, Harun (Aaron), as his minister. But after he announced his mission and communicated the divine message, Fir'awn who was an idol-worshipper and who had also introduced himself to the people of Egypt as one of the gods, did not accept Musa's (as) prophetic mission and refused to grant freedom to the Israelites.

Although for many years Musa (as) invited people to tawhid and showed many miracles, Fir'awn and his people showed no reaction other than toughness and moroseness. Finally, by the order of Allah, Musa (as) emigrated the Israelites and went from Egypt to Sinai desert at night. When they reached the Red sea,Fir'awn, too, came to know and chased them with his army.

Through a miracle, Musa (as) split the water of the sea and crossed it along with his people, but Fir'awn and his army were drowned. After this event, Allah revealed the Tawrat to Musa (as) and established the Shari'ahof Musa (as) among the Israelites.

(4) Prophet 'Isa (as)

Prophet 'Isa (as) is the fourth of the Ulul'azm Anbiya' bestowed with a book and shari'ah. The circumstances of his birth were unusual. His mother,Maryam, a pious virgin, was worshipping Allah (in Jerusalem) whenRuhulqudus or Jibril (Gabriel) descended from heavens, gave her the good tidings of 'Isa's (as) birth; and by Jibril's breathing on her sleeves, Maryambecame pregnant with 'Isa (as).

After his birth, 'Isa (as) began to speak in the cradle in defence of his m other against unfair calumnies attributed to her. He also informed the people about his Nubuwwah and divine book (Injil). Later, in his youth, he proceeded to invite the people and revived the shari'ah of Musa (as) with minor modifications. He sent missionaries from among his hawaris(disciples) to the surrounding places. After his call was spread among the people, the Jews (his ummah) embarked on killing him, but Allah saved him, and the Jews caught someone else in his place and crucified him.

It should be pointed out here that the Almighty Allah, in the Holy Qur'an, confirms a divine book called the "Injil"for 'Isa (as), which was revealed to him. It is different from the Gospels written after 'Isa (as) about his life and call. Among them, four Gospels compiled by Luke, Mark, Matthew, and John are formally recognized by Christians.

(5) Prophet Muhammad SAW

Prophet Muhammad was born as an orphan because he lost his father before he was born. He lost his mother and grandfather when he was just a child. He was raised under protection of his uncle Abu Talip, and he struggled with difficulties caused by being an orphan and lonely. In order to make Prophet Muhammad give up his claims and beliefs people of Quraish made appealing offers which could make him a very rich man. But he refused all their offers unhesitatingly. He did not lose his perseverance and strong will when he faced with oppressions and tortures and he achieved his duty.