Are Prophets Different in Rank or Are they All on the Same Level?

Brief description of the dubiety

In Surah al-Baqarah, verse 253 Allah mentions that some Prophets are superior to others, however verses 136 and 285 of the same Surah, and verse 84 of Surah Ale Imran mention that there is no difference between the Prophets. Therefore in saying that some Prophets are superior to others, but also that all of the Prophets are equal, there is a contradiction.

Detailed description of the dubiety

Contradictory Verses

Verse which mentions that some Prophets are superior to others

In Surah al-Baqarah, verse 253 it says: “These are the apostles, some of whom We gave an advantage over others: among them are those to whom Allah spoke, and some of them He raised in rank, and We gave Isa, son of Mary, manifest proofs and strengthened him with the Holy Spirit. Had Allah wished, those who succeeded them would not have fought each other after the manifest proofs had come to them. But they differed. So there were among them those who had faith and there were among them those who were faithless, and had Allah wished, they would not have fought one another; but Allah does whatever He desires.” In summary this verse says that the Prophets have different ranks, Allah has excelled a group of them over another, and that each one of them has specific qualities.

Verses which mention the Prophets as being equal

In Surah al-Baqarah, verse 136 Allah says: “Say, ‘We have faith in Allah, and that which has been sent down to us, and that which was sent down to Ibrahim, Ismail, Ishaq, Yaqoob and the Tribes, and that which Musa and Isa were given, and that which the Prophets were given from their Lord; we make no distinction between any of them, and to Him do we submit.’” In this verse, Allah wants the believers to have faith in certain things, such as faith in Allah, faith in that which was revealed to the last Prophet, faith in that which was revealed to the previous Prophets such as Ibrahim, Ismail and Ishaq, etc. So in this verse Allah is commanding that one should believe in all of the Prophets in the same way, and one should not have any differences with regards to them; therefore according to the this verse of the Quran, the Prophets are all equal. Other verses also exist which give this same meaning. For example in verse 258 of Surah al-Baqarah, it says: “The Apostle has faith in what has been sent down to him from his Lord, and all of the faithful. Each [of them] has faith in Allah, His angels, His scriptures and His apostles. [They declare,] ‘We make no distinction between any of His apostles.’ And they say, ‘We hear and we obey. Our Lord, forgive us, and towards You is the return.’” In Surah Ale Imran, verse 84 it says: “Say, ‘We have faith in Allah, and in what has been sent down to us, and what was sent down to Ibrahim, Ismail, Ishaq, Yaqoob and the Tribes, and that which Musa and Isa were given, and all of the Prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and to Him do we submit.’”

Summary

In the verse of Surah al-Baqarah, verse 253, it is mentioned that the Prophets have different ranks in relation to each other, meaning that some of them are more virtuous than others. In the second set of verses however, it mentions that one should not place any difference between the Prophets, and that all of the Prophets are equal. These two sets of verses seem to contradict one another, because it is not possible for the Prophets to have different ranks, yet also not have any differences between each other.

A summarized response

Verse 256 in Surah al-Baqarah has compared the Prophets with one another in regards to their specific qualities and perfections, and it has mentioned some as being higher in rank than others based on these. Verse 136 of the same Surah mentions how the Prophets were on the truth, and has introduced them as being equally legitimate, because all of them were sent by Allah. Due to the different perspectives in which the Prophets are being spoken about in the two verses, there is no contradiction, because it is possible for the Prophets to be equal from one perspective, but not equal from another perspective.

A detailed response

Pre-requisite Introduction

The possibility of citing contradictory matters regarding one subject, while taking into account different perspectives

It is possible to discuss one subject from different perspectives, and then give different judgements regarding that subject, based on those different perspectives. Due to the different perspectives from which the subject is being looked at, it is not necessary for all of the judgements regarding that subject to be the same; and due to different perspectives, it is possible for one subject to have contradictory judgements attributed to them. For example, it is said: “When you buy toys for your children, make sure that you are just. It is possible for parents to be just with their children, however it requires them to be precise.” Somewhere else it is said: “It is not possible for parents to be just with their children, in that parents cannot love all of their children equally, however they should act in such a manner that the children do not become aware of this [difference in love].” From the apparentness of the sentences, they contradict one another, because one of them mentions that being just with one’s children is not possible, while the other says that it is possible. However, no contradiction exists because one of them is in regards to the economical perspective and it says that it is possible to be just; while the other is speaking from the perspective of the heart and it says that it is not possible to be the same. Thus, being just towards one’s children is looked at from two different perspectives, and mentioning two varying judgements does not mean that there is a contradiction.

The difference and the equality in the rank of the Prophets is from two different perspectives

There would only be a contradiction in the Quran if it was speaking about the difference between the Prophets from one perspective, and if it mentioned that they are both different and equal at the same time. We will now analyse the verses and it will become clear that the Prophets have been looked at from two different perspectives. From one perspective they are equal to one another, but from another perspective they are different from each other.

Analyzing Surah al-Baqarah, verse 136 and the perspective of the Prophets being equal

This verse in Surah al-Baqarah addresses the believers, and it commands them to announce their belief in the holy books and the Prophets as follows: “Say, ‘We have faith in Allah, and that which has been sent down to us, and that which was sent down to Ibrahim, Ismail, Ishaq, Yaqoob and the Tribes, and that which Musa and Isa were given, and that which the Prophets were given from their Lord…” The Quran also wants the believers to announce that they do not make a distinction between the Prophets: “We make no distinction between any of them, and to Him do we submit.’”

Now the question is that from which perspective is this believer not making a distinction between the Prophets? The atmosphere of the verse shows that the Quran wants to make it clear that the believers accept all of the Prophets, and that nothing will cause them to accept some of the Prophets and reject the others. Thus, the believers must make no distinction between the rightfulness of the Prophets and they must believe in all of them. In reality, this verse shows the Prophets as being equal in the sense that they are all righteous and sent from Allah, and it wants the believers to believe in all of them.

Analyzing Surah al-Baqarah, verse 253 and the perspective of some Prophets being superior to others

The difference in rank that has been mentioned regarding some of the Prophets is due to their specific qualities. The latter part of the verse clearly shows the perspective from which some Prophets are superior to others. “…among them are those to whom Allah spoke, and some of them He raised in rank, and We gave Isa, son of Maryam, manifest proofs and strengthened him with the Holy Spirit….” By looking at this part of the verse we see that some are superior to others due to the fact that Allah spoke to them; while others were given certain ranks which made them superior. Prophet Isa was given manifest proofs and miracles, and he was also strengthened with the Holy Spirit. From this perspective he is superior to some of the other Prophets. Based on this, this verse has looked at the Prophets from the perspective of their different qualities and has mentioned some of them as being superior to others.

A reconciliation between the two verses

In verse 136, the Prophets have been introduced as being equal in the sense that they are all rightful, and it is for this reason that the believers have been commanded to believe in all of them and to not reject any of them. But verse 253 mentions the specific qualities of some of the Prophets and has mentioned that some of them are superior to the others. Based on the pre-requisite introduction which was mentioned, there is no contradiction between the two verses, because the perspective from which the Prophets are equal is different to the perspective from which they are different. Thus, it is possible to reconcile the two verses and they do not contradict one another. In order to make the answer clearer, we will provide a further example.

Common example

A father tells his son: “The teachers are all equal and we have to respect all of our teachers.” In another place the father tells his son: “My son, based on the research that I have done, the best teacher in your school is the one who teaches chemistry. Try and benefit from that teacher more.” These two sentences of the father do not contradict one another, because in the first sentence he has mentioned the teachers as being equal from the perspective that they are all teachers and should be respected, but in the second sentence their difference is mentioned based on their knowledge. Based on the different perspectives in the two sentences, they do not contradict one another. In the same way, the two verses about the Prophets do not contradict one another.