Was the Prophet the First Muslim or Were there Muslims before Him?
Brief description of the dubiety
In several verses of the Holy Quran such as verse 163 of Surah al-Anaam, it introduces Prophet Muhammad as the first Muslim; however in different verses, other people have been introduced as being Muslim who came before the Prophet of Islam. Due to this, these verses appear to be incompatible and contradictory because if the Prophet was the first Muslim, there how could there be any Muslims before him?
Detailed description of the dubiety
Contradictory Verses
Verses in which Allah refers to the Prophet of Islam as the first Muslim
In verses 162 and 163 of Surah al-Anaam, it is mentioned: “Say, ‘Indeed my prayer and my worship, my life and my death are for the sake of Allah, the Lord of all the worlds. He has no partner, and I have been commanded [to follow] this [creed], and I am the first of the Muslims.’” In this verse, the Prophet of Islam introduces himself as the first Muslim. There are other verses in a similar vein such as in verse 14 of the Surah which says: “Say, ‘Shall I take for guardian anyone other than Allah, the Originator of the heavens and the earth, who feeds and is not fed?’ Say, ‘I have been commanded to be the first of the Muslims,’ and told, “Never be one of the polytheists.”’ As well in Surah al-Zumar, verses 11-12 tell the Prophet: “Say, ‘I have been commanded to worship Allah with exclusive faith in Him, and I have been commanded to be the foremost of the Muslims.’”
Verses in which Allah has referred to Prophet Ibrahim as a Muslim
Verse 67 of Surah Ale Imran mentions: “Ibrahim was neither a Jew nor a Christian. Rather, he was a Hanif, a Muslim, and he was not one of the polytheists.” In this verse, the Quran mentions this Prophet, who lived before the Prophet of Islam, as a Muslim. There are other verses similar to this such as in Surah al-Baqarah verses 130-131: “And who will ever forsake Ibrahim’s creed except one who debases himself? We certainly chose him in the [present] world, and in the hereafter he will indeed be among the Righteous. When his Lord said to him, ‘Submit,’ he said, ‘I submit to the Lord of all the worlds.’”
Verse in which Allah referred to Prophet Nuh as a Muslim
It verse 72 of Surah Yunus, Allah quotes Prophet Nuh as follows: “If you turn your back [on me], I do not ask any reward from you; my reward lies only with Allah and I have been commanded to be of those who submit to Allah.’” In this verse, it has been mentioned that Prophet Nuh was ordered to be a Muslim. Naturally, as a divine Prophet, he would have obeyed this order and became one of the Muslims.
Verses in which Allah referred to Prophet Yaqoob and his progeny as Muslims
In verses 132 and 133 of Surah al-Baqarah, it is mentioned, “Ibrahim enjoined this creed upon his children, and so did Yaqoob saying, ‘My children! Allah has indeed chosen this religion for you; so do not die except as those who have surrendered themselves [to Allah]. Were you witnesses when death approached Yaqoob when he said to his children, ‘What will you worship after me?’ They said, ‘We will worship your God and the God of your fathers, Ibrahim, Ismail, and Ishaq, the One God, and to Him do we submit.’” It has been mentioned that the reason this verse was revealed was because a group of Jews believed that at the time of his death, Prophet Yaqoob advised his progeny to stay steadfast on the same religion that the Jews believed in, but Allah revealed this verse to refute their claims. This verse emphasizes that Prophet Yaqoob and his progeny were Muslims.
Verse in which Allah refers to the queen of Sheeba as a Muslim
Verse 42 of Surah al-Naml says: “So when she came, it was said to her, ‘Is your throne like this one?’ She said, ‘It seems to be the same, and we were informed before it, and we had submitted.’” This verse refers to when the queen of Sheeba converted to Islam at the hands of Prophet Sulayman. When the queen’s throne was presented to her, she announced that she had known about Prophet Sulayman’s power and rightfulness, and thus she converted to Islam.
Summary
In verse 163 of Surah al-Anaam, the Prophet of Islam has clearly been mentioned as the first Muslim; however in several other verses it refers to Prophet Ibrahim, Prophet Nuh, Prophet Yaqoob and his progeny, and the queen of Sheeba as being Muslims, and they all came before the Prophet of Islam. The claim that the Prophet was the first Muslim appear to be incompatible with the other verses.
A summarized response
Being the first is possible from a certain point of time and quality. With due attention to the context surrounding the phrase «و انا اول المسلمین» in verse 163 of Surah al-Anaam, it means that the Prophet considered himself as the greatest of those who submitted in the presence of Allah, not that he was the first Muslim in history. Looking at it from this viewpoint, there is no contradiction between the verses.
A detailed response
Main definition of Muslim «مسلم» and its separate meanings
The literal definition of Muslim is ‘one who submits’ and ‘one who is humble to the one whom he surrenders to.’ People who accepted the religion of the Prophet of Islam were called Muslims for this reason because they humbled themselves and were submissive in His presence. In the book Lisan al-Arab, two meanings of the word Muslim are given from the Arabic dictionaries as follows: Islam means humility and submission (and as a result, according to this definition of Islam, someone who submits and surrenders is said to be a Muslim); and also, Islam in a religious discussion means to accept the religion of Islam (and as a result, according to this definition of Islam, the followers of Islam are called Muslims.” [1]
Being first in different respects
A person can be first in several different aspects. One can be the first in respect to time, or in the area of quality. For example, it is possible that someone could be your first friend in respect to when you made friends, but it is possible that they are not your primary friend in the aspect of how good they are with you and someone else may be your foremost or number one friend. With due attention to this introduction, the phrase «اول المسلمین» in verse 163 of Surah al-Anaam must be assessed and analyzed with help from the context – in regards to which aspect the Prophet of Islam was the first of the Muslims.
Assessment of the definition of Muslim in the verses in question
In the first introduction, it was mentioned that the word Muslim has two definitions. Before entering this discussion, the definition of this word must be clarified. In the verses in question, the literal definitions have been used because the second definition of Muslim means someone who has accepted the religion of Islam - which is exclusive to the time following the Prophet, and it makes no sense for someone to be a Muslim before the emergence of the religion of Islam. Therefore, this word refers to its main definition in all of the other verses which describe the previous Prophets or the other people, and this means someone who has submitted to Allah.
Of course, the word Muslim in «اول المسلمین» which was mentioned about the final Prophet has also been used in its literal sense because it is obvious that every Prophet was the first acceptor of the religion which he brought from Allah, and as a result there is no need to mention this obvious statement. The verses of Surah al-Anaam which precede this verse are also compatible with this definition; where in verses 162-163 it quotes the Prophet as saying: “Say, ‘Indeed my prayer and my worship, my life and my death are for the sake of Allah, the Lord of all the worlds. He has no partner, and I have been commanded [to follow] this [creed], and I am the first of the Muslims.’” The Prophet emphasized his submission to the divine orders by saying this.
Therefore, it is clear that in all of the verses in which the word Muslim has been used, it is referring to its literal definition which means ‘submission and humility in the presence of Allah.’ However, one question still remains which is why does the Quran consider the Prophet to be the first Muslim while acknowledging the fact that others were Muslims before him.
Assessment of the context of «اول المسلمین» in verse 163 of Surah al-Anaam
As mentioned in the second explanation, one can be first in different respects. Therefore, one must assess the meaning of the phrase «اول المسلمین» and from which aspect the Prophet considered himself the first of the Muslims. From an initial glance, one understands from this verse that the Prophet considered himself to be the first Muslim in history, but then it is clarified that this understanding is incorrect and what is meant by the phrase «اول المسلمین» is that he was the best and greatest Muslim.
First statement
Another verse may be able to help us understand in which context the phrase «اول المسلمین» was used. In verse 12 of Surah al-Zumar, Allah orders the Prophet to be the foremost Muslim. It is mentioned in this verse quoting the Prophet: “And I have been commanded to be the foremost of those who submit to Him.” Allah will only order for something to be done if it is possible. It is impossible for the Prophet to be the first person in history to be humble and submissive as there were others before him who were the same, and therefore this was not Allah’s intention. However, it is possible for him to be the best of those who were submissive in Allah’s presence. Therefore, «اول المسلمین» in this verse means the best or foremost in quality. With due attention to this verse, it is clear that the phrase «اول المسلمین» in verse 163 of Surah al-Anaam refers to this same meaning. In reality, this verse of Surah al-Anaam mentions that the Prophet performed what Allah had ordered him to do, and in verse 12 of Surah al-Zumar is says that he was the foremost and greatest person who submitted in the presence of Allah.
Second statement
It is clear that before the final Prophet, there were other people who were submissive and humble in the presence of their Lord. Therefore, with due attention to the falsehood of this claim, no one who hears these words of the Prophet will take it as being that he was the first in history to submit; rather they will understand that he was more humble and submissive than the others in Allah’s presence. [2]
Conclusion
With due attention to that which has been mentioned, there is no contradiction between the phrase «اول المسلمین» - the first of the Muslims being used for the Prophet, and the fact that other people were Muslims before him. There would only be a contradiction if verse 163 of Surah al-Anaam mentioned that the Prophet was the first of the Muslims over the entire course of history; but as we mentioned, this verse means that the Prophet was the best of those who submitted to Allah since the beginning of time.
Common example
For example, a student says, “I am the first student of this school.” No one will understand from this phrase ‘the first student’ that he was actually the first student in the history of the school because he is in the first grade and the students in higher classes were there before him. Therefore, his friends understand from his words that he means that he is the best student in the school.