There is no doubt that Muhammad, God’s final Messenger to mankind (peace be upon him), was the best man to have ever walked the earth. Had it not been so, God would not have made him the bearer of the message He has guaranteed to preserve intact for the rest of human life. This fact alone gives the Prophet a special status as his name will be associated with divine faith for the rest of human life. Yet the Prophet never lost sight of his human status and his position as one of God’s servants. This is clearly apparent in the way the Prophet looked at earlier prophets and messengers.
Umar ibn Al-Khattab quotes the Prophet as saying: “Do not give me an exalted status like the Christians do with Mary’s son. I am only a servant of God. Therefore refer to me as ‘God’s servant and messenger.’” (Related by Al-Bukhari, Ahmad, Al-Tirmidhi and Al-Darimi.) This Hadith gives us clear instructions as to how to describe Prophet Muhammad. Indeed Muslims have always heeded this. They refer to the Prophet in both these capacities, particularly in their prayers when they have to declare their unshakable faith in God’s oneness and the Prophet’s message. While no one in the history of mankind can aspire to the status of God’s messenger other than the few individuals God selected for the task, it is an honor for any one of us to acknowledge being God’s servant.
The Prophet was also keen to acknowledge the status of other prophets and messengers of God. Abu Hurayrah quotes the Prophet as saying: “Whoever says that I am better than Yunus ibn Matta is a liar.” (Related by Al-Bukhari and Al-Tirmidhi.) Yunus is the name given in the Qur’an of the Prophet Jonah, while Matta is an Arabicized form of Matthew. He is mentioned in the Qur’an as one of God’s messengers, but only very brief accounts are given of his history. By denying any privilege he might have had over Jonah, Prophet Muhammad stresses the equality of all God’s messengers.
Many were the instances when the Prophet emphasized this fact. This is in line with the Qur’anic instruction to all Muslims not to draw any distinction between God’s messengers. However, the Prophet also recognized the special status accorded to some of God’s messengers, such as Abraham, Moses and Jesus, as no doubt they had such a status. Anas ibn Malik reports: “A man came to the Prophet and addressed him as ‘the best of all mankind.’ The Prophet said to him: ‘That status belongs to Abraham.’” (Related by Muslim, Ahmad and Abu Dawood.)
In this last Hadith we have a clear manifestation of the Prophet’s humility. He was no doubt the best of all mankind, but he would not put himself above Abraham, as Abraham was the one whom God had blessed choosing all subsequent prophets and messengers from among his offspring. As the first of a long line of prophets, Abraham deserves a special rank, but we maintain that Muhammad himself was the best of mankind.
This acknowledgement of the positions and special status of earlier prophets, indicating a keen sense of humility on the part of the one chosen by God to bring the line of prophethood to its perfect completion, is carried a step further as Prophet Muhammad demonstrates his appreciation of the special privilege each of them had. We know for example that God responded to Prophet Solomon’s prayer when he requested to have a dominion that could belong to no one else in future. He appealed to God saying: “My Lord! Forgive me my sins, and bestow upon me the gift of a kingdom that shall belong to none after me. You are indeed the bountiful giver.” (38: 35) It was in answer to this prayer that God made the wind subservient to Solomon and gave him mastery over the jinn who would do his bidding at all times.
Consider the following Habit to see how Prophet Muhammad acknowledged Solomon’s position. Abu Hurayrah reports: “One spirit of the jinn ran loose yesterday to disrupt my prayers. God enabled me to overpower him. I held him and thought of tying him to one of the pillars in the mosque so that you could all look at him. But then I remembered my brother Solomon’s prayer when he said: ‘My Lord! Forgive me my sins, and bestow upon me the gift of a kingdom which shall belong to none after me.’ Therefore, I let him go in humiliation.” (Related by Al-Bukhari, Muslim and Ahmad.) It is a keen sense of respect for earlier prophets that made Muhammad unwilling to exercise authority over one jinnee in order not to encroach on Solomon’s special privileges.
This does not come as a surprise when we realize how the Prophet conducted himself when he was in company. He was always keen not to be apparently distinguished from his companions, not even in worship. Jabir reports: “God’s Messenger was once ill, and we joined him in prayer when, (weakened by his illness), he remained seated as he prayed. We were behind him and Abu Bakr raised his voice to let people here his glorification of God (i.e. the takbeer indicating movement). He looked at us and saw that we were standing. He signaled us and we all sat down, continuing our prayer seated as he did. When he finished the prayer, he told us: ‘You were about to do like the Byzantines and the Persians. They would stand up while their kings are seated. Do not do this, but do as your leaders do. If an imam prays standing, you also offer your prayer standing; but if he sits down while praying, you also should sit down.” (Related by Muslim, Ahmad, Abu Dawood, Al-Nassaie and Ibn Majah.)
The other point in this Hadith is the directive that in prayers, the congregation follows the leader, even when his illness prevents him from offering his prayer in the normal standing position.
There is no room in Islam for distinction on the basis of the position people hold in life. They are all equal before God. Hence, the apparent privilege that allows a leader to pray seated while others are standing is not allowed in Islam. They must all be in the same position.
