Among the clearest proofs of this is the statement of Khadijah — may Allah be pleased with her — to the Prophet ﷺ: “You unfailingly maintain the ties of kinship, speak the truth, honour the guest, bear the burdens of the weak, provide for those who have nothing, and assist people whenever a just cause befalls them.” He performed all of these deeds simply because he loved them; such conduct was woven into his very nature. Khadijah therefore understood that souls innately disposed to love and practise praiseworthy actions will not be left by Allah to fall into their opposites, the blameworthy actions. Hence, when he told her, “I fear for myself,” she replied, “By Allah, never! Allah will never disgrace you,” and so on — the hadith is recorded in the two Sahihs.

Scholars have differed about prophethood: is it nothing more than Allah’s informing His servant, or does it rest upon qualities of perfection found in the person? They also disputed whether prophethood is merely the fact that the divine Lawgiver’s address becomes attached to someone, or whether it necessarily presupposes distinguishing qualities in that person — while still requiring a divine address or revelation.

For this reason, prophethood is described as having parts. The Prophet ﷺ said: “Sound guidance, a dignified bearing, and moderation are one part out of twenty-five parts of prophethood.” This was reported by the compilers of the Sunan and concerns practical conduct. Concerning knowledge he said: “A true dream is one part out of forty-six parts of prophethood.” He also said: “Three traits belong to the character of the messengers …”