nor do I rank anyone above Abraham after our Prophet. All the prophets who followed his religion, such as Moses, Jesus, and others, rank below him.” Likewise, all the other prophets of the Children of Israel rank below Moses. Muslims, Jews, and Christians agree that Moses is superior to the other prophets of the Children of Israel, apart from their disagreement concerning the Messiah.

The Quran attests in two verses to the distinction of the messengers of firm resolve. Allah says:

“And when We took from the prophets their covenant, and from you, and from Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus, son of Mary.”

And He says:

“He has ordained for you of religion what He enjoined upon Noah, and that which We have revealed to you, and what We enjoined upon Abraham, Moses, and Jesus.”

These five are the messengers of firm resolve. As established in the authentic hadiths concerning intercession, they refer the request to intercede for those gathered on the Day of Resurrection from one to another after Adam. They must therefore be regarded as superior to their descendants. This includes instances of an earlier person being superior to a later one, and of a later person being superior to an earlier one.

The fundamental error in this matter is to make chronological precedence or succession the basis for ranking prophets, saints, scholars, or rulers. This is a false principle. Sometimes superiority belongs to an earlier member of a given category, and sometimes to a later one. Thus, among those versed in grammar, medicine, and arithmetic, there are instances in which earlier figures—such as Ptolemy, Sībawayh, and Hippocrates—are superior, while in other instances the reverse is true.