“A messenger is one whom Allah sends with a renewed law, calling people to it; while the term prophet encompasses both him and one sent to affirm a prior law, such as the prophets of the Children of Israel who came between Moses and Jesus, peace be upon them. This is why the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, likened the scholars of his community to them.” He is alluding to the hadith, “The scholars of my community are like the prophets of the Children of Israel,” but it has no basis, as explicitly stated by al-Hafiz al-Asqalani, al-Sakhawi, and others.

They also raised objections to the definition he mentioned, the substance of which is that the correct course is to omit the word “renewed” from it, as should likewise be done with the word “Book” in al-Zamakhshari’s definition. For Ishmael, peace be upon him, had neither a Book nor a renewed law; rather, he followed the law of Abraham, peace be upon him. Yet Allah, Exalted is He, describes him in the Quran, saying:

“Indeed, he was true to his promise, and he was a messenger and a prophet.”

Thus, the definition remains: a prophet is one sent to affirm a prior law, while a messenger is one whom Allah sends with a law to which he calls people, whether it is new or pre-existing. And Allah knows best.

2669 — “No Muslim performs any one of these qualities except that it takes him by the hand until it admits him to Paradise.”

Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Kabir (1/82/2): Hafs ibn Umar ibn al-Sabah al-Raqqi narrated to us; Abu Hudhayfah Musa ibn Masud informed us; Ikrimah ibn Ammar informed us, from Abu Zumayl, from Malik ibn Marthad, from his father, who said: “Abu Dharr said: I said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, what saves a servant from the Fire?’ He said, ‘Faith in Allah.’ I said, ‘O Prophet of Allah, is there an action along with faith?’ He said, ‘He gives from what Allah has provided him.’ I said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, what if he is poor and has nothing to give?’ He said, ‘He enjoins what is right and forbids…’