Value, Position of Prophet in Muslim Society
This is according to Hani Chitchian, faculty member of the Quran and Etrat School of the University of Tehran, speaking in the 28th session in a series on Surah At-Tawbah. Following are excerpts from his remarks:
Verses 59 and 62 of this chapter says that believers should try to please God and His messenger: “Would that they had been pleased with what God and His Messenger had given them and had said, "God is All-Sufficient for us. God and His Messenger will soon do us more favors and we have hope in God's mercy (59) … They (hypocrites) swear by God in their effort to please you, but if they were true believers (they would know) that God and His Messenger deserve more to be pleased than anyone else. (62)”
If you are a believer, then God and the Holy Prophet (PBUH) must be pleased with you. Verse 59 is related to challenges over war trophies. War is not a means of trade but is just aimed at guidance. Meanwhile, there were some people whose comments would irritate the Prophet.
Verse 63 which reads “Do they not know that for displeasing God and His Messenger, one would be admitted to Hell wherein he would live forever. This indeed is a great humiliation” talks about enmity towards God and His Messenger. It implies that some individuals seek to wage an attack against God and the Prophet and their ultimate goal is to fight against God’s religion.
We do not consider Imam Mahdi (may God hasten his advent) as a prophet, rather, he will come to revive the position of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) because God’s messenger has a unique status. Naturally, the same enmities that had been waged against the Prophet will also be in place against the one who seeks to revive his position.
Meanwhile, when Imam Ali (AS) delivers sermons, he does not put himself in the position of the Prophet. Other Imams also do not put themselves in the position of Imam Ali. This shows that maintaining the positions is an important point that should also be taken into account by members of the community.
