I profess thatMuhammadis the slave and messenger ofAllahand I confirm my conviction aboutMuhammadand the prophets before him, mayAllahraise their ranks, as profoundly elucidated in theMutamimah of Ibn ^Asakir:
Know, mayAllahbe merciful to you by guiding you to the acceptable deeds, that our MasterMuhammad, the son of^Abdullah, the son of^Abdul Muttalib, the son ofHashim, the son of^Abdu Manaf, the son ofQusayy, the son ofKilab, the son ofMurrah, the son ofKa^b, the son ofLu’ayy, the son ofGhalib, the son ofFihr, the son ofMalik, the son ofan‑Nadr, the son ofKinanah, the son ofKhuzaymah, the son ofMudrikah, the son ofIlyas, the son ofMudar, the son ofNizar, the son ofMa^add, the son of^Adnan—is the slave ofAllah, His Messenger, His Prophet, and HisKhalil.
He is the best of the entire creation, and the leader of his followers who will have shining faces and illuminated upper arms and lower legs on the Day of Judgment. His Lord sent him to the humans andjinnas a luminous lantern—giving good tidings and warnings, and calling to worshipAllahby His Will.
He received the Revelation through the entrustedJibrilwho is the head of the honored angels.Allahcreated them from light. Obedience is inherent in them, andAllahgave them the strength to obey. They do not sleep and they do not get tired. They do not eat or drink. They do not disobeyAllah, but rather they perform all whatAllahordered them to do.
His Book is the WiseDhikr.[1] His laws are straight, truthful, and easy. His nation is the best of the nations. No human has a higher status than his, and no creature can attain his status.
He is the last of the Prophets and their leader, the most knowledgeable among them and the highest in status, the most articulate and the strongest, the most beautiful, brave, courageous, and generous. He had the most signs among them and the most outstanding miracles.
All the prophets were people of merit and patience, belief and certainty, truthfulness and religiosity, chastity and impeccability, intelligence and brilliance, trustworthiness; and conveyance of the Message. The prophets were numerous—the first of them wasAdam, peace be upon him, who was created from clay as an unimpaired human in the best of forms. After him among his progeny are:Shith,Idriss,Nuh,Hud,Salih,Shu^ayb,Ibrahim,Lut,Isma^il,Ishaq,Ya^qub,Yusuf,Musa,Harun,Yusha^,Yunus,Ayyub,Dhu-l-Kifl,Ilyas,al-Yasa^,Dawud,Sulayman,Zakariyya,Yahya,^Isa,al‑Khadir, and many others.
Their religion is one—Islam. They are the best ofAllah’screations. They are alive, praying in their graves. They areal‑wasilah, they intercede on the Day of Judgment, and the intercession of our prophet is the greatest.
The summation of all what was mentioned is included in thehadithof the Messenger ofAllah,sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam:
<< الإيمان أن تؤمن بالله وملائكته وكتبه ورسله واليوم الاخر والقدر خيره وشره >>
<<The belief is to believe inAllah, His Angels, His Books, His Messengers, the Day of Judgment, and destiny—what is good and what is evil.>>Thishadithissahih, related byMuslim.
[1]Dhikr here refers to the ayahs of the Qur’an.