"Their messengers said unto them, 'We are but human beings like yourselves, but God is gracious unto whomsoever He will among His servants. And it is not for us to bring you can authority, save by God's Leave; so in God let the believers trust."
Quran 14:11
We are reminded that the prophets are humans, as in this passage from the 14th surah, usually rendered as "Abraham." It seems like an obvious message, although also, clearly, a complex one. We've talked about this before. It's a difficult balancing act to recognize a prophet as being human and not accept the fact that therefore the message might not have been delivered perfectly. It's why I always focus on the overall, larger, more consistent messages of the faith as compared to a very specific admonition or rule. Granted, they are all supposed to be revelations from God, so, again, it is a delicate business to reconcile. Just as God is not an ATM, the Prophet was not a gramophone. He was an extraordinary, very human individual, trying the best he could to lead what may have been the complicated life in history. Many Muslims would consider the prophets to be infallible, but I don't know how one can reconcile that with the notion that they are "but human beings like yourselves." And I don't think it's insulting to believe that they may have made mistakes. Isn't part of the miracle the notion that they heroically, and often at the risk of their own lives, struggled with the ineffable.
Quran 14:11
We are reminded that the prophets are humans, as in this passage from the 14th surah, usually rendered as "Abraham." It seems like an obvious message, although also, clearly, a complex one. We've talked about this before. It's a difficult balancing act to recognize a prophet as being human and not accept the fact that therefore the message might not have been delivered perfectly. It's why I always focus on the overall, larger, more consistent messages of the faith as compared to a very specific admonition or rule. Granted, they are all supposed to be revelations from God, so, again, it is a delicate business to reconcile. Just as God is not an ATM, the Prophet was not a gramophone. He was an extraordinary, very human individual, trying the best he could to lead what may have been the complicated life in history. Many Muslims would consider the prophets to be infallible, but I don't know how one can reconcile that with the notion that they are "but human beings like yourselves." And I don't think it's insulting to believe that they may have made mistakes. Isn't part of the miracle the notion that they heroically, and often at the risk of their own lives, struggled with the ineffable.
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