indeed, muhammad bin abdullah, the prophet of islam, is loved for those qualities. he is loved all the more, and in an exceptional way, for another unique virtue, namely, his great love and high appreciation of those leaders of the human race who preceded him, namely, the previous prophets and messengers.

what makes this a virtue that merits deep, intense and unique love? historical and current events are evidence of a dark and evil tendency that has plagued humanity since it came into being and that still exists today. it is the tendency toward mutual enmity, hatred, envy, rejection and disdain among people of equal status.

of this predisposition for envy and ingratitude, the prophet of islam was completely free. he was completely disassociated from it. but how?

the previous prophets and messengers were similar to prophet muhammad in almost every way: in having been chosen by god, having received divine revelations, having delivered divine messages, and having been blessed with an immaculate moral character.

prophet muhammad gave a beautiful and highly impressive picture of celebration and appreciation of the prophets and messengers who preceded him. he loved and cherished them all, rejoicing for the past existence on this planet of every messenger who spoke of truth,goodness, and beauty. he believed in every scripture revealed by god to one of his messengers and spoke of the perfect qualities of every preceding messenger.

it is true that the moral standards of prophets are of such sublimity and magnitude that they cannot be equaled by any human being except one chosen and inspired by god. yet, to have the names of abraham, moses, and jesus mentioned in the very scripture revealed to muhammad many more times than his own name is something unprecedented, unusual and most impressive in the realm of divine legislation, ethics and human relationships.

in the qur’an the name of abraham is mentioned forty-eight times; the name of moses, 136 times; the name of jesus, thirty-six times; while the name of muhammad is mentioned four times, and ahmad , once. thus, muhammad is mentioned by these two names a total of five times only.

the reader can himself calculate the proportions of these messengers’ mention in the qur’an and compare the number of times muhammad is mentioned with the number of times abraham, moses, and jesus are mentioned in the book revealed to muhammad.

this in itself is a scientific and ethical proof that the prophethood of muhammad is true and certain. no one could reach such a high level of fairness, objectivity and selflessness, giving his peers precedence over himself in profuse commendation, frequent mention and abundant praise – no one other than a true prophet conveying the truth in accordance with what was inspired to him and concealing none of it.

this impression that motivates love for muhammad is strengthened by other supporting facts that produce love for him as well. for example:

1. the fact that the qur’an, revealed by god to prophet muhammad, is the record that most precisely documents the biographies of other prophets and messengers, as well as the history of their scriptures, sources, messages, and missions of truth.

first, it is a record of the biographies of previous prophets and of their messages in general terms:

• «say, praise be to god, and peace upon his servants whom he has chosen.» (surah an-naml, 27:59)

• «god chooses from the angels messengers and from the people.» (surah al-hajj, 22:75)

• «and indeed they are, to us, among the chosen and outstanding.» (surah saad, 38:47)

• «and [we sent] messengers about whom we have related [their stories] to you before and messengers about whom we have not related to you.» (surah an-nisaa’, 4:164)

second, it is a record of the lives of previous prophets and their messages in detail. references to and accounts of prophets and messengers occur in various qur’anic contexts, such as those in surahs al-an`aam and maryam:

• «that was our [conclusive] argument which we gave abraham against his people. we raise by degrees whom we will. indeed, your lord is wise and knowing. and we gave to him [i.e., abraham] isaac and jacob – all [of them] we guided. and noah, we guided before; and among his descendants, david and solomon and job and joseph and moses and aaron. thus do we reward the doers of good. and zechariah and john and jesus and elias – and all were of the righteous. and ishmael and elisha and jonah and lot – and all [of them] we preferred over the worlds.» (surah al-an‘aam, 6:83-86)

• «and mention in the book [the story of] abraham. indeed, he was a man of truth and a prophet.» (surah maryam, 19:41)

• «and mention in the book, moses. indeed, he was chosen, and he was a messenger and a prophet. and we called him from the side of the mount at [his] right and brought him near, confiding [to him]. and we gave him out of our mercy his brother aaron as a prophet.»(surah maryam, 19:51-53)

• «and mention in the book, ishmael. indeed, he was true to his promise, and he was a messenger and a prophet. and he used to enjoin on his people prayer and zakah and was to his lord pleasing [i.e., accepted by him].» (surah maryam, 19:54-55)

• «and mention in the book, idrees. indeed, he was a man of truth and a prophet. and we raised him to a high station. those were the ones upon whom god bestowed favor from among the prophets of the descendants of adam and of those we carried [in the ship] with noah, and of the descendants of abraham and israel [i.e., jacob], and of those whom we guided and chose. when the verses of the most merciful were recited to them, they fell in prostration and weeping.» (surah maryam, 19:56-68)