The Prophet's Divine Gift

Prophet Muhammad(saw) is said to
have received a two-fold
revelation. One, the knowledge of the Absolute Truth,
in his
heart and the other that is
embodied in the content of holy
Qur’an. While the Qur’an was
conferred the status of the Holy
Book to govern the conduct of the Muslims, the
transmission of
knowledge of the Absolute Truth
in the heart of Prophet
Muhammad was meant only for a
few, from heart-to-heart,
through the line of succession i.e. from the Master to
the disciple
and so on. All the Sufi tariqats
(different Sufi Orders),
therefore, trace their origin in
Prophet Muhammad.
It is believed that a large number of prophets of God
preceded Prophet Muhammad. In
Islamic traditions, the number of
prophets is put at 124,000 and
that of messengers of God at
313. The early prophets were monotheists and they
brought
the message of the one true
God. They wished to reform the
society and opposed idolatry.
The pre-Islamic monotheists are
believed to exist widely amongst Arab tribes from
about the fifth
century AD. They did not believe
in idol worship and openly
disapproved of idolatry and
desired to restore the religion
of Abraham. They were the seekers of Truth, who
engaged
themselves in the search of
Truth and believed in the unity
of the Supreme Being. They laid
a lot of stress on one’s own
conduct; living a moral life; compassionate and
sympathetic
behaviour with others, especially
with those in need; on taking
care of widows and orphans and
helping the poor and sick. These
ideals had their influence on Islam and some of these
basic
concepts of Islam had already
started finding acceptance by
the learned and thoughtful
people. Some of the Prophet’s
companions including his relatives were also deeply
influenced by the sufi thoughts.