Bismillāh,
لَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا رُسُلَنَا بِٱلْبَيِّنَـٰتِ وَأَنزَلْنَا مَعَهُمُ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ وَٱلْمِيزَانَ لِيَقُومَ ٱلنَّاسُ بِٱلْقِسْطِ
Certainly, We sent Our apostles with manifest proofs, and We sent down with them the Book and the Balance, so that mankind may maintain justice.
(Sūrat al-Hashr, No. 57, Āyat 25)
There are many verses of the Holy Quran which refer to why Prophets were sent to humanity. In this reflection we focus on the first half of this verse which mentions
the mission of the Prophets, and inshāAllah, in a later reflection we will deal with the second half.
The tools given to the Prophets to achieve the objectives are three:
(1) Bayyināt: manifest signs and miracles which clearly showed that they were truthful in their claims and separated them from the many impostors. They were given convincing arguments which made it evident what the truth was as well as pointing out falsehood. Although in other theological schools, miracles may be used as evidence of the Divine, the religion of Islam in general and particularly, the school of Ahlul-Bayt (a) is very clear that miracles are solely to prove the veracity of the Prophets. Āyatullāh Makarem Shirazi expands the scope of the term and argues that the signs encompass not just the miracles of the Prophets but the rational proofs as well.
(2) Kitāb: the Book which contains all the teachings required for the guidance of man so that people may turn to it for enlightenment. Obviously, humans cannot be left to their own devices when it comes to determining truth and falsehood. They are dependent on revelation to set them right. Here, it is a reference to five books: the Book of Nūh, Ibrāhīm, Tawrāt, Injīl and the Quran.
(3) Mīzān: the Criterion of truth and falsehood which may precisely indicate, like a balance, the golden mean between extremes in matters of thought, morals
and dealings. We read in Tafsīr Ali ibn Ibrahim that the Mīzān is the Imam of his respective time. As a practical example of this, we find a narration in both Sunni and Shī‘ī collections with minor variations. In the version attributed to the Holy Prophet sallal-lāhu ‘alayhi wa-ālihi wasallam it states that the greatest struggle is for a person to speak the truth to a tyrant ruler. (Tirmidhī, H 2174). Similarly, we read in Nahjul Balāghah (Saying 374), Imam Ali ‘alayhis-salām whilst speaking about enjoining the good and forbidding the evil, states that the best of it is to speak a just word to a tyrant ruler. Not only was this what Imam al-Husayn ‘alayhis-salām and other Aimmah did in their respective times, but it is also the slogan of all those who stand for social justice today in speaking truth to power.
The goal for which the Prophets were sent with these three things was that man’s conduct in the world and the system of human life should be established with justice. Individually as well as collectively, there should be justice in the dealings of human beings with one another. The Prophet (s) got the chance to establish justice after his migration to Madinah where he had authority over the state apparatus. The society that he established there had rules for ensuring that justice was prevalent in society. Later, despite his clear instructions, his progeny was deprived of their rights. Yet they continued to strive and seek justice both in their personal lives as well as for the Muslim society and did not oppress anyone even though they were continually oppressed.
As we commemorate the days of the martyrdom of Imam al-Husayn (a), it is imperative to continue to reflect on his historic stand. One of the most important lessons we learn from him is establishing justice, something that was the responsibility of the Prophets. That is why we address him as the inheritor (wārith) of these noble Prophets in the ziyārah we read every Thursday evening.
May Allah allow us to reflect on the noble aims of Imam al-Husayn (a) and give us the opportunity to implement them in our own lives, as we continue to pray for the establishment of justice worldwide, especially in the occupied Palestine.
References: Sayyid Radhī, Nahjul Balāghah; Ali ibn Ibrahim Qummī, Tafsir al Qummī; Naser Makarem Shirazi, Al-Amthāl fī Tafsīr Kitāb Allah al-Munzal; ‘Allāmah Muhammad Husayn Tabātabā’ī, Tafsīr al-Mīzān; Abu Isa Muhammad Tirmidhi, Jāmi’ Tirmidhī.