Requirements of the Time

In relation to the seal of prophecy of Muhammad (PBUH) and the universality of The Holy Quran, there have been many problems from the past till now and it seems that it will continue in future too. With regards to the subject, Baha’is propose the problem of “Requirements of the time”. They say:

The rules and laws issued by Islam cannot reply to the needs and necessities of the societies by the time relapse and it should be changed and God should send prophets in order to conform to these requirements and therefore the belief of Prophet Muhammad being The Seal of Prophets is not logical.

This question is not a new question by any chance. It has been asked and answered numerous times. In brief, the following notes need to be considered.

1. Time requirements are not unique in nature. In fact, various people have different needs and if something is ideal for someone, it is maybe against another person’s will. Also God should send millions, or it better to say unlimited, prophets (for every living person).

2. In the history of Bab and Bahá’u\'lláh we see that in a short time after Bab (12 years later) Hussein Ali (Bahá’u\'lláh) has appeared. In fact, according to their idea in a short time of 12 years the needs of the society had been changed but in a long time before Bab (1200 years), or after Hussein Ali till now, there is no alteration in the needs of the human being society!

3. It should be asked that the criteria of the requirements of the people are diagnosed by whom? God or the people?

If the latter is the answer, then God is obliged to fulfill the needs of people and in fact he is under the order of his creatures. But if he is the grand Lord of the universe and is wise and aware, then he knows when and how the messengers should be sent. In this regard Muslims believe that God has announced the seal of prophecy by Muhammad (PBUH).

4. Generally, if the law is to be changed, it should be done by the legislator not by the people who are under the rules of the law, i.e. if a new prophet is to be sent, God (the legislator) is to make that decision, not the people. For instance, when a rule is issued by parliament, it is not because a thousand of people are protesting, it is because parliament members think that decision is right to be made, meaning the logic is the reason, not the sum of people.

Eventually it could be said that the question of time requirements needs more thought and more evidence to be justified.

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