We believe in God, the prophets and the Holy Qur’an. Why would we need another messenger?

Because a book and belief in a prophet of the past cannot by themselves halt decline. The message is perfect, yet people drift away from it. That is why the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) himself foretold a Messiah and Mahdi who would renew faith from within his own community.

The question sounds reasonable. If someone believes in God, the prophets and the books and does good, what could still be missing? Yet a look at history shows something else. The Holy Qur’an today is the same as fourteen centuries ago, and all Muslims honour the same Prophet. Even so, many Muslims of today hardly resemble the first believers. Put the two pictures side by side and one might think they belonged to different religions.

What has changed? Not the book, and not belief in the Prophet. The difference was that the Holy Prophet (saw) himself lived among the people. The first verse above describes what a messenger does. He recites God’s signs, he teaches, and above all he purifies people through his living example. A book alone cannot do that. It takes a human being through whom others experience nearness to God once more.

Some say religion has been perfected, so no one else is needed. But what has been perfected is the message, not people’s conduct. When they turn away from the perfect message, renewal from God is needed. That is why the Holy Prophet (saw) himself foretold the coming of a Messiah and a Mahdi, as the hadith above shows. The second verse above likewise speaks of later people whom his work was yet to reach.

Nor can any scholar, by his own strength, reconcile the divided groups within Islam. Only someone who comes with God’s mandate can do that. The third verse above promises exactly this. God strengthens faith through people He Himself chooses. Such a messenger brings no new faith. He leads people back to what was revealed long ago.