Embracing the Equality of Prophets
📖Sahih al-Bukhari 4630
Narrated Ibn `Abbas: The Prophet ﷺ said, “Nobody has the right to say that I am better than Jonah bin Matta.”
Explanation:
This hadith shows the humility of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and reinforces a foundational belief in Islam, that all Prophets are chosen by Allah and must be equally respected, When the Prophet ﷺ said “nobody has the right to say I am better”, he was making it clear that human beings are not allowed to compare the Prophets based on their own opinions or assumptions. Only Allah knows their true ranks and only He has the right to give preference.
Quranic Context:
📖Quran 2:285
“The Messenger has believed in what was revealed to him from his Lord, and [so have] the believers. All of them have believed in Allah, His angels, His books, and His messengers, [saying], ‘We make no distinction between any of His messengers.’”
This verse directly supports the hadith. We’re commanded to believe in all messengers equally and not claim one is better unless Allah said so.
📖Quran 4:152
“And those who believe in Allah and His messengers and make no distinction between any of them – to them He will give their rewards. And Allah is ever Forgiving and Merciful.”
Again, believers are praised for not distinguishing between the Prophets.
📖 Quran 17:55
“And We have preferred some of the prophets over others, and to David We gave the Psalms.”
Allah alone declares preference when He wills — not people. And even when Allah mentions preference, it’s about specific missions or miracles, not worth or honor in the human sense.
Conclusion:
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ did not deny that Allah may have preferred certain Prophets in certain roles. But he warned us never to use that to belittle another prophet, especially not Yunus, who was also beloved to Allah.
So, the core Islamic belief is:
- All Prophets are honored.
- We don’t say one is better than another unless Allah clearly said so.
- Respect and humility are part of faith, even towards those Allah chose before Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.