Risala

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For other uses, see Risala (disambiguation).
Risāla means "message" in Arabic. It is also an Islamic term that has a broader meaning.

Islamic term[edit]

The Message (Arabic ar-Risāla) is sometimes a way to refer to Islam. In the Islamic context, ar-Risāla means scriptures revealed from God through a Messenger (Arabicar-Rasūl) to the people. These messengers bring laws to their communities so as to guide them towards the straight path of God. They can be social laws, state laws or any other kind of laws.
To understand this concept better, it is important to know how Muslims look at the different terminologies of Messenger, Prophet, Imam, Guardian and Wise man.
This is also the title of a popular work of Fiqh for the Maliki school of thought written by Ibn Abi Zayd of al-Qayrawan. This work was the source text for many later works of Islamic Law and for one of the first Islamic texts the Bilali Document written in the United States written by Bilali Muhammad, a slave in Georgia, originally from Timbo, Guinea.

Messengers[edit]

The Messengers are those prophets in the Islamic context, who have been given a Revelation. Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus and Muhammad are the well known messengers in Islam.

Prophets[edit]

Prophets (Arabic an-Anbīya) are the link of humanity to God through the Angels. They have specific functions according to the need of the time.

Imāms[edit]

Imāms are guides and leaders. Those who are not prophets are mostly Awsiyā "Guardians" of the Message of a Messenger as in Shi'a Islam.

Guardians[edit]

Guardians Awsiyā are protectors of the message or the nation such as Joshua and Yasaʻ (Elisha) and Imāms for the Shīʻa. They may or may not be prophets.

Wisemen[edit]

A wise man (Arabic Ħakīm) is someone who has been educated by God's messages. There is a unique example in the Qur'an: Luqmān. He attained a high degree of wisdom.

The relationship to Angels[edit]

Angels are the message carriers between God and His people. They are strongly connected to prophets and messengers, as well as miracles. They can appear to non-prophets such as Maryam, Sara and Luqmān.
There are numerous Muslim accounts in which the angels appeared before the Sahāba "Companions" and the Ahl al-Bayt "Family Members" of Muhammad.
On Laylat-ul-Qadr, Muslims believe that angels might appear to some pious people.

Books[edit]

Al-Risala by Imam Ash-Shafi'i Ar-Risala by Imam Ibn Abi Zayd Al Qayrawani

External links[edit]