Did the Arabs receive earlier messengers?
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Peace,
One of the foundations of traditional doctrine is that the people (let's call them Arabs) who the prophet was sent to had not received any warners or messengers before him.
The predominating view is that the Arabs as a race had not received anyone prior to this.
However I want to challenge that view based on the following verses...
3444 We did not give them any scripture to study, nor sent any warner before you.
3445 Those before them had also denied, and they could not reach a tenth of (the possibilities) We had given them, and still they called My apostles liars. How great was the change that I wrought in their condition then!
Who does 3444 refer to? Does it refer to the community of the prophet or does it refer to the race of people as a whole ie. the people living at the time in that community or every person born in that race?
3444 in isolation may support the wrong predominant idea.
Looking at the following verse we see that the people before the current cohort had received apostles and had denied them. I think this clearly means that the people living at the time had not received a warner but that previous generations had in fact received their own warner.
This is consistent with the other verse that supports this understanding...
- To every community We have sent an apostle. (saying "Worship God, and keep away from all other deities." Thus some of them were guided by God, and ruin was justified on some. Travel over the earth and see what befell those who accused (the apostles) of lies.
EVERY community gets a messenger.
The only reasonable conclusion is that the Arabs as a race had received warners and messengers prior to the prophet.
Regards.
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Salaams truth,
you have studied this , so can you say whether the addition of a single member makes a community into a new community, after the death of a messenger?
Salaams.