Israelite Prophets Conducting Politics

 بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

الصلاة والسلام عليك يا سيدى يا رسول الله وعلى آلك واصحابك يا سيدى يا نور الله

In the Name of Allah, the Rahman, the Merciful

Prayers and peace be upon you, my Master, Apostle of Allah

And upon your Family and Companions, my Master, Light of Allah

كَانَتْ بَنُو إِسْرَائِيلَ تَسُوسُهُمُ الأَنْبِيَاءُ كُلَّمَا هَلَكَ نَبِيٌّ خَلَفَهُ نَبِيٌّ

The Holy Prophet Muhammad, sall Allahu alaihi wasallam, said: “The Prophets used to conduct the politics of the Children of Israel. Every time a Prophet died he was succeeded by (another) Prophet.”

I previously explained that this Hadith does not necessitate that the Israelite Prophets were the official rulers of the nation, but that they were certainly active in what we would term political affairs. In other words, the Israelite Prophets counselled the actual rulers and kings of Israel and Judah on various political matters. Here I shall examine the role of several Israelite Prophets in the politics of their nation to derive some guidance and moral lessons for the Muslims today.

Prophet Samuel

The great Prophet Samuel, peace be upon him, was not himself the ruler of Israel but through him Allah selected Talut (Saul) to reign as King over the nation:

وَقَالَ لَہُمۡ نَبِیُّہُمۡ اِنَّ اللّٰہَ قَدۡ بَعَثَ لَکُمۡ طَالُوۡتَ مَلِکًا

Their Prophet (Samuel) said to them: “Verily, Allah has appointed for you Talut (Saul) as King”

(Surah 2, Ayah 247)

After King Saul, Allah Most High appointed another King to replace him, namely, David, peace be upon him. The latter was also a Prophet to whom the Zabur (Psalms) were revealed as a Scripture. His appointment as King was also announced through the agency of Prophet Samuel. The Prophet Samuel was raised in the Tabernacle when it was located at Shiloh. At that time Eli was the High Priest, but his sons were corrupt. Aside from being the High Priest Eli was also the Judge, meaning he was the leader of the nation. The sons of Eli (Hophni and Phineas) were men of corruption. They would take the choice offerings and meats from the sacrifices of the people meant for God for themselves, and it is said they would commit adultery with the ladies serving at the entrance of the Tabernacle. The High Priest Eli was at fault for not strictly rebuking his sons despite knowing of their corruption and for not doing enough to prevent such wickedness. It is mentioned that prior to Samuel being commissioned with Prophesy another Prophet came to Eli and rebuked him. This unnamed Prophet prophesied thus to Eli: “Wherefore the Lord God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the Lord saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. Behold, the days come, that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father's house, that there shall not be an old man in thine house. And thou shalt see an enemy in my habitation, in all the wealth which God shall give Israel: and there shall not be an old man in thine house for ever. And the man of thine, whom I shall not cut off from mine altar, shall be to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thine heart: and all the increase of thine house shall die in the flower of their age. And this shall be a sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas; in one day they shall die both of them. And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in mine heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed for ever” (1 Samuel 2:30-35). The prophesy is significant in that it makes clear that the Priestly Covenant mentioned in the Torah, despite being described as everlasting therein, is in fact not everlasting but that God has decided to cut it off and replace it with a “faithful priest” with a “sure house”. I interpret this as a prophecy of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, and his Ummah which has superseded the priestly authority and function that existed in ancient Israel. Some Christians argue that the “faithful priest” is none other than Jesus, peace be upon him. However, that is impossible since the “faithful priest” is juxtaposed to and therefore a distinct person from the “anointed” meaning the Messiah. The Prophet Samuel is also said to have rebuked King Saul for not following divine instructions to the tee, and said to him: “Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams” (1 Samuel 15:22)

In summary, the Prophet Samuel was the moral compass of the nation. He was raised up by God to rebuke the corruption within the priestly family of Eli, and to appoint a king, first Saul then David, to rule over Israel so that they would be in a position to wage holy war against the idolatrous nations in their midst. As Prophet he was in a position to admonish the kings he appointed for their errors and to remind them about the importance of obedience to God. It is noteworthy that God did not appoint Samuel himself to rule as king over Israel, which indicates that Prophesy is not synonymous with political rule, though it is possible for a Prophet to occupy a political or administrative office, including wearing the crown, but that is a capacity that is in addition to his prophetic one.

Prophet Nathan

According to the Bible, Nathan, peace be upon him, was a Prophet who appeared after Samuel in the time of King David and counselled him. Nathan prophesied to King David, peace be upon him, “Go, do all that is in thine heart; for the Lord is with thee” (2 Samuel 7:3). David himself was a Prophet, and God spoke to him through divine revelation, even revealing a Scripture (the Psalms) to him. But God also communicated his message and instructions to King David through the agency of the Prophet Nathan. The concurrent multiplicity of Prophets is a powerful divine Sign which demonstrates the Oneness of God Who communicates to the people a singular will and message without any conflict or contradiction via multiple individuals. The lack of conflict or discrepancy between such Prophets who are living in the world simultaneously demonstrates that they are not fabricators but each inspired through the same source.

One of King David’s sons, Adonijah, proclaimed himself king, but God had appointed Solomon to be the next king after David, peace be upon them both, as confirmed by David himself and reconfirmed through the agency of Prophet Nathan (1 Kings 1:13). Both Nathan the Prophet and Zadok the righteous High Priest opposed Adonijah’s kingship. They were instrumental in placing Solomon upon the throne and anointing him as king to reign over the nation. So while Adonijah attempted to usurp the throne he was ultimately unsuccessful and surrendered his claim as soon as King Solomon was established upon it. This fact is a refutation of the Shi’ites who claim that the divine right of Mawla Ali, radi Allahu anhu, was usurped by the Prophet’s first three Successors, radi Allahu anhum. For if Allah has divinely appointed someone to reign it is impossible that anyone should be successful in usurping that divinely appointed individual’s right to govern, or that the divinely appointed individual does not end up reigning at all. According to Chronicles, Nathan was also given a Scripture, although it and several others are not found in the Bible: “Now the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer” (1 Chronicles 29:29), “Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, are they not written in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer against Jeroboam the son of Nebat?” (2 Chronicles 9:29).

Prophet Ahijah

After the death of King Solomon, peace be upon him, the kingdom was divided between Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, who continued the reign of the House of David over the Kingdom of Judah with Jerusalem as the capital, and the breakaway Kingdom of Israel under Jeroboam in the north. God raised up the Prophet Ahijah the Shilonite (from the town of Shiloh) to prophesy concerning this division and the reason behind it: “And it came to pass at that time when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him in the way; and he had clad himself with a new garment; and they two were alone in the field: And Ahijah caught the new garment that was on him, and rent it in twelve pieces: And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee: (But he shall have one tribe for my servant David's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel: Because that they have forsaken me, and have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in mine eyes, and to keep my statutes and my judgments, as did David his father. Howbeit I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand: but I will make him prince all the days of his life for David my servant's sake, whom I chose, because he kept my commandments and my statutes: But I will take the kingdom out of his son's hand, and will give it unto thee, even ten tribes. And unto his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a light always before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen me to put my name there. And I will take thee, and thou shalt reign according to all that thy soul desireth, and shalt be king over Israel. And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken unto all that I command thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do that is right in my sight, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did; that I will be with thee, and build thee a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel unto thee. And I will for this afflict the seed of David, but not for ever (1 Kings 1:29-39). The prophesy of Ahijah makes plain that division has occurred in the Kingdom of Israel as a consequence of their sin of idolatry and failure to strictly adhere to the divine commandments. Although Ahijah did not technically anoint Jeroboam as king, and so it cannot be said that Jeroboam was divinely appointed to the throne, Ahijah did prophesy that Jeroboam would end up becoming king and ruling over ten of the twelve tribes. He symbolized this by rending his garment into twelve pieces and handing over ten of them to Jeroboam. God would only be with Jeroboam and establish a lasting house for him if he were to be faithful and righteous, which sadly he was not. This indicates that such covenants to establish a lasting house for an Israelite king were always conditional and never truly ended up being everlasting. The Davidic Covenant was surely broken by the Jews and many of the kings from the House of David that reigned after Solomon. That is why since Zedekiah there has not been a king from the House of David to reign over the Jews in these past twenty six centuries. Although God made Jeroboam king over the northern Kingdom of Israel, he was a wicked man of idolatry who had two golden calves constructed, one placed in Bethel and the other in Dan. When Allah says:

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ اتَّخَذُوا الْعِجْلَ سَيَنَالُهُمْ غَضَبٌ مِّن رَّبِّهِمْ وَذِلَّةٌ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا ۚ وَكَذَٰلِكَ نَجْزِي الْمُفْتَرِينَ

Those who took the calf, wrath from their Lord shall overtake them and abasement in the present life. And thus do We reward those who invent lies

(Surah 7, Ayah 152)

it is not only a reference to what some of the Israelites did during Moses’s absence while he was on Mount Sinai, but also to their constant relapse into worship of the golden calf for centuries after he had already passed away from this world. It is fascinating that when Jeroboam had the two golden calves constructed, he said about them exactly what the rebellious Israelites said at the foot of Mount Sinai when they had their own golden calf constructed: “Behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt” (1 Kings 12:28). So the Prophet Ahijah prophesied against Jeroboam, saying, “Go, tell Jeroboam, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Forasmuch as I exalted thee from among the people, and made thee prince over my people Israel, and rent the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it thee: and yet thou hast not been as my servant David, who kept my commandments, and who followed me with all his heart, to do that only which was right in mine eyes; but hast done evil above all that were before thee: for thou hast gone and made thee other gods, and molten images, to provoke me to anger, and hast cast me behind thy back: Therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away dung, till it be all gone. Him that dieth of Jeroboam in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat: for the Lord hath spoken it. Arise thou therefore, get thee to thine own house: and when thy feet enter into the city, the child shall die. And all Israel shall mourn for him, and bury him: for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found some good thing toward the Lord God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam. Moreover the Lord shall raise him up a king over Israel, who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam that day: but what? even now. For the Lord shall smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water, and he shall root up Israel out of this good land, which he gave to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the river, because they have made their groves, provoking the Lord to anger. And he shall give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who did sin, and who made Israel to sin (1 Kings 14:7-16). This prophecy was fulfilled to the letter, not only did Jeroboam’s sick son Abijah die, though Jeroboam had sent his wife to plead with Prophet Ahijah to intercede on behalf of their son, but Jeroboam lost the war against King Abijah of Judah, and after Jeroboam died he was succeeded by his son Nadab who reigned for only two years before he and the entire House of Jeroboam was exterminated by Baasha. And this prophecy was also an early prediction about the fate that would eventually befall the Northern Kingdom within two centuries, namely, the Assyrian captivity. Incidentally, when Ahijah made this prophesy against the House of Jeroboam and the Northern Kingdom of Israel, he is described as an elderly man whose eyesight was gone (1 Kings 14:4). Likewise, Prophet Samuel was described as an old man covered with a mantle (1 Samuel 28:14).

Prophet Shemaiah

After the rise of both Rehoboam and Jeroboam there was a danger of civil war in Israel. God raised up the Prophet Shemaiah to prevent such a conflict, saying, “Speak unto Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and unto all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the remnant of the people, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel: return every man to his house; for this thing is from me. They hearkened therefore to the word of the Lord, and returned to depart, according to the word of the Lord” (1 Kings 12:23-24). Here we see that from among the prophetic activity of the Prophets is to deliver instructions from God concerning wars and geopolitics. As Prophet Ahijah operated in the Northern Kingdom prophesying against Jeroboam, Shemaiah was operating in the Southern Kingdom of Judah, prophesying against Rehoboam. When the Egyptian Pharaoh Shoshenq I (known as Shishak in the Bible) invaded the Holy Land and engaged in much plunder and destruction, the Prophet Shemaiah explained that it was a consequence of Rehoboam’s forsaking of the divine law, “Thus saith the Lord, Ye have forsaken me, and therefore have I also left you in the hand of Shishak” (2 Chronicles 12:5). But when this attack by the Egyptian Pharaoh caused Rehoboam and his princes to humble themselves and repent God revealed through Prophet Shemaiah that He would grant them some reprieve and they would not be totally destroyed. The prophetic activity of Shemaiah demonstrates that Prophets often prophesy of doom and destruction for the people in covenant with God if they break that covenant or fall short of it, usually at the hands of a foreign power.

Prophet Hanani

He was a Prophet in the time of King Asa of Judah. King Asa made a pact with Benhadad, king of Syria, to repel Baasha of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, who was making incursions into the land of Judah. God raised up Hanani to rebuke this, saying, “Because thou hast relied on the king of Syria, and not relied on the Lord thy God, therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of thine hand.

Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubims a huge host, with very many chariots and horsemen? yet, because thou didst rely on the Lord, he delivered them into thine hand. For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars” (2 Chronicles 16:7-9). The prophesying of Hanani the Seer against King Asa is significant in that it reveals that ultimately relying on foreign nations, especially ones that are idolatrous, rather than seeking God and divine favor through obedience and righteousness is self-defeating. Reliance on foreign powers rather than God may only deliver some fleeting, temporary benefit. It is a lesson for nations like Pakistan which today is relying on the evil nation of China for protection against its hostile neighbor India. If the nation of Pakistan including its ruling class were to turn back to Allah and sincerely devote their hearts to Him alone they would surely be granted power over their mortal enemy without having to be dependent upon and ultimately a slave of the Chinese or the Americans.

As a consequence of Hanani rebuking King Asa, the latter had the former thrown in prison. This is yet another example of how the Israelites and Jews oppressed their own Prophets, and how those Prophets had to suffer in this world for prophesying and preaching the truth. All those who follow in the footsteps of the Prophets will also face similar hardships for the sake of Allah, usually at the hands of the corrupt and tyrannical governments.

Prophet Jehu

He was the son of Hanani and a Prophet like his father. God raised him up to prophesy against the evil King Baasha, “Forasmuch as I exalted thee out of the dust, and made thee prince over my people Israel; and thou hast walked in the way of Jeroboam, and hast made my people Israel to sin, to provoke me to anger with their sins; Behold, I will take away the posterity of Baasha, and the posterity of his house; and will make thy house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat. Him that dieth of Baasha in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth of his in the fields shall the fowls of the air eat” (1 Kings 16:2-4). This prophecy was fulfilled through Zimri, who killed Baasha’s son and successor called Elah and exterminated the entire House of Baasha. This was similar to how Baasha himself had Nadab killed and wiped out the entire House of Jeroboam in accordance to the prophecy of Ahijah. Like Nadab, Elah reigned for only two years before he was overthrown by a captain of his own army, through whom another dynasty was established for a time. We Muslims can understand from this that Allah was wroth with the Umayyads and caused them to be uprooted and their entire house nearly eradicated at the hands of the Abbasids. The Prophet Jehu also received revelation concerning King Jehoshaphat of Judah, an otherwise righteous king. Jehoshaphat had entered into an alliance with the wicked King Ahab against the Syrians. The Prophet Micaiah had prophesied defeat and destruction for Ahab if he engaged in this war but he did not pay heed and was killed in the Battle of Ramoth-Gilead. Although King Jehoshaphat survived this battle, the Prophet Jehu said to him upon his return to Jerusalem, “Shouldest thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the Lord? therefore is wrath upon thee from before the Lord. Nevertheless there are good things found in thee, in that thou hast taken away the groves out of the land, and hast prepared thine heart to seek God” (2 Chronicles 19:2-3). It is said that Prophet Jehu was also given a Scripture, though this Scripture is not contained in the Bible we have today: “Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Jehu the son of Hanani, who is mentioned in the book of the kings of Israel” (2 Chronicles 20:34).

Prophet Micaiah

I already mentioned that Prophet Micaiah son of Imlah warned King Ahab against engaging in war against the Syrians, “I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd: and the Lord said, These have no master: let them return every man to his house in peace...Hear thou therefore the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left. And the Lord said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner. And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the Lord, and said, I will persuade him. And the Lord said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so. Now therefore, behold, the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil concerning thee” (1 Kings 22:17,19-23). And this episode about a “lying spirit” sent by God to instigate Ahab is a testament to the Ayah:

وَیَمۡکُرُوۡنَ وَیَمۡکُرُ اللّٰہُ ؕ وَاللّٰہُ خَیۡرُ الۡمٰکِرِیۡنَ

And they devised and Allah devised, and Allah is the best of planners

(Surah 8, Ayah 30)

It is mentioned that after Prophet Micaiah revealed his vision to Ahab and his assembly, the false prophet Zedekiah son of Chenaanah, struck him on the face. Furthermore, Ahab had Prophet Micaiah imprisoned under harsh conditions including afflicting him with extreme hunger and thirst. Nonetheless, Prophet Micaiah was steadfast, saying, “If thou [Ahab] return at all in peace, the Lord hath not spoken by me. And he said, Hearken, O people, every one of you” (1 Kings 22:28).

So here I have written about some of those Prophets regarding whom the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said that they conducted the politics of the children of Israel. Although their prophetic activity was indeed concerning political matters relating to the game of thrones and wars, these great Prophets were motivated by a zeal for Allah. Although Prophesy has been sealed after the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, the institution of Sainthood persists. The Saints of this Ummah follow in the footsteps of the Israelite Prophets in preaching against moral corruption and rebuking the rulers when they stray from what is expected of them by Allah Most High. It is these Saints and Believers who speak with the prophetic voice who are then truly the Caliphs of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.