Title: Itmam alhujjah of the Prophets Question/Comments: What are the various levels of itmam alhujjah of the prophet or messenger? Dr M Asif Answer: It is beyond the comprehension of human beings to try to objectively categorize the various 'levels' of Itmaam al-Hujjah . It is, for this reason, that the decisions relating to Itmaam al-Hujjah , whether in the life of this world or in the hereafter, are taken solely by the Almighty, with His absolute knowledge and justice. What should suffice for us is that, according to the Qur'an, the deliverance of the message through a Messenger ( Rasu'l ) of God, as per the Divine law, is targeted to achieve that level of Itmaam al-Hujjah , after which the rejecters among the addressees of that messenger, deserve no mercy and are, therefore, subjected to the severe punishment of the Almighty. Thus, the target of raising a messenger among a people is not only to deliver God's message to those people, but is to remove all excuse of rejection for those people. When this target is achieved, the rejecters among these people are consequently subjected to a severe punishment by God. In contrast to the dual target in raising a messenger among a people, the target in raising a prophet is restricted to the delivering and reminding those people of the path of God. In the case of prophets, Itmaam al-Hujjah for these people is not targeted. The messengers of God, in this particular sense, are a sign of God's justice on the Day of Judgment, while the prophets are a sign of God's mercy of guiding man to the path of His liking. I hope this helps. Regards, Moiz Amjad December 10, 2001