Document Type : Short scientific article
Author
institution of social research and studies (ISR) https://isr.ut.ac.ir
10.22034/philor.2026.2078085.1547
Abstract
In Abrahamic religions, the connecting point between people and religion is the sacred text and prophethood. Prophets are the messengers of God's message and teachers of the sacred text, and are the spiritual and moral leaders of society towards salvation from materialism, the system, disbelief, polytheism, and the liberation of people from domination, oppression, and suppression, as well as guides towards a moral, civil, spiritual, and rational human society.
Therefore, the religious mission and social role of a prophet is also the propagation and teaching of religion to the masses ("people" in Quranic theology), and its objective realization takes place in the context of society. Prophethood is not a matter of prestige that is formed in a vacuum and abstract space, but rather, prophethood is a social role and religious mission that is formed in a complex drama (history, geography, society, culture, and civilization). The question for social studies of religion is how and when this connection (people-prophet-religion/people-prophet-sacred text) is formed in the context of history-culture-society? And what challenges are associated with it?
Therefore, in this article, we will address this issue-question from three specialized perspectives. 1- From the perspective of the social philosophy of religion , we will discuss the necessity of a prophet for society and the social importance of the "ummah" (a religious community of believers). 2- From the perspective of social theology we will explore the impact of belief and faith in God in the teachings of the prophets on social life and social man. 3- Finally, from the perspective of the sociology of religion (which is a historical-experimental, explanatory, interpretive, critical knowledge), we will examine the mechanism of propagating-teaching the teachings of the prophet in the context of society ,and its societal challenges - as a social issue of prophethood.
But the idea-hypothesis of the article that I will expand on is this: "In the historical context, the Abrahamic prophets and their successors have played a religious, social and revolutionary (overthrowing the tyrannical system of domination, oppression and suppression and establishing a human system of equity and justice) role to shape the moral, spiritual social life and the moral, spiritual social man. As a result, in this tortuous path of fulfilling their mission, they have faced various challenges - including: ideological conflict with the ideological cultural system of disbelief and polytheism; opposition to anti-monotheistic cultural traditions; conflict with the conservative clerical system in charge of non-monotheistic religion; struggle with the institution of temples of disbelief and polytheism. In the course of fulfilling the mission, the prophets take a position on the right side of history with the people (the audience and companions of the prophethood and the people of faith and religious practice) and on the wrong side of history (according to the Quran) the triangle of "mullah-mutafar-monks" (activists of the political, legal, economic, and cultural system) "A society that is against prophets, religion, and believers (the so-called class of gold, force, deceit, arrogance, tyranny, colonialism, and exploitation) is in place."
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