Answer
Short Answer: Prophet Muhammad is significant for Muslims due to him being the last Prophet of God and the bearer of the last message – the Quran. He is also the best possible role model for Muslims to follow. His life has been recorded in detail.
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Thank you for your question. It has profound consequences as, God Willing, we shall see.
Allah tells us in the Quran:
“Muhammad is not the father of [any] one of your men, but [he is] the Messenger of Allah and Seal (last) of the prophets. And Allah is over all things, Knowing.” [Quran 33:40]
From the hadith Abu Huraira r.a. narrated:
My similitude to other prophets before me is of a man who built a house complete, except for a missing corner brick. people go about it and wonder at its beauty. They say: ‘Would that this brick be put in its place!’ So I am that brick, and I am the last of the Prophets.
The Role of the Prophets
Allah tells us in the Quran:
“Get you down all from here; and if, as is sure, there comes to you Guidance from me, whoever follows My guidance, on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.” [Quran 2:38]
In this last passage, Allah is sending Adam and Eve (Hawaa) and Shaitan to earth. At the same time, He is promising He will send Guidance (in the form of revelation to His chosen Prophets). All the Prophets came with a similar message, in essence, Believe in One God and follow my example. Muslims believe in all the Prophets of God, those we know and those we don’t know. As we saw in the first two references, the line of Prophets culminated with Muhammad pbuh.
But, the Quran also tells us:
“….Today, I have perfected your religion for you, and have completed My blessing upon you, and chosen Islam as your Dīn (way of life) ….”
Here, Allah is telling us; the religion (revelation) is complete and perfect. This means, no addition and no subtraction, It is final. Therefore, the revelation will come to an end with the demise of the Last Prophet – Muhammad pbuh.
The first two quotations substantiate this.
”There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allah an excellent pattern for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Last Day and [who] remembers Allah often.” [Quran 33:21]
Muslims believe that the Guidance as to how we should live our lives is in the Book of Guidance – The Quran. As we can see from the hadith, the life of Muhammad pbuh was the Quran lived in practice. It is the example we should all follow.
Role Model
In this day and age, we have role models. For a Muslim, the best role model is Prophet Muhammad pbuh. We know how he spent his day, and the prayers he said. How he maintained contact with Allah at all times. When he rose in the morning, he remembered Allah. Before and after eating, sleeping, leaving the house, and even before doing any action he would remember Allah. This, was because all his actions were according to good intentions. If he did make a minor mistake, this was corrected by Allah. This, by itself, confirms that all his other actions were acceptable.
The sunnah (the practice of the Prophet pbuh) is second only to the Quran in significance for a Muslim. The term sunnah as used in the hadith of the Prophet, and the words of the Companions and followers of the Prophet, indicates collective deeds. It involves every part of life; such as faith, worship, morality, and ethics.
May we learn to understand the Quran and iterate its teachings into our lives, following the practice of our beloved prophet pbuh, Ameen.
And Allah knows best.
I hope this helps.
Salam and please keep in touch.
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