The scope is not vast enough to ponder about each of the ninety-nine names. Suffice to say that each of them contains an important truth about life, just as Allah is the ultimate Truth, and from these names derive the guiding principles of Islamic philosophy. The way Allah deals with us, His dependent creation, has a bearing on how we ought to treat each other and the rest of His creation. The link between Creator and created is a direct one that nobody can interfere with. The Creator knows his creatures, He is constantly aware of them, He attends to their needs and listens to their prayers. There is no need for special intermediaries, because He is approachable by everybody, and this equality in our relationship to Him liberates us from being subservient to anybody else, making humanity in the Islamic point of view a community of free people, irrespective of race, heritage, or status. For a Muslim, it is an honour to be a devoted slave of Allah, because his master is the Lord of all the worlds, and none can compete with him. This gives a Muslim his strength and dignity which no-one can take from him.

THE ROLE OF THE MESSENGER...

Whereas we need no intercessor lo present our prayers to Allah, who is All-Hearing, He is not of this world and does not speak to us directly. Instead of approaching each of His creatures individually with a personalised message, He has chosen messengers of impeccable character to bring His universal message to all of us. The task of these messengers was both to bring the message and to guide by personal example. They would always practice what they preached. In English, the term prophet is frequently used to describe these people as part of their job was to warn of the consequences of non compliance with the instructions of Allah, and this telling of future events or prophecies became a key characteristic in the perception of people. Whilst the messengers were given insights not usually available to other people and were often given miracles in support of their authenticity, it is important to understand that they were not superhuman. If Allah wanted to equip them in this way, He could have sent angels, but for the messengers to be followed, their life example had to be comprehendible; they had to be like everybody else in many respects, so that all who encountered their message would feel that they had the capability of trying [o walk in their footsteps. For this reason, messengers were always chosen from amongst their own people, speaking their own language.

Since the days of Adam (AS), the universal content of the message itself remained unchanged: that there is only one God, Allah, that all depend on Him alone, that righteous conduct was the route to success in His eyes, and that He would judge everybody's deeds on the Day of Reckoning. As mankind evolved through various stages, however, the detailed set of rules accompanying this general message equally evolved. Each messenger, in addition to calling his people to the undivided worship of Allah alone, addressed the major sins and injustices of his time and was such a social reformer by divine command.

Given the many generations of humans on this planet, spread across the vastness of the globe, the number of messengers sent for their guidance and betterment is too great for all their stories to have been preserved. The Qur'an mentions only a select number of them by name and tells in detail about their mission, where their example continues to provide beneficial admonition and guidance for us. Messengers were sent to all kinds of communities, but many of those whose stories are preserved for us were sent to the Children of Israel whom Allah had favoured amongst the nations for many generations. Each messenger takes his place in a long chain of such emissaries, and finally, when the time was right, Allah sent a final messenger to all mankind to revive, confirm and seal His message for the remaining generations of mankind.

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