This article should not be read by three groups of people.
- Those who get tired of reading long articles.
- Those who have a special bias towards the teaching profession and cannot accept any criticism of it.
- Those who have set aside their reason and abandoned the words of their Creator, instead seeking truth from here and there.
Teaching is the profession of prophets.
In this short and profound sentence, three words are used:
1. Teaching 2. Profession 3. Prophets.
There is no debate about the prophets, and we all know that the prophets refer to the messengers and prophets of God who have been sent to guide people.
But there is a lot of talk about teaching and the profession.
1. What is teaching?
Teaching is the act of imparting knowledge, transferring knowledge from one person to another.
But when we say teaching is the profession of prophets, what do we mean by teaching?
Does it encompass every field of knowledge?
Thieves among themselves have a teacher who teaches them theft.
Should we consider a teacher of thieves to be among the prophets on the Day of Judgment?
Or someone who teaches others how to make drugs.
Should we also consider them to be among the prophets?
God forbid.
Therefore, it is obvious that not every field of knowledge and not every teacher has the profession of prophets, and we must discuss which fields of knowledge fall under the profession of prophets.
2. Profession
Profession has a real meaning and a common meaning in society.
The real meaning is the actual meaning considered for a word.
Like when I say my father is currently engaged in such and such work.
Being employed, being occupied, spending time and life on a specific job is called a profession.
Just as Imam Zain al-Abidin (peace be upon him) says in the Supplication of Abi Hamza al-Thumali:
O Allah, occupy us with Your remembrance
It means: O Lord, keep us busy with your remembrance, in other words we can say, O God, make Your remembrance our profession.
The real meaning of a profession is spending one's days engaged in a specific action or activity.
However, there is also a common meaning of profession in society.
In today's society, a profession is referred to as a job that a person does at a specific time and receives payment in return.
If we take the real meaning of profession , the phrase "teaching is the profession of prophets" is completely accurate, just as God has praised the prophets for their teaching in various verses of the Quran, such as the verse:
It is He who has sent among the unlettered a Messenger from themselves reciting to them His verses and purifying them and teaching them the Book and wisdom - although they were before in clear error (Surah jumuah Verse 2)
So, it cannot be denied that the profession of the prophets, which was also their mission, was teaching and education.
It is interesting to note that wherever this teaching is mentioned, the type of knowledge is also specified: the Book and Wisdom.
Please refer to Surah Al-Baqarah, verse 129, Surah Al-Baqarah, verse 151, Surah Al-Baqarah, verse 231, Surah Al-Imran, verse 48, Surah Al-Imran, verse 164, Surah An-Nisa, verse 54, Surah An-Nisa, verse 113, Surah Al-Maidah, verse 110
In all these verses, the word "Book" with the definite article "al-" indicates that it refers to the specific book that was revealed to the prophet or to the prophets who came before him, such as the Quran that was revealed to our prophet.
And the meaning of "Wisdom" with the definite article "al-" is understood differently by various interpreters, but what all interpreters agree on is under this verse, where God says:
He granteth wisdom to whom He pleaseth; and he to whom wisdom is granted receiveth indeed a benefit overflowing; but none will grasp the Message but men of understanding. (Surah Al-Baqarah, Verse 269)
It is mentioned that the meaning of "a benefit overflowing" in this verse and similar verses from Surah Kauthar, such as the verse:
To thee have We granted the Fount [of Abundance]. (Surah Kauthar, Verse 1)
Refers to Fatimah al-Zahra (peace be upon her), whom both Shia and Sunni scholars agree upon.
It becomes clear that the Book and Wisdom refer to the Quran and the Ahl al-Bayt for the last prophet, the descendants of Fatimah al-Zahra.
So, the prophets were engaged or sent for a mission, which was part of their mission to teach the divine Book and the tradition and lifestyle of the divine saints to the people.
Any knowledge that is not from the divine Book or the traditions of the prophets is not included in the teachings of the prophets.
This meaning is completely correct and true, and there is no doubt or suspicion in it.
Now, if someone says that the profession of the prophets was teaching in the sense that the prophets received money from the people, and the profession meant a job for livelihood, this is a great lie, defamation, and a great slander against the divine prophets.
As the repeated confirmation of the Quran states that the prophets did not receive any money from the people for this teaching.
And the proof of this is that God, in His Book, repeatedly mentions the words of His prophets to the people, saying that they told them, "We do not ask for any reward from you. Our reward is only from the Lord of the worlds."
But if ye turn back, [consider]: no reward have I asked of you: my reward is only due from Allah (Surah Yunus, Verse 72)
Prophet Noah, peace be upon him, said this to his people, and God has narrated this incident in His Book.
In another situation, Prophet Noah said to his people:
And O my people! I ask you for no wealth in return: my reward is from none but Allah (Surah Hud, Verse 29)
And in another place, when Prophet Hud was sent to the people of Ād, a similar conversation is mentioned in the Quran:
O my people! I ask of you no reward for this [Message]. My reward is from none but Him who created me (Surah Hud, Verse 51)
Then, in another place, when Prophet Salih was sent to the people of Thamud and his people accused him of lying, God narrated the words of his prophet in His Book:
No reward do I ask of you for it: my reward is only from the Lord of the Worlds. (Surah Shuaraa, Verse 145)
Similarly, the words of Prophet Lut to his people when they denied him are mentioned, and this statement is exactly the same as that of Prophet Salih, and concerning him, it is mentioned:
No reward do I ask of you for it: my reward is only from the lord of the Worlds. (Surah Shuaraa, Verse 164)
Prophet Shu'ayb also said the same thing to the people of Madyan when they did not accept his words:
No reward do I ask of you for it: my reward is only from the Lord of the Worlds. (Surah Shuaraa, Verse 180)
And similarly, to his Prophet, may God's blessings and mercy be upon him and his family, in three situations, he was commanded to tell the people that he does not seek any reward or payment for his message, as he mentioned in the first instance:
Say: “No reward do I ask of you for this except the love of those near of kin (Surah Shura, Verse 23)
Everyone knew that the Prophet has no offspring except for Fatimah, and no light of his eyes except for Hasan and Husayn, peace be upon them, and no close relatives except for Ali and the family of Ali, peace be upon them.
Then, in the second stage, he was instructed to tell the people:
Say: “No reward do I ask of you for it but this: that each one who will may take a [straight] Path to his Lord.” (Surah Furqan, Verse 57)
This consistency shows that the path towards God is through love and affection for Husayn, peace be upon him.
Then, in the third instance, he was commanded to tell his people:
Say: “No reward do I ask of you: it is [all] in your interest: my reward is only due from Allah” (Surah Saba, Verse 47)
So, the reward of the mission that the Prophet asked from us, to choose the path towards God through love for his family, is also for our own benefit, not for the benefit of the Prophet and his family.
Let's not forget about what this Ummah did after the martyrdom of the Prophet with Ali, Fatimah, and their children, who were the best of God's creation on earth. 😭
So, with all these evidences, it is proven that no prophet has taken any money from anyone for teaching the people, whether it be a dirham, dinar, rial, or dollar.
And God has set this as a way for us to distinguish between truth and falsehood, and as mentioned in the Quran, a believer during the time of Prophet Moses was called a believer of the family of Pharaoh and it was said:
Obey those who ask no reward of you [for themselves], and who have themselves received Guidance. (Surah Ya-sin, Verse 21)
So, indeed, teaching is the profession of the prophets, but not the teaching that takes money for teaching, as no prophet has taken any money for the teachings they have given.
And not the teaching that teaches people things other than what the Book of God commands and other than the traditions of the prophets of God.
So how did the prophets earn a living?
Now the question arises, if they did not take money for teaching and education, how did they cover their living expenses?
Imagine they got their food and clothing for free from the earth and did not give money for it.
What did they do for their food and sustenance?
Some ignorant people claim that prophets did not eat food, so they had no expenses in their lives because in that era and time, land and housing were free for them, and they did not have any expenses for clothing.
They argue that only food remained, which was the minimum cost of living, and prophets did not even eat food.
But the word of God refutes their claim where He says:
And the messengers whom We sent before thee were all [men] who ate food and walked through the markets (Surah Furqan, Verse 20)
This verse makes it clear that prophets did eat food, and it was not the case that they did not eat food.
Praise be to God, our Lord, immediately after mentioning their food consumption, also mentioned the source of their income for buying food in the same verse.
Walk in the markets
The word "markets" here refers to multiple markets.
And "مشی" here means their method, manner, conduct, and the like and it is also used among Persian speakers, for example, when someone's "manner" is to go to Karbala every year for Arbaeen.
"Walk in the markets" means that they were in the markets and earned income through the markets.
Another confirmation of this is when God says in His book:
That is because they say: “Trade is like usury,” but Allah hath permitted trade and forbidden usury. Those who after receiving direction from their Lord, desist, shall be pardoned for the past; their case is for Allah [to judge]; but those who repeat [The offence] are companions of the Fire: They will abide therein [for ever]. (Surah Al-Baqarah, Verse 275)
Our business consultants often observe how many people compare trade and buying and selling with usury and other forms of exploitation, they are drawn to these words and have a strange fascination with them, avoiding engaging in legitimate business activities.
And then God states in the following verse:
Allah will deprive usury of all blessing, but will give increase for deeds of charity. (Surah Al-Baqarah, Verse 276)
In fact, in this verse, and in accordance with the narrations from the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them), God considers buying and selling as a form of charity and condemns usury, which is when people put money somewhere expecting profit without any effort or added value.
How bitter are the words of truth from the Messenger of God who said: "Usury is more hidden in people's lives than an ant walking on a smooth black stone in the dark night."
This is how our lives are destroyed, and our economy has reached this state, while we see that Westerners and wealthy Arab countries rarely engage in such practices and are mostly involved in legitimate trade and commerce.
Furthermore, God describes the prophets and their successors by saying:
By men whom neither traffic nor merchandise can divert from the Remembrance of Allah (Surah Nur, Verse 37)
Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) explained below this verse: The mention of men does not necessarily refer to gender but rather signifies steadfastness and resilience in a manly manner.
In our current society, we see that many women are more resilient than some men.
Conclusion
So if we want to discuss the profession of teaching in the context of the literature of today and compare it to the profession of the prophets, it is better to say:
Teaching is the mission of the prophets, while trade, buying and selling, and market activities are the professions of the prophets.