Minor Prophets
In the Bahá'í definition, there is a distinction between minor prophets and the Manifestations of God, the major prophets. This distinction is also referred to as lesser/greater, dependent/independent, follower/universal, and other similar phrases. The Manifestations of God or the major prophets are compared to the sun, which produces its own heat and light, and the minor prophets are likened to the moon, which receives its light from the sun.
The Manifestations of God are described as prophets endowed with constancy. The term endowed with constancy refers to prophets to whom a book was revealed (in which the book contained legislation) and with whom lasting covenants with God were made, abrogating past covenants. For example, Bahá'u'lláh describes Moses as a Manifestation of God and his brother Aaron a minor prophet; Moses spoke on behalf of God, and Aaron spoke on behalf of Moses (Exodus 4:14-17). Furthermore, the other prophets of the Old Testament such as Jeremiah, David, Solomon, Ezekiel, and Isaiah are described as minor prophets as they came in the shadow of the dispensation of Moses to develop and consolidate the process he set in motion. There is, however, no definite list of who is or isn't a minor prophet in the Bahá'í understanding.
The distinction can also be described as the difference between inspiration and revelation. Revelation is seen to be the direct and infallible perception of God's word and is only accessible to the Manifestations of God who transmit it to humanity. On the other hand inspiration is seen to be the indirect and relative perception of spiritual truths that each person may have access to. Bahá'u'lláh stated that at times, God chooses ordinary people to act as prophets and thus inspires them to play certain roles in human affairs; these people however remain ordinary people whose powers of inspiration have been further developed by God.
In Islam, the station of prophethood (Risalah) is also divided into two categories. The equivalent of major prophets are known as Messengers of God (Rasul) who bring a major revelation from God. The equivalent of minor prophets are known as prophets of God (Nabi).
Read more about this topic: Manifestation Of God
Famous quotes containing the words minor and/or prophets:
“Even a minor event in the life of a child is an event of that child’s world and thus a world event.”
—Gaston Bachelard (1884–1962)
“The people who were honored in the Bible were the false prophets. It was the ones we call the prophets who were jailed and driven into the desert, and so on.”
—Noam Chomsky (b. 1928)