Why did Allah Send Prophets?

It is impossible for a religion to be conveyed to people and be understood without the prophets. That is why the prophethood is a great blessing for the humanity. Allah conveyed His orders, prohibitions and guidance to people through His prophets. People need prophets who are leaders, guides, and examples. Although people have a chance to access some information about themselves, their environment, creator and creation with the abilities given to them, this information is limited and at the rate of their own power. Even though people can understand the oneness and uniqueness of Allah, they cannot fully understand some divine attributes that belong to Him, and they cannot accurately know how to worship Allah and the situations related to the Hereafter.(Kılavuz, Ahmet Saim vd., İlmihâl, I/108)

Many nations, who did not know about the existence of the prophets or who did not believe in their path and distorted the facts, were deviated and fell into nonhuman situations. There is a need for the prophets, who are the messengers of Allah, in order to save people from unwanted situations, to teach them the duties of religion and the world, to provide them reach the happiness of both world and the Hereafter.  (Bilmen, Ömer Nasuhi, Büyük İslam İlmihali, p.17) It is stated in the Holy Qur'an that it is indeed a blessing that Allah sent prophets upon people: "Certainly did Allah confer [great] favor upon the believers when He sent among them a Messenger from themselves, reciting to them His verses and purifying them and teaching them the Book and wisdom. Although they had been before in manifest error.” (Ali 'Imran, 3/164)

One of the reasons why people need prophets is that they cannot reach the details of the basic subjects of religion by themselves such as faith in Allah, worship, heaven, hell, and the Hereafter. People cannot reveal what their responsibilities are, behaviors requiring reward and punishment, fortunate and unfortunate, good and evil, orders and prohibitions with their minds and they cannot make them known and accepted by everyone. 

Thanks to the prophethood, the mankind has believed in Allah, the one and the unique, with an accurate faith, and has learned that none other than Him is worthy of worship. It is a clear fact that prophethood is the basis of the virtues accepted on earth. 

The benefit, importance and need for prophethood, which is bestowed upon the people as a mercy, virtue and ihsan of Allah, is stated with the following divine sentences: "It is not for a human that Allah should give him the Scripture and authority and prophethood and then he would say to the people, "Be servants to me rather than Allah." But [instead, he would say], "Be pious scholars of the Lord because of what you have taught of the Scripture and because of what you have studied.” (Ali 'Imran, 3/79)

The benefit and importance of the prophethood in terms of protecting people is also highlighted in one of the hadiths of Muhammad (saw) as follows: "The similitude of mine and that of my Ummah is that of a person who lit fire and there began to fall into it insects and moths. And I am there to hold you back, but you plunge into it.” (Muslim, Fadhail, 19)

When Almighty Allah mentions the prophets and their qissas in the Holy Qur'an, He also mentions the reason for sending them upon people. The wisdom of Allah to send prophets can be listed as follows: