The Change of Hierarchy of the Prophets! (3:84), (2:285), (2:136), (2:253)

3:84, 2:285, and 2:136 say believers do not distinguish between any of the prophets. 2:253 says God favored some messengers over others. The claim is that these verses contradict each other.

The false claim: The Quran says all prophets are equal in one place and unequal in another - a direct contradiction.

The apparent contradiction dissolves once the subject of each set of verses is identified. They are not addressing the same question.

[3:84] Say, "We believe in GOD, and in what was sent down to us, and in what was sent down to Abraham, Ismail, Isaac, Jacob, and the Patriarchs, and in what was given to Moses, Jesus, and the prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction among any of them. To Him alone we are submitters."

2:136, 2:285, and 3:84 contain a command addressed to believers about how they are to regard the messengers. Believers are not to rank the messengers in terms of whom they accept and whom they reject, whom they honor and whom they dismiss. Every messenger sent by God delivered God's message, and the believer's obligation is to accept and respect all of them equally. To say "I believe in Moses but not Jesus" or "I accept Muhammad but not the earlier prophets" is the kind of distinction believers are commanded to avoid. Their acceptance of divine guidance cannot be selective across prophets.

[2:253] These messengers; we have blessed some of them more than others. For example, GOD spoke to Moses directly, and He raised Jesus to the highest ranks. We gave Moses profound miracles and supported him with the Holy Spirit. Had GOD willed, the followers of these messengers would not have fought with each other, after the clear proofs had come to them. Instead, they disputed among themselves; some of them believed, and some disbelieved. Had GOD willed, they would not have fought. Everything is in accordance with GOD's will.

2:253 addresses something entirely different - God's own sovereign freedom to distinguish among His creation as He wills. God raised some prophets in rank above others - Moses was spoken to directly, Jesus was raised to the highest ranks, and so on. This is a statement about what God chose to give each messenger in terms of their mission, their miracles, and their relationship with God. It is not a command to believers to replicate these distinctions in their own faith.

The two principles operate at different levels. God may distinguish among His messengers according to His wisdom and will. Believers, by contrast, are commanded not to use those distinctions as grounds for accepting some prophets while rejecting others. Both things are true simultaneously and neither contradicts the other.