Definition and Etymology of “Prophet”

Bagherpour kashani: This attitude is true when a man believe in not existence of the prophet and “divine Hojjat (divine Proof)” or in the inability to identify him.
Dr. Amir Zamiri: What do you mean by the “prophet”?
Prophet is a perfect person who by the command of the Creator, take His Word to us. He is a mediator between man and God who brought rules and instructions which include salvation and happiness in this world and the hereafter, and guide the man in various material and spiritual fields. This set of rules is called religion.
Hojjat is that the authenticity of one of the conflicting sides, such as the presence and absence of something, can be argued and judge by it. It is also an indication that reveals the direct way; and divine Hojjats (proofs of God) are everything that God has argued by it on his servants, or guided them by that mean to Him (Lotfollah Safi Golpaygani; recognition of God’s Hojjat, p. 59).
The word “prophet” from literal point of view may be taken from one of the following origins:
نباوه (Prophecy): “‘height’, as long as the position is evident.
نبی: “Way or path”, because he direct us towards Allah Almighty.
نبا: “News”, because he tells us of God.
(See Majlisi, Mohammad Bagher, Mer’at-ol- Oghul; Vol 2, p. 281; Masuod ibn Omar Taftazani, Sharh-ol- Maghasid, Vol. 5, p. 5)
عنِ ابنِ عباسٍ قَالَ: قَالَ أَعرَابِی لرَسولِ اللَّه (ص) السلَام علَیک  یا نَبِیء اللَّه قَالَ: لَست بِنَبِیء اللَّه و لَکنِّی نَبِی اللَّه.
A nomadic Arabic to say the Prophet: Peace be upon you, O God delator. He said: I am not the delator of God; I am the one who became dignified by God. Sheikh Sadough after saying this hadith said: Prophecy is a term that derives from the word “نبوه” and it is every place on earth that is height and raised. So the meaning of the prophecy is: becoming high and lofty and نبی Nabi means the high and sublime (Muhammad ibn ‘Ali ibn Babawaih (Al-Shaykh al-Saduq), Ma’ani Al-Akhbar, p.114)
“The definition of religion, based on the theology of every religion is relatively easy, but the definition in science of religions is a difficult task, because of the diversity of world religions. Scientists have tried to find one or several common aspects in defining of religions, but they come to nothing. This has caused more than eighty definitions of religion given that none of them can be regarded as comprehensive; For example, the definition of religion as “belief in God and practice the requirement of the faith” is not comprehensive and does not cover the main religion of Buddhism. Buddha didn’t speak about God and his worship and none of the Buddhist sects believe in Creator. Various gods of Buddhism have been added to them later, solely for the purpose of worship (Hussein Tofighi, Familiarity with the Great Religions, p. 3)
Maitham Al Bahrani in defining the word prophet said:  ”  انه الإنسان المأمور من السمآء بإصلاح أحوال الناس فی معاشهم و معادهم العالم بكیفیه ذلك المستغنى فی علومه و أمره من السماء لاعن واسطۀ البشر المقترنه دعواه للنبوه بأمور خارقه للعاده ” The prophet is someone who from the heavens, have the order to organize people worldly life, he knows how it would be without taking his knowledge from others, his mission immediately is of God side and his claim of prophecy is come with supernatural matters (miracles) (Maitham Al Bahrani, Qawa’id al-maram, p. 122).