the prophet...

It is the message that proves the messenger, not the claim.

Bowl of Saki, by Hazrat Inayat Khan

Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:

The prophet brings love, the love of God, the Father and Mother of the whole
humanity, a love that is life itself. No words nor actions can express that
love. The presence of the prophet, his very being, speaks of it, if only the
heart had ears to listen. Verily, to the believer all is right, and to the
unbeliever all is wrong.

The principal work of the prophet is to glorify the Name of God and to raise
humanity from the denseness of the earth, to open the doors of the human heart
to the divine beauty which is everywhere manifested and to illuminate souls
which are groping in darkness for years. The prophet brings the message of the
day, a reform for that particular period in which he is born. A claim of a
prophet is nothing to the real prophet. The being of the prophet, the work of
the prophet, and the fulfillment of his task is itself the proof of prophethood.

There was a time when the world was not capable of seeing. Humanity did not have
enough realization to recognize the message, that is why the claim of prophecy
had to be made. But now the world can recognize, sooner or later, what is right
and what is wrong. The warner, the master, the messenger of today will not
claim. He will only work. He will leave his work to prove for itself whether it
is true or false.

There was a time when the message was given while the people were waiting for a
messenger to come, as happened in the time of Jesus Christ, when there were
thousands and thousands waiting for a messenger from above. The Master came, and
gave his service to the world, and left again. Some realized what had happened
then, and some are still waiting. But the one who claimed to be Alpha and Omega
is never absent; sometimes he shows himself, sometimes he keeps in the
background. ... The divine message is the answer to the cry of souls
individually and collectively; the divine message is life and it is light. The
sun does not teach anything, but in its light we learn to know all things. The
sun does not cultivate the soil nor does it sow seed, but it helps the plants to
grow, to flower, and to bear fruit.