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Prophets in Islam (Template:Lang-ar) include "messengers" (rasul, rusul), bringers of a divine revelation via an angel Template:Lang-ar, malāʾikah); and "prophets" (nabī, pl. anbiyāʼ), lawbringers that Muslims believe were sent by God to every person, bringing God's message in a language they can understand. Knowledge of the Islamic prophets is one of the six articles of the Islamic faith, and specifically mentioned in the Quran.

Muslims believe that the first prophet was also the first human being, Adam (آدَم), created by Allah. Many of the revelations delivered by the 48 prophets in Judaism and many prophets of Christianity are mentioned as such in the Quran but usually in slightly different forms. For example, the Jewish Elisha is called Eliyas, Job is Ayyub, Jesus is Isa, etc. The Torah given to Moses (Musa) is called Tawrat, the Psalms given to David (Dawud) is the Zabur, the Gospel given to Jesus is Injil.

Important to Islam is Muhammad (Muhammad ibn ʿAbdullāh), who Muslims believe is the "Seal of the Prophets" (Khatam an-Nabiyyin, i.e. the last prophet); and the Qur'an, revealed to Muhammad but not written down by him, which Muslims believe is unique among divine revelations as the only correct one protected by God from distortion or corruption, destined to remain in its true form until the Last Day. Muslims believe Muhammad to be the last prophet, although after the prophets there are still saints (though some modern schools, such as Salafism and Wahhabism, reject the theory of sainthood).

In Muslim belief, every prophet in Islam preached the same main Islamic beliefs, the Oneness of God, worshipping of that one God, avoidance of idolatry and sin, and the belief in the Day of Resurrection or the Day of Judgement and life after death. Each came to preach Islam at different times in history, although there may have been more than one at once, but in different places, and sometimes prophethood is common in the lineage of someone - eg. Ibrahim had many prophets in his lineage - Isa, Zakariyyah, Muhammad, Dawud, etc. - through his sons Ismael and Isaac, who are also prophets in Islam.

This narrative is found in "Chapter of the Ranks", Qur'an, 61:6 as Allah asked Jesus to remind the Children of Israel but they accused him of sorcery:

وَإِذْ قَالَ عِيسَى ٱبْنُ مَرْيَمَ يَـٰبَنِى إِسْرَٰعِيلَ إِنِّى رَسُولُ ٱللهِ إِلَيْكُم مُّصَدِقًا لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَىَّ مِنَ ٱلتَّوْرىٰةِ وَمُبَشِّرًا بِرَسُولٍ يَأْتِى مِن بَعْدِى ٱسْمُهُ أَحْمَدُ فَلَمَّا جَآءَهُم بِٱلْبَيِّنَـٰتِ قَالُواْ هَـٰذَا سِحْرٌ مُّبينٌ

wa-idh qāla ‘Īsā ’b·nu Maryama: "yā Banī Israā‘īla innī Rasūlu ’llāhi ilay-kum muṣaddiqal li-mā bayna yadayya mina ’t-Tawraāti wa-mubash-shiram bi-Rasūlin ya’tī mim ba‘dī ’s·mu-huū Aḥmadu, fa-lammā jaā’a-hum bi’l-bayyināti, qālū "hādhā siḥrum mubīn!"

And remember, Jesus, the son of Mary, said: "O Children of Israel! I am the messenger of Allah (sent) to you, confirming the Law [=Torah] (which came) before me, and giving Glad Tidings of a Messenger to come after me, whose name shall be Ahmad." But when he came to them with Clear Signs, they said, "this is evident sorcery!"

— Quran, sura 61 (As-Saf), ayah 6

Etymology

In Arabic and Hebrew, the term nabī (Arabic plural form: أَنْبِيَاء anbiyāʼ) means "prophet". Forms of this noun occur 75 times in the Quran. The term nubuwwah (Arabic: نُبُوَّة meaning "prophethood") occurs five times in the Quran. The terms rasūl (Arabic plural: رُسُل rusul) and mursal (ِArabic singular: مُرْسَل mursal; plural: مُرْسَلُون mursalūn) denote "messenger with law given/ received by God" and occur more than 300 times. The term for a prophetic "message" (ِArabic singular: رِسَالَة risālah; plural: رِسَالَات risālāt), appears in the Quran in ten instances.

The Syriac form of rasūl Allāh (literally: "messenger of God"), s̲h̲eliḥeh d-allāhā, occurs frequently in the apocryphal Acts of St. Thomas. The corresponding verb for s̲h̲eliḥeh—s̲h̲alaḥ, occurs in connection with the prophets in the Hebrew Bible.

The words "prophet" (Arabic: نبي nabī) and "messenger" (Arabic: رسول rasūl) appear several times in the Old Testament and the New Testament.

The following table shows these words in different languages:

Prophet and Messenger in the Bible

Arabic	Arabic Pronunciation	English	Greek	Greek pronunciation	Strong Number	Hebrew	Hebrew pronunciation	Strong Number
نبي	Nabī	Prophet	προφήτης	prophētēs	G4396	נביא	navi' /nabiʔ/	H5030
رسول, مرسل	Rasūl, Mursal	Messenger, Prophet, Apostle	ἄγγελος, ἀπόστολος	äggelos, äpostolos	G32, G652	מלאך, שלח (verb)	mal'ach /malʔak/, shalah /ʃalaħ/ (verb)	H4397, H7971

In the Hebrew Bible, the word nabi ("spokesperson, prophet") occurs commonly. The biblical word for "messenger", mal'akh, refers today to Angels in Judaism, but originally was used for human messenger both of God and of men, thus it is only somewhat equivalent of rasūl. According to Judaism, Haggai, Zaqariah, and Malachi were the last prophets, all of whom lived at the end of the 70-year Babylonian exile. With them, the authentic period of Nevuah ("prophecy") died, and nowadays only the "Bath Kol" (בת קול, lit. daughter of a voice, "voice of God") exists (Sanhedrin 11a).

In the New Testament, however, the word "messenger" becomes more frequent, sometimes in association with the concept of a prophet. "Messenger" may refer to Jesus, to his Apostles and to John the Baptist. But the last book of the Old Testament, the Book of Malachi, speaks of a messenger that Christian commentators interpret as a reference to the future prophet John the Baptist (Yahya).

Characteristics

In Muslim belief, every Islamic prophet preached Islam. The beliefs of charity, prayer, pilgrimage, worship of God and fasting are believed to have been taught by every prophet who has ever lived. The Quran itself calls Islam the "religion of Abraham" (Ibrahim) and refers to Jacob (Yaqub) and the Twelve Tribes of Israel as being Muslim.

The Quran says

The same religion has He established for you as that which He enjoined on Noah—the which We have sent by inspiration to thee—and that which We enjoined on Abraham, Moses, and Jesus: Namely, that ye should remain steadfast in religion, and make no divisions therein:...

— Quran, sura 42 (Ash-Shura), ayah 13

Prophets in Islam are examplars to ordinary (non-prophet) humans because they have model characteristics and teach inspired qualities such as rightnessous and moral conduct. Prophets hold certain characterists that make them teachers of Islam such as: status, prophetic lineage, monotheism, eschatology, and signs and divine proofs. These charateristics do not make prophets divine but lead many on the correct path. (Savannah)

Status

Islam teaches that prophets were "protected from sin" by God, so unlike lesser human beings they cannot commit a sin. The Quran speaks of the Islamic prophets as being the greatest human beings of all time. A prophet, in the Muslim sense of the term, is a person whom God specially chose to teach the faith of Islam. Some were called to prophesy late in life, in Muhammad's case at the age of 40. Others, such as John the Baptist, were called to prophesy while still at a young age and Jesus prophesied while still in his cradle.

The Quran verse 4:69 lists various virtuous groups of human beings, among whom prophets (including messengers) occupy the highest rank. Verse 4:69 reads:

All who obey Allah and the messenger are in the company of those on whom is the Grace of Allah—of the prophets (who teach), the sincere (lovers of Truth), the witnesses (who testify), and the Righteous (who do good): Ah! what a beautiful fellowship!

— Quran, sura 4 (An-Nisa), ayah 69

Biblical stories retold in the Quran in the Arabic language (e.g., Job, Moses, Joseph (Yusuf) etc.) certainly differ from the Jewish Hebrew Bible, the Greek Old Testament and the Greek New Testament, in that the Quran always demonstrates that it is "God's practice" (sunnat Allah) to make faith triumph finally over the forces of evil and adversity. "We have made the evil ones friends to those without faith." "Assuredly God will defend those who believe." Thus the Islamic Isa did not die on the cross like the Christian thought about Jesus, but deceived his enemies and ascended to heaven.

The prophets and messengers "share no divine attributes", and possess "no knowledge or power" other than that granted to them by God.

Female prophets

The question of Mary's prophethood has been debated amongst Muslim theologians. The Zahirite ("literalist") school argued that Mary as well as Sara the mother of Isaac and the mother of Moses are to be considered as prophets. The Zahirites based this determination on the instances in the Qur’ān where angels spoke to the women and divinely guided their actions According to the Zahirite Ibn Hazm of Cordova (d. 1064) women could be placed under the categorization of nubuwwa ("prophethood") but not under risala ("messengerhood") which could only be attained by men. Ibn Hazm also based his position on Mary's prophethood on Chapter 5, Verse 75 of the Qur’ān which refers to Mary as "a woman of truth" just as it refers to Joseph as a "man of truth" in Chapter 12, Verse 46.

Sunni theology has largely rejected this doctrine as bid'a ("heretical innovation") (Norah)

Prophetic Lineage

Abraham is widely recognized for being the father of monotheism in the Abrahamic religions, however, in the Qur’an he is recognized as a messenger and a link in the chain of Muslim prophets. Muhammad, Allah’s final messenger and the revelator of the Qur’ān, is an ancestor of Abraham. In the Qur’an it reads, “He [Allah] said: ‘I am making you [Abraham] a spiritual exemplar to mankind.’” (Q. 2:124) This phrase is affirming Islam as an Abrahamic religion, and further promoting Abraham as an important figure in the history of the Qur'an. This confirmation of the prophetic relationship (between Abraham and Muhammad) is significant to Abraham’s story in the Qur’ān – due to the fact that the last messenger, Muhammad, completes Abraham’s prophetic lineage. This relationship can be seen in the Sura 6:

"That is Our Argument which We imparted to Abraham against his people. We raise up in degrees whomever We please. Your Lord is indeed Wise, All-Knowing. And We granted him Isaac and Jacob, and guided each of them; and Noah We guided before that, and of his progeny, [We guided] David, Solomon, Job, Joseph, Moses and Aaron. Thus We reward the beneficent. And Zechariah, John, Jesus and Elias, each was one of the righteous. And Ishmael, Elijah, Jonah and Lot; each We exalted above the whole world. [We also exalted some] of their fathers, progeny and brethren. And We chose them and guided them to a straight path." (Q. 6:83-87)

These particular verses support the Qur'anic narrative for Abraham to be reconized as a patriarch and is supported by his prophetic lineage concluding with Muhammad. (Savannah)

The Quran presents the world Abraham lives in a world of interlocking dramas or conflicts. The divine drama concerns the events of creation and banishment from the garden; while the human drama concerns the life and history of humanity but, also inclusive of the everchanging events in of induvial lives and those of the Prophets. This is the situation that calls the faith of the Prophets to follow and reclaim the message of the Straight path and this is characterization of the conflicts between the two dramas. The Islamic morality is founded on this virtuous living through faith in the life ordained by the divine. This is the Divine task given to believers accompanied by the divine gift that the Prophets had in revelation and perspective of ayats. This the key feature to the authority of their revelation because not only is the source of revelation is Allah but it produces texts that are seen as distinctive than other poetry but it fits within the Abrahamic tradition. Poetry especially, in the Arabian context, connects the Quran to Pre-Islamic poetry which originates from the jihn; however, the Quran's place within other religious contexts gives the revelation to Mohammad the same authority of the Hebrew texts and the New Testament.

Monotheism

The Qur’ān states,

“And (remember) Abraham, when he said to his people: ‘Worship Allah and fear Him; that is far better for you, if only you knew. Indeed, you only worship, apart from Allah, mere idols, and you invent falsehood. Surely, those you worship, apart from Allah, have no power to provide for you. So, seek provision from Allah, worship Him and give Him thanks. You shall be returned unto Him.’” (Q. 29:16-17)

This passage promotes Abraham’s devotion to Allah as one of His messengers along with his monotheism. Islam is a monotheistic religion, and Abraham is one who is reconized for this transformation of the religious tradition. This prophetic aspect of monotheism is mentioned several times in the Qur’ān. Abraham believed in one true God, Allah, and promoted an “invisible oneness” (tawḥīd) with Him. The Qur’ān proclaims, “Say: ‘My lord has guided me to a Straight Path, a right religion, the creed of Abraham, an upright man who was no polytheist.’” (Q. 6:161) One push Abraham had to devote himself to Allah and monotheism is from the Pagans of his time. Abraham was devoted to cleansing the Arabian Peninsula of this impetuous worship. His father was a wood idol sculptor, and Abraham was critical of his trade. Due to Abraham's devotion, he is reconized as the father of montheism. (Savannah)

Eschatology

Prophets and messengers in Islam often fall under the typologies of nadhir ("warner") and bashir ("announcer of good tidings"). Many prophets serve as vessels to inform humanity of the eschatological consequences of not accepting Allah's message and affirming monotheism. A verse from the Qur’ān reads: "Verily, We have sent thee [Muhammad] with the truth, as a bearer of glad tidings and a warner: and thou shalt not be held accountable for those who are destined for the blazing fire" (Q. 2:119). The prophetic revelations found in the Qur’ān offer vivid descriptions of the flames of Hell that await nonbelievers but also describe the rewards of the gardens of Paradise that await the true believers. The warnings and promises transmitted by Allah through the prophets to their communities serve to legitimize Muhammed's message. The final revelation that is presented to Muhammed is particularly grounded in the belief that the Day of Judgement is imminent. (Norah)

Signs and Divine Proofs

Throughout the Qur’ān, prophets such as Moses and Jesus often perform miracles or are associated with miraculous events. The Qur’ān makes clear that these events always occur through Allah and not of the prophet's own volition. Throughout the Meccan passages there are instances where the Meccan people demand visual proofs of Muhammad's divine connection to Allah to which Muhammad replies "The signs are only with Allah, and I am only a plain warner."(Q.29:50). This instance makes clear that prophets are only mortals who can testify to Allah's omnipotence and produce signs when He wills it. Furthermore the Qur’ān states that visual and verbal proofs are often rejected by the unbelievers as being sihr ("enchantment") The Qur’ān reads: "They claim that he tries to bewitch them and make them believe that he speaks the word of God, although he is just an ordinary human being like themselves (Q 74:24-25). (Norah)

Representation and Prophetic Connection to Muhammad

There are patterns of representation of Qur'anic prophecy support the revelation of Muhammad. Since Muhammad in in Abraham's prophetic lineage, they are analogous in many aspects of their prophecy. Muhammad was trying to rid the Pagans of idolatry during his lifetime, which is similar to Abraham. This caused many to reject Muhammad’s message and even made him flee from Mecca due to his unsafety in the city. Carl Ernest, the author of How to Read the Qur’an: A New Guide, with Select Translations, states, “The Qur’an frequently consoles Muhammad and defends him against his opponents.” This consolation can also be seen as parallel to Abraham’s encouragement from Allah. Muhammad is also known to perform miracles as Abraham did. Sura 17 (Al-Isrā) briefly describes Muhammad’s miraculous Night Journey where he physically ascended to the Heavens to meet with previous prophets. This spiritual journey is significant in the sense that many Islamic religious traditions and transformations were given and established during this miracle, such as the ritual of daily prayer. (Q. 17:78-84) Muhammad is an ancestor of Abraham; therefore, this not only makes him part of the prophetic lineage, but the final prophet in the Abrahamic lineage to guide humanity to the Straight Path. In Sura 33 (Al-Ahzāb) it confirms Muhammad and states, “Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but is the Messenger of Allah and the seal of the Prophets. Allah is Cognizant of everything.” (Q. 33:40) (Savannah)

Scriptures and other gifts

Holy books

See also: Islamic holy books

The revealed books are the records which Muslims believe were dictated by God to various Islamic prophets throughout the history of mankind, all these books promulgated the code and laws of Islam. The belief in all the revealed books is an article of faith in Islam and Muslims must believe in all the scriptures to be a Muslim. Muslims believe the Quran, the final holy scripture, was sent because all the previous holy books had been either corrupted or lost. Nonetheless, Islam speaks of respecting all the previous scriptures, even in their current forms.

The Quran mentions some Islamic scriptures by name, which came before the Quran:

• Tawrat (Torah): According to the Quran, the Tawrat (Torah) was revealed to Moses, but Muslims believe that the current Pentateuch, although it retains the main message, has suffered corruption over the years. Moses and his brother Haroon (Aaron) used the Torah to preach the message to the Children of Israel. The Quran implies that the Torah is the longest-used scripture, with the Jewish people still using the Torah today, and that all the Hebrew prophets would warn the people of any corruptions that were in the scripture. Jesus, in Muslim belief, was the last prophet to be taught the Mosaic Law in its true form.
• Zabur (Psalms): The Quran mentions the Psalms as being the holy scripture revealed to David. Scholars have often understood the Psalms to have been holy songs of praise. The current Psalms are still praised by many Muslim scholars, but Muslims generally assume that some of the current Psalms were written later and are not divinely revealed.
• Book of Enlightenment (Arabic: الكِتَابُ ٱلْمُنِير Kitābu ’l-Munīr): The Quran mentions a Book of Enlightenment, which has alternatively been translated as Scripture of Enlightenment or the Illuminating Book. It mentions that some prophets, in the past, came with clear signs from God as well as this particular scripture.
• Books of Divine Wisdom (Arabic: possibly identified as الْزُبُر az-Zubur): The Quran mentions certain Books of Divine Wisdom, translated by some scholars as Books of Dark Prophecies, which are a reference to particular books vouchsafed to some prophets, wherein there was wisdom for man. Some scholars have suggested that these may be one and the same as the Psalms as their root Arabic word, Zubur (Quran 35:25) - the plural for the word "Scriptures", comes from the same source as the Arabic Zabur for the Psalms.
• İnjil (Gospel): The İnjil (Gospel) was the holy book revealed to Jesus, according to the Quran. Although many lay Muslims believe the Injil refers to the entire New Testament, scholars have clearly pointed out that it refers not to the New Testament but to an original Gospel, which was sent by God, and was given to Jesus. Therefore, according to Muslim belief, the Gospel was the message that Jesus, being divinely inspired, preached to the Children of Israel. The current canonical Gospels, in the belief of Muslim scholars, are not divinely revealed but rather are documents of the life of Jesus, as written by various contemporaries, disciples and companions. These Gospels contain portions of Jesus's teachings but do not represent the original Gospel, which was a single book written not by a human but was sent by God.
• Scrolls of Abraham: (Arabic: الْصُّحُفُ ٱلْأُولَى aṣ-Ṣuḥufu ’l-Ūlā - "Books of the Earliest Revelation" and/or Arabic: صُّحُفِ إِبْرَهِيم Ṣuḥufu ’Ibrahīm). The Scrolls of Abraham are believed to have been one of the earliest bodies of scripture, which were vouchsafed to Abraham, and later used by Ishmael and Isaac. Although usually referred to as 'scrolls/ manuscript', many translators have translated the Arabic Suhuf as 'the Scriptures'. The Scrolls of Abraham are now considered lost rather than corrupted, although some scholars have identified them with the Testament of Abraham, an apocalyptic piece of literature available in Arabic at the time of Muhammad. The verse mentioning the "Scriptures" is in Quran 87:18-19 where they are referred to "Books of the Earliest Revelation".
• Scrolls of Moses: (Arabic: الصُّحُفُ ٱلْأُولَى aṣ-Ṣuḥufu ’l-Ūlā - "Books of the Earliest Revelation" and/or Arabic: صُّحُفُ مُوسَى Ṣuḥufu Mūsā). These scrolls, containing the revelations of Moses, which were perhaps written down later by Moses, Aaron and Joshua, are understood by Muslims to refer not to the Torah but to revelations aside from the Torah. Some scholars have stated that they could possibly refer to the Book of the Wars of the Lord, a lost text spoken of in the Hebrew Bible. The verse mentioning the "Scriptures" is in Quran 87:18-19 where they are referred to "Books of the Earliest Revelation".

Holy gifts

The Quran mentions various divinely-bestowed gifts given to various prophets. These may be interpreted as books or forms of celestial knowledge. Although all prophets are believed by Muslims to have been immensely gifted, special mention of "wisdom" or "knowledge" for a particular prophet is understood to mean that some secret knowledge was revealed to him. The Quran mentions that Abraham prayed for wisdom and later received it. It also mentions that Joseph and Moses both attained wisdom when they reached full age; David received wisdom with kingship, after slaying Goliath; Lot (Lut received wisdom whilst prophesying in Sodom and Gomorrah; John the Baptist received wisdom while still a mere youth; and Jesus received wisdom and was vouchsafed the Gospel.

The Nature of Revelation

The time of the Prophet's revelation the Arabian peninsula was made up of many pagan tribes, Makkah being a pilgrimage site and a trading center, with intimate exposure to Abrahamic ideologies. Mohammad had a personal connection with the surrounding culture and the foundational thought of revelation directly coming from the divine; the Qur'an is then seen as the direct word of God coming intimately coming to the Prophet in his own language, in Arabic. This is the key feature of the Quran and makes it unique to the poetry and other religious texts of the time by being immune to translation and very cultural applicable. Mohammad was criticized for his revelation being poetry which, according to the cultural perspective, is revelation purely originating from the jihn and the Qurash but the typology of duality and its likeness to the other prophets in the Abrahamic line affirms his revelation. This likeness is found in the complexity of its structure and its message of submission of faith to the one God, Allah. This also revels that his revelation comes from Allah alone and he is the preserver of the Straight Path as well as the inspired messages and lives of other prophets, making the Qur'an cohesive with the monotheistic reality in the Abrahamic traditions.

Numbers

Muslims believe that many prophets existed, including many not mentioned in the Quran. The Quran states: "There is a Messenger for every community" The hadith reports that the Prophet Muhammad said that there were approximately 124,000 prophets and 313 messengers ("a good number"). According to scholars such as Ibn Kathir and Shu'ayb al-Arna'oot the narration is weak, if not fabricated.

Prophets and messengers

All messengers mentioned in the Quran are also prophets, but not all prophets are messengers.

Prophets and messengers in the Qur'an

Chronological Order	Name	Arabic (transliteration)	Judeo-Christian Equivalent	Prophet	Messenger	Ulul'Azm (Archprophet)	Book	Sent to	Law (Sharia)
1	Adam	آدَم (Âdam)	Adam	✓
2	Idris	إِدْرِيس (Idrīs)	Enoch	✓
3	Nuh	نُوح (Nūḥ)	Noah	✓	✓	✓		The people of Noah	✓
4	Hud	هود (Hūd)	Eber	✓	✓			ʿĀd
5	Saleh	صَالِح (Ṣāliḥ)	Salah	✓	✓			Thamud
6	Ibrahim	إِبْرَاهِيم (Ibrahīm)	Abraham	✓	✓	✓	Scrolls of Abraham	The people of Iraq	✓
7	Lut	لُوط (Lūṭ)	Lot	✓	✓			The people of Lot
8	Ismail	إِسْمَاعِيل (Ismā‘īl)	Ishmael	✓	✓
9	Ishaq	إِسْحَاق (Is’ḥāq)	Isaac	✓
10	Yaqub	يَعقُوب (Ya‘qūb)	Jacob	✓
11	Yusuf	يُوسُف (Yūsūf)	Joseph	✓	✓
12	Ayyub	أَيُّوب (Ayyūb)	Job	✓
13	Shuʿayb	شُعَيب (Shu‘ayb)	Jethro	✓	✓			Midian
14	Musa	مُوسى (Mūsā)	Moses	✓	✓	✓	Tawrah (Torah) Suhoof Musa (scrolls of Moses)	Pharaoh and his establishment	✓
15	Harun	هَارُون (Hārūn)	Aaron	✓				Pharaoh and his establishment
16	Dhul-Kifl	ذُو ٱلْكِفْل (Dhu ’l-Kifl)	Ezekiel	✓
17	Dawud	دَاوُد \ دَاوُود (Dāwūd)	David	✓			Zabur (Psalms)
18	Sulayman	سُلَيْمَان (Sulaymān)	Solomon	✓
19	Ilyas	إِلْيَاس (Ilyās)	Elijah	✓	✓			The people of ilyas
20	Al-Yasa	ٱلْيَسَع (Al-yasa‘)	Elisha	✓
21	Yunus	يُونُس (Yūnus)	Jonah	✓	✓			The people of Younis
22	Zakariyya	زَكَرِيَّا (Zakariyyā)	Zechariah	✓
23	Yahya	يَحْيَى (Yaḥyā)	John the Baptist	✓
24	Isa	عِيسَى (‘Īsā)	Jesus	✓	✓	✓	Injil (Gospel)	The Children of Israel	✓
25	Muhammad	مُحَمَّد (Muhammad)	Paraclete	✓	✓	✓	Quran	Mankind, Jinn and all that exists	✓

To believe in God's messengers (Rusul) means to be convinced that God sent men as guides to fellow human beings and jinn (khalq) to guide them to the truth.

Prophethood in Ahmadiyya

Main article: Prophethood (Ahmadiyya)

The Ahmadiyya Community does not believe that messengers and prophets are different individuals. They interpret the Quranic words warner (nadhir), prophet, and messenger as referring to different roles that the same divinely appointed individuals perform. Ahmadiyya distinguish only between law-bearing prophets and non-law-bearing ones. They believe that although law-bearing prophethood ended with Muhammad, non-law-bearing prophethood subordinate to Muhammad continues. The Ahmadiyya Community recognizes Mirza Ghulam Ahmad also known as Mirza Qadiani (1835–1908) as such a “prophet” of gods and the promised Messiah and Imam Mahdi of the latter days. The Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement rejects his status as a prophet, instead considering him to be a renewer of the faith. However, all other Muslims and their scholars argue and firmly establish that the Ahmadiyya community are not even Muslim due to the fact their beliefs violate the Muslim belief in Muhammad as the "Seal of the Prophets" (Khatam an-Nabiyyin).

Other persons

The Quran mentions 25 prophets by name but also tells that God (Allah) sent many other prophets and messengers, to all the different nations that have existed on Earth. Many verses in the Qur'an discuss this:

• "We did aforetime send messengers before thee: of them there are some whose story We have related to thee, and some whose story We have not related to thee...."
• "For We assuredly sent amongst every People a messenger, ..."

Other special persons in the Qur'an

• Caleb (Kaleb): In the Quran, Caleb is mentioned in the 5th surah of the Quran (5:20-26).
• Dhul-Qarnayn: Dhul-Qarnayn.
• Joachim (Imran): The Family of Imran (Arabic: آل عمران) is the 3rd chapter of the Quran. Imran is Arabic for the biblical figure Amram, the father of Moses and Aaron, who is regarded by Muslims as being the ancestor of Mary (Maryam) and Jesus through his son Aaron. In Muslim belief, however, the Christian Joachim has been attributed the name Imran as well.
• Khidr: The Quran also mentions the mysterious Khidr (but does not name him), identified at times with Melchizedek, who is the figure that Moses accompanies on one journey. Although most Muslims regard him as an enigmatic saint or an angel, some see him as a prophet as well.
• Luqman: The Quran mentions the sage Luqman in the chapter named after him, but does not clearly identify him as a prophet. The most widespread Islamic belief views Luqman as a saint, but not as a prophet. The Arabic term wali (Arabic ولي, plural Awliyā' أولياء) is commonly translated into English as "Saint". However, the wali should not be confused with the Christian tradition of sainthood. A key difference is that the wali continues what a prophet taught without any change. However, other Muslims regard Luqman as a prophet as well.
• Mary (Maryam): A few scholars (such as Ibn Hazm) see Maryam (Mary) as a nabi and a prophetess, since God sent her a message via an angel. The Quran, however, does not explicitly identify her as a prophet. Islamic belief regards her as one of the holiest of women, but not as a prophet.
• Three persons of the town: These three unnamed person, who were sent to the same town, are referenced in chapter 36 of the Quran.
• Saul (Talut): Saul is not considered a prophet, but a divinely appointed king.
• Sons of Jacob: These men are sometimes not considered to be prophets, although most exegesis scholars consider them to be prophets, citing the hadith of Muhammad and their status as prophets in Judaism. The reason that some do not consider them as prophets is because of their behaviour with Yusuf (Joseph) and that they lied to their father.

Other people mentioned in Islamic literature

Numerous other people have been mentioned by scholars in the Hadith, exegesis, commentary. These people include:

• Habil (Abel)
• Danyal (Daniel)
• Elizabeth (Alyassabat)
• Hosea
• Isaiah (Ishiya)
• Jeremiah (Irmiya)
• Seth (Sheeth) (Khidir)
• Shem
• Zechariah, son of Berekiah

See also

• Biblical and Quranic narratives
• Major prophets in the Bible
• Succession to Muhammad
• Table of prophets of Abrahamic religions
• Twelve Minor Prophets

External links

• Prophets in Islam

Category:Articles about multiple people