Prophets of Islam
The
Qur'an identifies a number of men as
Prophets of Islam (Arabic: nabee نبي ; pl. anbiyaa
أنبياء ).
Muslims believe such individuals were assigned a special mission by God (
Arabic:
Allah) to guide humanity. Besides
Muhammad, this includes other
Abrahamic prophets such as
Moses and
Jesus.
According to the
Islamic creed, the essence of all the
prophets' (Arabic: nabee نبي ; pl. anbiyaa أنبياء ) messages is what Islam calls for: worshipping Allah alone and rejecting false deities. Islam is the religion of all prophets in human history ; all of them called for what Islam calls for, and so they declared belief in Islam. The message of Islam resembles the messages of all previous prophets of Allah. The Qur'an states: "Ibrahim was not a Jew nor a Christian, but he was (an) upright (man), a Muslim, and he was not one of the polytheists" (). Each of the prophets is believed to have been assigned a special mission by God (
Arabic:
Allah) to guide the whole or a group of the mankind, depending on the mission assigned to each.
Almighty
Allah (God) is believed to have instructed each of these prophets to warn his community against evil and urge his people to obey
Allah. Although only 25 prophets are mentioned by name in the Qur'an, a
Hadith (no. 21257 in
Musnad Ibn Hanbal) mentions that there were 124,000 of them in total throughout history, and the
Qur'an says that Allah has sent a prophet to every group of people throughout time, and that Muhammad is the last of the Prophets.() In general, Muslims regard the stories of the Qur'an as
historical. The message of all the prophets is believed to be the same. Many of these prophets are also found in the holy texts of
Judaism (The Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings; collectively known as the Old Testament to Christians) and
Christianity.
[The Bible; containing both the Old and New Testaments (see Similarities between the Bible and the Qur'an)]Only a tiny minority are believed to have been sent
holy books (such as the
Tawrat,
Zabur,
Injil and the
Qur'an), and those prophets are considered
"messengers" or
rasūl.
Muhammad is regarded in
Islamic belief as having undertaken a prophetic mission addressed to all of humanity rather than a specific populace, although both
Adam and
Nuh did indeed address all of humanity during their prophethood. Muslims believe in all the prophets (
nabi) and in all messengers (
rasul) sent by Allah. Some are held to be of high esteem (
ulul azmi) and are mentioned by name in the Qur'an. The difference between prophets and messengers is that although all received revelation (
wahi) from Allah, the messengers received a divine code of life or "Sharia" ultimately collected together in the form of a holy book.
The first prophet is
Adam, while the last prophet is
Muhammad, thus his title
Seal of the Prophets. Jesus is the result of a
virgin birth in Islam as in Christianity, and is regarded as a prophet like the others, and as the
Messiah.
[see the Qur'an ] Traditionally, five prophets are regarded as especially important in Islam:
Nuh (
Noah), Ibrahim (
Abraham),
Musa (
Moses),
Isa (
Jesus) and
Muhammad. Although it offers many incidents from the lives of many prophets, the Qur'an focuses with special narrative and rhetorical emphasis on the careers of the first four of these five major prophets. Of all the figures before Muhammad, Moses is referred to most frequently in the
Qur'an. (As for the fifth, the Qur'an is frequently addressed directly to Muhammad, and it often discusses situations encountered by him. Direct use of his name in the text, however, is rare.)
The following are named as prophets in the Qur'an; their
biblical names are given in parentheses.
Adam is the first prophet of Islam and the first human being. He was created by
Allah but brought to life forty days after being kept as a dry body. He is an important figure in
Judaism and
Christianity as well and he is best known for the
story of Adam and Eve.
In Islam, Idris lived during a period of
drought inflicted by
Allah to punish the people of the world who had forgotten him. Idris prayed to Allah for salvation and an end to the suffering and so the world received rain. Idris is also credited in Islam with introducing writing,
astronomy, and
mathematics.
Although best known for the
Deluge, Nuh was a primary preacher of
monotheism at his time. According to Islamic tradition, it was this faithfulness to Allah that led to his selection for building
the Ark that would continue life on Earth. In contrast with
Christian and
Jewish traditions which say the Deluge was a global event, there is some difference in opinion in
Islam over whether the flood associated with Nuh was localized or global.
According to Islam, Hud, for whom the
eleventh sura of the
Qur'an is named, was one of the few people to survive a great storm inflicted by
Allah, like with the
Deluge five generations earlier, to punish the people of the world who had forgotten about Allah.
According to the
Qur'an, Saleh was ordered by
Allah to leave behind his people after they disobeyed Allah's order to care for a special camel and instead killed it. In Saleh's absence, Allah punished the people with a large earthquake.
Ibrahim is regarded by Muslims today as one of the significant prophets as he is credited with building the
Kaaba in
Makkah. His family, including his son
Ismail, is also credited with helping create the civilization around Makkah that would later give birth to the final prophet of Islam,
Muhammad. Ibrahim is also noted for almost sacrificing his son Ismail for
Allah in an event now commemorated annually by
Eid ul-Adha.
Lut is most notable in Islam for attempting to preach against
homosexuality in
Sodom and Gomorra, only to be mocked and ignored by the people who lived there.
Ismail (Ishmael) اسماعيل
Ismail, first-born son of Ibrahim, is a notable prophet in Islam for his near-sacrifice in adulthood. According to Islamic tradition, as a child he and his mother
Hagar's search for water in the region around
Makkah led
Allah to reveal the
Zamzam Well which still flows to this day.
According to Islamic tradition, Ishaq, second-born son of Ibrahim, became a prophet in
Canaan. He, along with his brother Ismail, carried on the legacy of Ibrahim as prophets of Islam.
Yaqub, according to the
Qur'an was "of the company of the Elect and the Good"
[Yusuf Ali's translation of the Qur'an, ] and he continued the legacy of both his father,
Ishaq, and his grandfather,
Ibrahim. Like his ancestors, he was committed to worshipping one Allah.
Yusuf, son of
Yaqub and great-grandson of
Ibrahim, became a prominent advisor to the
pharaoh of
Egypt since he was believed to have seen a dream that predicted the economic state of Egypt. He spent a large part of his life away from his eleven brothers, who, jealous of Yusuf's success, told their father
Yaqub that
Yusuf had died.
Ayub (Job) أيوب
According to Islamic tradition, Ayyub was rewarded by a
fountain of youth, which removed all illnesses except death, for his service to
Allah in his hometown outside
Al Majdal.
Ayub is believed to have suffered an illness for 18 years as a patience test by
God.
Shoaib was a direct descendant of
Ibrahim. According to Islam, he was appointed by
Allah to guide the people of Midyan and Aykah, who lived near
Mount Sinai. When the people of the region failed to listen to his warnings, Allah destroyed the disbeliever's villages.
Musa, referred to in the
Qur'an more than any other prophet, is significant for revealing the
Tawrat to the
Egyptians. The
Qur'an says Musa realized his connection with Allah after receiving commands from him during a stop at Mount Sinai. He later went on to free the enslaved Hebrews after failing to convince the Egyptian
pharaoh of Allah's power. Musa subsequently led the freed Hebrews for forty years through the desert on a long attempt to capture
Canaan, the Promised Land. During this long journey, Musa received the Tawrat and the
Ten Commandments during another trip to Mount Sinai. At the end of his life, according to Islamic tradition, Musa chose to die to be closer to Allah instead of taking an offer that would have extended his life.
Harun served as an assistant to his elder brother
Musa. In Islam, he, like Musa, was given the task of saving the
Israelites from the
Egyptian
pharaoh. He would often speak for Musa when Musa's speech impediment prevented him from doing so himself
The status of
Dhul-Kifl as a prophet is debatable within Islam, although both sides can agree that he was indeed a righteous man who strived in the way of Allah.
In Islam, the
Zabur (equated by some with the
Psalms) were revealed to Daud by
Allah. He is also significant as he is the one who defeated
Goliath.
Sulayman learned a significant amount from his father
Daud before being made a prophet by Allah. According to Islamic tradition, Sulayman was given power over all things, including the
jinns. Known for his honesty and fairness, he also led a kingdom that extended into southern
Arabia.
Ilyas, descendant of
Harun, took over control of the southern part of the
Arabian Peninsula after
Sulayman's kingdom collapsed. Islamic tradition says he attempted to convince the people of the Peninsula of the existence of only one god, but when the people refused to listen they were smitten with a drought and famine.
Al-Yasa took over the job of leading the Israelites after Ilyas' death. He attempted to show the king and queen of
Israel the powers of Allah, but was dismissed as a magician. Subsequently, the
Assyrians were able to conquer the Israelites and inflict significant damage on them.
Yunus (Jonah) يونس
Islamic tradition shows that Yunus was commanded by Allah to help the people of
Nineveh towards righteousness. However, after Nineveh's people refused to listen to God, he became disgruntled and started to ignore him. After an incident where Yunus was spared death, he decided to re-commit himself to striving for Allah, attempting to lead the people of Nineveh to righteousness. But after returning to evil, illicit ways, the
Scythians conquered them.
A descendant of
Sulayman, Zakariya was a patron of
Maryam, mother of
Isa. According to the Quran, he prayed to Allah asking for a son, since his sterile wife
al-Yashbi could not provide one. Allah granted his wishes, temporarily lifting his wife's sterility and allowing her to give birth to
Yahya.
Yahya (John the Baptist) يحيى
Islam says that, throughout his lifetime, Yahya captivated audiences with his powerful sermons that preached
monotheism.
One of the highest ranked prophets in Islam, Isa was sent to guide the
Children of Israel. The
Qur'an makes it very clear that in Islam, Isa is not the son of Allah, as Christianity teaches, but rather a prophet of Allah. He was able to perform many miracles, even raising the dead. Islamic traditions states that he abstained from
drinking alcohol. It also states that he received a
revelation, the
Injil, though its details are lost. Muslims believe that
Jesus was not crucified on the cross, but is in
heaven, waiting to return after the
Imam Mahdi and will defeat the
Dajjal.
Muhammad is the most revered prophet in Islam and the only one who does not exist in either
Judaism nor
Christianity. Born in
Makkah in 570 AD, Muhammad spent the first part of his life as a well-travelled merchant. He would often spend his time in the mountains surrounding Makkah in prayer contemplating the situation with the city. At the age of forty, during one of those trips to the mountain, Muhammad began to, despite his
illiteracy, receive and recite verses from
Allah which today make up the
Qur'an. He quickly spred the message he was receiving, converting a few others in the city, including his wife. He claimed to be the last (seal) of the prophets with a message to all humanity. When oppression become untolerable for his followers, Mohammed first asked his fellow muslims to migrate to Medina and later himself migrated to
Medina away from the oppressors in Makkah. Muhammad served not just as a prophet, but as a military leader who helped defeat the Makkans in 624 during the
Battle of Badr. He continued to lead the
Muslims spreading Islam across the
Arabian Peninsula. He performed the first
hajj in 629 and established the form of Islam, with its
five pillars still practiced by Muslims today. Others continued Muhammad's legacy after his death in 629 proclaiming themselves as
caliphs (or successors) to Muhammad.
The following verses open up possibilities for prophets other than those mentioned in the Qur'an:
* "And certainly We sent messengers before you: there are some of them that We have mentioned to you and there are others whom We have not mentioned to you..." [40:78]
* "For We assuredly sent amongst every People a messenger..."[16:36]
The verses open up debate, and there is no strong consensus as to the other authentic Prophets.
Al-Khidr is not mentioned by name, but is traditionally assumed to be referred to in Qur'an 18:66.
Biblical prophets
Danyal (Daniel) and
Ishaia (Isaiah) are not mentioned in Qur'an but often revered as prophets.
Luqman is mentioned in the
sura named after him but it is unclear whether he is a prophet or a
wali.
Additional numerous historical figures may have been prophets, but this is a source of debate and contention, among them:
Zoroaster,
Gautama Buddha and
Ram. However, Muslims will state that there is no way of knowing for sure since they are not mentioned by name in the Qur'an. An argument often used in support of the prophethood of such men is that they came with the word of God, but it was later corrupted, this accounting for the differences between Islam, and the respective religions with which each man is associated. The Hadith and Qur'an support such claims that say that a messenger was sent to every people.
Mary, mother of Jesus, is not normally regarded as a prophetess, but is regarded as having been sent a message from God via an
angel. A few scholars (e.g.
Ibn Hazm) have argued that she was a prophetess, but she is not mentioned in the Qur'an as one, and thus it cannot be definitely established if she is or isn't. The majority position among Islamic scholars is that no woman has received a prophetic mission from God.
*
Nubuwwah*
Salaf*
Sahaba* Hoda, About.Com Guide.
About.Com "Prophets of Islam: Since the beginning of time, God has sent prophets to teach His message". Retrieved April, 8, 2006.
* Dr. Yusuf Al-Qaradawi 15/Mar/2006.
"Was There Islam Before Prophet Muhammad's Mission?". Retrieved April, 8, 2006.
* Islam101.Com
"Introductory Theology: Islam Explained: What is Islam?, withSuggested reading list". Retrieved April, 8, 2006.
* Dr. Abdullah Al-faqih 23/04/2003.
"The Message of the Messengers". Retrieved April, 8, 2006.
* Islam - The Religion of All Prophets (www.islaam.ca) PDF article. Published: 2006.
"Why do Muslims Believe that Muhammad (may Allah raise his rank and grant him peace) was a Messenger of God?". Retrieved April, 8, 2006.
*
- Stories of the Prophets, Seerah of Companions, Mothers of Believers*
Ibn Hazm on women's prophethood*
itsIslam.net - Islamic Articles - Stories of Prophets*
- Are the Prophets equal?*
TurnToIslam.Com Muslim Belief of the Prophets, Following Abraham*
Prophetic Midrash -- Information on Prophets of the Bible and the Qur'an
