Prophets and messengers in Islam

"Rasul" redirects here. For other uses, see Rasul (disambiguation).

Prophets in Islam (Arabic: الأنبياء في الإسلام‎) include "messengers" (rasul, pl. rusul), bringers of a divine revelation via an angel;[1][2] and "prophets" (nabī, pl. anbiyāʼ), lawbringers that Muslims believe were sent by God to every people, bringing God's message in a language they can understand.[1][3] Belief in prophets is one of the six articles of the Islamic faith, and specifically mentioned in the Quran.[4]

In Islamic belief the first prophet was the first human being, Adam (Adem). Many Jewish and Christian prophets and revelations they delivered are mentioned in the Quran as prophets and revelations but usually with different names, (the Jewish Elisha is called Alyasa, 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).[1]

Unique to Islam is Muhammad (Muḥammad ibn ʿAbdullāh), who Muslims believe is the "Seal of the Prophets" (Khatam an-Nabiyyin, i.e. the last prophet); and the text revealed to him (the Quran), which Muslims believe is unique among divine revelations as the only one protected by God from distortion or corruption,[5] destined to remain in its true form until the Last Day.[6]

In Muslim belief, every prophet 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 and some told of the coming of the final prophet and messenger of God, who would be named "Ahmed" commonly known as Muhammad. Each prophet directed a message to a different group of people, and thus would preach Islam in accordance with the times.

Etymology

In Arabic and Hebrew,[7] the term nabī (Arabic plural form:anbiyāʼ) means "prophet". Forms of this noun occur 75 times in the Quran. The term nubuwwah (meaning "prophethood") occurs five times in the Quran. The terms rasūl (plural: rusul) and mursal (plural: mursalūn) denote "messenger" or "apostle" and occur more than 300 times. The term for a prophetic "message", risālah (plural: risālāt), appears in the Quran in ten instances.[8]

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.[9][10][11][12]

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:[13]

Prophet and Messenger in the Bible
Arabic Arabic Pronunciation English Greek Greek pronunciation Strong Number Hebrew Hebrew pronunciation Strong Number
نبي Nabi Prophet προφήτης prophētēs G4396 נביא nâbîy' H5030
رسول Rasul Messenger, Apostle ἄγγελος, ἀπόστολος ä'n-ge-los, ä-po'-sto-los G32, G652 שליח,מלאך mal·äkh', shä·laḥ' H4397,H7971

In the Hebrew Bible, the word "prophet" (Hebrew: navi) occurs more commonly, and the word "messenger" (Hebrew: mal'akh) refers to angels (Arabic: ملائكة, Malāīkah), 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).[14]

In the New Testament, however, the word "messenger" becomes more frequent, sometimes in association with the concept of a prophet.[15] "Messenger" may refer to Jesus, to his Apostles and to John the Baptist.

Characteristics

In Muslim belief, every 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.[16] The Quran itself calls Islam the "religion of Abraham" (Ibrahim)[17] and refers to Jacob (Yaqub) and the Twelve Tribes of Israel as being Muslim.[18]

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[19]

Status

The Quran speaks of the prophets as being the greatest human beings of all time.[16] A prophet, in the Muslim sense of the term, is a person whom God specially chose to teach the faith of Islam.[16] Before man was created, God had specifically selected those men whom He would use as prophets. This does not, however, mean that every prophet began to prophesy from his birth. Some were called to prophesy late in life, in Muhammad's case at the age of 40.[20] Others, such as John the Baptist, were called to prophesy while still at a young age and Jesus prophesied while still in his cradle.[21]

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:[8]

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[22]

Biblical stories reproduced in the Quran (e.g., Job, Moses, Joseph (Yusuf) etc.) differ somewhat from those of the Bible 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. "Assuredly God will defend those who believe."[23][24] Thus the Islamic Isa did not die on the cross like the Christian Jesus, but deceived his enemies and ascended to heaven.

According to orthodox Sunni doctrine, prophets are unlike other human beings (including "the companions" of the Prophet, the members of Muhammad's family, and Sufi saints) in that they are "protected from major and minor wrongdoing" (Ma'soom). However, they also "share no divine attributes", and possess "no knowledge or power" other than that granted to them by God.[25]

Numbers

Muslims believe that many prophets existed, including many not mentioned in the Quran. The Quran itself refers to at least four other prophets but does not name them.[26][27] One less-than-sound hadith states there have been 124,000 prophets,[28][29] while another scholarly source states that "their exact numbers are not known with any kind of certainty."[25]

Female prophets

Most mainstream Sunni scholars agree that prophets were males only.[30] Still, some like Ibn Hazm, Qartubi, Ibn Hajir, and al Ash‘ari thought that the verses that mention angels speaking to Mary are proofs of her prophet hood.[31][32] Also, Ibn Hajir interrupts the Hadith "Many among men attained perfection but among women none attained the perfection except Mary, the daughter of `Imran and Asiya, the wife of Pharaoh." He said perfection is prophet hood in turn his claim that Mary and Asiya were prophets.[33]

Scriptures and other gifts

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.[34] Nonetheless, Islam speaks of respecting all the previous scriptures, even in their current forms.[35]

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

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.[49] It also mentions that Joseph[50] and Moses[51] both attained wisdom when they reached full age; David received wisdom with kingship, after slaying Goliath;[52] Lot (Lut received wisdom whilst prophesying in Sodom and Gomorrah;[53] John the Baptist received wisdom while still a mere youth;[54] and Jesus received wisdom and was vouchsafed the Gospel.[55]

Prophets and messengers

All messengers mentioned in the Quran are also prophets, but not all prophets are messengers.[56]

Prophets and messengers in the Qur'an
Name Prophet Messenger Imam Book Sent to Law (Sharia) Chronological Order
Harun ✓ [57] 15
Ibrahim ✓ [58] ✓ [59] ✓ [60] Scrolls of Abraham [61] The people of Ibrahim [62] ✓ [63] 6
Adam/ Aadam ✓ [64] 1
Da'ud ✓ [65] Zabur (Psalms) [66] 17
Ilias ✓ [65] ✓ [67] The people of Elias [68] 19
Alyasa ✓ [65] 20
Idris ✓ [69] 2
Dhul-Kifl ✓ [70] 16
Uzair ✓ [71]
Hud ✓ [72] ✓ [72] ʿĀd [73] 4
Is'haq ✓ [74] 9
Isma'il ✓ [75] ✓ [75] 8
Yaqub ✓ [74] 10
Shuaib ✓ [76] ✓ [76] Midian [77] 13
Isa ✓ [78] ✓ [79] ✓ [80][81] Injil (Gospel) [82] The people of Israel [83] ✓ [63] 24
Ayyub ✓ [84] 12
Yahya ✓ [85] 23
Yusuf ✓ [84] ✓ [86] 11
Younis ✓ [65] ✓ [87] The people of Younis [88] 21
Yusa 18|60|s=ns|e=60">Quran 18:60–60</ref>
Lut ✓ [89] ✓ [90] The people of Lot [91] 7
Nuh ✓ [65] ✓ [92] ✓ [80][81] The people of Noah [93] ✓ [94] 3
Muhammad ✓ [95][96] ✓ [96] ✓ [60] Quran [97] Whole Mankind and Jinn [98] ✓ [63] 25
Musa ✓ [99] ✓ [99] ✓ [80][81] Tawrah (Torah) [100] Pharaoh and his establishment [101] ✓ [63] 14
Saleh ✓ [102] ✓ [102] Thamud [103] 5
Samoel 2|246|s=ns">Quran 2:246</ref>
Sulaiman ✓ [65] 18
Zakariyyah ✓ [65] 22

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 path of the truth, and that they cannot speak, except the truth about God. It is obligatory to know twenty-five particular messengers.[104]

    Other persons

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

    Other special persons in the Quran

    Prophets in Islamic literature

    Numerous other prophets have been mentioned by scholars in the Hadith, exegesis, commentary as well as in the famous collections of Qisas Al-Anbiya (Stories of the Prophets). These prophets include:

    See also

    Notes

    1. 1 2 3 Campo, Juan Eduardo (2009). Encyclopedia of Islam. Infobase Publishing. pp. 559–560. ISBN 9780816054541. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
    2. ↑ Shaatri, A. I. (2007). Nayl al Rajaa' bisharh' Safinat an'najaa'. Dar Al Minhaj.
    3. ↑ Quran 30:47
    4. ↑ Quran 2:285
    5. ↑ Understanding the Qurán - Page xii, Ahmad Hussein Sakr - 2000
    6. ↑ Quran 15:9
    7. ↑ The Hebrew root nun-vet-alef ("navi") is based on the two-letter root nun-vet which denotes hollowness or openness; to receive transcendental wisdom, one must make oneself "open". Cf. Rashbam's comment to Genesis 20:7
    8. 1 2 Uri Rubin, "Prophets and Prophethood", Encyclopedia of the Qur'an
    9. ↑ Exodus 3:13-14, 4:13
    10. ↑ Isaiah 6:8
    11. ↑ Jeremiah 1:7
    12. ↑ A. J. Wensinck, "Rasul", Encyclopaedia of Islam
    13. ↑ Strong's Concordance
    14. ↑ Albert Barnes under Malachi 2:7 and 3:1
    15. ↑ Hebrews 3:1; John 17:3; Matthew 11:10; Mark 1:2; Ephesians 3:5, 4:11; First Epistle to the Corinthians 28:12
    16. 1 2 3 Wheeler, Historical Dictionary of Prophets in Islam and Judaism, "Prophets"
    17. ↑ Quran 3:67
    18. ↑ Quran 2:123–133
    19. ↑ Quran 42:13
    20. ↑ Wheeler, Historical Dictionary of Prophets in Islam and Judaism, "Noah"
    21. ↑ Quran 19:30–33
    22. ↑ Quran 4:69
    23. ↑ Quran 22:49–133
    24. ↑ Rosskeen Gibb,, Hamilton Alexander; Pellat, Charles; Schacht, Joseph; Lewis,, Bernard (1973). The Encyclopaedia of Islam. Brill. p. 84.
    25. 1 2 Al-Amriki, Yusuf Talal Ali; Ullah, Qazi Thanaa (1985). Essential Hanafi Handbook of Fiqh. Lahore, Pakistan: Kazi Publications. pp. 23–25.
    26. ↑ Quran 2:247
    27. ↑ Quran 36:12
    28. ↑ "Evidence of 124,000 Prophets/Messengers (peace be upon them) in Islam". Islam beta. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
    29. ↑ Muṭahharī, Ayatullah Murtadha (2006). Islam and Religious Pluralism - Second Edition. World Federation of the KSIMC. p. vi. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
    30. ↑ "There were no female prophets - Islam web - English". www.islamweb.net. Retrieved 2015-11-27.
    31. ↑ "Surat 'Ali `Imran [3:42] - The Noble Qur'an - القرآن الكريم". legacy.quran.com. Retrieved 2015-11-27.
    32. ↑ http://islamqa.info/en/158044With regard to Prophethood, some of the scholars – such as Abu’l-Hasan al-Ash‘ari, al-Qurtubi and Ibn Hazm – were of the view that there were some female Prophets! including Maryam bint ‘Imraan. Their evidence is the verses in which it says that Allah, may He be exalted, sent revelation to the mother of Moosa, for example, and what it says about the angels speaking to Maryam (peace be upon her), and also what it says about Allah, may He be exalted, having chosen her above the women of the world.
    33. ↑ http://islamqa.info/en/7181The scholars differed as to the meaning of the perfection of women. Some said, it refers to Prophethood. Ibn Hajar said in “al-Fath”: “… it is as if he said: No women attained Prophethood except for So and so and So and so.” (al-Fath, 6/447).
    34. ↑ Concise Encyclopedia of Islam, Cyril Glasse, "Holy Books"
    35. ↑ Concise Encyclopedia of Islam, Cyril Glasse
    36. ↑ Quran 53:36
    37. ↑ Quran 87:18–19
    38. ↑ Quran 5:44
    39. ↑ Encyclopedia of Islam, "Psalms"
    40. ↑ Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Holy Quran: Text, Translation and Commentary; Martin Lings, Mecca; Abdul Malik, In Thy Seed
    41. ↑ Quran 3:184 and 35:25
    42. ↑ Quran 3:184
    43. ↑ Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Holy Quran: Text, Translation and Commentary, Appendix: "On the Injil"
    44. ↑ Encyclopedia of Islam, "Injil"
    45. ↑ Quran 87:19
    46. ↑ Marmaduke Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Quran; Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Holy Quran: Text, Translation and Commentary
    47. ↑ Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Holy Quran: Text, Translation and Commentary
    48. ↑ Numbers 21:14
    49. ↑ Quran 26:83
    50. ↑ [Quran 10:22]
    51. ↑ Quran 28:14
    52. ↑ Quran 2:251
    53. ↑ Quran 21:74
    54. ↑ Quran 19:14
    55. ↑ Quran 3:48
    56. ↑ Morgan, Diane (2010). Essential Islam: A Comprehensive Guide to Belief and Practice. ABC-CLIO. p. 38. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
    57. ↑ Quran 19:53
    58. ↑ Quran 19:41
    59. ↑ Quran 9:70
    60. 1 2 Quran 2:124
    61. ↑ Quran 87:19
    62. ↑ Quran 22:43
    63. 1 2 3 4 Quran 42:13
    64. ↑ Quran 2:31
    65. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Quran 6:89
    66. ↑ Quran 17:55
    67. ↑ Quran 37:123
    68. ↑ Quran 37:124
    69. ↑ Quran 19:56
    70. ↑ Quran 21:85–86
    71. ↑ Quran 9:30
    72. 1 2 Quran 26:125
    73. ↑ Quran 7:65
    74. 1 2 Quran 19:49
    75. 1 2 Quran 19:54
    76. 1 2 Quran 26:178
    77. ↑ Quran 7:85
    78. ↑ Quran 19:30
    79. ↑ Quran 4:171
    80. 1 2 3 Quran 46:35
    81. 1 2 3 Quran 33:7
    82. ↑ Quran 57:27
    83. ↑ Quran 61:6
    84. 1 2 Quran 4:89
    85. ↑ Quran 3:39
    86. ↑ Quran 40:34
    87. ↑ Quran 37:139
    88. ↑ Quran 10:98
    89. ↑ Quran 6:86
    90. ↑ Quran 37:133
    91. ↑ Quran 7:80
    92. ↑ Quran 26:107
    93. ↑ Quran 26:105
    94. ↑ Quran 13:42
    95. ↑ Page 50 "As early as Ibn Ishaq (85-151 AH) the biographer of Muhammad, the Muslims identified the Paraclete - referred to in John's ... "to give his followers another Paraclete that may be with them forever" is none other than Muhammad."
    96. 1 2 Quran 33:40
    97. ↑ Quran 42:7
    98. ↑ Quran 7:158
    99. 1 2 Quran 19:51
    100. ↑ Quran 53:36
    101. ↑ Quran 43:46
    102. 1 2 Quran 26:143
    103. ↑ Quran 7:73
    104. ↑ Keller, N. H. (1994). Reliance of the Traveller. Amana publications.
    105. ↑ Quran 40:78
    106. ↑ Quran 16:36
    107. ↑ A-Z of Prophets in Islam, B. M. Wheeler, "Khidr"
    108. ↑ A-Z of Prophets in Islam, B. M. Wheeler, "Luqman"
    109. ↑ Concise Encyclopaedia of Islam, Cyril Glasse, "Prophets in Islam"
    110. ↑ Ibn Hazm on women's prophethood
    111. ↑ Beyond The Exotic: Women's Histories In Islamic Societies, p. 402. Ed. Amira El-Azhary Sonbol. Syracuse University Press, 2005. ISBN 9780815630555
    112. ↑ Quran 36:13–21
    113. ↑ (6:74)
    114. 1 2 The Holy Quran: Text, Translation and Commentary, Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Note 364: "Examples of the Prophets slain were: "the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar" (Matt. 23:35)
    115. ↑ Wheeler, B. M. "Daniel". Historical Dictionary of Prophets in Islam and Judaism. Daniel is not mentioned by name in the Qur'an but there are accounts of his prophethood in later Muslim literature...
    116. ↑ Women in the Qur'ān, Traditions, and Interpretation. Oxford University Press. 1994. pp. 68–69.
    117. ↑ Abdullah Yusuf Ali refers to Hosea 8:14 for his notes on Q. 5:60
    118. ↑ Historical Dictionary of Prophets in Islam and Judaism, B. M. Wheeler, "Appendix II"
    119. ↑ Tafsir al-Qurtubi, vol 3, p 188; Tafsir al-Qummi, vol 1, p 117.
    120. ↑ Qur'an 3:49–53
    121. 1 2 Historical Dictionary of Prophets In Islam And Judaism, Brandon M. Wheeler, Disciples of Christ: "Muslim exegesis identifies the disciples as Peter, Andrew, Matthew, Thomas, Philip, John, James, Bartholomew, and Simon"
    122. ↑ Stories of the Prophets, Ibn Kathir, "Adam"
    123. ↑ A-Z of Prophets in Islam and Judaism, Appendix: "List of Prophets in Islam"

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