How many prophets did God send and why did He send them?
In Islam, God sent approximately 124,000 prophets (PBUT) to every nation.
Each prophet was sent with the same core message – to teach and remind their people to recognise the fact that their life was not created without a purpose and there is a Creator who created them and everything around them.
God makes this clear in the Quran:
“And We certainly sent to every nation a messenger, (saying), “Worship Allah (God alone) and avoid falsehood.” (Quran 16:36)
In Islam, all the prophets, including Moses, Jesus and Muhammad (PBUT), believed and worshipped the same God.
“Say, “We have believed in Allah (God) and in what was revealed to us and what was revealed to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and the Descendants, and in what was given to Moses and Jesus and to the prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and we are Muslims (who) submit to Him (God alone).” (Quran 3:84)
Some may argue that Muhammad (PBUH) is not mentioned in the above verse. But there are numerous verses in the Quran where God commands the Muslims to obey Him and follow Muhammad (PBUH) such as:
“And obey Allah and the Messenger (Muhammad) so that you may obtain mercy.” (Quran 3:132)
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Who are the prophets in Islam?
Although many prophets were sent to various nations, God has only revealed some of their names in the Quran and states that:
“And (We sent) messengers about whom We have related (their stories) to you before and messengers about whom We have not related to you.” (Quran 4:164)
Here is a list of the 25 prophets mentioned in the Quran:
- Adam
- Shiith (Seth)
- Idris (Enoch)
- Nuh (Noah)
- Hud (Heber)
- Salih (Methusaleh)
- Lut (Lot)
- Ibrahim (Abraham)
- Ismail (Ishmael)
- Ishaq (Isaac)
- Yaqub (Jacob)
- Yusuf (Joseph)
- Shu’aib (Jethro)
- Ayyub (Job)
- Dhulkifl (Ezekiel)
- Musa (Moses)
- Harun (Aaron)
- Dawud (David)
- Sulayman (Solomon)
- Ilias (Elias)
- Alyasa (Elisha)
- Yunus (Jonah)
- Zakariya (Zachariah)
- Yahya (John the Baptist)
- Isa (Jesus)
- Muhammad
(Peace be upon them all).
The three predominant prophets who have descended from the prophet Abraham are Moses, Jesus and Muhammad (PBUT).
The Jews believe in Moses (PBUH) and the Christians in Jesus (PBUH). But Muslims believe and accept all three as prophets because they were all sent by the same God.