Prophets in Islam
Muslims
identify the prophets of Islam (النبوة في الإسلام)
as those humans chosen by God in Islam
(Allah) and given revelation
to deliver to mankind. Muslims believe that every prophet was given a belief
to worship God and their respective followers believed it as well. Each
prophet, in Muslim belief, preached the same main belief of worshiping God (which in Arabic is translated as Allah) and in the
avoidance of idolatry
and sin.
Each came to preach Islam
at different times in history and some, including Jesus, told of the coming
of the final prophet and messenger of God, who would be named Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). Each prophet
directed a message to a different group of people, and thus would preach Islam
in accordance with the times. Although many lay Muslims and many Western
scholars and writers hold the view that Islam began with Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) in Mecca, this contradicts
the Quran, which says that
Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) simply was the last prophet
who preached the same faith that Adam
preached to his children.
Islamic tradition holds that God sent
messengers to every nation. Muslims believe that God finally sent Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) to
transmit the message of the Quran, the holy book which, according to Islam, is
universal in its message. The reason the Muslims believe the Quran is universal
and will remain uncorrupted is because they believe that previous Islamic holy books, namely
the Torah given to Moses; the Psalms given to David; and
the Gospel given to
Jesus, were for a particular time and community and because they
believe that the books were corrupted, many prophets were still to
come who could tell the people of what was correct in the scripture and warn
them of corruptions. Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) therefore, being the last prophet, was vouchsafed
a book which, in Muslim belief, will remain in its true form till the Last Day.
Adam آدم
Adam is the first prophet of Islam and,
according to Islamic tradition, the first human being. He is an important
figure in Judaism
and Christianity as
well and is best known for the story of Adam and Eve.
 |
| Size of Adam |
Idris إدريس
Prophet Idris is, at times, identified with the
Enoch found in the Bible. In the Quran,
it says that God exalted Idris to a lofty station and Muslims believe that he
lived at a time when pure monotheism was, for the most part, forgotten. He is
known to be the first prophet to wage a Jihad war.
Noah نوح
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 God
that led to him being selected to build the Ark
Hud هود
According to Islam, Hud, for whom the eleventh chapter of the Quran is named, was sent
by God some time after the Deluge to remind the
people of his nation about God. He was sent to the people of Ad, and is one of
the five Arab prophets.
Saleh صالح
According to the Quran, Saleh was ordered
by God to leave behind his
people after they disobeyed God's orders. They were the nation of Thamud and
they were known to have carved buildings and homes out of cliffs and mountains.
Abraham ابراهيم
Abraham is regarded by Muslims today as one of
the significant prophets as he is credited with building the Kaaba in Makkah. His family
included his prophetic sons Ismail
and Isaac as well as his
prophetic grandson Jacob
and the holy women Sarah
and Hagar.
 |
| Grave of Prophet Abraham |
Lut لوط
Lut is known in Islam for preaching against homosexuality in Sodom and Gomorrah, only
to be mocked and ignored by the people who lived there. This nation was
destroyed By God's command.
Ismail اسماعيل
According to Islamic tradition Ismail and his
mother Hajra's
search for water in the region around Makkah led God to reveal the Zamzam Well.
Isaac اسحاق
According to Islamic tradition, Isaac,
second-born son of Abraham, became a prophet in Canaan. He, along with his
brother Ismail, carried on the legacy of Abraham as prophets of Islam.
Jacob, according to the Quran was "of the
company of the Elect and the Good" (Yusuf Ali 38:47) and he
continued the legacy of both his father, Isaac,
and his grandfather, Abraham.
Like his ancestors, he was committed to worshipping and bowing to God.
Yusuf, son of Yaqub
and great-grandson of Abraham,
became a prominent advisor to the pharaoh
of Egypt since he was
believed to have been able to predict the future through dream interpretation.
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. But indeed they had thrown him in a well and took off his shirt and
smeared it with that of a killed ram's blood. Yusuf a.s. was afraid in the well
but knew very well that Allah was with him. Yusuf was a prophet as well as the
messenger of Allah (God). 99% of mankind’s beauty was put into this one man.
According to Islamic tradition, Ayub was
rewarded by a fountain of
youth, which removed all illnesses except death, for his service to Allah in his hometown
outside Al Majdal
Shoaib was a direct descendant of Abraham.
According to Islam, he was appointed by Allah to guide the people
of Madyan and Aykah, who lived near Mount Sinai. When the
people of the region failed to listen to his warnings, their villages were
destroyed by Allah.
Musa, referred to in the Quran more than any other
prophet, is significant for revealing the Tawrat to the ancient Egyptians. The Quran 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 Israelites after failing to convince the Egyptian pharaoh of Allah's power.
Musa subsequently led the freed Israelites 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 his speech impediment prevented him from doing so himself.
Dhul-Kifl is stated twice in the Quran (Surah
Al-Anbiya ayat 85 and Surah Sa'd ayat 48). Both references describe that
Dhul-Kifl was amongst the most patient and righteous of men. He is most often
identified with the Old Testament prophet Ezekiel because Ezekiel in
his journey to Nineveh went to a little town called Kefil and his shrine is
there. So, people believe Ezekiel as Dhul-Kifl.
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 conquered Goliath.
Zabur the short book, which was given by Allah to him.
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. He was the
youngest among his nineteen brothers, he was thirteen years old when he became
a prophet. He inherited his fathers throne because he made fair decisions. He
had the ability to control winds also and speak to animals.
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 was commanded by Allah to help the people
of Nineveh towards
righteousness. However, after Nineveh's
people refused to listen to Yunus, he became disgruntled and started to ignore Allah. 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 the Nineveh's returning to evil, illicit ways, the Scythians conquered them.
A descendant of Sulayman, Zakariya was a
patron of Maryam,
mother of Isa.
According to Islamic tradition, 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. His death was
considered tragic as several Israelites
severed his body in half.
Yahya
(John the Baptist)
يحيى
Islam says that, like his father Zakariya,
Yahya prayed to Allah to bless him with a son who could continue his legacy of
guiding people towards Islam. 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 Quran makes it very clear
that Isa is not the son of God as Christianity teaches, but rather a prophet,
and Messenger of God. He was able to perform many miracles but only by the will
of God. It also states that he received the New Testament although the
version seen today is different from the one revealed at the time. Muslims
believe that Isa was not crucified on the cross but instead is in heaven,
waiting to return to defeat the dajjal.
In Sura Maryam (19:88-89), The Quran states, "And they say: Allah the most
gracious has begotten a son. Indeed, you have made a abominable
assertion." This is such an unjust and grave claim that "At it the
skies are about to burst, and the earth split asunder, and the mountains to
crumble down crashing, that they have attributed to the Most Gracious a son! It
is not befitting for the Most Gracious to beget a son. There is none in the
heavens and the earth but comes to the Most Gracious as a slave" 19:90-93.
The claim of those who attribute such fallacy to Him is refuted in these
verses.
Muhammad محمد
Muhammed (peace and blessings be upon him) ibn Abdullah(53 B.H-11 A.H; 571-632
AD) is the Last Prophet in Islam. According to Islamic tradition Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) never
claimed Islam a new religion but in fact preached the unity of the religion
since Adam
the first person and prophet of Allah on the face of earth. The strongest
Islamic belief is that Islam is the only religion which all prophets preached.
Also Quran refers to all prophets as Muslims. Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) was born in Makkah where he 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. According to Islamic beliefs, at the age of forty during one of
those trips to the mountain, Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) began to, despite his illiteracy,
receive and recite verses from Allah
which today make up the Quran.
He quickly began to spread the message he was receiving, convincing a few
others in the city, including his wife, to convert to a form of Islam similar to one
practiced today. He became the leader of those who had submitted to Allah
(Muslims), moving to another city (present-day Medina) away from the
oppressors in Makkah. Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) served not just as a prophet, but as a
king/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 (peace and blessings be upon him) legacy after his
death in 629 proclaiming themselves
as caliphs (or successors) to
Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).
