The Quran mentions twenty five prophets,
most of whom are mentioned in the Bible as well. Who were these prophets? Where
did they live? Who were they sent to? What are their names in the Quran and the
Bible? And what are some of the miracles they performed? We will answer these
simple questions.
Before we begin, we must understand two matters:
a.In Arabic two different words are used, Nabi and Rasool.
A Nabi is a prophet and a Rasool is a messenger or an apostle. The
two words are close in meaning for our purpose.
b.There are four men mentioned in the Quran about whom Muslim
scholars are uncertain whether they were prophets or not: Dhul-Qarnain
(18:83), Luqman (Chapter 31), Uzair (9:30), and Tubba
(44:37, 50:14).
1.Aadam or Adam is the first prophet in Islam. He is also the
first human being according to traditional Islamic belief. Adam is mentioned
in 25 verses and 25 times in the Quran. God created Adam with His hands and
created his wife, Hawwa or Eve from Adam’s rib. He lived in Paradise
and was expelled from there to earth for disobedience. The story of his two sons
is mentioned once in Chapter 5 (Al-Maidah).
2.Idrees or Enoch is mentioned twice in the Quran. Other
than that little is known about him. He is said to have lived in Babylon, Iraq
and migrated to Egypt and that he was the first one to write with the pen.
3.Nooh or Noah is mentioned 43 times in the Quran. He is said
to be from Kirk, Iraq. Polytheism (shirk) appeared for the first time among his
people who lived close to the present day city of Kufa, in the south of Iraq. His
wife was an unbeliever as mentioned in Chapter 66 (At-Tahrim). His son also
chose disbelief and was drowned in the flood. The story is found in Chapter 11
(Hud).
One of his
great miracles was the Arc which he built on God’s command that rested on Mt. Judi
which is said to be between the Syrian-Turkish border today near the city of
Ayn Diwar.
4.Hud is said to be Heber in English. He is mentioned 7
times in the Quran. Hud is the first person to have spoken Arabic and was the
first Arab prophet. He was sent to the people of Aad in the area known
as Al-Ahqaf which is around Hadramaut in Yemen and the Ar-Rub al-Khali (the
Empty Quarter). God destroyed them by a fierce wind that blew for 8 days and
seven nights.
5.Salih is mentioned 9 times in the Quran. He was an Arab
prophet sent to the people of Thamud who lived in an area known as Al-Hijr
between Hijaz and Tabuk. Al-Hijr was the ancient name. Today, the
place is known as "Madain Salih" in Saudi Arabia and is a UNESCO world
heritage site. They are magnificent structures literally carved in the
mountains. The people demanded he produce a female camel out of the rocks to
prove his claim to being a prophet. He did, and warned them not to harm it,
but they killed it despite the warning of Salih. A loud shriek – saihah
- killed them all.
6.Ibrahim or Abraham is mentioned 69 times in 25 chapters of
the Quran. His father’s name was Aazar. They lived in the city of Ur
in the Chaldean kingdom. He escaped Ur to Harran, in the north of the Arabian
peninsula, in today’s Syria, when Nimrod, the king tried to burn him alive. From
Harran he went to Palestine with his wife Sarah and the son of his brother, Lot
(Loot in Arabic) and his wife. Due to a famine, they were forced to
move to Egypt.
He later returned
with Lot to the south of Palestine, Ibrahim settling in Bir Sab’a and Lot
settled close to the Dead Sea.
Abraham
then moved his second wife, Hagar, to Mecca with his son Ishmael and left them
there at God’s command. Mecca was a barren land and the well of zamzam was
provided by God for their survival. The ancient tribe of Jurhum settled their
due to zamzam. Abraham is said to be buried in Hebron, Palestine.
7, 8. Abraham
had two sons: Ishaq or Issac and Ismael or Ishmael. Issac is
mentioned 16 times in the Quran whereas Ishmael is mentioned 12 times. Issac
lived with his father, Abraham, and died in Hebron, Palestine. God ordered
Abraham to sacrifice Ishmael.
He went to Mecca with his parents and was left
there with his mother. Abraham visited Ishmael several times in Mecca, and
during one of those times, God ordered Abraham and Ishmael to build the Ka’bah
(the Holy House). Ishmael died in Mecca and was buried there. Issac is the
fore-father of the Jews and Ishmael is the forefather of the Arabs.