How many Prophets?

[IjazAhmad]

Salamun alaikum Br. Joseph & Co

I was contemplating the verses and information provided by you in your article End of Prophethood. I found a wikipedia page about the Prophets and Messengers. This website mentions Noah, Lot (pbut) etc. as Prophets, but does the Qur'an confirm that Noah and Lot were Prophets?

Many are mentioned in this list, but some can't be confirmed as Prophets. In your article you wrote that Prophets are given a book (kitab), but can God also send more Prophets in order to help the first one?

19:41   And recall in the Book, Abraham; he was a man of truth, a prophet.
19:42   When he said to his father: "O father, why do you serve what does not hear or see, nor help you in anything?"
19:43   "My father, knowledge has come to me which did not come to you. So follow me that I will guide you to a level path."
19:44   "My father, do not serve the devil. For the devil was ever disobedient to the Almighty."
19:45   "My father, I fear that a retribution will inflict you from the Almighty and that you will become an ally to the devil."
19:46   He said: "Have you abandoned my gods O Abraham? If you do not stop this, I will stone you; and let me be."
19:47   He said: "Peace be upon you, I will ask forgiveness for you from my Lord. He has been most kind to me."
19:48   "And I will abandon you and what you call on besides God. And I will implore my Lord, hoping that I will not be mischievous in imploring my Lord."
19:49   So when he abandoned them and what they served besides God, We granted him Isaac and Jacob, and each of them We made a prophet.

Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were Prophets, does it mean that each one received a scripture or was it just one? - The suhuf of Abraham (pbuh) - 87:19

In your article, you said that Prophets are given a scripture, right? So why did not every Prophet receive a scripture? - Maybe it is not necessary? - What do you think?

How many Prophets exist in Islam and which of these were given a book?

Wa'salaam!
Ijaz, A.

[Seraphina]

Selam brother Ijaz,
I'm very excited you asked this question, and I can't wait for brother Joseph's response It's a subject I'm studing lately in my personal studies of the Quran. I still need to study more on this topic, but here is portion of the Quran I think might help:
"And We gave to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob - all [of them] We guided. And Noah, We guided before; and among his descendants, David and Solomon and Job and Joseph and Moses and Aaron. Thus do We reward the doers of good. And Zechariah and John and Jesus and Elias - and all were of the righteous. And Ishmael and Elisha and Jonah and Lot - and all [of them] We preferred over the worlds." (Al-'An'am, 84-86).
There is also another verse (I can't recall the surah and verse), where Allah says that there were many prophets sent before Muhammad, some of them will be mentioned in the Quran, some of them won't. My guess is that the ones that aren't mentioned in the Quran are only found in Bible. From what I've read, the Quran deals only with those prophets whose life-story or message was corrupted from people. As the rest of them, their stories and messages are in the Bible. Here's an example:
"Have you not considered the assembly of the Children of Israel after [the time of] Moses when they said to a prophet of theirs, "Send to us a king, and we will fight in the way of Allah "? He said, "Would you perhaps refrain from fighting if fighting was prescribed for you?" They said, "And why should we not fight in the cause of Allah when we have been driven out from our homes and from our children?" But when fighting was prescribed for them, they turned away, except for a few of them. And Allah is Knowing of the wrongdoers.
And their prophet said to them, "Indeed, Allah has sent to you Saul as a king." They said, "How can he have kingship over us while we are more worthy of kingship than him and he has not been given any measure of wealth?" He said, "Indeed, Allah has chosen him over you and has increased him abundantly in knowledge and stature. And Allah gives His sovereignty to whom He wills. And Allah is all-Encompassing [in favor] and Knowing." (Al Baqarah, 246-247). The unnamed prophet here is Samuel, whose story is found in the Old Testament part of Bible. Allah wants us not to make distinction between messengers, and the fact that some of them are not named in the Quran doesn't make them inferior to those that were.
Anyways, can't wait for brother Joseph's reply.
God bless you all, selam

[good logic]

Greetings IjazAhmad.

This verse defines "prophets":
[Qoran 2:213] The people used to be one community when God sent the prophets as bearers of good news, as well as warners. He sent down with them the Scripture, bearing the truth, to judge among the people in their disputes"

Here are the prophets mentioned in Qoran?:

Noah ( 33:7) ,Abraham ( 19:41, 33:7), Isaac ( 19:49 , 37:112) , Jacob (19:49) David ( 17:55) Solomon , Job  Joseph (surah 6) Moses (l 19:51 , 33:7)  Aaron ( 19:53)  Zachariah , John ( 3:39) , Jesus ( 19:30 , 33:7) ,Elias , Ismail (19:54) . Elisha ,Jonah , Lot . Idris (19:56) , Muhammad (Last of the prophets, 33:40).
 All of them are mentioned in surah "AAnbiyaa"-The prophets.
GOD bless you.
Peace.

[Seraphina]

Greetings Good logic,
Your post drew my attention because I noticed you mention nowhere Adam, Hud, Saleh, Shuhaib, Dhulkifli, Yunus pbut. They are also mentioned as prophets in the Quran, maybe not in surah Anbiya, but in other surahs.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but there's nothing in Quran to suggest that only those prophets mentioned in surah Anbiya were prophets. There are other prophets mentioned in other Quranic surahs. Remember: "we hear we obey - we make no distinction between messengers"
God bless you, selam.
 

[good logic]

Greetings Seraphina.

Thank you for your reply.

 I gave verse {2:213} as definition of prophets? So according to that definition ,the names you mentioned are spoken of in the Quran, but not as prophets, nor as deliverers of Scripture, :

Adam ( 3:33)

Hud, Saleh, and Shu 'aib (named as messengers in 26:125, 26:143, 26:178 respectively)

Zal-Kifl (described as steadfast, patient and righteous 21:85 and 38:48)

Luqman (described as one endowed with wisdom 31:12)

 None of them  delivered a Scripture? Thus according to the definition of 2:213 they are not prophets.

Of course if verse/s from Qoran are provided to state otherwise ,I will stand corrected.

GOD bless you.
Peace.

[Seraphina]

Alaikum selam brother Good Logic,
You're welcome, it's a pleasure to discuss with you
Ahaaaaa, so you were referring only to the messengers who delivered scriptures - I seem to have missed this detail. But in your post you mention Noah, Isaac, Jacob, Job, etc. who didn't deliver scripture neither. So, your point is still unclear to me.
Anyways, I'm waiting for my brother Joseph to clarify this matter,
God bless you brother, selam

[good logic]

Greetings Seraphina.

You said in your last post:

. But in your post you mention Noah, Isaac, Jacob, Job, etc. who didn't deliver scripture neither. So, your point is still unclear to me.

Here is what Qoran says about Noah:
33:7
Recall that we took from the prophets their covenant, including you (O Muhammad), Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus the son of Mary. We took from them a solemn pledge.*
وَإِذ أَخَذنا مِنَ النَّبِيّـۧنَ ميثٰقَهُم وَمِنكَ وَمِن نوحٍ وَإِبرٰهيمَ وَموسىٰ وَعيسَى ابنِ مَريَمَ وَأَخَذنا مِنهُم ميثٰقًا غَليظًا
i.e Noah was a prophet.

Here is what Qoran says about Isaac and Jacob:
19:49
Because he abandoned them and the gods they worshiped beside God, we granted him Isaac and Jacob, and we made each of them a prophet.
فَلَمَّا اعتَزَلَهُم وَما يَعبُدونَ مِن دونِ اللَّهِ وَهَبنا لَهُ إِسحٰقَ وَيَعقوبَ وَكُلًّا جَعَلنا نَبِيًّا

i.e Isaac and Jacob were prophets.

Just thought I clarify these. But I will also look forward to what others have to say in this subject.

I hope you find your answers . I also think we have Qoran which confirms all the other scriptures before it, so that is the main and important message. How many prophets and when before Qoran is not important.

Thank you sister,
GOD bless you.
Peace.

[Seraphina]

Selam Good Logic,
In your post you share (regarding Hud, Saleh, Shuaib, etc): "None of them  delivered a Scripture? Thus according to the definition of 2:213 they are not prophets.". So you're saying that 'a prophet' is 'a messenger who delivered a scripture'.
Yet, in the next post you mention Noah, Isaac and Jacob as 'prophets'. If so, then what scripture did they deliver?
Because to my knowledge the only known scriptures are: The scrolls (from Abraham), Tewrat (from Moses), Zabur (from David) Injeel (from Jesus) and Quran (from Muhammad) - peace be upon them all.
Looking forward to brother Joseph's answer if my posts on this subject are correct or not.
God bless you too brother,
Selam

[good logic]

Peace Seraphina.

Qoran says they brought a scripture?  Check surah 6!!!verses 83-86 of Sura 6 we read 18 names, starting with Abraham and ending with Lot, they includeNoah, . Verse 89 confirms that all these 18 were prophets of God:

 

[good logic]

Continued ...
Sorry ,posted by mistake!

I was saying verses 83-86 of Sura 6 we read 18 names, starting with Abraham and ending with Lot,which include Noah, Isaac and Jacob. Verse 89 confirms that all these 18 were prophets of God:

6:89
Those were the ones to whom we have given the scripture, wisdom, and prophethood. If these people disbelieve, we will substitute others in their place, and the new people will not be disbelievers.
أُولٰئِكَ الَّذينَ ءاتَينٰهُمُ الكِتٰبَ وَالحُكمَ وَالنُّبُوَّةَ فَإِن يَكفُر بِها هٰؤُلاءِ فَقَد وَكَّلنا بِها قَومًا لَيسوا بِها بِكٰفِرينَ


GOD bless you.
Peace.

[Duster]

Shalom / peace goodlogic ...>>>can you please answer this very part of Seraphina's question please? you didn't answer it in your post as I would really like to know as well.

If so, then what scripture did they deliver?
Because to my knowledge the only known scriptures are: The scrolls (from Abraham), Tewrat (from Moses), Zabur (from David) Injeel (from Jesus) and Quran (from Muhammad) - peace be upon them all.

[Seraphina]

Shalom/peace to you too dear brother/sister Duster,
I'm glad you asked, because I'm waiting for that response too, for a firm, Quran-based response
God bless you and brother Good logic as well.

[Duster]

Shalom / peace seraphina, thank you for replying>>> I asked goodlogic for the time being as he is the one that said what he did about prophets receiving scriptures so I will like him to reply>>>So what scriptures did prophet Noah, Aaron, Lot, Isaac, Jacob, Ishmael bring???  I know bro Joseph is very busy so I don't want to keep disturbing him and I'm sure he will respond as well when he feels it is right or has time.

[good logic]

Greetings Duster.

I can only only answer what is in Qoran:

[Qoran 2:213] The people used to be one community when God sent the prophets as bearers of good news, as well as warners. He sent down with them the book/ Scripture, bearing the truth, to judge among the people in their disputes"


Qoran -Surah 6:83-86- also gives us the names of the prophets and verse 89 clarifies the following:

6:89
Those were the ones to whom we have given the scripture, wisdom, and prophethood. If these people disbelieve, we will substitute others in their place, and the new people will not be disbelievers.
أُولٰئِكَ الَّذينَ ءاتَينٰهُمُ الكِتٰبَ وَالحُكمَ وَالنُّبُوَّةَ فَإِن يَكفُر بِها هٰؤُلاءِ فَقَد وَكَّلنا بِها قَومًا لَيسوا بِها بِكٰفِرينَ


Now if Qoran has not mentioned some of the  scriptures , I cannot speculate?

For example was Noah s scripture oral or written? When was the first books published?...etc

So ,if Qoran is saying it is confirming all previous scriptures, then that means it is not important to know who received what scripture?

If Qoran has given what Abraham,David,Soloman,Moses and Jesus were sent with,it does not mean the others did not bring a scripture?

However ,I believe what Qoran says, that these prophets received the book, wisdom and prophethood.

What would the "book" they received mean?

Interesting to hear other views.
GOD bless you and thank you for the question.
Peace.

[Duster]

Shalom / peace goodlogic.....Sorry, I sometimes get confused with your responses....Why do you put a question mark after your sentence? >>....It becomes confusing as I can't tell if you are asking me the question or making a statement>>> So as i understand this.. you are saying that by the Quranic definition - they would have brought some sort of a scripture, but the Quran doesn't mention the names of them...right? If so ...Why then, does it mention some names such as prophet Abraham's scrolls and not others? What scriptures did prophet Abraham's sons Isaac and Ishmel bring?