How Many Prophets and Messengers Were Mentioned in the Quran?
كم عدد الأنبياء والرسل الذين ذُكروا في القرآن الكريم؟
Number of prophets and messengers mentioned in the holy Quran is 25: Prophet Adam, Prophet Idris (Enoch), Prophet Nuh (Noah), Prophet Saleh, Prophet Hud, Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham), Prophet Lut, Prophet Ismaeel (Ishmael), Prophet Ishaaq (Isaac), Prophet Ya'qub (Jacob, son of Ishaaq, also called Israel; when the Quran speaks of the Children of Israel, it means the descendants of Ya'qub), Prophet Yusuf (Joseph), Prophet Shu'aib, Prophet Ayoub (Job), Prophet Yunus (Jonah), Prophet Dhul-Kifl, Prophet Musa (Moses), Prophet Harun (Aaron), Prophet Al-Yasa' (Elisha), Prophet Ilyaas (Elijah), Prophet Dawud, Prophet Sulaiman, Prophet Zakariya (Zechariah), Prophet Yahya (John), Prophet Isa (Jesus), and Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon them. Four others are mentioned in the Quran; the sound view among scholars is that they were not prophets, and the view that they were prophets is weak. The closer view is that al-Khidr (the companion of Musa, peace be upon him) was a prophet, as indicated by Allah's words, "and enlightened ˹him˺ with knowledge of Our Own" (Surah Al-Kahf 18:65).
Dhul-Qarnain: (They ask you ˹O Prophet˺ about Dhul-Qarnain. Say, "I will relate to you something of his narrative." Surely We established him in the land, and gave him the means to all things.) Al-Kahf 18:83-84
Luqman: Surah Luqman 31.
Uzair (Ezra): (The Jews say, "Ezra is the son of Allah," while the Christians say, "The Messiah is the son of Allah." Such are their baseless assertions, only parroting the words of earlier disbelievers. May Allah condemn them! How can they be deluded ˹from the truth˺?) At-Tawbah 9:30
Tubba: (Are they superior to the people of Tubba' and those before them? We destroyed them ˹all˺, ˹for˺ they were truly wicked.) Ad-Dukhan 44:37; (the residents of the Forest, and the people of Tubba'. Each rejected ˹their˺ messenger, so My warning was fulfilled.) Qaf 50:14
عدد الأنبياء والرسل الذين ذكروا في القرآن الكريم 25. هم: آدم، إدريس، نوح، صالح، هود، إبراهيم، لوط، إسماعيل، إسحاق، يعقوب (ابن إسحاق، اسمه الآخر إسرائيل، وفي القرآن الكريم لما يأتي لفظ بني إسرائيل يعني من ذرية يعقوب)، يوسف، شعيب، أيوب، يونس، ذو الكفل، موسى، هارون، اليسع، إلياس، داوود، سليمان، زكريا، يحيى، عيسى، محمد عليهم الصلاة والسلام. هنالك 4 ذكروا في القرآن الكريم، والصحيح من أقوال أهل العلم أنهم ليسوا أنبياء والقول بنبوتهم ضعيف. والأقرب أن الخضر (صاحب موسى عليه السلام) كان نبيا، ويشهد لذلك قوله تعالى: وَعَلَّمْنَاهُ مِن لَّدُنَّا عِلْمًا (الكهف 18: 65).
ذو القرنين: (وَيَسْأَلُونَكَ عَن ذِي الْقَرْنَيْنِ ۖ قُلْ سَأَتْلُو عَلَيْكُم مِّنْهُ ذِكْرًا إِنَّا مَكَّنَّا لَهُ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَآتَيْنَاهُ مِن كُلِّ شَيْءٍ سَبَبًا) الكهف 18: 83-84
لقمان: سورة لقمان 31.
عزير: (وَقَالَتِ الْيَهُودُ عُزَيْرٌ ابْنُ اللَّهِ وَقَالَتِ النَّصَارَى الْمَسِيحُ ابْنُ اللَّهِ ۖ ذَٰلِكَ قَوْلُهُم بِأَفْوَاهِهِمْ ۖ يُضَاهِئُونَ قَوْلَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِن قَبْلُ ۚ قَاتَلَهُمُ اللَّهُ ۚ أَنَّىٰ يُؤْفَكُونَ) التوبة 9: 30
تبع: (أَهُمْ خَيْرٌ أَمْ قَوْمُ تُبَّعٍ وَالَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ ۚ أَهْلَكْنَاهُمْ ۖ إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا مُجْرِمِينَ) الدخان 44: 37، (وَأَصْحَابُ الْأَيْكَةِ وَقَوْمُ تُبَّعٍ ۚ كُلٌّ كَذَّبَ الرُّسُلَ فَحَقَّ وَعِيدِ) ق 50: 14
1. Why Only Some Prophets Are Named | لماذا لا يُذكر جميع الأنبياء بالاسم
The 25 named above are only the Prophets and Messengers whose stories Allah chose to relate to us directly. Allah tells us in the Quran that this is deliberate: "There are messengers whose stories We have told you already and others We have not" (Surah An-Nisa 4:164). The full list of every Prophet and Messenger Allah ever sent is known only to Him, as explained further in Did the Quran Mention All the Prophets and Messengers?
وَرُسُلًا قَدْ قَصَصْنَاهُمْ عَلَيْكَ مِن قَبْلُ وَرُسُلًا لَّمْ نَقْصُصْهُمْ عَلَيْكَ (سورة النساء: 164)
الخمسة والعشرون المذكورون أعلاه هم فقط الأنبياء والرسل الذين اختار الله أن يقص علينا قصصهم مباشرة. ويخبرنا الله تعالى في القرآن أن هذا أمر مقصود: "ورسلا قد قصصناهم عليك من قبل ورسلا لم نقصصهم عليك" (سورة النساء: 164). والقائمة الكاملة لكل نبي ورسول أرسله الله لا يعلمها إلا هو، كما هو مبين في مقال هل ذكر القرآن الكريم جميع الأنبياء والرسل؟
2. A Chain of Guidance Across Generations | سلسلة هداية عبر الأجيال
Several of the 25 named Prophets share the same lineage, showing how prophethood was carried forward across generations of one family: Ibrahim (peace be upon him) was the father of Ismaeel and Ishaaq (peace be upon them), Ishaaq was the father of Ya'qub (peace be upon him), and Ya'qub was the father of Yusuf. This chain illustrates why the Quran repeatedly describes righteous guidance as something Allah placed within specific families and then continued through their descendants. Each of the 25, from Adam to Muhammad ﷺ, is named in who the prophets mentioned in the Quran are.
يشترك عدد من الأنبياء الخمسة والعشرين المذكورين في نسب واحد، مما يبين كيف استمرت النبوة عبر أجيال أسرة واحدة: فإبراهيم عليه السلام هو أبو إسماعيل وإسحاق، وإسحاق هو أبو يعقوب، ويعقوب هو أبو يوسف عليهم السلام. وتوضح هذه السلسلة لماذا يصف القرآن الهداية الصالحة مرارا بأنها شيء وضعه الله في أسر بعينها ثم استمر في ذريتها.
3. The Four Debated Figures | الشخصيات الأربع محل الخلاف
Dhul-Qarnain, Luqman, Uzair, and Tubba are all mentioned in the Quran, but the text does not explicitly call them prophets. Scholars have differed over their status, and the scholar's answer states that the correct view is that they were not prophets and that the view of their prophethood is weak. This kind of scholarly difference, over a matter the primary texts leave open, is a longstanding and accepted feature of Islamic scholarship rather than a doctrinal problem.
ذو القرنين ولقمان وعزير وتبع ذُكروا جميعا في القرآن الكريم، لكن النص لم يصرح بنبوتهم ولا يكفي ذكر الاسم وحده لإثبات النبوة. وقد اختلف العلماء في شأنهم، وتقرر الإجابة أن الصحيح من أقوال أهل العلم أنهم ليسوا أنبياء وأن القول بنبوتهم ضعيف. وهذا النوع من الخلاف العلمي، في مسألة تركتها النصوص الأصلية مفتوحة، سمة راسخة ومقبولة في العلم الإسلامي وليست إشكالا عقديا.
Frequently Asked Questions | الأسئلة الشائعة
How many prophets are named in the Quran?
Twenty-five Prophets and Messengers are named explicitly in the Quran, from Adam to Muhammad, peace be upon them all.
Are Dhul-Qarnain and Luqman considered prophets?
The correct view among scholars is that they were not prophets, and the view that they were is weak. The Quran mentions them without calling them prophets, and mentioning a name is not enough to establish prophethood.
Does the Quran name every prophet Allah ever sent?
No. Allah tells us in Surah An-Nisa 4:164 that some Messengers' stories were related to us and others were not.