Prophets of Islam

The Quran identifies a number of men as prophets in Islam. These are men who directly communicated with Allah and whose job it was to spread the word of God upon Earth. Many of these prophets are also found in the holy texts of Judaism and Christianity. Although only 25 prophets are mentioned in the Quran, Muslims believe that there were about 124,000 of them throughout history.

Of all the thousands of prophets, only about 300 are believed to be messengers, or rasool; others are prophets or nabi. Only those prophets who were sent with holy books are considered "messengers".

The first prophet is Adam, while the last prophet is Muhammad, and thus his title Seal of the Prophets. Jesus is the result of a virgin-birth in Islam as in Christianity, and is regarded as a prophet like the others.

Prophets in the Quran

The following are listed as prophets in the Quran, their Biblical names are given in parenthesis when possible:

Possible non-mentioned Prophets

There are numerous historical figures that may have been prophets, but this is a source of debate. Among them are: Buddha and Mary, the mother of Jesus. The mention in the Quran of a character known as Dhul-Kifl is controversial, as some have believed that it is a reference to Alexander the Great, while others believe it is some other Alexander. The contemporary history of Alexander the Great which lists him as a homosexual leads many to believe that he is not the individual spoken of in the Quran.