The fourth fundamental of îmân is belief in prophets. The statement Wa rusulihî in the Âmantu expresses the belief in Allahu ta’âlâ’s prophets.
The first of the prophets is Âdam ‘alaihis-salâm and the last of them is our Prophet, Muhammad Mustafa sall-Allahu ‘alaihi wa sallam. Many prophets were sent between these two. Their number is not known. It is well known that they were more than 124,000.
Belief in prophets means believing the fact that all prophets, without exception, are devoted and truthful people selected by Allahu ta’âlâ. A person who does not believe in one of them is regarded as not believing in any.
Prophethood cannot be attained by working hard, by performing a lot of acts of worship, by suffering hunger and discomfort. It is possessed only with Allahu ta’âlâ’s favor and selection.
Every thousand years since Âdam ‘alaihis-salâm, the first human and the first prophet, Allahu ta’âlâ sent humankind a new religion through a new prophet with a Sharîa. Through them He showed human beings the way of living in peace and comfort and attaining endless felicity in the Hereafter. Those prophets by whom a new religion was revealed are called rasûl. The superior ones of rasûls are called Ulul’azm. They are Âdam, Nûh (Noah), Ibrâhîm, Mûsâ (Moses), ‘Îsâ (Jesus), and Muhammad ‘alaihimus-salâtu wassalâm.
What are the names of 33 well-known prophets?
Their names are as follows:
Âdam, Idrîs, Shît, Nûh, Hûd, Sâlih, Ibrâhîm, Lût, Ismâ’îl, Is’hâq, Ya’qûb, Yûsuf, Ayyûb, Shu’aib, Mûsâ, Hârûn, Khidir [Hizir], Yûshâ’ bin Nûn, Ilyâs, Alyasa’, Dhu’l-kifl, Sham’un, Ishmoil, Yûnus bin Matâ, Dâwud, Sulaimân, Luqmân, Zakariyyâ, Yahyâ, ‘Uzair, ‘Îsâ bin Mariam, Dhu’l-qarnain, and Muhammad ‘alaihimus-salâtu wassalâm.
Only the names of 28 of them are written in the Qur’ân al-karîm. It is not certain whether Dhu’l-qarnain, Luqmân, ‘Uzair, and Khidir [Hizir] were prophets or not. Hadrat Muhammad Ma’thûm writes in his 36th letter of the second volume that the report stating that Khidir [Hızır] was a prophet is authentic. He writes in his 182nd letter: “That Khidir [Hizir] ‘alaihis-salâm appears in a human form (from time to time), and does some things, too, does not show that he is alive. Allahu ta’âlâ has given his soul, as well as the souls of many other prophets and walîs, the permission to appear in a human form. Seeing them does not prove that they are alive.”
All prophets, from Âdam ‘alaihis-salâm to the Last Prophet Muhammad ‘alaihis-salâm, taught the same îmân and stated the same principles for their ummah to believe. Jews believe in Mûsâ ‘alaihis-salâm and deny ‘Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm and Muhammad ‘alaihis-salâm. Christians believe in ‘Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm and deny Muhammad ‘alaihis-salâm. Muslims, on the other hand, believe in all prophets.