The Quran, the heavenly scripture, Muslims believe to be the final divine message to humanity, mentions the name of 25 messengers and prophets. God chose them to deliver his guidance to humans. They spoke different languages, lived in different cultures, faced different conditions, yet, all of them invited people to live their lives according to divine guidance.
The 25 messengers mentioned in the Quran are not the only ones sent to remind people of the divine message. There were thousands and thousands. The Quran described only 25 because of the initial audience that was familiar with their names.
The message was basic and straightforward. Humans should not worship fellow humans. The guidance that is essential to lead to a meaningful and successful life in this world comes from God. Every action has consequences, and human beings reap what they sow. Life does not come to an end after the physical disappearance of an individual. Life will return to each individual in a new world after the term of this world come to an end. The new world will witness a peaceful, just, and equal society devoid of any mishap and calamity.
The messengers lived the message in their lives and urged their people to establish a society based on the divine ideals they shared with them. Of the over 6,300 Quranic sentences or Ayas (verses), 858 directly mention the names and details of these 25 prophets and messengers. The Quran uses the words Nabi and Rasool to describe the institution of prophethood. They are not exclusive terms. They are different phases of the work assigned to people divinely chosen to deliver and live the message. To relay the word to others, one needs to receive it first. The process of obtaining the revelation takes place during the phase of Nabi, and the process of delivering the message takes place during the period of Rasool. Sometimes the two steps are concurrent.
This series on Prophets and messengers will list all the verses of the Quran on each of them.
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