1. Ask A Question About Islam And Muslims
  2. Ask A Question About Islam And Muslims

Ask A Question About Islam And Muslims

67 Questions

Out of 124,000 Prophets, how come the Quran only talks about the ones sent to the Middle East, when surely there were Prophets sent to other parts of the world as well?
Zaid Alsalami

Bismihi ta'ala

As Muslims we believe in the infinite wisdom of Almighty God and we do not really know the absolute real reasons as to why certain things occurred in certain ways throughout the history of mankind. 

According to one strong view, there are only the names of 25 Prophets mentioned in the Quran. And so this leaves another 123, 975 Prophets, in which some have been mentioned in Hadith, and many have not been discussed (See: Surah al-Nisaa`, verse 124). 

Please ponder on these points:

The first principle is there is no group of people without God having sent to them a "warner" (Surah Fatir, verse 24/ Surah al-Nahl, verse 36). 

Another problem is many Prophets were sent, but their people rejected them, calling them magicians or insane. (Surah al-Dhariyat, verse 52). If throughout the Prophet that was sent to them was rejected or killed, then the next generations will not have any information about him.

Why is it that in the history of mankind we only have written material reaching us from certain areas in the world. Not to say that other parts of the world did not have civilisations, but they do not have a written heritage in this particular meaning. 

Based on narrations we cannot say that Prophets were only limited to the Middle East, but as to why the Quran speaks about this particular area of the world, one reason we can present is that it needed to have been relevant to the message of the Prophet (s.a.w.) and information on personalities that people of that time can relate to. 

Furthermore, many Prophets came from the lineage of Prophet Ibrahim (a.s.), so naturally they would be in this particular region.

And Allah knows best.
Isn't it unfair of Allah that only a few people were selected out of so many to be Prophets and Imams and given special privileges such as Imams Hasan and Hussain being the leaders of the youth in paradise?
Rebecca Masterton

The narrations say that there have been 124,000 prophets sent to mankind, which I take to mean 'an uncountable number'. The Qur'an says 'some of them you know, and some of them you don't know', so there have certainly been more than a selected few in the history of humanity.

With every station (or 'privilege') comes responsibility. How would you have felt having to face the army of Yazid, with the full responsibility of keeping the true Islam alive for humanity and for ever after?

Many people envy other people's positions or stations, but don't realise the intense difficulties and burdens that go with the station.

The Imams have said that it is possible for other human beings to come awliya'. The station of a waliyullah is very close to that of an Imam (see Usul al-Kafi), but again, it requires solid self-discipline and sacrifice.
How did the Prophets in their time deal with manipulation in politics?
Mahmood Abu Maryam

The Prophets of God were divinely appointed and tasked with bringing people to the path of righteousness, honesty and integrity.  They were not known to be manipualtive or believe that the end justifies the means as is common in politics.

A good example is that of Prophet Yusuf (a) who suffered from the consequences of the cunning conduct of some women of Egypt.

So when he saw that his shirt was torn from behind, he said, ‘This is [a case] of you women’s guile! Your guile is indeed great! (Surah Yusuf, Verse 28)

The way he dealt with that trial is exemplary. Later, when he acquired political power, he continued to exhibit the just and righteous conduct that was suitable for a Divinely appointed leader.

There is a really well-made multi-episode TV serial on the life of Prophet Yusuf (a) that I would recommend you watch.