Number of Prophets and Messengers
31-8-2010 | IslamWeb
Question:
How many Prophets and Messengers were there in all? Is there a Hadeeth that indicates their number?
Answer:
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Him, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
Allaah The Almighty sent a warner to every nation and then sent Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, to all of mankind, as He Says (what means):
· {And there was no nation but that there had passed within it a warner.} [Quran 35:24]
· {And We certainly sent into every nation a messenger,} [Quran 16:36]
· {And We have not sent you except comprehensively to mankind as a bringer of good tidings and a warner.} [Quran 34:28]
Allaah The Almighty informed His Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, of the total number of Prophets and Messengers. Abu Tharr 
narrates that he, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said that there were one hundred thousand Prophets and three hundred and fifteen Messengers; twenty-five of them all were mentioned in the Quran. Of those, eighteen were listed in the Chapter Al-An‘aam (The Grazing Livestock) and the others – Aadam (Adam), Hood (Eber), Saalih (Shaloh), Shu‘ayb (Jethro), Idrees (Enoch), Thul-Kifl (Ezekiel), may Allaah exalt their mention, and Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam – were mentioned elsewhere. Allaah The Almighty Says (what means):
· {Indeed, Allaah chose Aadam and Nooh (Noah)} [Quran 3:33],
· {And to ‘Aad [We sent] their brother Hood} [Quran 11:50],
· {And to Thamood [We sent] their brother Saalih} [Quran 11:61],
· {And to Madyan [We sent] their brother Shu‘ayb} [Quran 11:84], and,
· {And [mention] Ismaa‘eel (Ishmael) and Idrees and Thul-Kifl} [Quran 21:85].
As for the eighteen who are mentioned in the Chapter of Al-An‘aam, they are in the following verses (that mean): {And that was Our [conclusive] argument which We gave Ibraaheem (Abraham) against his people. We raise by degrees whom We will. Indeed, your Lord is Wise and Knowing. And We gave to Ibraaheem, Is-haaq (Isaac) and Ya‘qoob (Jacob) - all [of them] We guided. And Nooh, We guided before; and among his descendants, Daawood (David) and Sulaymaan (Solomon) and Ayyoob (Job) and Yoosuf (Joseph) and Moosa (Moses) and Haaroon (Aaron). Thus do We reward the doers of good. And Zakariyya (Zechariah) and Yahya (John) and ‘Eesaa (Jesus) and Ilyaas (Elijah) - and all were of the righteous. And Ismaa‘eel and Al-Yasa’ (Elisha) and Yoonus (Jonah) and Loot (Lot) - and all [of them] We preferred over the worlds.} [Quran 6:83-86]
Among those twenty-five [named in the Quran], according to the Hadeeth narrated by Abu Tharr the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, mentioned that four were Arabs: Saalih, Hood, Shu‘ayb, may Allaah exalt their mention, and Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. [Saheeh Ibn Hibbaan]
Furthermore, there are Prophets who were mentioned in the Sunnah, but not the Quran, such as Sheeth (Seth) and Yoosha‘ ibn Noon (Joshua), may Allaah exalt their mention. Ibn Katheer 
stated that Sheeth 
was a Prophet, and, as per the Hadeeth narrated by Abu Tharr fifty scriptures were also revealed to him by Allaah The Almighty. [Ibn Hibbaan]
Moreover, [it was in relation to Yoosha’ ibn Noon that] Abu Hurayrah narrated the saying of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, about a Prophet who supplicated to Allaah The Almighty to prevent the sun from setting until he had finished battle; and, He did indeed stop it for him. [Muslim] In a similar Hadeeth that specifically proves it to be this servant of Moosaa the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said that Allaah The Almighty did not delay the sunset for any Prophet other than Yoosha’ ibn Noon . [Ahmad]
Scholars have different opinions about the Prophethood of three figures mentioned in the Quran: Thul-Qarnayn, Tubba‘ and Al-Khadhir (Al-Khidr). Some considered the first two to be Prophets. However, the worthier approach is not to issue any judgment regarding them, for the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, himself said that he did not know whether they were Prophets or not. [Al-Haakim]. With regard to Al-Khadhir, the predominant opinion is that he was a Prophet, since Allaah The Almighty Says at the end of his story (what means): {And I did it not of my own accord} [Quran 18:82], meaning that he received revelation to do what he did.
Allaah Knows best.