The prophets, from the first to the last
Allah sent guidance to every people. The Qur'an says plainly that among the messengers there are those whose stories were told to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and those who were not mentioned at all — so no complete list of them exists, and none can be made.
How many prophets were there?
A well-known report from Abū Dharr gives the number of prophets as around 124,000, of whom around 315 were messengers. It is a report scholars grade differently — some accept it, others consider its chain weak — so it is best held as a report rather than a certainty. What the Qur'an itself states is clear enough: messengers were sent to every community, and only some of them are named to us.
This page therefore keeps to the twenty-five prophets the Qur'an names by name. They are listed one after another, without the family generations in between, so the line from Ādam to Muḥammad ﷺ can be seen at a glance.
About the years: most gaps between prophets are simply not fixed by any narration everyone accepts. Where a gap comes from a narration it is marked as such; where it is a historian's estimate it says so; and where nothing reliable exists it says “not established” rather than inventing a number. This is a reference outline, not a ruling.
- 1
Ādam
(Adam)From a narrationGap from the previous prophet: The first of them
Era: The first human being; no datable era
Created by Allah, taught the names of all things, and the first prophet as well as the first human being.
- 2
Idrīs
(Enoch)Not establishedGap from the previous prophet: Not established
Era: Not established
Praised in the Qur'an as truthful and a prophet, raised by Allah to a high station.
- 3
Nūḥ
(Noah)From a narrationGap from the previous prophet: Ten generations after Ādam
Era: Not datable in years
The first messenger sent to a people who had turned to idols; he called them for 950 years and was saved with those who believed in the ark.
- 4
Hūd
Not establishedGap from the previous prophet: Not established
Era: Not established
Sent to the people of 'Ād in southern Arabia, who were destroyed by a violent wind after rejecting him.
- 5
Ṣāliḥ
Not establishedGap from the previous prophet: Not established
Era: Not established
Sent to Thamūd, given the sign of the she-camel, which his people killed.
- 6
Ibrāhīm
(Abraham)Scholarly estimateGap from the previous prophet: Several centuries after Ṣāliḥ
Era: Commonly placed around 2000–1800 BCE
The friend of Allah (khalīl), who broke with idolatry, was tested and passed, and raised the foundations of the Ka'ba with his son.
- 7
Lūṭ
(Lot)From a narrationGap from the previous prophet: Same generation
Era: Contemporary with Ibrāhīm
Sent to a people who had abandoned all decency; he and his believing family were rescued before their towns were overturned.
- 8
Ismā'īl
(Ishmael)From a narrationGap from the previous prophet: One generation
Era: One generation after Ibrāhīm
Son of Ibrāhīm , settled at Makkah, and true to his promise; he helped build the Ka'ba.
- 9
Isḥāq
(Isaac)From a narrationGap from the previous prophet: Same generation as Ismā'īl
Era: One generation after Ibrāhīm
Son of Ibrāhīm , given as glad tidings in old age, and himself made a prophet.
- 10
Ya'qūb
(Jacob / Isrā'īl)From a narrationGap from the previous prophet: One generation
Era: One generation after Isḥāq
Son of Isḥāq ; the tribes of the Children of Israel descend from his sons.
- 11
Yūsuf
(Joseph)From a narrationGap from the previous prophet: One generation
Era: One generation after Ya'qūb
Son of Ya'qūb ; thrown into a well, sold, imprisoned, then placed in charge of the storehouses of Egypt.
- 12
Shu'ayb
(Jethro)Not establishedGap from the previous prophet: Not established
Era: Not established
Sent to Madyan, calling them to worship Allah alone and to give full measure and weight.
- 13
Ayyūb
(Job)Not establishedGap from the previous prophet: Not established
Era: Not established
Tested with the loss of health and family, and remembered for patience and for turning to Allah.
- 14
Dhū al-Kifl
Not establishedGap from the previous prophet: Not established
Era: Not established
Named among the patient and the excellent; the Qur'an gives no detailed account of his life.
- 15
Mūsā
(Moses)Scholarly estimateGap from the previous prophet: Roughly four centuries after Yūsuf
Era: Commonly placed around 1300–1200 BCE
Spoken to directly by Allah, sent to Pharaoh, and given the Torah after leading the Children of Israel out of Egypt.
- 16
Hārūn
(Aaron)From a narrationGap from the previous prophet: Same generation
Era: Contemporary with Mūsā
Brother of Mūsā , given to him as a helper and made a prophet with him.
- 17
Dāwūd
(David)Scholarly estimateGap from the previous prophet: Roughly two to three centuries after Mūsā
Era: Commonly placed around 1000 BCE
Prophet and king, given the Zabūr (Psalms), and taught to judge with justice.
- 18
Sulaymān
(Solomon)From a narrationGap from the previous prophet: One generation
Era: One generation after Dāwūd
Son of Dāwūd ; given a kingdom unlike any other and taught the speech of birds.
- 19
Ilyās
(Elijah)Not establishedGap from the previous prophet: Not established
Era: Not established
Warned his people against worshipping Ba'l and called them back to Allah alone.
- 20
Al-Yasa'
(Elisha)Not establishedGap from the previous prophet: Not established
Era: Not established
Named among those favoured above the worlds and among the excellent.
- 21
Yūnus
(Jonah)Not establishedGap from the previous prophet: Not established
Era: Not established
Sent to a city of a hundred thousand or more; swallowed by the fish, and answered when he called upon Allah in the darkness.
- 22
Zakariyyā
(Zechariah)Not establishedGap from the previous prophet: Not established
Era: Shortly before the birth of 'Īsā
Guardian of Maryam, who prayed for a child in old age and was answered.
- 23
Yaḥyā
(John the Baptist)From a narrationGap from the previous prophet: One generation after Zakariyyā
Era: Contemporary with 'Īsā
Son of Zakariyyā ; given wisdom while still a child and confirming the word from Allah.
- 24
'Īsā
(Jesus)From a narrationGap from the previous prophet: Same generation as Yaḥyā
Era: Beginning of the Common Era
Born of Maryam without a father, given the Injīl, and raised up by Allah.
- 25
Muḥammad ﷺ
From a narrationGap from the previous prophet: About six centuries — the Qur'an calls it a fatrah, an interval in which no messenger came
Era: c. 570–632 CE; prophethood from c. 610 CE
The final prophet and messenger, sent to all people, and given the Qur'an as the last revelation.
Sources & references
Everything above rests first on the Qur'an, then on the authenticated hadith collections and the classical works that gather the accounts of the prophets. Where those works differ on dates, read them rather than this page.
The Qur'an
Revelation — with a translation such as M.A.S. Abdel Haleem or Saheeh International
The only source used above for who the prophets were and what they were sent with. Every verse links to quran.com so it can be read in full context.
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim
al-Bukhārī (d. 870), Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj (d. 875)
The most rigorously authenticated hadith collections; consulted for reports about the prophets and the interval before the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
Qiṣaṣ al-Anbiyā' (Stories of the Prophets)
Ibn Kathīr (d. 1373)
The standard classical gathering of the prophets' accounts from the Qur'an and hadith, with the weaker reports flagged.
Tārīkh al-Rusul wa'l-Mulūk (History of the Prophets and Kings)
Muḥammad ibn Jarīr al-Ṭabarī (d. 923)
An early history that preserves the traditional chronologies — including the ones later scholars questioned. Read it knowing its reports vary in strength.
Al-Musnad
Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal (d. 855)
The narration of Abū Dharr on the number of prophets and messengers is found here and in similar collections; scholars grade it differently, so it is reported above as a report, not as settled fact.
Al-Bidāya wa'l-Nihāya
Ibn Kathīr (d. 1373)
Useful for seeing how wide the differences are between traditional datings — a reminder that most gaps between prophets simply are not fixed.