Belief in the Prophets and Messengers is one of the six pillars of faith. It is also one of the bases of the Islamic doctrine.

 Belief in the Prophets means that we should not make any distinction between them because they have all been sent on the same mission and sent from the same Lord.

Why did Allaah  send the Messengers?

The Prophets in the Quran:

Twenty-five prophets and messengers were mentioned in the Quran. They are: Aadam, the father of all mankind and  the first of all the Prophets, Idrees, Nooh, Hood, Saalih, Ibraaheem, Luot, Shu`ayb, Ismaa'eel, Is-Haaq, Ya'qoob, Yoosuf, Ayyoob, Elyasa', Thul-Kifl, Elyaas, Yoonus, Moosaa, Haaroon, Daawood, Sulaymaan, Zakariyyaa, Yahyaa, ‘Easaa, and Mohammad, may Allaah exalt their mention.

Five of them are Messengers of strong  will: Nooh, Ibraaheem, Moosaa, ‘Eesaa, and Mohammad, may Allaah exalt their mention.

There are four Arab Prophets: Hood, Shu'ayb, Saalih, and Mohammad.

Some Prophets succeeded their fathers in prophethood.  They are Ismaa'eel, the son of Ibraaheem, Is-Haaq, the  son of Ibraaheem, Ya'qoob, the son of Is-Haaq, Yoosuf, the son of Ya'qoob, Yahyaa, the son of Zakariyyaa, and Sulaymaan, the son of Daawood.

The miracles of the Prophets:

Allaah supported the prophets and  with  proofs messengers and  that evidences proved the authenticity of their missions.

Allaah also supported them with miracles which are events that appear inexplicable by the laws of nature and so are held to be an act of Allaah. Among these miracles are:

The wondrous she-camel (the miracle of Prophet Saalih, may Allaah exalt his mention)

The people of Thamood challenged their Prophet Saalih, may Allaah exalt his mention, to bring them a she-camel out of a rocky mountain. When Prophet Saalih, may Allaah exalt his mention, invoked Allaah, He got them the she-camel they wanted. Despite this, they continued in their disbelief and obstinacy.

They even conspired and eventually slaughtered the she-camel, and thus Allaah punished them for their disbelief and tyranny.

The miracles of Prophet Ibraaheem, may Allaah exalt his mention:

The four birds: Prophet Ibraaheem, may Allaah exalt his mention, asked his Lord to show him how He gives life to the dead. Allaah  commanded him to slaughter four birds and then put a portion of them on every hill, and call them.

When Ibraaheem did so, they came to him in haste.

Non-burning fire: King Namrooth wanted to get rid of Prophet Ibraaheem. He ordered that a huge fire be lit and when its flames were high in the sky, he threw Prophet Ibraaheem, may Allaah exalt his mention, into it. Allaah commanded the fire to be coolness and to be a safe place for Ibraaheem. Only his handcuffs (made of rope) were burnt. Prophet Ibraaheem, may Allaah exalt his mention, got out of fire while the people were looking at him in amazement.

In the belly of the Fish (the miracle of Prophet Yoonus, may Allaah exalt his mention)

Disappointed that his people did not believe in his call, Prophet Yoonus left his town but without first having permission from his Lord. He boarded the first ship he saw. When they were in the middle of the sea, the wind blew strongly and the ship was about to sink. The passengers decided to throw one of them overboard so that the rest would be saved.

 When they drew lots, each time it was Yoonus, may Allaah exalt his mention, to be thrown in the sea. When this repeated many times, he threw himself into the sea and Allaah sent a gigantic fish that swallowed him. While in the belly of the fish, Yoonus, may Allaah exalt his mention, started to ask Allaah for forgiveness. Allaah answered his invocation and He ordered the fish to throw him out onto the seashore. When Yoonus returned to his people, he found that they regretted what they used to do and they believed in him.

Some of the miracles of Moosaa, may Allaah exalt his mention:

The snake-like stick: Allaah supported His Prophet Moosaa, may Allaah exalt his mention, with a wondrous miracle which is his stick that turned into a huge snake. This snake swallowed up all the ropes and sticks that Pharaoh's magicians had thrown to deceive the people and made them believe that they were real snakes.

The splitting of the Sea: When Moosaa struck the sea with his stick, it was divided into two parts. Moosaa and his followers crossed over safely. When Pharaoh and his soldiers wanted to cross to chase Moosaa, the water overflowed again and they drowned.

A murdered man speaking:A man was murdered during the lifetime of Moosaa, may Allaah exalt his mention. Some of his relatives accused the man's neighbors. When they went to Moosaa, may Allaah exalt his mention, to judge among them, Moosaa ordered them to slaughter a cow. The Jews thought that Moosaa was mocking them. They kept on asking about the detailed descriptions of the cow until they found one. When they slaughtered it, Moosaa ordered them to take a piece of its meat and strike the body of the murdered man with it. The murdered man talked and told them the name of the real murderer and then he died again!

Mountains glorifying Allaah: the miracle of Prophet Daawood, may Allaah exalt his mention:

Allaah blessed His Prophet Daawood, may Allaah exalt his mention, with a very melodious voice. Whenever he invoked Allaah and glorified Him, the mountains and birds would reiterate and repeat his glorification and invocation.

The miracles of Prophet Sulaymaan, may Allaah exalt his mention:  

Allaah commanded the wind to carry Prophet Sulaymaan, may Allaah exalt his mention, wherever he wanted. Allaah also made the Jinns under his disposal and taught him the languages of birds. His army was a wonderful mixture of human beings, Jinns, birds, and animals.

The miracles of ‘Eesaa, may Allaah exalt his mention:

The amazing birth: The first and most unique miracle of Prophet ‘Eesaa, may Allaah exalt his mention, was that he was born without a father. He is the word of Allaah sent to Maryam to be a miracle to all creatures. Another miracle happened when he talked while he was still in the cradle. He also had other miracles such as giving life to the dead by Allaah's Will and curing the sick through the Omnipotence of Allaah.

The miracles of the last of the Prophets; Mohammad, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam:

The Quran: It is the eternal miracle of Prophet Mohammad, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam,

  through which he challenged the Arabs, who were famous for their rhetoric and eloquence.

 The Quran is an ever flowing source of miracles throughout all time.

 Modern sciences keep revealing more and more about the scientific miracles of the Quran in the fields of medicine, astronomy, geology, and botany.

The splitting of the moon: the polytheists of Makkah asked the Prophet Mohammad, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, to show them a miracle. Allaah made the moon split into two halves to the extent that they saw Mount Hiraa' between them.

The trunk of the palm tree crying: The Prophet used to deliver his sermons while leaning on the trunk of a palm tree in the mosque. When they made a pulpit for him and he ascended it, the companions heard a groaning sound coming from the trunk as if it was a baby crying. When the Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, approached it and put his hand on it, and it became silent.

Causing a small amount of food to increase

Abu Talhah and his wife, Umm Saleem, may Allaah be pleased with them, invited the Prophet to eat in their house. Allaah's Messenger (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam) came along with many other people. When Abu Talhah saw them, he was sad because he thought the food was not sufficient for all of them. Allaah's Messenger (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam) commanded that the bread be broken into small pieces.

The Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, said to Abu Salamah: Allow ten guests to come in and eat. He permitted them and they ate until they had their fill, then they left. He, the Messenger of Allaah again said: Permit ten more and he gave permission to them and they also ate their fill. He again said: Permit ten more until all the people had eaten their fill and they were more than seventy persons and there was still food left over.

It was one of the greatest miracles of the Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, and it was the first human journey to heavens. The purpose of the journey was to relieve and condole him after the harm inflicted on him, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, by the people of Taa'if when he went there to call them to Islam.

Once the Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, entered a garden belonging to a person from the Ansaar. Suddenly he saw a camel there. On seeing the Prophet, it groaned and started weeping. The Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, went to the camel and patted its hump and the top of its head. Then the camel felt comforted. The Messenger of Allaah sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam) said: Who is the owner of this camel? A lad from the Ansaar came, and said: It is mine, Messenger of Allaah. He said: Do you not fear Allaah in this beast which Allaah made you its owner? It complained to me that you do not feed it well, and that you load it heavily.

The immigrations of the Prophets, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam

The Prophets of Allaah were responsible for conveying His Message to His slaves. They had a great message. They were patient and tolerant and they bore all types of harm or oppression to defend the cause without losing heart or weakening. If they were harshly oppressed in a certain region, they would immigrate to another place to spread the truth, justice, and faith.

Prophet Nooh, may Allaah exalt his mention, was the first prophet to immigrate. When his people augmented their harm and torture and did not accept his call, Allaah ordered him to build a giant ship. When the flood came, and the believers were rescued and the ship carried them to a new land in order to complete the mission of calling people to worship Allaah.

The father of the Prophets Ibraaheem, may Allaah exalt his mention, also immigrated from Palestine to Egypt. Prophet ‘Eesaa, may Allaah exalt his mention, and his mother Maryam also immigrated to Egypt.

From Egypt, Prophet Moosaa, may Allaah exalt his mention, his brother Haaroon and the Children of Israel immigrated to Sinai in order to escape from the oppression and tyranny of Pharaoh and his soldiers.

The last prophetic immigration was done by the last of all Prophets, Mohammad, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, to Madeenah after the polytheists of Makkah inflicted more and more harm on him and his companions.

The prophets were not only responsible for conveying the Divine message and religious missions, they had some professions with which they benefited people as they benefited from the call to belief, goodness, and guidance sent down by Allaah. Prophet Daawood, was a blacksmith, and Prophet Ibraaheem was a shepherd. Prophet Yoosuf used to work as a shepherd when he was in Levant but when he moved to ancient Egypt, he worked as a minister of finance.

Prophet Zakariyyaa was a carpenter while Prophet Mohammad, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, worked as a shepherd and a tradesman.

The prophets of Allaah are just like any other human beings who have wives and children, but Allaah purified and endowed them with prophethood. Aadam's wife was Eve. Prophet Ibraaheem had four wives: Saarah Bint Haaraan, Qantooraa Bint Yaqtun Al-Kan`aaniyyah, Haajar, the Egyptian Copt and Hajoon Bint Ameen. Ismaa'eel married `Umarah Bint S`ad Ibn Usaamah Ibn Akeel Al-`Imlaaqi, and As-Sayyidah Bint Mudheedh Ibn `Amr Al-Jurhumi. The wife of Prophet Is-Haaq was Rufqaa Bint Thabweel Ibn Naahoor Ibn Taarih.

Prophet Yoosuf, married Zulaykhaa. Prophet Ayyoob married Rahmah Bint Afraa'eem Ibn Yoosuf, Ibn Ya'qoob. Prophet Moosaa married the daughter of Shu`ayb. Prophet Daawood had one hundred wives. His son Prophet Sulaymaan had one thousand wives and the most famous of them was Belqees Bint Al-Bashrakh.

 As for the wives of Prophet Mohammad, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, they were: Khadeejah Bint Khuwaylid, Sawdah Bint Zam`ah, Umm Salamah Hind Bint Abu Umayyah, `Aa'ishah Bint Abu Bakr, Hafsah Bint `Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab, Zaynab Bint Khuzaymah Ibn Al-Haarith, Zaynab Bint Jahsh, Umm Habeebah Ramlah Bint Abu Sufyaan, Maymoonah Bint Al-Haarith, Zaynab Bint `Umays, Juwairiyyah Bint Al-Haarith, Safiyyah Bint Huyay Ibn Akhtab, Khawlah Bint Hakeem As-Sulami, Maariah the Coptic, and Rayhaanah Al-Khandafiyyah.

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