Stories of the Prophets
The Quran names 25 prophets. Read the story of each one, passage by passage, with the verses themselves in Arabic and in your language.
25 prophets
About these stories
Prophets (anbiya) are the men whom Allah chose to carry His message. The Quran tells the stories of many of them, not as a history book but to guide, to comfort and to teach. Each prophet called people to worship Allah alone.
Twenty-five prophets are named in the Quran: Adam, Idris, Nuh, Hud, Salih, Ibrahim, Lut, Ismail, Ishaq, Yaqub, Yusuf, Ayyub, Shuayb, Musa, Harun, Dhul-Kifl, Dawud, Sulayman, Ilyas, Alyasa, Yunus, Zakariyya, Yahya, Isa and Muhammad, peace be upon them all. The Quran also says that other messengers were sent whose stories it does not tell (4:164).
How these pages are made
- Each story is built from the Quran only. Under every heading you see the verses it rests on, shown in Arabic and in your language, and the short text above them says only what those verses say.
- Details that are not in the Quran or in an authentic hadith, such as the long stories passed down from earlier books (known as Isra'iliyyat), are left out on purpose.
- Where scholars differ about a detail, the page says so instead of choosing for you.
Questions about the prophets
How many prophets are named in the Quran?
Twenty-five: Adam, Idris, Nuh, Hud, Salih, Ibrahim, Lut, Ismail, Ishaq, Yaqub, Yusuf, Ayyub, Shuayb, Musa, Harun, Dhul-Kifl, Dawud, Sulayman, Ilyas, Alyasa, Yunus, Zakariyya, Yahya, Isa and Muhammad.
Were there more prophets than these?
Yes. The Quran says Allah sent messengers whose stories He told the Prophet ﷺ and others whose stories He did not tell (4:164).
Which prophet is mentioned most in the Quran?
Musa (Moses) is the prophet whose story the Quran tells most often, in many surahs.
Which story is told in a single surah?
The story of Yusuf is told from beginning to end in Surah Yusuf (12), which the Quran calls the best of stories.
Who was the last prophet?
The Quran says that Muhammad ﷺ is the Messenger of Allah and the seal of the prophets (33:40).
Why are the stories told only from the Quran?
The Quran is preserved word for word and is the surest source. The stories here use only its verses, with no reports from other books, so that what you read can be checked against the verses shown.
What are Isra'iliyyat?
They are reports about earlier prophets taken from the traditions of earlier peoples. Scholars accept what agrees with the Quran and the authentic Sunnah, reject what contradicts them, and remain silent about the rest.