Are the Prophets also Messengers?
Question:
Are the Prophets mentioned in the saying of Allah, the Most High: “Verily, We have inspired you (O Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)) as We inspired Nooh…”, Messengers or not? And who is the first Messenger?
Answer:
The Prophets mentioned in the saying of Allaah, the Most High: “Verily, We have inspired you (O Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)) as We inspired Nuh (Noah) and the Prophets after him.” [An-Nisa’ (4):163]
The ones who are mentioned in the context of the saying of Allah, the Most High, are all Messengers: “Messengers as bearers of good news as well as of warning in order that mankind should have no plea against Allah after the Messengers.” [An-Nisa’ (4):165]
And all the Prophets who are mentioned in the Qur’an are Messengers because of the saying of Allah, the Most High: “And, indeed We have sent Messengers before you (O Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)); of some of them We have related to you their story and of some We have not related to you their story.” [Ghafir (40):78]
And the first of the Messengers is Nuh (Noah and the last of them is Muhammad ﷺ because of the saying of Allaah, the Most High: “As We inspired Nooh and the Prophets after him.”* [An-Nisa (4):163]
And it is established in a hadeeth regarding intercession that the people will come to Noah and they will say to him: “You are the first Messenger that Allah sent to mankind.”
And to the saying of Allah, the Most High about Prophet Muhammad ﷺ: “Muhammad is not the father of any man among you, but he is the Messenger of Allah and the last (end) of the Prophets.” [Al-Ahzab (33):40]
And if Muhammad ﷺ was the last of the Prophets, then he (ﷺ) was also the last of the Messengers for there is no Messengership without Prophethood and to this it is said: “Every Messenger is a Prophet but not every Prophet is a Messenger.”