There have been roughly about 124,000 Prophets sent by Allah (swt) to mankind. Now all of these have been male. Is there a reason why none of them were female? I know that there are many women in Islam that have very high statuses and and loved very much by Allah (swt) but that goes besides my question.

I know that Allah raised certain Prophets status and preferred some over the other. But on the basis of this saying that because that Prophet was more noble and virtuous or saying more specifically that He committed less sins(minor) than the other. Is it Right? Obviously all Prophets are holy and infallible. But does considering one more infallible than the other falls under the verse "We make no distinction amongst the Prophets"?

I don't recall for miracles of other Prophets or Messengers mentioned in the Qur'an that the text says "by God's permission" so why exclusively for Jesus (as)?

The immediate offspring of Adam, Seth, was a prophet. Ibrahim had Ismail and Isaac as sons and prophets. Isaac had Yaqub and Yaqub had Yusuf. Dawud had Sulayman. From the progeny of Ismail bin Ibrahim we have Muhammad. (Peace be upon them ) The offspring or progeny of Mirza Ghulam Ahmed the Ahmadiyyah prophet aren't considered prophets but caliphs. Why is this distinction made? Given that he had 2 sons who reached adulthood and he was paternal grandfather to boys.

In reference to 33:40 you will find that Muhammad is the last of the Prophets (anbiya'): > Muhammad is not the father of [any] one of your men, but [he is] the Messenger of Allah and **last of the prophets**. And ever is Allah , of all things, Knowing. But is he also the last of the messengers (Rasool), and how can we prove that?

Almost all scholars say there were 124,000 prophets sent by Allah. Where does this number come from and what is the evidence to support it?

In English, we use the word *prophet*, but in Quran two different names are used for prophets: *rasul* and *nabi*. What is the difference between *rasul* and *nabi*?

Drinking alcohol is haram : > **They ask you about wine and gambling. Say, "In them is great sin and [yet, some] benefit for people. But their sin is greater than their benefit."** And they ask you what they should spend. Say, "The excess [beyond needs]." Thus Allah makes clear to you the verses [of revelation] that you might give thought. -- Qur'an 2:219 > > O you who have believed, **do not approach prayer while you are intoxicated** until you know what you are saying or in a state of janabah, except those passing through [a place of prayer], until you have washed [your whole body]. And if you are ill or on a journey or one of you comes from the place of relieving himself or you have contacted women and find no water, then seek clean earth and wipe over your faces and your hands [with it]. Indeed, Allah is ever Pardoning and Forgiving. -- Qur'an 4:43 > > **O you who have believed, indeed, intoxicants, gambling, [sacrificing on] stone alters [to other than Allah], and divining arrows are but defilement from the work of Satan, so avoid it that you may be successful.** -- Qur'an 5:90 I'm not entirely sure about the timeline in which these ayah were revealed, but as I understand, they were revealed to Muhammad, so would not have been accessible to the other prophets and messengers who predate Muhammad. As such, it seems plausible that they drank alcohol. It may be they didn't; they're prophets and messengers after all. (Or maybe they were declared haram in a prior holy book .) *Question*: Which of the prophets and messengers are known to have drunk alcohol (if any)?

A messenger is one who gets Sunnah for himself and his followers. Since adam also had his sunnah and sunnah of any prophet is revelation from Allah is Adam to be considered as first messenger of Islam. I'm assuming other prophets like lut / yusuf / yaqub didn't get their own sunnah because they followed sunnah of Abraham.

Judaism came around about 1800BC From the study of historic paintings, carvings, sculptures etc it seems that humanity only tapped into monotheism recently as the historic art based upon religion showed little to no signs of monotheism. Also before Judaism there were long periods of time where a vast amount of the population would worship idols, numerous Gods or no Gods at all because of little understanding of monotheism. There were long periods of time without monotheism it seems and those living in areas where monotheism was not practised may have been doomed from birth. Even if there were messengers somewhere it seems that they came after long periods of time and only impacted small populations. What came before Judaism? Were there any messengers or prophets who taught monotheism? How long were the periods?

Did Allah use angels as a medium of communication for all the Prophets and Messengers? I have read that Allah spoke to Musa (AS). Was he also sent an angel (malak) later?

A Solemn pledge was taken from the prophets (Anbiaa) to believe in any Messenger (Rasool) coming after them (Verse 3:81). This pledge seems to be mentioned again in verse 33:7.
What is the exact significance of that pledge?
That Rasool (messenger) will recite the same verses which were given to the Nabi (a.s.) that every one will believe in that Rasool and will offer help to him. These are the words. Seems to be difficult to understand that a Rasool comes after a Nabi (prophet).

This question relates to the verse: > And **We send not the messengers except as bringers of good tidings** and warners. So whoever believes and reforms - there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve.
> Qur'an 6:48 It's easy to find examples of warnings in the Qur'an, but I'm wondering about these "good tidings". **Question**: What is an example of the "good tidings" brought by Islamic messengers?

Hamza Yusuf in *Buddha in the Qur'an* (viewed at Scribd.com ) writes: > In classical Muslim literature on religions and sects, we find many references to "al-Badadah," meaning the Buddhists, as well as "al-Budd," the Buddha himself. Ibn al-Nadim (d. 998), an Iraqi bookseller and author of the famous work entitled *The Compendium* (*al-Fihrist*), who catalogued existing authors and their subjects of study, records books that deal with Buddhism, including *The Life of Buddha* (*Kitab al-Budd*). In his chapter entitled "Notes on the Buddha," Ibn al-Nadim delineates the different scholarly views of the Buddha: some believed he was the divine incarnate, **while others claimed he was a messenger of God**; still others thought Buddha to be a generic name for those who guided others onto the right path. ... This makes me curious as to which Islamic scholars claimed that Buddha was a messenger of God. The paper continues: > Perhaps the most significant classical Muslim description of Buddhism is found in Imam Muhammad b. 'Abd al-Karim al-Shahrastani's (d. 1153) comprehensive survey entitled, *Religions and Sects* (*al-Milal wa al-nihal*). ... In this work, he also makes a rather stunning--and intriguing--statement connecting the Buddha to a character in the Qur'an. ... > > > Based upon their description of the Buddha, if they are accurate, it would seem that he is none other than al-Khadir , whom Muslims acknowledge, upon him be peace. The phrasing suggests that al-Shahrastani did not hold this belief true, but rather acknowledged it as a possibility. Therefore, I'm not sure who Hamza Yusuf is referring to. **Question**: Which scholars claimed Buddha was a messenger of God?

I have been living a life of an atheist for long and its difficult to reconcile some of Islam. I plan to first understand what and why, the nuances and then finally follow. Before embracing Islam I am working constantly to get rid of all vices, by following Islam now, I don't want to control these vices but instead I want to get rid of them altogether, so I don't even have a thought for them. Besides I wish to fully understand Qur'an and why what has been said, been said. I wish to be fully clear with the faith and what its teaching. Not just that, I also want to explore other faiths so I can understand, why they are considered adulterated and what it means when Qur'an says they have been adulterated. All this take times and sometimes I do commit sins and I am worried that if I am already a Muslim since I believe in shahdara and that Islam is a religion of God I am acting hypocritical and against the wish of God, where he wants me to be pious and pure. Is my concern legitimate? By the way, I have been able to control vices by 90% and whenever I ask Allah to give me strength and show me the light I get an unexplained strong strength to beat the temptation of committing the sin.