Age of the Prophets

sent prophets in every age (35:24). These prophets were given guidance through God’s revelations. This is called ‘the straight path’ in the Quran (1:6). These prophets continued to come to the world in all ages: “then We sent Our messengers in succession” (23:44). Adam, as well as being the first man, was the first prophet. All the prophets who came after Adam until Prophet Muhammad have been counted and the figure has been put at 1,24,000 in a saying of Prophet Muhammad (Musnad Ahmad, Hadith No. 22288). The Quran mentioned twenty-five prophets by name. However, to the modern mind, none of these prophets has been historically established. Out of the whole history of the prophets, the Prophet Muhammad, the son of Abdullah, and grandson of Abdul Muttalib, is the only prophet who is a historical figure in the complete sense. A scholar has acknowledged this fact thus: “Muhammad was born within the full light of history.” (The Arabs: A Short History, Philip K. Hitti, London, 1960, p. 23) Why is it that the prophets are not mentioned in ancient history? The reason is traceable to current imperatives in the writing of history. In ancient times, only events related to kings, wars, and victories were considered worth recording. Since the lives of the prophets were not associated with such political circumstances, ancient