In common usage, the Arabic word nabi is usually translated as “prophet.” The technical term for the condition or rank of being a prophet is nubuwwah. While nubuwwah literally relates to conveying news or proclaiming something, its technical meaning in Islamic theology is far more specific: it refers to a divinely conferred rank that cannot be attained through human effort. It is a sacred status, granted solely by the will of God, to those He chooses.
A prophet, in Islamic understanding, is someone who receives divine revelation (waḥy) directly from God. Among prophets, some are also rasūl—messengers who are entrusted with the public task of conveying a divine message or scripture. The word risālah refers to this message-bearing mission. Linguistically, a rasūl is “one who is sent,” and in the technical sense, it means someone sent by God to guide humankind with His message.
In this mission, an angel—usually Jibrīl (Gabriel)—would appear, sometimes in human form, sometimes in his angelic nature, and deliver the divine message. The prophet would then embody these messages through his life and teachings, offering a practical model of the divine will for humanity. This was the consistent pattern of divine communication throughout human history.
Prophets in Semitic and Non-Semitic Religions
All the Semitic religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—acknowledge the concept of prophethood. They also agree on the role of angels as the intermediaries through whom prophets received divine revelation.
Take for example the Book of Daniel in the Hebrew Bible, which Christians also accept. It describes scenes in which Daniel receives visions and messages from God through the angel Gabriel. Two examples are: Daniel 8:15–18: “While I, Daniel, was watching the vision and trying to understand it, there before me stood one who looked like a man… and I heard a man’s voice calling, ‘Gabriel, tell this man the meaning of the vision.’”【9】
- Daniel 10:5–11: “I looked up and there before me was a man dressed in linen… his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches…”
These are clear narratives of prophets receiving divine revelation via angelic mediation.
While the details differ, even many non-Semitic religions—those considered outside the Abrahamic tradition—display theological concepts that resemble prophethood. While their doctrines may deviate greatly over time, at their core there remains a pattern: individuals are inspired to teach righteousness, justice, and a sense of the divine.
A noteworthy example is the concept of avatāra in Hinduism. According to the Bhagavad Gītā, God descends into the world in human or other forms whenever dharma (righteousness) declines and adharma (unrighteousness) prevails: Whenever there is decay of righteousness and rise of unrighteousness, O Bhārata, then I manifest Myself. For the protection of the good and destruction of the wicked, for the establishment of righteousness, I come into being in every age. (Bhagavad Gītā 4:7–8)
In this view, divine figures emerge over time to reestablish moral order. Hindu scriptures list many such figures as avatāras (descents of the divine) with different roles in different epochs.
But here, we must carefully distinguish between prophethood as understood in Islam and the Hindu notion of avatāra. The term avatāra literally means “to descend.” The concept implies that God Himself takes on physical form and enters the world to rectify the course of dharma.
Islam categorically rejects this idea. A prophet is never divine. He is always fully human. The Qur’an, as well as the scriptures of earlier Abrahamic faiths, clearly affirms that all prophets were men, servants (ʿabd) of God—not gods or incarnations. This point is reiterated by Jesus himself (as quoted in the Christian New Testament): Now you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. (John 8:40), And the Qur’an declares: He begets not, nor is He begotten. (Surah al-Ikhlāṣ 112:3), Say: I am only a man like you, to whom it has been revealed… (Surah al-Kahf 18:110)
While prophets were granted divine revelation and lived extraordinary lives, they remained fully human. Their knowledge came from God, but they themselves were not divine.
