The Number of Prophets Mentioned in the Qurʼan

Question

Question: According to the claim of [the exegete] al-Baydawi, the total number of prophets ﵈ mentioned in the Holy Qur'an is twenty-eight. Is this correct? Also, what is the method for recognising the prophethood of those mentioned in the Qur'an? For example, it is said that if [a name] appears in a list of prophets, then [that person] is a prophet — this is known from certain books; but this is not quite correct, since Hazrat Maryam ﵂, Dhu’l-Kifl, ‘Uzayr, and also ‘Isa ﵇ are mentioned in lists of prophets, while…

Answer

Let [the questioner] specify precisely where al-Baydawi made this claim, so that the relevant context may be examined — perhaps a fuller explanation is given there. For Allah Most High did not disclose the names of all the prophets even to the Chief of the Messengers ﷺ: [ar]وَمِنْهُم مَّن لَّمْ نَقْصُصْ عَلَيْكَ[/ar] “…

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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