Meaning: the Prophets · Also translated as: their Prophet, Prophets, [the] Prophets, to a Prophet
Forms in the Quran
ٱلنَّبِىُّ×30
ٱلنَّبِيِّۦنَ×9
نَبِيًّا×8
نَّبِىٍّ×7
وَٱلنَّبِيِّۦنَ×3
لِنَبِىٍّ×3
ٱلْأَنۢبِيَآءَ×3
أَنۢبِيَآءَ×2
Its root in the classical dictionaries
[النبأ] : خبر ذو فائدة عظيمة يحصل به علم أو غلبة ظن، ولا يقال للخبر في الأصل نبأ حتى
قوله تعالى: ﴿ولقد جاءك من نبأ المرسلين﴾ [الأنعام:34] أي، من أخبارهم مع قومهم. والنبأ: الخبر، كذا فسره الهروي وغيره. ولم يكتف الراغب بذلك، بل قيده بثلاثة أمور فقال: النبأ خبر ذو فائدة عظيمة، يحصل به علم أو غلبة ظن، قال: ولا يقال للخبر في الأصل نبأ حتى يتضمن هذه الأشياء الثلاثة. وحق الخبر الذي يقال فيه نبأ، أن يتعرى عن…
And remember ye said:
"O Moses! we cannot endure
One kind of food (always);
So beseech thy Lord for us
To produce for us of what the earth
Groweth,—its pot-herbs, and cucumbers,
Its garlic, lentils, and onions."
He said: "Will ye exchange
The better for the worse?
Go ye down to any town,"
And ye shall find what ye want!"
They were covered with humiliation
And misery; they drew
On themselves the wrath of God.
This because they went on
Rejecting the Signs of God
And slaying His Messengers
Without just cause.
This because they rebelled
And went on transgressing.
When it is said to them,
"Believe in what God
Hath sent down," they say,
"We believe in what was sent down
To us": yet they reject
All besides, even if it be Truth
Confirming what is with them.
Say: "Why then have ye slain
The prophets of God in times
Gone by, if ye did indeed
Believe?"
Say ye: "We believe
In God, and the revelation
Given to us, and to Abraham,
Ismā'īl, Isaac, Jacob,
And the Tribes, and that given
To Moses and Jesus, and that given
To (all) Prophets from their Lord:
We make no difference
Between one and another of them:
And we bow to God (in Islam)."
It is not righteousness
That ye turn your faces
Towards East or West;
But it is righteousness—
To believe in God
And the Last Day,
And the Angels,
And the Book,
And the Messengers;
To spend of your substance,
Out of love for Him,
For your kin,
For orphans,
For the needy,
For the wayfarer,
For those who ask,
And for the ransom of slaves;
To be steadfast in prayer,
And practice regular charity;
To fulfil the contracts
Which ye have made;
And to be firm and patient,
In pain (or suffering)
And adversity,
And throughout
All periods of panic.
Such are the people
Of truth, the God-fearing.
Mankind was one single nation,
And God sent Messengers
With glad tidings and warnings;
And with them He sent
The Book in truth,
To judge between people
In matters wherein
They differed;
But the People of the Book,
After the clear Signs
Came to them, did not differ
Among themselves,
Except through selfish contumacy.
God by His Grace
Guided the Believers
To the Truth,
Concerning that
Wherein they differed.
For God guides
Whom He will
To a path
That is straight.
Hast thou not
Turned thy vision to the Chiefs
Of the Children of Israel
After (the time of) Moses?
They said to a Prophet
(That was) among them:
"Appoint for us a King, that we
May fight in the cause of God."
He said: "Is it not possible,
If ye were commanded
To fight, that that ye
Will not fight?" They said:
"How could we refuse
To fight in the cause of God,
Seeing that we were turned out
Of our homes and our families?"
But when they were commanded
To fight, they turned back,
Except a small band
Among them. But God
Has full knowledge of those
Who do wrong.
Their Prophet said to them:
"God hath appointed
Talut as king over you."
They said: "How can he
Exercise authority over us
When we are better fitted
Than he to exercise authority,
And he is not even gifted,
With wealth in abundance?"
He said: "God hath
Chosen him above you,
And hath gifted him
Abundantly with knowledge
And bodily prowess: God
Granteth His authority to whom
He pleaseth. God careth
For all, and He knoweth
All things."
And (further) their Prophet
Said to them: "A Sign
Of his authority
Is that there shall come
To you the Ark of the Covenant,
With (an assurance) therein
Of security from your Lord,
And the relics left
By the family of Moses
And the family of Aaron,
Carried by angels.
In this is a Symbol
For you if ye indeed
Have faith."
As to those who deny
The Signs of God, and in defiance
Of right, slay the prophets,
And slay those who teach
Just dealing with mankind,
Announce to them a grievous penalty.
While he was standing
In prayer in the chamber,
The angels called unto him:
"God doth give thee
Glad tidings of Yaḥyā,
Witnessing the truth
Of a Word from God, and (be
Besides) noble, chaste,
And a Prophet,
Of the (goodly) company
Of the righteous."
Without doubt, among men,
The nearest of kin to Abraham,
Are those who follow him,
As are also this Apostle
And those who believe:
And God is the Protector
Of those who have faith.
Nor would he instruct you
To take angels and prophets
For Lords and Patrons.
What! would he bid you
To unbelief after ye have
Bowed your will
(To God in Islam)?
Behold! God took
The Covenant of the Prophets,
Saying: "I give you
A Book and Wisdom;
Then comes to you
An Apostle, confirming
What is with you;
Do ye believe in him
And render him help."
God said: "Do ye agree,
And take this my Covenant
As binding on you?"
They said: "We agree."
He said: "Then bear witness,
And I am with you
Among the witnesses."
Say: "We believe
In God, and in what
Has been revealed to us
And what was revealed
To Abraham, Ismā’īl;
Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes,
And in (the Books)
Given to Moses, Jesus,
And the Prophets,
From their Lord:
We make no distinction
Between one and another
Among them, and to God do we
Bow our will (in Islam)."
Shame is pitched over them
(Like a tent) wherever
They are found,
Except when under a covenant
(Of protection) from God
And from men; they draw
On themselves wrath from God,
And pitched over them
Is (the tent of) destitution.
This because they rejected
The Signs of God, and slew
The Prophets in defiance of right;
This because they rebelled
And transgressed beyond bounds.
How many of the Prophets
Fought (in God's way),
And with them (fought)
Large bands of godly men?
But they never lost heart
If they met with disaster
In God's way, nor did
They weaken (in will)
Nor give in. And God
Loves those who are
Firm and steadfast.
No prophet could (ever)
Be false to his trust.
If any person is so false,
He shall, on the Day
Of Judgment, restore
What he misappropriated;
Then shall every soul
Receive its due,—
Whatever it earned,—
And none shall be
Dealt with unjustly.
God hath heard
The taunt of those
Who say: "Truly, God
Is indigent and we
Are rich!"—We shall
Certainly record their word
And (their act) of slaying
The Prophets in defiance
Of right, and We shall say:
"Taste ye the Penalty
Of the Scorching Fire!
All who obey God
And the Apostle
Are in the company
Of those on whom
Is the Grace of God,—
Of the Prophets (who teach),
The Sincere (lovers of Truth),
The Witnesses (who testify),
And the Righteous (who do good):
Ah! what a beautiful Fellowship!
(They have incurred divine
Displeasure): in that they
Broke their Covenant;
That they rejected the Signs
Of God; that they slew
The Messengers in defiance
Of right; that they said,
"Our hearts are the wrappings
(Which preserve God's Word;
We need no more)";—nay,
God hath set the seal on their hearts
For their blasphemy,
And little is it they believe;—