The 25 Prophets Named in the Qur'an: A Kids' List with Ayah References

Allah named 25 prophets and messengers in the Qur’an: Adam, Idris, Nuh, Hud, Salih, Ibrahim, Lut, Isma’il, Ishaq, Ya’qub, Yusuf, Ayyub, Shu’ayb, Musa, Harun, Dhul-Kifl, Dawud, Sulayman, Ilyas, al-Yasa’, Yunus, Zakariyya, Yahya, ‘Isa and Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon them all). Below is the full list for children, each name with an ayah where Allah mentions him, and a one-line lesson.

Belief in the messengers is one of the six pillars of iman. But when my children first asked “How many prophets were there?”, I realised I wanted to give them names they could find in the Mushaf themselves, not a list copied from somewhere. So every name below comes with its reference. Open the Qur’an together and let your child find it.

How many prophets are there?

Allah sent many more prophets than the 25 we know by name. He tells the Prophet (ﷺ):

وَلَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا رُسُلًا مِنْ قَبْلِكَ مِنْهُمْ مَنْ قَصَصْنَا عَلَيْكَ وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ لَمْ نَقْصُصْ عَلَيْكَ ۗ وَمَا كَانَ لِرَسُولٍ أَنْ يَأْتِيَ بِآيَةٍ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ ۚ فَإِذَا جَاءَ أَمْرُ اللَّهِ قُضِيَ بِالْحَقِّ وَخَسِرَ هُنَالِكَ الْمُبْطِلُونَ

“And We have already sent messengers before you. Among them are those [whose stories] We have related to you, and among them are those [whose stories] We have not related to you.” (Ghafir 40:78; see also an-Nisa’ 4:164)

So we teach children two things together: we believe in every prophet Allah sent, and we know 25 of them by name from the Qur’an. We do not guess at the rest. When my daughter asked for “the exact number”, we said: Allah knows, and He told us what we need.

Every one of them called to the same message:

وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا مِنْ قَبْلِكَ مِنْ رَسُولٍ إِلَّا نُوحِي إِلَيْهِ أَنَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا أَنَا فَاعْبُدُونِ

“And We sent not before you any messenger except that We revealed to him that, ‘There is no deity except Me, so worship Me.’” (al-Anbiya’ 21:25)

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: “The prophets are paternal brothers; their mothers are different, but their religion is one.” (al-Bukhari 3443)

One ayah that names 18 prophets

In Surat al-An’am, Allah names eighteen prophets in four ayat. This is the best place to start with children, because they can see so many names in one place:

وَوَهَبْنَا لَهُ إِسْحَاقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ ۚ كُلًّا هَدَيْنَا ۚ وَنُوحًا هَدَيْنَا مِنْ قَبْلُ ۖ وَمِنْ ذُرِّيَّتِهِ دَاوُودَ وَسُلَيْمَانَ وَأَيُّوبَ وَيُوسُفَ وَمُوسَىٰ وَهَارُونَ ۚ وَكَذَٰلِكَ نَجْزِي الْمُحْسِنِينَ

وَزَكَرِيَّا وَيَحْيَىٰ وَعِيسَىٰ وَإِلْيَاسَ ۖ كُلٌّ مِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ

وَإِسْمَاعِيلَ وَالْيَسَعَ وَيُونُسَ وَلُوطًا ۚ وَكُلًّا فَضَّلْنَا عَلَى الْعَالَمِينَ

“And We gave to him [Ibrahim] Ishaq and Ya’qub; all of them We guided. And Nuh We guided before, and among his descendants Dawud and Sulayman and Ayyub and Yusuf and Musa and Harun. Thus do We reward the doers of good. And Zakariyya and Yahya and ‘Isa and Ilyas, all were of the righteous. And Isma’il and al-Yasa’ and Yunus and Lut, and all of them We preferred over the worlds.” (al-An’am 6:84-86, with Ibrahim named in 6:83)

The other seven are Adam, Idris, Hud, Salih, Shu’ayb, Dhul-Kifl and Muhammad (ﷺ).

The 25 prophets, in order, with ayah references

The order below follows the usual way the prophets are taught, from Adam to Muhammad (ﷺ). Where the Qur’an tells us who came after whom we follow it; for the rest, the order is for learning, so don’t treat it as a fixed timeline.

For the last name on the list, Allah says:

مَا كَانَ مُحَمَّدٌ أَبَا أَحَدٍ مِنْ رِجَالِكُمْ وَلَٰكِنْ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَخَاتَمَ النَّبِيِّينَ ۗ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمًا

“Muhammad is not the father of [any] one of your men, but [he is] the Messenger of Allah and the seal of the prophets. And ever is Allah, of all things, Knowing.” (al-Ahzab 33:40)

This is a key point of belief to teach early. Muhammad (ﷺ) is the last prophet, and anyone who claims prophethood after him is lying.

The five “of firm resolve”

Children love a “top five”, so they may ask whether some prophets are greater. Allah tells the Prophet (ﷺ) to be patient “as were those of firm resolve among the messengers” (al-Ahqaf 46:35). From al-Ahzab 33:7 and ash-Shura 42:13, where they are named together, these five are Nuh, Ibrahim, Musa, ‘Isa and Muhammad (ﷺ):

وَإِذْ أَخَذْنَا مِنَ النَّبِيِّينَ مِيثَاقَهُمْ وَمِنْكَ وَمِنْ نُوحٍ وَإِبْرَاهِيمَ وَمُوسَىٰ وَعِيسَى ابْنِ مَرْيَمَ ۖ وَأَخَذْنَا مِنْهُمْ مِيثَاقًا غَلِيظًا

“And when We took from the prophets their covenant, and from you and from Nuh and Ibrahim and Musa and ‘Isa, the son of Maryam…” (al-Ahzab 33:7)

At the same time we teach the believer’s words in al-Baqarah 2:285: “We make no distinction between any of His messengers.” We believe in all of them, love all of them, and reject none of them.

Respect when we say their names

Two small habits make a big difference:

• Say ﷺ after the Prophet Muhammad’s name, and ‘alayhis-salam (peace be upon him) after the other prophets.
• No pictures of the prophets. We never draw, colour or show images of any prophet, and we keep children away from cartoons that do. Their stories come to us through the Qur’an and the authentic Sunnah, in words.

How to teach the 25 names, age by age

Ages 3 to 5: names and one fact each. Teach five names at a time. Say each name with one simple line: “Nuh built the ship.” “Yunus was inside the big fish.” “Ibrahim built the Ka’bah.” After five weeks they know all 25.

Ages 6 to 8: find them in the Mushaf. Give your child a reference from the table, such as Maryam 19:54, and let them find it and point to the name. Write each name in Arabic and English on its own index card, and add the surah and ayah on the back. Text only, no pictures.

Ages 9 to 12: the story behind each name. Pick one prophet a week and read what the Qur’an says about him with a reliable tafsir, such as Ibn Kathir’s. Start with the stories that fill a whole surah or a long passage: Ibrahim and Yusuf. Then ask your child to write three things they learned, with the ayah reference.

Memory game. Lay the name cards face up in order. Turn one face down and ask, “Who is missing?” Little ones love this, and it fixes the order without any pressure.

Matching game. Make a second set of cards with the lessons from the table (“kept his promise”, “inside the big fish”, “the final prophet”). Children match lesson to name.

For more on teaching belief in the messengers as part of iman, see our guide to the six pillars of iman for kids. And when they are ready to place the final Prophet’s (ﷺ) life in order, move on to the Seerah timeline for kids.

Frequently asked questions

How many prophets are named in the Qur’an? Twenty-five. Eighteen of them are named together in al-An’am 6:83-86, and the other seven (Adam, Idris, Hud, Salih, Shu’ayb, Dhul-Kifl and Muhammad ﷺ) are named elsewhere in the Qur’an.

Who was the first prophet and who was the last? We teach Adam (عليه السلام) first, the father of mankind whom Allah chose (Al Imran 3:33). The last prophet is Muhammad (ﷺ), “the seal of the prophets” (al-Ahzab 33:40).

Were there more prophets than 25? Yes. Allah says there are messengers whose stories He related to us and messengers whose stories He did not (Ghafir 40:78; an-Nisa’ 4:164). We believe in all of them without making up names or numbers.

What is the difference between a prophet and a messenger? For young children, keep it simple: Allah calls some of them prophets and some messengers, and many, like Muhammad (ﷺ), were both. Older children can learn the scholars’ explanation of the difference from a teacher or a trusted book of aqeedah. Our aqeedah questions for kids covers the basics.

Is it okay to use prophet cartoons or picture books? No. We do not use images of the prophets or of living beings. Tell the stories in your own words, straight from the Qur’an, and let the child’s imagination do the rest.

May Allah make our children love His prophets and follow the final Messenger (ﷺ). Ameen.