Question:

What’s the Difference between a Prophet and Messenger?

Answer:

We must believe in all the prophets, those of whom we know and those of whom we do not know. They were numerous. The first of them was Adam عليهِ السَّلاَم. The last was our prophet, Muhammad صل اللهُ عليهِ وسلاَم. Some of them were prophets and messengers and others were prophets but not messengers.

The prophet who is a Messenger is one to whom Allah revealed new Laws differing from the Laws of the messenger before him.

The Prophet who was not a messenger also received the Revelation from Allah, in which he was ordered to follow the Laws of the messenger before him. Both the prophets and the messengers were ordered to convey their message.

Hence, every Messenger is a Prophet but not every Prophet is a Messeneger.

Some falsely defined the prophet who is not a messenger as: “the one who received the Revelation of a new set of laws, but was not ordered to convey them to others.” This is a serious error which one categorically must not adopt.