Quora Answer: If Adam (a.s.) is the First & Only Man on Earth, How Can He be a Prophet?

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

The following is my answer to a Quora question: “If Adam (a.s.) is the first and only man on Earth, how can he be a prophet?  Who was he a prophet to?  Why do Muslims call him a prophet?” 

If we consider that Adam (a.s.) was the first man on Earth, that does not mean he was the only man on Earth throughout his time in this world.  He had a wife in Eve, and there were sons, and daughters.  This multitude alone constituted his people, his ummah. 

In Islam, a prophet is the recipient of Revelation, wahy, from Allah (s.w.t.), who then passes this knowledge to the people.  He is their spiritual guide, and intercessor before Allah (s.w.t.).  Adam (a.s.) is that to his people, and the start of that prophethood in Earth that passed through Noah (a.s.), Abraham (a.s.), Moses (a.s.), Jesus (a.s.), and culminated in Muhammad (s.a.w.). Thus, while we believe that there were 124,000 prophets, there was ever only one prophethood.



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