And We bestowed upon him Ishaq and Ya’qub ...

And We bestowed upon him Ishaq and Ya’qub , each of them We guided – and We guided Nuh before (him) – and among his offspring were Dawud , Sulayman , Ayub , Yusuf , Musa , and Harun – thus do We reward the good-doers – and Zakariyyah , Yahya , ‘ISA and Ilyas – each one of them was of the righteous – and Isma’il , al-Yasa’ , Yunus and Luṭ ; AND EACH ONE OF THEM WE MADE SUPERIOR ABOVE THE WORLDS .[^2] This passage gives the names of only eighteen prophets – including ‘Isa b.

Maryam – and states that Allah “made” each of them superior above the worlds. There is no reference to the other prophets – whether generally or specifically. As such, the verses cannot be used for all prophets.

Meanwhile, the last part above also has the same wording as that of this ayah : ولقد آتينا بني إسرائيل الكتاب والحكم والنبوة ورزقناهم من الطيبات وفضلناهم على العالمين And indeed, We gave the offspring of Israil the Book, and authority and prophethood, and We provided them with good things, AND WE MADE THEM SUPERIOR ABOVE THE WORLDS .[^3] So, what are these verses saying?

That the eighteen prophets are superior above all creatures, and above Muhammad and the other prophets that are not mentioned, till the Qiyamah ? That the Israilites are better than all non-Israilites till the end of time? Perhaps, we should let the Messenger of Allah provide the answers. Imam al-Hakim (d.

403 H) records: حدثنا أبو عبد الله محمد بن عبد الله الزاهد الأصبهاني ثنا أحمد بن يونس الضبي بأصبهان ثنا أبو بدر شجاع ابن الوليد قال : سمعت زياد بن خيثمة يحدث عن أبيه عن ابن عمر رضي الله عنهما قال قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : إن لله عبادا ليسوا بأنبياء ولا شهداء يغبطهم الشهداء والنبيون يوم القيامة لقربهم من الله تعالى ومجلسهم منه … هم أولياء الله عز وجل الذين لا خوف عليهم ولا هم يحزنون Abu ‘Abd Allah Muhammad b. ‘Abd Allah al-Zaid al-Isbahani – Ahmad b. Yunus al-Dhabi – Abu Badr Shuja’ b.

al-Walid – Ziyad b. Khaythamah – his father – Ibn ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both: The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: “Verily, there are worshippers of Allah who are neither prophets nor martyrs.

The martyrs and the prophets will envy them on the Day of al-Qiyamah DUE TO THEIR CLOSENESS TO ALLAH THE MOST HIGH AND THEIR STATUS TO HIM … They are the awliya of Allah the Almighty , those upon whom no fear shall come, nor shall they grieve.”[^4] Al-Hakim comments: هذا حديث صحيح الإسناد ولم يخرجاه This hadith has a sahih chain but they (i.e. al-Bukhari and Muslim) both have not recorded it.