Story of Adam

Story of Noah

Story of Hud

Story of Salih

Story of Abraham

Story of Lot

Story of Shuyab

Story of Joseph

Story of Moses

Story of Jonah

Story of Job

Story of David

Story of Solomon

Story of Zachariah

Story of Jesus

Muhammad (pbuh)

[The Last Prophet]















Story of Adam

The creation of man is referred to in the Koran in many places. Adam was the first man God created. Then He created Eve, and they lived together in heaven.

God regarded man as his noblest creation. He sent him as His vicegerent on earth. Before creating Adam, He told the angels in the heavens that He was creating 'man from clay, moulding him from earthly substance', and asked them to 'fall down before him in prostration, when I have given him form and breathed into him My spirit'. The angels were aghast:

They asked: 'Pray, will you put man there Who will do mischief and shed blood? Why not send us instead who worship and glorify You? [2:30]

They prayed to the Lord not to humiliate them. God told them to obey His command, for, he said, 'You know not what I know.' The Koran states:

So each one of them obeyed except Satan. God asked him: 'Why did you not prostrate?' Satan replied: 'Because I am worthier, my Lord, than Adam. Of fire You have created me, from clay you have created him.' [7:12]

God thundered: Begone from My presence! There is no place for you here. Your arrogance makes you the meanest of My creatures. [7:13]

Satan bowed before the Lord, and made one plea: Grant me, my Lord, a reprieve until the day man is raised again. [7:14]

God granted Satan the reprieve. Satan then said: Since you have thrown me out, I shall now waylay man on the straight path you have laid and make him commit sin, from the right hand to the left, from before and behind him; You will not find in Adam and in most of his progeny, gratitude for Your bounties. [7:16-17]

God told Satan that he was disgraced, and banished him from paradise: Those of My creatures who follow you they shall be consigned to hell with you. [20:123-124]

Turning to Adam, God said: You and Eve can reside in the garden of paradise. Eat fruits from any tree you like, but there is one to which you shall not go nor shall you eat its fruits. For, indeed, it will be a transgression. [2:35]

Adam and Eve began to live blissfully in paradise, but Satan would tempt them so as to swerve them from the right path. He whispered into their ears that they should enjoy their bare bodies, which until then they had not perceived. He told them that their Lord had asked them to keep away from the prohibited tree because He did not wish them to become angels and thus immortal. He asked them to swear that they would not betray his trust and then urged them to eat the forbidden fruit. He assured them that he was their 'true friend'.

He used all his guile to entice them. Eventually, Adam and Eve succumbed to his enticements and tasted the forbidden fruit. They covered themselves with leaves in order to conceal their shame. On seeing this transformation, their Lord asked them:

Did I not forbid you to go near that tree? Did I not warn you that Satan is your enemy? [7:20-22]

Adam and Eve realized their mistake and begged forgiveness of their Lord: O Lord, we have sinned grievously. Please grant us Your forgiveness or else we shall be lost forever. [7:23]

The Lord in His mercy forgave them, but cast them down to live on earth. He told them that there shall be eternal enmity and feuding between them and Satan. The Lord reminded Adam and Eve, and their progeny who followed them, that clothing might cover their shame, but what was more important for them was to cover themselves with the 'garment of true piety':

O Children of Adam! Let Satan not be your guide as he has been of your parents. He misled them and drove them out, stripping them of their nakedness. [7:27]

Satan made Adam and Eve commit indecency. Thus they disobeyed the command of their Lord. They were warned of Satan's designs; they were asked to tell Satan:

Our Lord commands us to do what is right and just. He is to be worshipped in every place and prayed to with all the sincerity of faith. It is He who has brought us to life, and it is He who will raise us again. After we die we shall return to Him. Some of us have been guided right. But some have taken to Satan's ways. They are, indeed, in the wrong. [7:29-30]

Referring to Cain and Abel, the two sons of Adam, the Koran says that each of them made an offering to God; the offering of Abel was accepted and that of Cain was rejected:

Cain said to his brother: 'I will kill you.' But his brother replied: 'Only from those who truly fear the Lord does God accept an offering. If you try to kill me, I will not do the same to you. For I fear my Lord, Who is the Lord of all beings. If you kill me, the sin will be on your head and you will be consigned to hell.' [5:27-29]

Abel's words had no effect on Cain. He murdered his brother without any cause and 'took his place among the lost'. God sent a raven who dug the ground to cover the corpse of Abel. Seeing this, Cain felt most remorseful and cried, 'Woe to me. I am worse than this raven, for I cannot hide the evil that I have done to my brother.' The Koran admonishes:

O Children of Israel! If anyone kills another without just cause, except in retaliation for a murder or for causing corruption in the land, it is as if he has killed the whole of mankind. And whosoever saves a life, it is as if he has saved the whole of mankind. [5:32]

Story of Noah

God sent Noah to his people and asked him to tell them to worship none but the One, who was the Creator of all. He was also told to warn them that 'stern retribution will overtake them' if they did not heed his call.

The nobles among them refused to believe him. They said: You are just a human being like us; why should we follow you? Except the vulgar who may thoughtlessly hasten to listen to you, you have no superiority over us; in fact, you are nothing but an impostor [11:27]

Noah beseeched them not to misunderstand him: I have a clear message from the Lord Who in His mercy has granted me this task. I ask you not to be deaf to what I have to say. I am not coercing you nor am I asking you for wealth. My reward is with my Lord. I will not turn away believers. Only pause and think of your future. I do not claim to possess God's treasures nor have I the knowledge of the Unseen; I am also no angel. But do not be scornful of those who believe in God or talk ill of them. [11: 28-31]

These people, however, remained adamant in their opposition and told Noah bluntly: You have raised a dispute between us; we have heard your contentions and also the warnings of dire consequences. Bring upon us the calamity that you threaten; let us see what your God can do to us. [11:32]

Noah warned them that if God so willed, He would do what He wanted and nothing could frustrate it. He pleaded with them again to come out of their 'persistent delusion'. But they refused to listen to him.

In desperation, Noah told the Lord: O my Lord, night and day I have pleaded with my people, but instead of listening to me they have fled away from me. Each time I have asked them to seek Your forgiveness, they have put their fingers in their ears and wrapped their heads with rich garments; they have persisted in their arrogance. Even so I pleaded with them, privately as well as publicly, in all earnestness, entreating them to seek Your forgiveness and to remember Your bounties and Your Awesome Majesty. But they have said 'no' to me. On the contrary, they have asked people not to abandon the worship of their gods. [71:5-23]

God then asked Noah not to be distressed and to construct an ark 'under Our eyes and by Our inspiration'. As he began the work, the chiefs of his people mocked him. He told them that soon they would realize who was in for 'lasting doom'.

And so it happened; under a decree from the Lord, the waters gushed forth and flooded the earth. Noah was commanded by the Lord to take into the ark two creatures of each species, a male and a female, members of his family, except the wrongdoers among them, and all the believers who numbered just a handful. Noah's son refused to board. The father pleaded with him, but he said, 'No, I will climb the mountain and take shelter there and protect myself.'

Noah cried out: This day there shall be no protection from the wrath of God, save for those who will receive His mercy. The waves came gushing forth in torrents and swept off Noah's son and all unbelievers; when Noah saw his son drowning, in a moment of weakness he asked God to forgive his son and to save him.

The Lord said: 'He was not a true son of yours; what he did was wrong. Do not ask for something which is wrong and of which you have no comprehension. Otherwise, you may be counted among the ignorant and the willful.' Noah realized his folly and was repentant.

He asked for God's forgiveness, and the blessings came: Noah! Take to the way of peace; Our blessings are upon you and upon people descending from you. We will give satisfaction to believers and retribution to unbelievers. the future is only known to Us; neither you nor your people have an inkling, hence be patient and fear your Lord. [11:48]

As the floods overwhelmed the unbelievers and took them to their doom, Noah prayed to the Lord: O my Lord! Forgive me and all believers who have taken shelter under my roof, but do not leave on earth a single unbeliever. For if You spare any one of them, He will lead Your servants astray and also their offspring and make them faithless wrongdoers. [71:26-28]

Noah and his companions in the ark were safely conveyed to the shore. God kept them steadily under His grace and granted them His bounties.

Story of Hud

To the industrious and hardworking people belonging to the tribe of Aad, God sent Hud as His messenger. He told them:

O my people, worship God. There is no one other than Him. The other notions you have are all false. He is the only true God. I ask you to worship Him, I ask nothing for myself. My reward is with Him who has fashioned me. Will you not understand this? Seek His forgiveness and remember His bounties, and do not revert to your evil ways. [11:50-52]

The elders of the tribes rebuked Hud: We think you are a simpleton. Nay, worse, a liar. [7:66]

Hud assured them: I am not a simpleton; I am God's apostle. I bring His message to you, hence, heed the warning I give, for you are Noah's people. If you have God's blessings, everything will go well with you. [7:67-69]

But they persisted in their unbelief and told Hud: You have brought us no clear Signs save what you are telling us. How can we abandon our gods? It seems some of our gods have smitten you with evil so that you go on the wrong path. [11:53-54]

Hud answered them: I swear by my Lord that I am not guilty of your charge. I believe only in my Lord; To me no one else matters and none can delude me and make me go against Him. Nothing moves without His will; His path alone is the right path. If you do not respond to my call and turn away from the Lord, the loss will be yours, not His. In your place He will bring others, for He has control over all things, He watches over all that happens. [11:54-57]

Hud reminded the elders of the tribe of how God gave them tenure of the land upon which they built their castles and homes. They had forgotten all His bounties and resorted to corrupt dealings and evil ways. Eventually, they had to pay the price of their unbelief: they were overwhelmed by a raging tempest. The fury lasted for seven nights and eight days; the people of Aad perished and their castles and dwellings became like 'stumps of hollow palmtrees'.

Story of Salih





For the good of the people of Thamud, God sent Salih as His messenger. He asked them to believe in the Oneness of God and to worship none but Him. He told them that God had sent a Sign to the arrogant oppressors of the poor in the form of a she-camel. Water was scarce at the time, and the privileged class tried to prevent the poor and their cattle from having access to the springs and pastures.

The she-camel was made a test case to see if the haughty, rich people would come to see reason. Salih wanted them to allow the she-camel to graze without any let or hindrance. He warned them that they should have no evil intentions toward her, or the wrath of God would fall upon them.

He reminded them that the Lord had been kind to them in the past and had made them successors to the people of Aad, who were destroyed for their evil deeds. They had been given land, so as to build palaces and castles on the plains and homes in the mountains. Salih beseeched them not to spread disorder in the world, to remain ever-conscious of God's power and to be grateful for His kindness.

But the chiefs of the tribes jeered at him; they asked the people not to believe in what Salih said. Some did not listen to them and heeded Salih's call, but many followed the advice of their chiefs. And as a mark of their defiance, they hamstrung the she-camel and killed her, challenging Salih to bring upon them the calamity which he had threatened them with.

Salih grieved for his people, for he knew what lay in store for them. He therefore left Thamud with his followers, and soon thereafter there was a dreadful earthquake, which destroyed the inhabitants of Thamud, burying them along with their castles and palaces.

Story of Abraham



After Noah, Abraham was selected by God to be His Prophet. Abraham first preached in his own country, now known as Iraq. Then he moved to Syria, Palestine and Egypt. Finally, he settled down in Arabia.

In carrying on with his mission, he was assisted by other messengers appointed from his own family by God: Lot, his nephew, who lived in the midst of the people of Jordan, and Abraham's two sons, the elder son Ishmael [or Ismail], and the younger Isaac [or Ishaq].

Isaac preached in Syria and Palestine. Ishmael assisted his father in Arabia and is credited with having helped him in building the Ka'aba, which is now the religious center of the Islamic world. Ishmael and Isaac founded two sects, the Ismailites and Israelites respectively.

The tribe of Quraish, to which Muhammad belonged, is said to be Ismailite in origin, while the Jews and the Christians are said to be descendants of Jacob, whose other name was Israel, the son of Isaac and the grandson of Abraham. Hence Abraham is regarded as the father of all Semitic peoples; from him were born not only Jews and Christians but also the Muslims. He is the common bond who links them all. After him, God transferred the leadership to Isaac and Jacob, and their descendants are collectively described in the Koran as 'the Children of Israel'.

As soon as Abraham received the commission from the Lord to propagate the Oneness of God and preach His worship among the people, he called upon the Lord to preserve the Ka'aba that he had built to eradicate the worship of idols, which had led many people astray. Abraham asked them, 'What is it that you worship?'

They replied: We worship the idols, as did our fathers. And in devotion to them we shall remain steadfast. [26: 72, 74]

Abraham asked them: Do they hear you when you call them? Have they the power to do anything, either good or bad for you? [26:73]

He reminded them that there was only one God, the Lord of all creation, who controlled Life, death and resurrection. He told his own father, Azar, to desist from worshipping idols. He said he had learned from his own experience that God alone was worthy of worship. He was shown by God 'the Kingdom of the heavens and the earth so that he might be convinced of the faith' in his Creator.

The Koran narrates: When the night was dark, Abraham saw a star; he said to himself, 'This must be the Lord.' But soon the star set and his faith was shaken. Then he saw the moon rising in the sky. 'This is the Lord,' he said. However, when it waned, he lost faith in it. Likewise, when the sun rose, brighter than everything, he was convinced that it was the Lord. But the sun also set, and Abraham cried: 'I set my face against all these. I repudiate every other kind of worship except the worship of God, Creator of all that is in the heavens and on the earth.' [6:76-79]

The people jeered at Abraham and remonstrated with him, and even stoned him; they tried to frighten him into believing that their idols would destroy him and his God would not be able to save him.

But Abraham responded: Will you dispute with me about God who has guided me? I have no fear of the idols you worship. Unless my Lord wills nothing can happen. [6:80-81]

Turning to his father, Abraham asked what the images were to which he and his people were devoted. Azar replied that they worshipped what their fathers had worshipped. Abraham said: 'Then assuredly, you and your fathers are clearly in error.' Earlier, he had told Nimrod, the King of Iraq, not to forget that it was God who gave him the Kingdom and power and glory; but the King, in his arrogance, had denied it and had declared that he determined the life and death of his subjects.

Abraham had then asked him: 'God makes the sun rise from the east; can you make it rise from the west?' The King had no answer. He sentenced Abraham to be burnt alive.

Abraham bore all the hardships but remained firm and steadfast in his loyalty to God. One day he broke all the idols in the Ka'aba, one by one, except the largest. As soon as the people heard of the destruction, they rushed to the temple and, seething with rage, cried: Who has done this to our idols? This is, indeed, an outrage. [21:59]

They were told that young Abraham was the culprit. 'Fetch him,' they demanded. 'And let everyone witness what we do do him.' When Abrahm was brought before them, they asked him: 'Who has done this to our idols?' 'Not I; it is that big idol over there. Why don't you question him?' They replied that idols did not speak.

Abraham said: Isn't it strange that you should worship these idols which can neither speak nor do anything. They can neither help nor harm anyone. Shame on you and on your idol worship. How foolish of you to worship them. [21:60]

They were fashioned, he reminded them, by their own hands. He beseeched them to worship the One God who created and fashioned everything. They were so angered by his words that they decided to throw him into a pyre of blazing fire. They could not succeed, however, because God 'made them bite the dust'.

Abraham prayed to the Lord to grant him an heir, who 'will be numbered among the righteous'. So God gave him a gentle boy, Ishmael. But Abraham had pledged to God in a dream that if he had a son, he would offer him in sacrifice to the Lord. Abraham told his son of his dream and his pledge. 'Then, Father, ' said Ishmael, 'you should honor your commitment and surrender me to the will of God.'

So Abraham laid him down, and as he was about to slay him, he heard the Voice commanding him: Enough, Abraham! You have kept your word with Us. You have already fulfilled the vision. [37:105]

The Lord had intended merely to test Abraham; He now declared that he had fulfilled his commitment: We redeem Abraham's son with a great sacrifice and We give Our benediction to him and bless him through generations to come and shower Our peace upon him. [37:107-109]

Thus God rewarded the righteous and His 'believing servants'.

In Isaac, Abraham's other and younger son, the Lord gave to the world 'one of the best of prophets'. Among their descendants some did good deeds, but some who did bad, 'were blatant evil-doers, who sinned against themselves' . [37:110-113]

The Koran clarifies: Abraham was neither a Jew nor a Christian. He was a hanif, a man of pure worship, he was not an idolator but a believer in One God; only those who follow him are entitled to claim relationship with him. Muhammad and his followers are nearer to him. God is the protector of all believers. [3:67-68]

Referring to the House of Mecca, 'the place of sanctuary and serenity for the people', God asked Muhammad to 'make it your House of prayers'. Thus God's covenant given to Abraham and Ishmael was fulfilled and the Ka'aba became for the believers 'the pilgrim circuit' for worship and for prostration. Abraham and Isaac had prayed to God to 'send among our people after us a messenger of our own kin who recites to the people Your revelations, teaches them the Book and the wisdom it contains and purges them of all evil' [2:129].

God admonishes: Tell the people, O Muhammad! that to be rightly guided one need not be a Jew or a Christian. The righteous belong to the community of Abraham, who was pure in his worship of God. So were Ishmael, Jacob and the tribes, and Moses, Jesus and the rest. They are all Our messengers; We make no distinction between them. [2:135-136]

Story of Lot

Lot lived among a people who practiced naked lewdness; they went lustfully after men instead of women. God chose him as His messenger to tell them to give up their perversity and fear Him. He told them: My people, ask forgiveness of your Lord and repent for your evil ways. [27:55]

But instead of listening to him, they jeered at him, calling him and his family 'these despicable, puritan folk'. They hounded them out of the town. God rescued all of them except Lot's wife, who turned back and decided to be with the unbelievers. Suddenly a rain of fire and stones fell on the inhabitants of the place and they were destroyed.

The Koran reminds: In your travels either by morning light or the fain glimmer of the fall of night you can see their ruins as you pass by. [37:136-138]

Story of Shuyab



Shuyab was sent as a messenger by God to the people of Madyan, who were mostly merchants. they lived in an area surrounded by thick forests. He told them: I beseech you, my people, to worship God and fear the coming of the Last Day. Do not take to perverse habits and generate corruption in the land. [29:36]

Instead of heeding his call, they called him a liar; he reminded them that they should fear the Lord, who had sent him as His faithful apostle. He asked them to give up their practice of cheating in business: Fear the One who has created you and listen to what I have to say. Pay in full measure and do not defraud by stinting and giving short measure and weight. Use the right balance, and be honest and cease to be perverse. [26:179,181-183]

The people scolded Shuyab and called him 'bewitched'; they said to him: How can we forsake what our fathers taught us and abandon the methods which have come down to us? [37:136-138]

They praised his gentle nature and asked him to follow his forebears and give up his new fangled ideas. Shuyab told them he did not wish to cross swords with the people of Madyan, but he could not do what they were asking him to do.

He explained: My mission is to set things right and to fulfill God's will. My trust in Him is implicit. I always turn to Him in need. I beseech you not to disobey His call lest the same fate befalls you as befell the detractors of Noah, Hud and Salih. The people of Lot, who lived near by, also suffered because of their unbelief. [11:89]

The people of Madyan were deaf to his plea: You are weak in the head; but for your family, we would stone you. [11:91]

Shuyab answered them resolutely: My people, do what you like; I hold on to my belief; you will know who is a liar when God's punishment comes to you. [11:93]

The elders of the tribe warned Shuyab: We will expel you from our city and all those who follow you. [7:88]

Shuyab replied that his Lord controlled everything. The people jeered at him: If you are speaking the truth let pieces from the sky fall on us. [26:187]
Shuyab told them: Watch me then; and I am also watching you. [11:93]

Soon thereafter, Shuyab left the city with his followers. One night, a blast struck the inhabitants of Madyan and by next morning they lay lifeless, as if they had never lived.