HOW MANY PROPHETS HAVE BEEN SENT TO MANKIND? AND WHY WAS NO PROPHET RAISED FROM AMONG WOMEN?
Prophets were raised and sent to the whole of mankind in different lands and at different times. One version of a hadith puts the number of prophets sent to mankind as 124,000 (Ibn Hanbal, Musnad, 5, 169); another puts the number at 224,000. Both of these versions, however, should be critically evaluated according to the science of Hadith. Besides, whether the number was 124 or 224 thousand is not important. What is essential is that no land, people or period was neglected; prophets were sent to all. The Quran says: There never was a people without a Warner having lived among them (35:24) We would never visit our wrath (chastise any community) until We had sent a Messenger to give warning (17:15) To punish a people for any wrong they may do without their being warned beforehand by a prophet from God is contrary to His Glory and Grace. The warning precedes responsibility which may be followed by reward or punishment: So anyone who has done an atoms weight of good, shall see it. And anyo
