Why Are 90% (or More) of the Prophets Named in the Qurʾān Jewish Men?

An academic, multi-section inquiry with critical questions for Muslim readers
By Dr Maxwell Shimba — Shimba Theological Institute

Abstract

The Qurʾān names roughly 25 prophets explicitly; a large majority correspond to figures from the Hebrew Bible (the Torah / Tanakh) and later canonical Jewish and Christian tradition (e.g., Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, Solomon, Jonah, Job, Joseph). This article examines that empirical fact, surveys Islamic and Christian/Jewish source material, considers historical and literary explanations, and raises critical questions directed to Muslim theological and historical accounts. The paper concludes by suggesting avenues for further research and offers footnote-style references and a journal-style bibliography.

1. Introduction — statement of the problem

Readers of the Qurʾān will note that most of the prophets named in its text are the same persons who appear in the Hebrew Bible. If one compiles the names that appear by explicit mention, a canonical count frequently cited in Islamic literature is 25 named prophets (though Islamic tradition also speaks of many thousands of prophets sent to humankind). The striking overlap between Qurʾānic prophet-names and the Hebrew Bible raises academic questions about source-relations, reception, and the Qurʾān’s self-presentation as a continuation or correction of earlier revelation. This paper sets out those facts, outlines possible explanatory frameworks, and formulates pointed, scholarly questions for Muslim interpreters. Riwaya+1

2. Empirical overview: who the Qurʾān names (selective list)

The Qurʾān explicitly names (in its Arabic forms) many figures who are also prominent in Jewish and Christian scriptures: Adam, Noah (Nūḥ), Abraham (Ibrāhīm), Ishmael (Ismāʿīl), Isaac (Isḥāq), Jacob (Yaʿqūb), Joseph (Yūsuf), Moses (Mūsā), Aaron (Hārūn), David (Dāwūd), Solomon (Sulaimān), Job (Ayyūb), Jonah (Yūnus), Elijah (Ilyās), Elisha (Al-Yasaʿ), and Jesus (ʿĪsā), among others. Many Surahs explicitly list groups of prophets together (for example, Qurʾān 4:163 and 6:84 mention Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob and many of their descendants). The count “25 named prophets” is widely repeated in both Muslim devotional literature and academic summaries. Quran.com+2Quran.com+2

Load-bearing facts (examples):

The Qurʾān names a set of prophets that largely overlaps the Hebrew Bible’s principal figures (e.g., Moses, Abraham, David). Quran.com+1
Islamic tradition (exegesis and hadith) also treats the “people of Israel” and their succession of prophets as a primary ancient prophetic locus. Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research+1

3. Historical and literary context (brief survey)

Scholars of early Islam note several relevant points: the Qurʾān addresses communities in late antique Arabia who were already familiar with Jewish and Christian narratives; the Qurʾān self-presents as correcting or restoring what it calls distorted earlier scriptures; and the use of familiar biblical names and episodes functions rhetorically to situate Islam within an Abrahamic line and to make moral/theological points using well-known exemplars. Some recent academic discussions investigate how the Qurʾān engages Jewish and Christian textual materials and oral traditions in late antiquity. Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research+1

4. Onomastics (names and forms) — Arabic translations of older names

A straightforward observation is that the Qurʾān uses Arabicized forms of Semitic names (e.g., Ibrāhīm ← *Avraham/Abraham; Mūsā ← Moses; Isḥāq ← Isaac). Linguistically and historically this is unsurprising: Arabic and Hebrew/Aramaic are Semitic languages that share many roots and name forms; when a text moves between Semitic languages names are typically adapted phonologically. But the deeper question is not phonology alone — it is why the Qurʾān’s corpus uses a particular roster of named figures rather than naming more local Arabian, African, or Mesopotamian prophetic figures. This demands a historical explanation (see §5). Wikipedia

5. Explanatory frameworks (competing hypotheses)

Below are plausible scholarly frameworks that can help explain the predominance of Israelite/Jewish-named prophets in the Qurʾān. Each has different theological and historical consequences.

A. Continuity hypothesis (Islamic theological claim).
Islamic doctrine often asserts prophetic continuity: God sent prophets to every people (Qurʾān 35:24; 16:36) and the Qurʾān presumes many unnamed prophets, but it names those who are paradigmatic for its message. Thus, from an Islamic theological vantage, the Qurʾān’s list emphasizes the Abrahamic line because that lineage is central to the Qurʾān’s teaching. (Qurʾān 21:25; 33:40 discusses Muhammad as the seal of the prophets.) Quran.com+1

B. Reception/availability hypothesis.
Late antique Arabian audiences were exposed to Jewish and Christian narratives circulating in oral and written form. The Qurʾān selects names and episodes that would have immediate recognition and rhetorical force with such audiences; hence the high overlap. This is a literary-historical account that treats the Qurʾān as reworking existing narrative material. The Bart Ehrman Blog+1

C. Canon-formation and selection bias.
The Qurʾān is not an encyclopedic list of every prophet in world history; rather, it quotes and names a selection of exemplars suitable to its theological aims (e.g., monotheism, covenant, patience under persecution). Those exemplars happen to be the most prominent figures in the Judeo-Christian scriptural tradition. This is a functional explanation rather than a claim about origins. Quran.com

D. Polemical/communicative hypothesis.
Some scholars argue the Qurʾān intentionally engages Jewish and Christian scriptures polemically — to assert superiority/correction of what it calls corruptions — and therefore foregrounds the Israelite prophets as subjects of correction, exhortation, or confirmation. Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research+1

Each framework yields different critical questions for Muslim theologians and historians. The next section lists such questions.

6. Scholarly questions directed to Muslim interpreters (critical, respectful, and evidence-oriented)

Selection logic: What theological or historical criteria determined which prophets would be named in the Qurʾān and which would remain unnamed? If prophecy was universal, why are predominantly Israelite figures the Qurʾān’s exemplars? (See Qurʾān 4:163; 6:84.) Quran.com+1
Source relationships: To what extent does the Qurʾān depend on, adapt, or correct Jewish and Christian textual or oral traditions available in Arabia? Can Muslim scholarship map specific episodes to identifiable Jewish/Christian sources or oral cycles? The Bart Ehrman Blog
Onomastic origins: Given that the Hebrew Bible predates the Qurʾān by many centuries, how should Muslim scholars explain the strictly Hebrew / Israelite provenance of so many prophet-names (beyond the shared Semitic linguistic milieu)? Is the Qurʾān presenting these figures as genuinely the same historical persons, or as analogues? Wikipedia
Geographical focus: Why does the Qurʾān’s named prophetic roster appear geographically concentrated in the Levant and Mesopotamia rather than, for example, in South Arabia, North Africa, or Persia — regions with their own religious histories? Are there Qurʾānic or hadithic sources that justify this geographical emphasis? Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research+1
Tradition-critique: Some Hadith and exegetical traditions speak of many more prophets (e.g., 124,000). How do exegetes reconcile the wide number of prophets with the small set of named figures in the Qurʾān? What are the criteria used in early tafsīr for associating named Qurʾānic figures with biblical characters? Facebook+1
Intertextual differences: Where the Qurʾān retells episodes known from the Hebrew Bible, how do the Qurʾānic versions differ in doctrinally significant ways (e.g., Christology, covenantal claims, eschatology)? Can those differences be shown to be innovations, corrections, or independent traditions? The Bart Ehrman Blog+1

These questions invite substantive replies from Muslim exegetes and historians and can be the basis of constructive academic exchange.

7. Methodology — how this inquiry was assembled

This paper compiled Qurʾānic references (selected verses that group or name prophets), primary hadith references about prophets (representative Sahih collections), comparative biblical citations (selected Genesis/Exodus passages for Abraham and Moses), and modern scholarship about Qurʾān–Biblical intertextuality. The purpose here is not to adjudicate ultimate theological truth claims but to map observable patterns and pose academically defensible questions. The Bart Ehrman Blog+3Quran.com+3AbdurRahman.Org+3

8. Discussion — implications and a modest conclusion

That most named prophets in the Qurʾān are figures known from Jewish (and Christian) scriptures is an empirically verifiable fact. Explanations range from theological claims of prophetic continuity to historical explanations about the textual environment of late antique Arabia. For critics, this overlap raises questions about source dependence, authorship, and the Qurʾān’s self-presentation as either a restoration of older revelation or as a text that draws upon familiar religious biographies to make new claims. For Muslim apologists, the overlap is typically explained by continuity (the same God sending the same core revelation to Abrahamic figures) and by functional selection (the Qurʾān names those exemplars most relevant to its message). Both sides should engage the historical and philological evidence carefully and respectfully. Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research+1

9. Suggested further research agenda

A philological study comparing the Qurʾānic Arabic forms with Hebrew/Aramaic name variants, exploring transmission paths.
A systematic mapping of Qurʾānic episodes to earliest extant Jewish and Christian texts and to known oral traditions.
An examination of pre-Islamic Arabian inscriptions and narratives for non-Israelite prophetic traditions to test the geographical-selection hypothesis.
A comprehensive review of tafsīr literature to catalogue exegetical rationales for the Qurʾān’s prophet selections.

10. Footnote-style references (selected, journal style)

Primary Qurʾānic citations (English transl./online):

Qurʾān 4:163 (An-Nisāʾ). Translation and text: quran.com. Quran.com+1
Qurʾān 6:84 (Al-Anʿām). quran.com. Quran.com
Qurʾān 21:25 (Al-Anbiyāʾ). quran.com. Quran.com
Qurʾān 33:40 (Al-Aḥzāb, “seal of the prophets”). quran.com / corpus.quran.com. Quran.com+1

Hadith / Islamic tradition (selected):
5. Sahih al-Bukhari, Book 55 (Prophets) — examples of hadiths referencing prophets and Israelite prophetic succession. (English translations available online, e.g., abdurrahman.org rendering of Bukhari Book 55). AbdurRahman.Org

Hebrew Bible / Old Testament citations (selected):
6. Genesis 12:1–5 (Call of Abram/Abraham). BibleGateway (NIV/ESV). Bible Gateway+1
7. Exodus 3:10 (God sends Moses to Pharaoh to deliver the Israelites). BibleHub / BibleGateway. Bible Hub+1

Secondary scholarship and modern discussion:
8. “The Qur’an’s Engagement with Christian and Jewish Literature” — Yaqeen Institute (review of Qurʾānic intertextuality and the ways the Qurʾān interacts with Judeo-Christian materials). (2023). Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research
9. Stephen Shoemaker, “Creating the Qur’an: Where Did the Scripture of Islam Really Come From?” (discussion on early Islam and sources). (Blog / academic summary). The Bart Ehrman Blog
10. “Prophets and messengers in Islam” — encyclopedic overview (Wikipedia entry useful as a quick reference to named Qurʾānic figures; consult primary exegetical sources for final citation). Wikipedia+1

11. Bibliography (journal style, select)

The Holy Qurʾān. Online text and translations: quran.com (see Surahs 4, 6, 21, 33). Quran.com+1
Sahih al-Bukhari. English translation (Book 55: Prophets). (Online English renders). AbdurRahman.Org
The Holy Bible. Genesis 12; Exodus 3. BibleGateway / BibleHub. Bible Gateway+1
“Prophets and messengers in Islam.” Wikipedia. (Consult primary tafsīr/Islamic studies literature for academic work). Wikipedia
Yaqeen Institute. “The Qur’an’s Engagement with Christian and Jewish Literature.” (2023). Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research
Shoemaker, Stephen. “Creating the Qur’an: Where Did the Scripture of Islam Really Come From?” (2023 blog/academic discussion). The Bart Ehrman Blog

12. Closing remarks and an offer

This piece is meant to be a rigorous, respectful scholarly probe: it states verifiable facts, sketches interpretive frameworks, and poses precise questions for Muslim scholars and apologists. If you would like, I can:

Convert this into a fully referenced journal article with numbered footnotes using Qurʾānic verse citations, Bible verse citations, and hadith references in a scholarly footnote format (Chicago, APA, or Turabian).
Expand any section (e.g., a full exegetical survey of tafsīr responses to the selection of prophets).
Produce a version edited for submission to a particular journal (please name the journal style).

Friday, September 12, 2025