What is the difference between a Rasool (messenger) and a Nabi (prophet)?

Some scholars have held that there is no distinction that can be made from the usage of these terms alone, and that they simply refer to those chosen people who were given revelation and the duty to preach message of Tawhid (belief in one God). The differences found between those chosen individuals are the differences in their duties that Allah placed upon them, such as receiving a book or a new law. According to this understanding, that alone didn’t determine their status as a “prophet” or “messenger” and the two words are synonyms of each other; every prophet is a messenger and vice versa.

However, the majority of scholars have said that while both groups received revelation, there is a difference between the two: A prophet is commanded to preach based on a previous messenger’s legislation, whereas, a messenger receives and preaches a new legislation. Thus, one is given the responsibility of reviving a previous law, and the other receives a new law. What never changes between them, in terms of revelation, is the command to worship One God.

What is meant by legislation are laws, such as the command to pray or the prohibition of consuming alcohol. Legislation can be altered by a messenger if a new law was revealed to him.

One may ask, was Muhammad ﷺ not a prophet, then, according to this definition? To this, the scholars responded that a messenger and prophet are both revealed legislation to (whether a new one or a previous one as explained above), but a messenger is tasked with preaching that legislation, whereas a prophet may or may not be tasked with preaching it. Thus, every messenger is a prophet, but not every prophet is necessarily a messenger, and therefore our beloved Muhammad ﷺ is both a prophet because he has received revelation, and a messenger because his revelation was a new legislation, and he was commanded to preach it.

Note that receiving a new divinely revealed book is not a condition for either of the two, and both may or may not receive scripture. For example, Dawud ﷺ was a prophet and was given the Zaboor, yet he was sent upon the legislation of Musa ﷺ and not considered a “messenger” as such. The Qur’an was revealed to our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ who was a messenger, as he was given a new legislation. And Yousef ﷺ, from what we know, was not given a scripture despite him being a prophet.

And Allah knows best.

Written by Umar Elhashimi

June 9, 2025

Study Hanbali, Ashari, & Maturidi aqida at Arkview.org