Our Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was the first Muslim in the world who received the revelation from Allah but what about the previous Prophet like Isa, Musa, Ibrahim AS, can we say they are Muslims even though they had no Quran or Sunnah? Because they believed in the oneness of God, were they Muslim believers? Please clear up this confusion for me as many of my non Muslim friends are asking.
Assalamu Alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh
Thank you for your question.
All Messengers (peace and blessings upon them) received some form of revelation and guidance from Allah. They were all believers.
One of the meanings of Muslim is ‘the one who submits to Allah’, hence all prophets and messengers can be considered “Muslims”.
And Allah knows best.
Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Badat Hadith of the Day Imam Imam of the Islamic Foundation of Toronto and Director of Mathabah Institute