Surah 16:36
"Certainly We have raised up in every community a messenger (saying): ‘Serve God and avoid al-Ṭāghūt!’ (There were) some of them whom God guided, and some whose going astray was deserved. Travel the earth and see how the end was for the ones who called (it) a lie."
Lineage of Prophets and Messengers
Opposing Verses
Surah 29:27 → "And We granted him Isaac and Jacob, and We placed among his descendants the prophetic office and the Book. We gave him his reward in this world, and in the Hereafter he will indeed be among the righteous."
Does the Quran state that prophets were sent to every community or that prophethood was restricted exclusively to the descendants of Abraham? Some verses indicate that a messenger was raised in every community, while others state that the prophetic office was placed among Abraham's descendants.
Warners and Messengers to Every Community
Supporting Verses
Surah 10:47 → "For every community (there is) a messenger. When their messenger comes, it will be decided between them in justice – and they will not be done evil."
Surah 35:24 → "Surely We have sent you with the truth, as a bringer of good news and a warner. (There has) not (been) any community except that a warner has passed away in it."
Opposing Verses
Surah 25:51 → "If We had (so) pleased, We would indeed have raised up a warner in every town."
Surah 28:46 → "You were not on the side of the mountain when We called out (to Moses), but (you were sent) as a mercy from your Lord, so that you might warn a people to whom no warner had come before you, so that they might take heed."
Surah 32:3 → "Or do they say, ‘He has forged it’? No! It is the truth from your Lord, so that you may warn a people to whom no warner has come before you, so that they may be (rightly) guided."
Surah 34:44 → "– though We have not given them any Books to study, nor have We sent to them any warner before you."
Surah 36:6 → "so that you may warn a people. Their fathers have not been warned, and so they are oblivious."
Does the Quran state that every community has received a messenger or warner? Some verses assert that a messenger or warner has been sent to every community. In contrast, other verses state that Muhammad was sent to a people who had not received any previous warner and whose fathers had not been warned, while another verse suggests that a warner was not raised in every town.