BISMILAHI RAHMANI RAHIM
- Allah sent over 125 000 Prophets and 314 rasouls to guide mankind. They did not all come at once but rather, came at different periods of time, some at the same time as another, whereas others, like the Prophet Muhammad(peace be upon him) came when no other Prophet was present.
Rasool
A Rasool was a messenger of Allah who was given a new Sharee'a(codes of law) from Allah.
Nabi
A Nabi was also a messenger of ALLAH Ta'ala but he was not given any new Sharee'ah and followed the sharee'ah of earlier Rasool.
- Sheikh Mufid, a great scholar of Islam writes in his book, Awa’il al-Maqalat, “every messenger is a Nabi (Prophet), but not every Prophet is a Rasool (Apostle).
This disgraceful and evil act is mention in the Quran,
"Humiliation and abasement were pitched upon them, and they incurred the Anger of Allah; because they disbelieved His signs and slew His Prophets unjustly; because they disobeyed and were transgressors."
(Surah Number: 2, Ayah Number: 61)
"To Moses We gave the Book and after him We sent other Messengers. We gave (Prophet) Jesus, the son of Mary, veritable signs, and supported him with the Spirit of Purity (Gabriel). Will you then become proud whenever any Messenger comes to you with that which does not suit your fancies, and you belied some (Prophet Jesus) and killed others!"
(Surah Number: 2, Ayah Number: 87)
In a Hadith it is mentioned,
Abu Ubaidah ibnul Jarrah (RA) reports that Rasulullah (sallahu alaihi wa sallam) said that the Banu Israil killed in one day, 43 Prophets and 170 pious men who commanded them to do good. (Tafsir ibne Kathir vol.1 pg. 274).
And ALLAH TAA`LA knows Best.
It appears that there has been a longstanding disagreement among Muslim scholars on the differences and similarities of these two words, and that there is no universal agreement on the exact meanings, connotations or differences of these two words. Nonetheless, within various spiritual sects and mystical traditions, such as the Sufis, the terms nabî and rasûl often have very specific meanings, regardless of what the scholars and dictionaries may say.
Some say that the nabî can bring messages, but that only the rasûl can bring new Divine Law... some say that the rasûl is of much higher rank that the nabî.... some say that the rasûl is the only one who can see and talk with angels while he is awake.... while others insist that there is no significant difference between the two words.