Tafsir of An-Nisa' 4:164

ورسﻼ قد قصصناهم عليك من قبل

And Messengers We have mentioned to you before, and Messengers We have not mentioned to you. Before the revelation of this Ayah. The following are the names of the Prophets whom Allah named in the Qur'an. They are: Adam, Idris, Nuh (Noah), Hud, Salih, Ibrahim (Abraham), Lut, Ismail (Ishmael), Ishaq (Isaac), Yaqub (Jacob), Yusuf (Joseph), Ayub (Job), Shu`ayb, Musa (Moses), Harun (Aaron), Yunus (Jonah), Dawud (David), Suleiman (Solomon), Ilyas (Elias), Al-Yasa (Elisha), Zakariyya (Zachariya), Yahya (John) and Isa (Jesus), and their leader, Muhammad. Several scholars of Tafsir also listed Dhul-Kifl among the Prophets. Allah's statement,

ورسﻼ لم نقصصهم عليك

and Messengers We have not mentioned to you, means, `there are other Prophets whom We did not mention to you in the Qur'an.' The Virtue of Musa Allah said,

وكلم الله موسى تكليما

and to Musa Allah spoke directly. This is an honor to Musa, and this is why he is called the Kalim, he whom Allah spoke to directly. Al-Hafiz Abu Bakr bin Marduwyah recorded that Abdul-Jabbar bin Abdullah said, "A man came to Abu Bakr bin Ayyash and said, `I heard a man recite (this Ayah this way):

وكلم الله موسى تكليما

"and to Allah, Musa spoke directly.'' Abu Bakr said, `Only a disbeliever would recite it like this.' Al-A`mash recited it with Yahya bin Withab, who recited it with Abu Abdur-Rahman As-Sulami who recited it with Ali bin Abi Talib who recited with the Messenger of Allah,

وكلم الله موسى تكليما

(and to Musa Allah spoke directly).''' Abu Bakr bin Abi Ayyash was so angry with the man who recited the Ayah differently, because he altered its words and meanings. That person was from the group of Mutazilah who denied that Allah spoke to Musa or that He speaks to any of His creation. We were told that some of the Mutazilah once recited the Ayah that way, so one teacher present said to him, "O son of a stinking woman! What would you do concerning Allah's statement,

ولما جاء موسى لميقتنا وكلمه ربه

And when Musa came at the time and place appointed by Us, and his Lord spoke to him. (7:143)'' The Sheikh meant that the later Ayah cannot be altered or changed. The Reason Behind Sending the Prophets is to Establish the Proof Allah said,