Question
I would like to know the time periods between prophets in years; i.e. from Adam to Noah (pbuh) to Moses to David (pbuh) to Jesus (pbuh) to Muhammad (pbuh).
Jazzakallah khairun
Answer
The time of the earlier prophets (Adam and Noah) is not known accurately. Even though the scholars of the Bible have tried to estimate the time between Adam (pbuh) and Noah (pbuh) and Noah and Abraham (pbut) on the basis of the information given in the Bible, yet the information and the estimation made on its basis is not very reliable and, therefore, not much can be said about the times and the time intervals between these prophets.
The time of Abraham’s (pbuh) birth is estimated to be around 1996 B.C. he is estimated to have died at the age of 175. The time of Moses’ (pbuh) birth is estimated at around 1571 BC. If these estimations are correct, then the time between the death of Abraham (pbuh) and the birth of Moses (pbuh) is 250 years. It is generally held that Moses (pbuh) died at the age of 120 years (around 1451 B.C.). The year of David’s (pbuh) birth is estimated at around 1085 B.C. This would mean that the time between Moses (pbuh) and David (pbuh) was around 366 years. It is held that David lived for 71 years (died around 1014 B.C.). Jesus (pbuh) was born around 1400 years after David (pbuh) and Muhammad (pbuh) was born about 530 years after the Christ.
I hope this helps.
Regards,
Moiz Amjad
March 28, 2002