Did Prophets prior to Muhammad live for hundreds of years?

Sources

• ✓ 7:158 · Al-A'raaf

  7:158 · Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall

  قُلْ يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ إِنِّى رَسُولُ ٱللَّهِ إِلَيْكُمْ جَمِيعًا ٱلَّذِى لَهُۥ مُلْكُ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۖ لَآ إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ يُحْىِۦ وَيُمِيتُ ۖ فَـَٔامِنُوا۟ بِٱللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ ٱلنَّبِىِّ ٱلْأُمِّىِّ ٱلَّذِى يُؤْمِنُ بِٱللَّهِ وَكَلِمَٰتِهِۦ وَٱتَّبِعُوهُ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَهْتَدُونَ

  Say (O Muhammad): O mankind! Lo! I am the messenger of Allah to you all - (the messenger of) Him unto Whom belongeth the Sovereignty of the heavens and the earth. There is no Allah save Him. He quickeneth and He giveth death. So believe in Allah and His messenger, the Prophet who can neither read nor write, who believeth in Allah and in His Words, and follow him that haply ye may be led aright.

• ✓ Tafsir Ibn Kathir on 7:158

  Sunni

  Tafsir Ibn Kathir · 7:158

  Allah addresses His Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) with the command: "Say, O Muhammad: O mankind." This is a direct address not only to Muhammad but to all humans, regardless of their race or ethnicity — whether red or black, Arab or non-Arab. He is sent as a messenger to all people, which is a significant honor and a mark of his great station, being the Seal of the Prophets. Allah confirms this universal mission in other verses as well, for example: "Say, Allah is witness between me and you, and He revealed to me this Qur'an so that I may warn you and all who it reaches" (6:19), and "And whoever disbelieves in it among the confederates, the Fire will be his appointed place" (11:17). Another clear statement is: "Say to those who were given the Scripture and to the unlettered: 'Have you submitted?' If they submit, they have rightly guided; but if they turn away, then your duty is only to deliver the message" (3:20). Numerous verses and abundant prophetic narrations confirm this essential fact in Islam: that Muhammad is truly the messenger sent to all humankind. Imam al-Bukhari, may Allah have mercy on him, narrated a hadith related to this verse illustrating the reality of Muhammad’s role. When Abu Bakr and Umar had a disagreement, Umar left angry and Abu Bakr sought his pardon but was initially refused. Abu Bakr then went to the Prophet, who said, "Your companion has sinned." Eventually, Umar came back, apologized, and sat with the Prophet to recount what transpired. The Prophet grew angry but then said, "Do you leave my companion? I said: 'O people, I am the Messenger of Allah to you all,' yet you claimed I lied." Abu Bakr affirmed, "You spoke the truth." Imam Ahmad recorded from Ibn Abbas that the Prophet said, "I was given five things that no prophet before me was given: I was sent to all people—red and black, supported by fear for a month's journey, permitted to share in spoils of war which none before me were allowed, the earth made a place of prayer and purity for me, and I was granted intercession, which I reserved for my nation: those who do not associate partners with Allah." Ahmad Ibn Hanbal also narrated from Abu Musa Al-Ash’ari that the Prophet said, "Whoever among my nation, Jew or Christian, hears about me but does not believe will not enter Paradise." This is recorded in Sahih Muslim as well with similar wording, emphasizing the necessity of believing in the Prophet once his message is known. These authentic narrations uphold the interpretation that Muhammad’s prophethood and message are universal, meant for all mankind, and that denial of him after awareness of his message leads to hellfire, underscoring the gravitas of this truth. Regarding the phrase: "Who has dominion over the heavens and the earth; there is no god but He; He gives life and causes death," this is a description of Allah’s supreme authority, affirming that the One who sent Muhammad into prophethood is the Creator, Lord, and Sovereign possessing ultimate dominion and the power to give life and cause death. Finally, the command to "believe in Allah and His Messenger, the unlettered Prophet," indicates that Muhammad is the promised and foretold prophet mentioned in previous scriptures. The term "unlettered" is a descriptor used in earlier scriptures referring to him. He believes in Allah, the Words of Allah, and what has been revealed to him from his Lord. The believers are ordered to follow his path and emulate his example so that they may be rightly guided to the straight path.