Nabi (Prophet) and Rasul (Prophetic Messenger)

Hadrat Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) said that he asked Allah's Messenger (may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him) who was the first of the prophets and he replied that it was Nabi Adam (peace be upon him). He asked if he was really a prophet and he replied, "Yes, he was a Prophet to whom a message was given." He asked Allah's Messenger (may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him) how many Prophetic Messengers there had been, and he replied, "There have been three hundred and between ten and twenty in all." In a version on the authority of Hadrat Abu Umama, (may Allah be pleased with him), Hadrat Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) said that he had asked Allah's Messenger (may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him) the number of all the prophets, and he replied, "A hundred and twenty-four thousand among whom were three hundred and fifteen Prophetic Messengers in all." (Ahmad)