The Difference between a Messenger (Rasul) and a Prophet (Nabiyy)

Question:

Is there any difference between a Messenger and a Prophet?

Answer:

Yes, the scholars say that a Prophet is one who receives Revelation from Allah of a law, but he is not commanded to propagate it, only to practice it himself, without being called upon to disseminate it.

A Messenger is one who receives Revelation from Allah of a law and he is called upon to propagate it and to act upon it. Every Messenger is a Prophet, but not every Prophet is a Messenger. The Prophets are more in number than the Messengers; and Allah has related the stories of some of the Messengers in the Qur'an and others He has not related. Allah, the Most High says:
And indeed We have sent Messengers before you (O Muhammad): Of some of them We have related to you their story, and some of them We have not related to you their story. And it was not given to any Messenger that he should bring a Sign except by the leave of Allah.

Based upon this Verse, it is plain that every Prophet mentioned in the Qur'an is a Messenger.
Source:
Ibn 'Uthaimin
Fatawa Islamiyah, Vol. 1 Pages 226-227

Read more:

The Ruling on Celebrating Birthdays

Question: In our city in Egypt, it is the custom that when every person complete...

Asking the Soothsayers and Sorcerers is Unlawful

My father was mentally ill, and the period of his sickness lengthened, which inc...

They are from Ahlul-Fitrah

Question: The Revealed Books prior to the Qur'an were altered, then came later g...

The Ruling on Seeking Payment for Reciting the Qur'an

Question :We see in many Muslim countries the practice of hiring a person to rec...