Allah, exalted is He, never once states in the Qur’an that He sent them as messengers. Rather, He only mentions that He inspired them to believe in Him and in His Messenger, and that they were commanded to follow that Messenger. His words:

“When I revealed to the disciples …” ⦗al-Māʾidah: 111⦘

do not establish prophethood, for He—exalted be He—also says:

“And We revealed to the mother of Moses: ‘Nurse him …’” ⦗al-Qaṣaṣ: 7⦘

Yet the mother of Moses was not a prophetess; indeed, there has never been a female prophet, as the vast majority of both Christians and Muslims affirm. More than one scholar has recorded their consensus on this point, among them the two judges Abū Bakr ibn al-Ṭayyib and Abū Yaʿlā ibn Abī al-Farrāʾ, as well as the teacher Abū l-Maʿālī al-Juwaynī and others. Supporting evidence is found in His statement:

“We sent before you only men, from the people of the towns, to whom We revealed.” ⦗Yūsuf: 109⦘

and in His statement:

“The Messiah, son of Mary, is only a messenger; messengers passed away before him, and his mother was a woman of truth (ṣiddīqah).” ⦗al-Māʾidah: 75⦘

Thus Mary’s highest station is that of a truthful saint (ṣiddīqiyyah), just as the Messiah’s highest station is that of messengership.