The hadeeth which says that there was no Prophet sent by Allah but he had hawaariyyoon (disciples) is to be understood as referring to what was mostly the case

Muslim (50)narrated from ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘oodthat the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said:“There is no Prophet whom Allaah sent to any nationbefore me, but he had disciples and companions from among his nation whofollowed his path and obeyed his commands. Then after them came generations whosaid what they did not do and did what they were not commanded to do. Whoeverstrives against them with his hand is a believer; whoever strives against themwith his tongue is a believer; whoever strives against them with his heart is abeliever. Beyond that there is not even a mustard-seed’s worth of faith.”

The hadeeth would appear to contradict the hadeethof Ibn ‘Abbaas, who said: TheMessenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Thenations were shown to me and one or two Prophets would pass by me with a group(of followers), and a Prophet who had no one with him…”Narrated by al-Bukhaari(5705) and Muslim (220).

It was alsonarrated by at-Tirmidhi (2446) and an-Nasaa’i from Ibn ‘Abbaas, who said: When the Prophet (blessings and peace ofAllah be upon him) was taken on the Night Journey (Isra’),one or two Prophets would pass by him who had a community with them, and one ortwo Prophets who had a small group with them, and one or two Prophets who hadno one with them, until he passed by a great multitude… Classedas saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh at-Tirmidhi.

We may reconcilebetween these hadeeths by noting that the first hadeeth is general in meaning, and the second hadeeth speaks of specific cases (not all Prophets). Mostof the Prophets, the majority of them, had companions and disciples, and someof the Prophets did not have that.

Al-Qurtubi (may Allah have mercy on him) said in al-Mufhim ‘ala Saheeh Muslim:The words “There is no Prophet whom Allaah, may He beglorified and exalted, sent to any nation before me, but he had disciples andcompanions from among his nation” mean: there is none among the previousMessengers… What is meant by that is the majority of Messengers, not all ofthem, based on the fact that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be uponhim) said in, the hadeeth in which he spoke of theProphets coming with their nations on the Day of Resurrection, “A Prophet willcome accompanied by one man or two men, and a Prophet will come having no onewith him.” This is general in meaning even though other hadeethsspeaks of specific cases that were not like this.

The word hawaariyyoon (sing. hawaari)refers to the close companions of the Prophets, those who were sincere in theirlove towards their Prophets and were free from any faults.

Ibn al-Anbaari said: They are those who were of special characterand virtue.

And it was saidthat they are the ones who supported their Prophets, as the Prophet (blessingsand peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Every Prophet had hawaariyyoon(disciples) from among his people, and my disciple is az-Zubayr.”End quote.

Abu’l-Hasan al-Mubaarakfoori said in Mir‘aatal-Mafaateeh Sharh Mishkaat al-Masaabeeh(1/253): The words “There is no Prophet…” are to be understood as referring towhat is usually the case, because it says in one hadeeththat a Prophet will come on the Day of Resurrection with no followers fromamong his nation except one. End quote.

And Allah knows best.