Tafsir

The Messengers are no more than Human Beings

Here Allah refutes those who denied that human Messengers could be sent:وَمَآ أَرْسَلْنَا قَبْلَكَ إِلاَّ رِجَالاً نُّوحِى إِلَيْهِمْ(And We sent not before you but men to whom We revealed.) meaning, all the Messengers who came before you were men, human beings. There were no angels among them. This is like the Ayat:وَمَآ أَرْسَلْنَا مِن قَبْلِكَ إِلاَّ رِجَالاً نُّوحِى إِلَيْهِمْ مِّنْ أَهْلِ الْقُرَى(And We sent not before you any but men unto whom We revealed, from among the people of townships) 12:109قُلْ مَا كُنتُ بِدْعاً مِّنَ الرُّسُلِ(Say: "I am not a new thing among the Messengers...) 46:9 Allah tells us that the previous nations denied that and said:أَبَشَرٌ يَهْدُونَنَا("Shall mere men guide us") 64:6. So Allah says here:فَاسْأَلُواْ أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِن كُنْتُم لاَ تَعْلَمُونَ(So ask the people of the Reminder if you do not know.) meaning, ask the people of knowledge among the nations such as the Jews and Christians and other groups: `were the Messengers who came to you human beings or angels' Indeed they were human beings.

This is a part of the perfect blessing of Allah towards His creation: He sent to them Messengers from among themselves so that they could receive the Message from them and learn from them.وَمَا جَعَلْنَـهُمْ جَسَداً لاَّ يَأْكُلُونَ الطَّعَامَ(And We did not place them in bodies that did not eat food...) meaning, rather they had bodies that ate food, as Allah says:وَمَآ أَرْسَلْنَا قَبْلَكَ مِنَ الْمُرْسَلِينَ إِلاَّ إِنَّهُمْ لَيَأْكُلُونَ الطَّعَامَ وَيَمْشُونَ فِى الاٌّسْوَاقِ(And We never sent before you any of the Messengers but verily, they ate food and walked in the markets) 25:20 meaning, they were human beings who ate and drank like all other people, and they went to the marketplaces to earn a living and engage in business; that did not affect them adversely or reduce their status in any way, as the idolators imagined.مَا لِهَـذَا الرَّسُولِ يَأْكُلُ الطَّعَامَ وَيَمْشِى فِى الاٌّسْوَاقِ لَوْلا أُنزِلَ إِلَيْهِ مَلَكٌ فَيَكُونَ مَعَهُ نَذِيراًأَوْ يُلْقَى إِلَيْهِ كَنْزٌ أَوْ تَكُونُ لَهُ جَنَّةٌ يَأْكُلُ مِنْهَا(And they say: "Why does this Messenger eat food, and walk about in the markets.

Why is not an angel sent down to him to be a warner with him Or (why) has not a treasure been granted to him, or why has he not a garden whereof he may eat") 25:7-8وَمَا كَانُواْ خَـلِدِينَ(nor were they immortals) meaning, in this world; on the contrary, they lived, then they died.وَمَا جَعَلْنَا لِبَشَرٍ مِّن قَبْلِكَ الْخُلْدَ(And We granted not to any human being immortality before you) 21:34 But what distinguished them from others was that they received revelation from Allah, and the angels brought down to them from Allah His rulings concerning His creation, what He commanded and what He prohibited.ثُمَّ صَدَقْنَـهُمُ الْوَعْدَThen We fulfilled to them the promise. the promise that their Lord made to destroy the evildoers. Allah fulfilled His promise and did that. He says:فَأَنجَيْنَـهُمْ وَمَن نَّشَآءُ(So We saved them and those whom We willed,) meaning, their followers among the believers,وَأَهْلَكْنَا الْمُسْرفِينَ(but We destroyed Al-Musrifin.) meaning, those who disbelieved the Message brought by the Messengers.

فَاسْأَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ‌ إِن كُنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ (So, ask the people (having the knowledge) of the message, if you do not know. - 21:7) In this verse, scholars of Injil Evangele) and Torah are referred to as أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ‌ (people of the message), who had accepted the Holy Prophet's prophethood. Therefore, what it actually means is that if you are not aware whether the prophets of the past were angels or ordinary men then you should find out from the scholars of Injil and Torah as they know perfectly well that all prophets were human beings. It is, therefore, quite possible that here the term اَھلَ :(people of the message) refers to all Jews and Christians (even though they have not believed in the Holy prophethood of the Holy Prophet ﷺ).

Ruling: Qurtubi has said in his exegesis that this verse has made it clear that ignorant persons who are not acquainted with the rules of Shari'ah must seek knowledge from scholars and then follow them accordingly.

وما أرسلنا قبلك - أيها الرسول - إلا رجالا من البشر نوحي إليهم، ولم نرسل ملائكة، فاسألوا - يا كفار «مكة» - أهل العلم بالكتب المنزلة السابقة، إن كنتم تجهلون ذلك.

يقول تعالى رادا على من أنكر بعثة الرسل من البشر : ( وما أرسلنا قبلك إلا رجالا يوحى إليهم ) أي : جميع الرسل الذين تقدموا كانوا رجالا من البشر ، لم يكن فيهم أحد من الملائكة ، كما قال في الآية الأخرى : ( وما أرسلنا من قبلك إلا رجالا يوحى إليهم من أهل القرى ) [ يوسف : 109 ] ، وقال تعالى : ( قل ما كنت بدعا من الرسل ) [ الأحقاف : 9 ] ، وقال تعالى حكاية عمن تقدم من الأمم أنهم أنكروا ذلك فقالوا : ( أبشر يهدوننا ) [ التغابن : 6 ] ; ولهذا قال تعالى : ( فاسألوا أهل الذكر إن كنتم لا تعلمون ) أي : اسألوا أهل العلم من الأمم كاليهود والنصارى وسائر الطوائف : هل كان الرسل الذين أتوهم بشرا أو ملائكة؟ إنما كانوا بشرا ، وذلك من تمام نعم الله على خلقه; إذ بعث فيهم رسلا منهم يتمكنون من تناول البلاغ منهم والأخذ عنهم .